Veer (Clayton Falls) (25 page)

“Here’s your pie, hon. Don’t let him get to you. I jus
t have to say, you two make such
a nice couple.”

I smiled
.
Gail’s compliments were always genuine. “Thanks.”

Chapter Twenty
-
Four

Becca

Still enjoying the
lingering taste of pecan pie, I picked at the
blue
cotton candy Gavin had bought
us
. We walked down the beach holding hands
and
watching the stars
.
I was pretty sure there was nothing as beautiful as a star filled sky on a beach.

“Having a good time?” Gavin asked.

“Definitely.” I swung our arms a little, holding back the urge to skip. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun.

“I love seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like this.” He twirled me around
,
and we danc
ed
to the
distant
music.

“I like feeling like this.” I lay down on the sand, loving the light breeze.

He
dropped
down next to me. “
Y
ou
have the most beautiful smile in the world.”

Gavin
lean
ed
on
his
elbow
,
watching me.

I reached over and ran a hand down his arm. “I love your smile too.”

He moved closer, brushing his lips against mine.

“If you could be anywhere in the world right now
,
where would you be?”
I asked.

He played with a strand of my hair. “Here.”

“Be serious.”

“I am. I like where I’m at.”

“Me too.”

He smiled, taking my hand in his
much larger one
.
There was something so comforting about the feel of his strong hand around mine.
“I love you, Becca.”

My heart fluttered when I heard the words, and without even consciously thinking about it
,
I replied. “I love you too.”

His lips returned to mine
, but it was more than a brush this time. He pulled me closer, cradling my head in his hand. He deepened the kiss
,
and if it
hadn’t been
for the sound of the waves lapping at the shore and the distant laughter of
fair-
goers
,
I could have forgotten where we were.

We eventually separated and just stared at the stars. “Do you want to go home, or should we go back to the fair?”

“Home sounds good, but I
told
Molly we’d meet up. Besides, you did promise me a Ferris Wheel ride.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

Gavin stood and gave me a hand to help me up. “Shall we?”

He linked his arm with mine
,
and
we walked back toward the fair.

“There you are!” Kelly yelled as I waved at her across the crowd. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Hey.”

She pulled me into a hug as soon as I reached her.

“What’s going on?”

“Not too much, but you missed the crowning of Miss Clayton Falls.
Molly finally handed over her
tiara
.”
Kelly ran a hand through her brown hair, trying to smooth out the damage caused by the wind.

“Wait, so she was the last one?”
Watching Kelly fix her hair made me suddenly self-conscious of my own. I resisted the urge to pull it back
.
Gavin seemed to like when I wore it down.

“Yeah. Weird, I know. Where are you guys headed?”

“I was looking for Molly, and then we might head over to the rides.”
I searched the crowds again, hoping to catch a glance of Molly.

Kelly nodded toward the rides.
“Molly’s over there now. We’ll join you.”

I looked over my shoulder and noticed Gavin
talking with
Tom. Kelly walked over and grabbed Tom’s hand
,
pulling him along. Gavin took my hand. Kelly texted Molly
,
and she met us over by the Ferris Wheel. Ben and Jake were with her. “I got us all tickets.” Molly
, dressed like she always was in a
jean skirt
, beamed
. I wasn’t sure if it was a pregnancy glow or just because she was happy, but she looked amazing.

I couldn’t
picture a more perfect end to
the
evening. Sitting with Gavin, watching the stars and moon reflect out over the water
fifty feet
in the air was pretty incredible. As rickety as the ride seemed, I didn’t mind at all. Gavin put an arm around me
,
and I leaned into him, inhaling his smell
—
a mix of aftershave and something else I could never figure out.

We barely talked, just enjoying each other. I loved that we could do that. There was never any pressure to come up with anything to say.

“That was fun, huh?” Kelly asked as soon as we got out of our car.

“Definitely, but I’m exhausted
.
I think I’m ready to head home.”
I stole a glance at Gavin.

Gavin squeezed my hand. “Sounds good to me.”

Kelly gave me a knowing look,
telling me
she knew exactly what I was hinting at.
“All right, but we need to get together soon. How about we do a girls
’
night when they play poker next week?”

I thought about it for a second, but I already knew my answer. “Sure, that sounds great.”

Molly agreed.
“I’m in. Ben can keep himself busy.”

“He should join us,” Tom suggested.

“You want me to join your poker night?”

“Yeah, and
,
Jake
,
you can come t
o
o.”

Gavin eyed Tom skeptically. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Gavin was not a big fan of the
Mathews brothers
.

“Sure
,
why not
?
” Jake answered quickly.

