Parker

Parker got home from a run to find Beth sitting on his front porch. Her eyes were puffy from crying and immediately Parker knew she’d had another fight with Jared. He jogged up the stairs and knelt in front of her, still trying to catch his breath. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she replied.

“You okay?”

She nodded, her face brightening with a smile. “I will be.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Wanna watch ‘Singin in the Rain’?”

“I was thinking ‘Sweeney Todd’.”

“Whoa, it must’ve been bad.”

“It was.”

The only time Beth wanted to watch ‘Sweeney Todd’ was when she was really mad. Like when Brenna cut all the hair off her Barbie dolls or Beth didn’t get the lead in a play.

“Let me take a quick shower and then I’m all yours,” Parker replied.

“I’ll make the popcorn,” Beth said following Parker into his house.

He grinned, watching her walk to the kitchen, because for a minute it felt like they were Parker and Beth again.

Beth

Beth was as familiar with Parker’s house as she was with her own. She made a bowl of popcorn and grabbed two cans of orange soda before heading up to Parker’s bedroom. She could hear the shower running so she set the snacks down on his desk and turned Parker’s television on. She made herself comfortable on his bed while she scrolled through the movie menu and queued up ‘Sweeney Todd’.

When she finally had everything set up she lounged back against Parker’s pillows. From that angle the full length mirror gave Beth a glimpse of his bathroom. The door was open a crack and she could see his silhouette through the steamy glass of the shower. Beth knew she should look away, but her curiosity got the better of her. She’d never seen Parker naked. Well, maybe when they were babies and took baths together, but that didn’t count.

The shower squeaked off and Parker emerged with a white towel slung low on his hips. Beth couldn’t look away as beads of water trailed down his torso. She’d never seen him like this. When had Parker become so hot? He had the sleek runner’s body—all lean muscles and sharp angles. A sudden heat wave of lust crashed over Beth. She swallowed hard. Jared looked much different than Parker. Jared’s muscles were big and bulky. At times his strength frightened Beth. But Parker’s muscles were refined and beautiful. There was nothing frightening about him. Parker was so unlike Jared . . . Jared! As in her boyfriend!

Guilt flushed Beth and she shifted on the bed so she couldn’t see Parker in the mirror anymore. She shouldn’t be comparing Parker and Jared. She shouldn’t even have been looking at Parker. He wasn’t interested. And even if he was, it didn’t matter. Beth had a boyfriend. A boyfriend she was furious at.

Parker padded barefoot from the bathroom and plopped down on the bed. He was dressed in jogging pants and a soft t-shirt. He smelled like fresh rain and soap. Why did boys have to smell so good right out of a shower? It was like a secret weapon.

Beth briefly wondered if Parker knew how he sometimes made her heart beat faster as she let him settle next to her on the bed. He’d brought over the popcorn and sodas. Beth took a sip of hers and then placed it on the windowsill next to the bed, prepared to block out all thoughts of boys and focus on ‘Sweeney Todd: the demon barber of Fleet Street’.

Parker

“So,” Parker asked after the movie was over. “‘Sweeney Todd’? Did you guys break up?”

“No. I don’t think so. But Jared’s definitely not going to the wedding with me.”

“He’s an idiot.”

Beth laughed. “He really is.”

“His loss,” Parker said nudging her with his shoulder.

“Yeah, well it still feels like mine. I’m gonna have to go to another family wedding without a date and have to listen to everyone ask me why I don’t have a boyfriend and why I’m not more like my perfect sisters.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am. I tried everything. Jared is not budging on the wedding. He actually told me it’s not his fault my sister screwed up and he’s not changing his plans! He was pretty clear.”

“Again, he’s an idiot. But I meant you won’t have to go to the wedding alone because I’ll be your date.”

“Parker, that’s seriously so incredibly sweet but I can’t make you do that.”

“You’re not making me do anything. I want to go.”

“But you’ll miss Aspen.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been to Aspen before. It’s not that great. Plus, the idea of going without you isn’t really appealing.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not really into partying with Jared and the lacrosse team. And Caroline is . . . well, Caroline. I was only going to Aspen because you were.”

Beth laughed. “True. But are you sure? You know what my sisters’ weddings are like.”

“And what kind of friend would I be if I let you suffer a Bennett wedding on your own? Besides I was sorta hoping to collect all six.”

“This will be number five for you,” Beth replied.

“Yep, only one left.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll be at my wedding.”

Parker’s heart seized. He’d never thought about it before, but the idea of being at Beth’s wedding as anything other than the groom was enough to kill him. This was a terrible idea. He’d just decided he needed to distance himself from Beth and here he was volunteering to spend a wedding weekend with her.

But he did know what Bennett weddings were like. Beth’s sisters treated her like their servant and spent the whole time ordering her around. He really couldn’t let her go through that alone. They were always nicer to her when Parker was around. And if he went with her he could at least make sure she had some fun.

He’d been to her family’s place in Georgia a bunch of times. It was beautiful and right on the beach. “It’s at Bellemora, right?” Parker asked.

Beth sighed heavily. “Yeah.”

Parker loved it there. It was completely different than Boston. Plus, some of his favorite memories were from Bellemora. “Remember when we buried Brenna in the sand when she fell asleep on the beach?”

“Oh my God, yes! We left her feet out and they got so burnt she couldn’t walk.”

Parker snorted. “I’ll never forget her crawling after us screaming bloody murder.”

“She put gum in my hair for that,” Beth replied. “That was the worst hair cut of my life.”

“I got it worse,” Parker objected. “She shaved one of my eyebrows off!”

“How is that worse? You’re a boy.”

“Yeah, a boy who had to draw his eyebrow back on with sharpie every day for a month.”

Beth fell back against the pillows laughing. “Okay, maybe you got it worse.”

Parker lounged against the pillows too. He gazed down at Beth. The patch of sunlight she lay in gave her flawless skin a dewy glow. His chest tightened as he watched her smile. It was killing him. Having her next to him, in his bed, was all he’d ever wanted. But it would never be as more than friends. Crippling fear had always held Parker back from telling her the truth. But as he looked down at Beth’s smiling face all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her. Instead, Parker grabbed the remote and turned another movie on, hoping it would drown out the pounding of his heart.

Beth

“So you’ll really go to the wedding with me?” Beth asked after their movie marathon was over.

“Of course.”

She gave him a hug. “Thank you, Park. You’re the best.”

“I know,” he said squeezing her back.

She looked up at him. “It’s gonna be awful isn’t it?”

“It’s Brenna, of course it is.”

Beth giggled and kissed him on the cheek before walking back to her house. She felt lighter after spending the afternoon watching movies with Parker. He always had that effect on her. And it gave her hope that maybe if she had Parker by her side spring break wouldn’t be so terrible.