CODY
I was the first to show up at the movie theater on Saturday. It wasn’t intentional. In fact, if given the choice I wouldn’t be there at all. I needed a Skylar cleanse. I’d known her less than a week and already felt addicted.
She kept my stomach in a constant state of unease. The way she chewed her pen in class or touched my shoulder when she sat at our lunch table yesterday. The way she watched me with those transparent eyes that said she wanted to know all my secrets.
A flash from headlights pulled my attention to the parking lot and the sweet black Mustang that Skylar drove. Her hair was the first to emerge—red and curly with all the sass and fire I’d expect from the daughter of Donnie Wyld. What I didn’t expect was her genuinely kind nature or how comfortable she was in her own skin. I didn’t expect the confidence she carried that lacked any conceit.
“Hey!” Her bright smile had me pushing off the wall. It took a monumental amount of self-control, but I resisted pulling her into a hug. “Are we the first ones here?”
“Yep. Seems that way.”
She looked around at the movie posters lining the outside walls then back at me. Her fingers tugged on the locket around her neck. “Wow, I’m never the early one. I guess I’m nervous.”
I wanted to take her hand in mine. Calm her nerves. But if I started touching her, I wouldn’t stop. With Blake coming in minutes, that was equal to starting a war I couldn’t possibly win.
I cleared my throat. “So, who won last night?”
“My dad! I couldn’t believe it. He never wins.” Her face lit up when she talked about her father. It made her eyes sparkle like blown glass. “I blame you. You jinxed me with all that jail talk.” She lightly hit my arm, sending heat to my middle. I should’ve run five miles before coming to the movies instead of three.
I pulled out my phone to check the time. They were late. A blessing or a curse, I wasn’t sure.
“Can I see your playlist?” Skylar asked.
“Is that supposed to be a pick up line?”
Her cheeks suddenly matched her hair. “No. I just want to see if you’re really the great music guru you claim to be.”
I smirked, feeling completely sure in my music selection. “Don’t start a battle you can’t win.” I pulled up my iTunes before handing her my phone. She tapped and studied the screen. I moved closer to see what she found so fascinating. Big mistake. She smelled like springtime after a rain, when the sun has just popped through dark clouds.
Her finger paused. “ ‘Redemption Road’ is your most played? It didn’t even get air time on the radio.”
I slowly took the device from her. She couldn’t possibly understand what her father’s music meant to me. How that song kept me sane when my life was darkness and despair. “Yeah. It’s your dad’s best one.”
“I think so, too.” She slid back into her carefree tone. “Your others aren’t bad either. Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Nirvana. It’s passable.”
I flinched. “Passable?” I claimed to be good at two things—wrestling and music. No way I was going down without a fight. “Okay, rock star princess, let’s see what you listen to.”
She put her phone into my waiting hand and allowed me to invade her iTunes. I think I fell in love with her right then. The girl knew music. Half the songs on her playlist had never even broken the top 100. Except one. The one I chose to focus on in hopes it would make my heart stop pounding.
“You listen to One Direction? Really?”
Her brows scrunched in a deliciously cute way and she leaned in, giggling. “I forgot that was on there.”
“My image is ruined. The daughter of Donnie Wyld listening to pop music.” I “tsked, tsked” and passed the phone back.
“Hey. The rest are stellar choices.” She gripped my shirt playfully and looked up. We were so close that if I leaned in a few inches, I could end my suffering and kiss those beautiful lips. “And, besides, Harry was really sweet to put that on there for me.”
I rested a palm on the cool brick wall behind her. It closed the gap buzzing between us. Skylar was shorter than me by several inches, but I loved how she didn’t back away. “I’m going to forget you just said that.”
She studied the curve of my bicep then refocused on my face. I’d been around women enough to sense attraction, and her eyes said I wasn’t the only one wondering what it would be like to make contact.
A double honk had us both jumping. I took two giant steps backward. They weren’t far enough. My hand still trembled, and my pulse was creeping into manic speed.
“Skylar!” Zoe waved from her open car door and slammed it shut. The passenger side opened a second later and my nightmare evening was confirmed. Jill Spencer—Blake’s little present—and she looked ready to pounce.
“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Zoe said when she reached us. She hugged Skylar, and then she threw me a scowl that made me wonder if I offended her in a former life.
Jill didn’t bother to say anything. She sauntered right up to me, gripped my face and pushed her lips on mine so hard my mouth hurt. It took a second for the shock to wear off, but she was already letting go by the time I processed what happened.
“Hey, baby.” Jill smirked and wiped her red lipstick off my open mouth. She slid her arm around my waist. “Hey, Skylar. Blake is just behind us. Zoe was so sweet to pick me up at the last minute.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you gave me much choice.”
Jill blew her a snide kiss and latched on to my arm. The wide sidewalk outside the theater suddenly felt very narrow. I dared to look at Skylar for the first time since Jill’s display. She wouldn’t meet my eyes and instead gave Blake the hug I wanted for myself.
“I’m a jerk. I’m so sorry we’re late.” Blake stared at me from over her shoulder and there was no doubt he’d seen something he didn’t like.
Chugger bounced onto the sidewalk and lifted his hands. “My fault, Skylar.”
Our circle had become a square with Jill and I banished to the outskirts. Blake released his hug and slid his hand into Skylar’s. I wanted to rip it right out.
“It’s fine. Really. Cody was already here.” She fingered the locket again and met my stare for only a millisecond before glancing away.
“I bet he was,” Blake said with an affection as fake as Jill’s nails. “So, you ready for some pool?”
She smiled, but it wasn’t the same one she had on earlier. It looked unsure and forced. “Sure. But I must warn you. I’m really good.”
“Oh, no, we have a fighter,” Chugger teased and belted out four air punches as if to demonstrate.
The foursome walked toward the double glass doors on the arcade side of the theater. Zoe giggled like Chugger was the king of her universe. Stupid girl. At least I understood the whole group date thing now. Zoe wanted to be Chugger’s next castaway.
Jill held me back from following. When they disappeared inside, she dropped her arm and spun around to face me. “Do you have a death wish?”
I started walking. The last thing I wanted was Jill’s advice.
She gripped my bicep and tugged. “Cody.”
I blew out a frustrated breath and turned to listen.
“This won’t end good. You know that.”
Yeah, I knew it. But when Skylar was near, I forgot to care.