Authors: Marissa Farrar
Gabi - Eleven Years Earlier
Saturday morning for
me always consisted of hanging out on the couch, in my pajamas, reading, or watching crap television. This morning was no different. My dad had gone to work, so I’d made myself a stack of pancakes, which I’d devoured, and then settled on the couch. I’d just started to become immersed in my latest book when the doorbell sounded.
I sat up, looking in the direction of the door, as though I might be able to work out my visitor’s identity by psychic abilities alone. I wasn’t expecting anyone.
A delivery man, perhaps?
The bell rang again and I dropped the paperback I was reading onto the coffee table and got to my feet. I hurried over to the living room window and peered out, my cheek pressed against the cool glass, to catch a glimpse of my visitor.
My jaw dropped.
Cole stood on my doorstep, the truck he’d been driving the other night sitting in the place of my dad’s car in the driveway.
Oh shit.
What the hell was he doing here?
I suddenly became aware of the mess I was in, my hair scraped back into a ponytail, and wearing my baggiest, holey pajamas. I couldn’t answer the door to him like this.
Shit, shit, shit.
I raced to the mirror hanging above the living room fireplace and yanked my hair out of the band, hastily dragging my fingers through my curls. I used a lick of spit on my finger to scrub away any traces of yesterday’s mascara from under my eyes.
I would have loved to run upstairs and get changed, but I was worried he’d decide I wasn’t in and leave. The only other option was to strip down to my underwear and meet him at the door like that, but I didn’t think our relationship had quite reached that point yet.
My line of thought made me realize two things. One, I didn’t want Cole to leave, and two, I was starting to think of not only being naked around him, but about us actually having some kind of relationship.
He might think differently when he saw me in my PJs though.
The doorbell rang again and I ran to the front door. Positioning my body behind the door, so he couldn’t see what I was wearing, I managed to open it with only my head poking out.
“Cole!” I said, giving him a wide smile, and then remembering I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet, and clamping my mouth shut again.
His eyes narrowed quizzically at my strange positioning, but he didn’t mention it. “Hey, Gabi. I hope you don’t have any plans for today.”
“Umm, no, not really. Why, what’s up?”
He grinned and pushed a hand through his blond hair. “I’m taking you on a date. With me,” he clarified. “Our first date.”
A bubble of happiness rose inside me, but with it came uncertainty. “You are?” Taylor still wasn’t speaking to me, and I was worried that by accepting I would only widen the void between us. But at the same time, nothing had ever happened between him and Taylor, and I felt like she was being unreasonable by acting in such a way. I had to admit that, despite the annoying, cocky attitude he’d first presented me with, Cole had gradually been growing on me.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, and then hesitated uncertainly. “So … are you coming?”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
My lips twisted. “I’m not so good with surprises.”
“You’ll like this one, I promise.”
I decided I wasn’t going to say no. “Okay, but I need to get changed. Can you give me ten minutes?”
A cheeky grin cracked across his face “You mean I don’t get to take you out in your pajamas?”
Damn, he had noticed.
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Ten minutes!”
I partially closed the door so he wouldn’t see my flannel-clad backside running up the stairs, and then turned and raced to my bedroom. I’d never been one to care much about my clothes, but all of a sudden what I wore seemed vitally important. Damn, I should have asked him where we were going. The beach? A movie? Fancy restaurant? They each required a different outfit.
A sudden noise came from downstairs, something thumping. I paused, listening. Was that Cole? I thought he’d have waited in his truck. The horrific thought that my dad might be home early went through my head. I’d die if he found Cole waiting for me and decided to have one of his fatherly talks. I would literally die of embarrassment.
But everything remained quiet.
Knowing I didn’t have much time, and not wanting Cole to think I was the kind of girl who spent ages picking out an outfit, I opened for a pair of skinny jeans, a looser, floral top, and a pair of sandals. I quickly scrubbed my teeth, and applied a little mascara and lip gloss. My heart was pattering, my hands shaking with excitement. I needed to chill out and calm down, or Cole was going to think I was way too eager.
I liked him, I realized, I actually, really liked him. And if he was turning up on my doorstep taking me out on surprise dates, I was pretty sure that meant he liked me, too.
I guessed Taylor had been right all along.
With an extra bounce in my step, I hurried down the stairs, grabbed my purse and keys, and left the house, locking the door behind me.
Cole was waiting beside the truck. He opened the passenger door for me, and I hopped in, and he slammed it shut. He walked around the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel.
We grinned at each other, warmth and excitement blooming inside me. Had I ever felt this way before—suddenly so alive?
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked.
He shook his head and slung his arm behind my head, across the back of the passenger seat, as he backed the truck out of the drive. “Now where would the fun be in that?”
“Did I mention I hate surprises?”
He cast a glance over at me as he drove. “You won’t hate this one.”
I was excited, and my excitement grew as he took the road heading out of town and got onto the freeway. “Can you at least tell me how long it’ll take us to get there?”
He shrugged. “Couple of hours.”
My mouth dropped. “A couple of hours?”
For the first time, he lost the cocky attitude. “Yeah, that isn’t a problem, is it? I mean, you don’t have to be back for your dad or anything?”
“No, he’s working until late. He won’t even know I’m gone.”
“Do you like having your freedom?”