I would have paid to see that game, but a girls
’
night with Molly and Kelly sounded pretty good too.

“
W
hat are we going to do? Please tell me it won’t involve Gill’s.”
I still hadn’t warmed up to the local bar.

Kelly laughed. “No Gill’s, I promise. We’ll think of something good.”

“Cool.” We said our goodbyes and headed back down the beach to Gavin’s place.
I liked that he didn’t even have to ask me if I wanted to come.

***

Girl
s
’
night out turned out to be girls
’
night in. Kelly
blended
margaritas, making some virgin ones for Molly at the same time.

“You didn’t have to bother making me my own. I could have just had water,” Molly said when Kelly handed her a glass.

“What would be the fun in that? At least you can feel like you’re having a margarita. Besides, we all know it’s the cute glass with the salt that makes it, not the tequila.”
Kelly took a sip from her drink.

“We do?” Molly arched an eyebrow.

“Yes. And these glasses are cute, aren’t they?” Kelly
held hers up
.

“Very cute,
” I jumped in.
The glasses were pretty cute, with a cool
dramatic
swirl design on them.
“I love the color—it’s a cool shade of green.”

“Kelly having something green
? Shocking
.” Molly teased.
I looked around Kelly’s kitchen
. G
reen accents
were
everywhere.

We took our drinks outside with a bowl of chips and salsa. It was hot out, but I was really starting to get used to the heat.

“I’m still trying to
adjust
to how quiet it is here.” I took a sip of my margarita, enjoying the tartness and the kick.

“It’s different from the city, that’s for sure.” Molly
slipped
off her flip flops and put her feet up on an empty chair.

“Just make yourself at home
,
why don’t you?” Kelly nudged Molly’s arm.

“Oh come on, I’m pregnant
. T
hat should count for something.”

“You’re not pregnant enough to complain about sore feet
,
that’s for sure.” Kelly sounded a little short, and I might have been reading way too much into it, but I wondered
if there was a note of jealousy
.

“Okay…” Molly sat up.

I didn’t like the tension and did the first thing I could think of to ease it. “
D
on’t you guys want to grill me about Gavin? That’s usually your favorite activity, right?”

Kelly relaxed her shoulders. “I was just thinking about that. Anything you feel like sharing?”

“It’s usually your job to pull it out of me. You’re pretty good at that.”

Molly took a few sips of her drink. “Have you guys talked at all about what you want to do at the end of the summer
?
”

“Molly
,
seriously? Do you want to shut her up before she starts?”
Kelly shook her head like she was annoyed, but I could tell she was holding back a smile.

“I’m just asking. You guys seemed so close the other night at the festival
.
I kind of wondered if you’d been talking about making things more serious or something.”

“We usually avoid that topic of conversation. I honestly don’t know what I want, let alone what he’s thinking.”
I shifted in my chair.

“Isn’t it pretty simple? I mean
,
you have to finish school
,
so you’ll have to do long distance for what,
nine
or
ten
months?”
Kelly asked.

“We don’t have to do long distance if we’re not together…”

“Oh come on, Becca. I see the way you look at each other
. Y
ou can’t
really think it’s just a fling,
” Molly said gently.

“He told me he loved me.” I couldn’t contain a smile.

“Ahh, really?” Both Molly and Kelly nearly jumped out of their chairs.

“What did you say back?” Molly asked.

“I told him I loved him too.”

“And you
’re
questioning the long distance thing…” Kelly trailed off.

“I don’t know. This is all so new to me, you know?”

“Yeah, new
,
but awesome, right?”
Molly took a
nother
sip of her drink.

“Awesome is a good word for it.”

I st
ayed over for a few more hours
until the guys showed up. I followed Gavin home
,
anxious to curl up in bed with him. Just talking about the end of the su
mmer upset me, and I needed to lose
myself in his touch.

Chapter Twenty-
Five

Becca

Gavin and I had fallen into a routine. We saw each other most nights, but Thursdays were always set
:
t
ake-out and a movie. It was such a nice way to ease into the weekend.

Gavin had to work late one Thursday in July
,
so I offered to go over and walk Max. I definitely
loved
having a dog around. I was going to have to get one when I got back to Boston. Max jumped up and down when I walked in and grabbed his leash. Gavin had given me a key so I could get in
,
but I tried not to read too much into it.

It was seven, but the sun still
shone
. I snapped on Max’s leash
,
and we headed down to the beach. It was fairly empty at that hour, but I saw a couple of teens still hanging out. I walked down to the water’s edge, slipping off my sandals, and rolling up my jeans. Molly laughed at me for wearing jeans in
ninety-five
degree weather, but it’s what I was most comfortable in.