Page 43 of The One

We could try. But four years and over three hundred fifty miles? That was a lot.

She shook my fingers, her lips gradually pulling into a grin. “USC.” She winked. “Duh.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re killing me.” I tugged her so hard against me that she let out a tiny scream, which was quickly followed by a laugh. I rolled us sideways against the bed, and I wouldn’t let her go. “I really thought you were going to tell me Stanford.” I needed to feel her, so I gripped her even tighter. “I was getting ready to lose my shit.”

She tilted her head back from my neck and kissed me. “I know. I couldn’t help myself. It was the perfect opportunity to tease you a little—something I never get to do.”

“I don’t like it, but I get it.” I pressed my lips on hers. “Why were you so curious about whether you got into the other two colleges?”

“It’s hard to explain. I guess I needed to see if I was good enough, to see if all the time I’ve put into school had paid off.”

“Makes sense. Everyone needs their ego stroked. I have football for that, you don’t.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “And then there were certain things I needed to do to keep Dad off my back. It’s up to me if I think Stanford will be a good fit. But I don’t. I have no desire to go there, and he can’t force me to. Besides, Pen is going to NYU. She applied to Stanford, but everyone in this family knows she wouldn’t go there even if she got in. So, it wouldn’t be fair if he pushed me and not her.”

“What if he doesn’t pay? Will that change your mind?”

Her hand lowered to my neck and then my chest. “I’ll take out student loans. I’m not afraid of that.”

I rubbed my thumb over her lips, breathing in the rose scent with every inhale. “Christmas is next week, which means we’re leaving in only eight months.” I hovered my mouth over hers. “We’re doing this, Lainey.”

“We are, and I cannot wait.”

ELEVEN

Rhett

Present Day

Iwas buried under a blanket with a full glass of whiskey in one hand and a lit joint in the other, the smoke hotboxing my bed, just the way I’d dreamed about when I was at the strip club earlier tonight.

Except so much shit had happened between then and now.

And not a goddamn thing I was sucking down—not the liquor or the weed—was helping.

I couldn’t get Lainey out of my head.

Her voice.

Her scent.

The way her face had looked once she shook me awake.

Being back in her presence wasn’t something I had been prepared for. Neither were the feelings it’d triggered inside me.

But she’d made it clear she didn’t feel the same way. She didn’t want me around her. She didn’t want me waiting for her.

She wanted me gone.

That didn’t mean I listened.

Once I retraced my steps down the sidewalk and over the small hills, I hid behind a tree in the back of the parking lot. Not my proudest moment. I just wanted to make sure she got to her car safely.

Shit, that was what I told myself anyway.

But I also wanted to see more of her, and I’d take whatever I could get even if that meant a few seconds of watching her walk through the parking lot and climb into a Jeep and drive away.

I wondered if that vehicle was hers or if it was her parents’.