“Do you?” I threw the question back at him. “Your foster parents have been good about lending you their truck.”
“Yeah, they’re all right. My foster dad, Stephen, taught me to drive, too. They’ve done everything they can to make sure I’m able to be independent when I leave them.”
I noticed the drop in his tone. “Is that soon?”
“Yeah, in a few months. I stay with them until after I graduate, and then I’m free, baby.” He gave me a wide grin, but I felt like something was hiding behind the smile.
“Free? Wow. What are you going to do?”
“Get a job and a place of my own, I guess. What about you? What are you going to do after graduation?”
“College.”
I realized that would mean we’d be separating before we’d barely gotten started. I pushed the thought away. I seriously shouldn’t be worrying about stuff like that. We hadn’t so much as kissed, apart from my peck on his cheek, which didn’t really count.
“You’ve been accepted?”
“Yeah, acceptances from all three I’ve applied to.”
He smiled at me, and my heart flipped. “Congrats.”
“Thanks. I’ve just got to graduate now.”
“You must have it in the bag.”
“As long as I don’t do anything to royally screw up, I hope so.”
“You won’t. You’re the sensible type.”
I bristled. “I’m not that sensible!”
He cocked an eyebrow. “No?”
“No!”
Cole didn’t look convinced. “Anyway, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. You’re going to have a great future, Gabi. I can tell.”
My cheeks flamed. “Thanks.”
We settled into the drive, chatting about school, music, what foods we enjoyed, and places we liked to go. When he drove, studying the road, it gave me the opportunity to snatch glances at his profile. He seemed so much older to me than his almost eighteen years. Perhaps it was because of everything he’d been through in his life that he seemed more mature. I didn’t know, but I knew just the sight of him caused butterflies to dance around my stomach. The defined jaw, the full mouth, the long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He was a teenage girl’s wet dream. I could understand why Taylor was jealous, though I still didn’t understand why he’d chosen me over her. I was tempted to ask him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the answer.
Less than two hours had passed when Cole signaled to take the next exit. I sat up in my seat, interested in where we were headed.
The town was only a little larger than our own, and didn’t appear to be anything special. As we drove through the wide, quiet streets, I wondered what we’d driven two hours to get here for. I couldn’t see anything unique about the place.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” I asked.
“We’re going here, a little town called Livingstone.”
“Any reason why?”
“Yep. I’m taking you to a bookstore.”
“A bookstore?” I was pleased, but I still didn’t understand. “You know we have one of those back in Willowbrook, right?”
He chuckled. “Sure, but there’s something special going down in this one.”
“But you’re not going to tell me what?”
“Not a chance.”
We drove through town, and Cole found a place to park. “It’s over there.”
I looked in the direction he’d nodded. A line of people had gathered in the street. What was going on?
“You’re going to need this,” he said, and handed me a book.
I glanced down to find the same novel I’d been reading in the park the first day he’d spoken to me. “How did you get this?” I exclaimed.
“I came into your house when you were getting changed.”
“You did what?”
“Yeah, I was hoping I’d find it.”
“What if it had been in my bedroom?”
He gave me a wink. “Then I guess I would have figured out a way to get into your bedroom.” A little thrill went through me, but Cole gave a laugh. “No, seriously, I would have just bought you a new copy here, but I thought it was better for you to have your own book.”
“Why do I need my own book?”
“How about you stop asking questions, and go check it out for yourself.”
My curiosity was at an all time high. I gave him an excited, hyped-up grin, and then hopped out of the car and hurried over to join the people outside the bookstore. In the shop window, numerous posters were inside the glass, the display filled with the same book I held in my hands.
Realization dawned. “Oh, my God.”
Cole had followed me. “The author is doing a signing today.”
I spun to face him. “I could actually kiss you right now!” The words were out of my mouth before I’d had a chance to think about them.
He grinned, his cheeks heating with pleasure. “I won’t stop you.”
Acting impulsively, I stood on tiptoes and planted a kiss against his soft lips. It was quick, fleeting, but it was enough to get my heart racing even more than it already was. This was quite possibly the most exciting day of my life.
We joined the line, and within a few minutes, they started letting people into the store.
I thought of something. “It’s a good thing I liked the book,” I said, teasing him.
“I knew you were enjoying it.”
“How?”
“That day I first spoke to you, I’d been watching you for about fifteen minutes before I came over. You didn’t look up once.”
That he’d noticed such a thing, and that he’d been watching me for long enough to notice, warmed me inside.
As we waited, the line gradually grew shorter, until I was finally at the desk to get my autograph. Audrina Lane, a British author with wild red curls, smiled up at me as I approached.
I didn’t want to gush, but I couldn’t quite help it. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you. Your books are amazing.”
She smiled, reserved, but still warm. I figured she must hear this a hundred times a day. “Thanks so much. Who can I make the book out to?”
“Oh, just to Gabi—with an ‘i.’”
She scribbled her signature and handed the book back to me. I hugged it to my chest. “Thank you!”
I turned to grin at Cole, who was waiting in the wings, and then skipped over to him. “I can’t believe you did this for me,” I said.
His blue eyes studied my face, and he grew serious. “The first time I met you I made myself a promise.”
His words surprised me. I was quickly discovering I was easy to surprise, or perhaps he was just good at it. “You did?”