Labeled Love (31 page)

“Why do you have to have such a foul mouth? How sad. Is that really how you treat girls? You sleep with them and then push them aside? Doesn’t sex mean anything to you?”

“No, it doesn’t.” He lowers his voice. “It would only mean something if it was you.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Why? Is it so hard to believe that I could want that with you?”

I stop walking and look up into Cole’s eyes. “What would you want with me, Cole? It seems like the only thing you want from a girl is to get in their pants. Well, news flash. I have the same parts as all the others. If that’s what you’re looking for, you have plenty of girls that can fill that need.”

“Okay, Shay, you win. You’re so perfect. You were always the perfect one out of all of us.”

“I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m just saying, that will never be me. I won’t ever be drunk at a party ready to spread my legs for you, or the girl that needs attention so she dances on the tables hooting and hollering to do another shot. I won’t ever be the girl that goes down on you in the school parking lot while I should be in class. That’s just not me, Cole, and that’s the kind of girl you’re looking for.”

“So, I’m supposed to believe that you’ve been with this guy for five years, and he’s a year older than you, and you’ve never had sex?”

“I don’t care what you believe. Sex isn’t everything when you truly care about someone.”

“No offense, Starkie, but there is no way that your Prince Charming from the hood has not had sex. Maybe not with you, but I guarantee he’s had it with someone. For God sakes, he lives where all the teen pregnancies come from.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. You’re so immature. Just because an area is low income doesn’t mean every teenager is having sex.”

“Keep telling yourself that. I can assure you your boy has dipped it into someone. There’s no way he hasn’t.”

“God, you are such a jerk.” I narrow my eyes at him.

“I’m not a jerk. I’m just realistic,” he yells.

“That’s your reality, Cole, not mine,” I say. He walks away with a dramatic huff. His broad shoulders rise and fall as he laughs at me. It makes me sad. Not because I would ever want anything more than friendship from him, but he’s right. We used to be great friends. He just can’t handle the fact we will only ever be friends.

I shrug my shoulders as I see Devin walk up to him. She leans in, whispering something into his ear. Looking around, he puts his arm around her, and they walk toward the parking lot. I shake my head.

Jules comes around the corner, eating a bag of trail mix. I reach my hand inside the bag and pop some of the yummy toasted almonds into my mouth.

“Did you see Cole and Devin walking to his car?”

“Yeah, I did,” I say, reaching my hand back inside the bag, grabbing some more nuts.

“She’s so stupid. He’s only using her,” Jules says, taking my hand out of the bag. “Don’t eat all my nuts, girl. This is my lunch.”

“You need more than that bony little bag of nuts for lunch, Jules.”

“Not if I’m going to fit in a designer dress for the Golden Globes.”

“You don’t have to be in a designer dress. There are plenty of beautiful shops in LA that will have something for you.”

Looking at me like I’m a nut case, she asks, “Have you lost your mind? I came out of the womb in a dress. There is no way I’m not going big for the Golden Globes. I would have you know, Miss Queen of Converse, there are already peeps contacting my mother about dressing me.”

“Peeps, huh?”

“Yeah, when you get to my level, you can call them peeps.” She smirks, throwing her long blonde locks over her shoulder.

“Oh God, they’ve created a monster.”

“I can be a monster all day long, but I promise you, Starkie, I will be the best-dressed monster you’ve ever seen.” We both giggle and head to cheer practice.

CHEER PRACTICE LASTED
two hours today. As Jules and I leave the gym and go to our cars, I ask her, “Did I mention to you Mrs. Peters teamed Cole and me up for our English final?”

“No, does Jace know?”

“No, he texted me in class right after she announced our partners.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Of course, I am. Cole and I are going to have to work together outside of class.”

“Jace isn’t going to like that,” she says, throwing her bag onto her backseat.

“No, he’s not, but I don’t have a choice. I told Cole we could meet at Starbucks, and he acted like I was torturing him with meeting at a public place.”

“You’ve got to know that he’s always loved you, Shay.”

“I wouldn’t call what Cole feels love. I think it’s more that he wants what he knows he can’t have, and we both know Cole gets whatever girl he wants.”

“Well, he knows damn well he will never be getting my classy ass,” Jules spits out.

“I think we’ve both been different to him. He’s grown up with us, so obviously that fondness would grow into wanting more. The guy is a walking hormone.”

“He definitely is that. Well, good luck with that disaster.”

“Thanks for the positivity, Jules.”

She puts her sunglasses on and gives me a huge grin. “See you tomorrow.”

I jump into my car and head home.

THE NEXT FEW
weeks passed by quickly. I only had to meet Cole at Starbucks twice. Jules was right; Jace wasn’t happy, but he got over it very quickly. That is due to the fact that I’m an overachiever. If I’m honest, I worked hard on the project, so I wouldn’t have to spend too much time alone with Cole. It worked out. Besides his whiny attitude and a couple of spats, we ended up getting an A.

That’s a wrap. I’m done with my junior year of high school and officially now a senior. Jace is now a high school graduate. I’m so proud of him. School didn’t come easy for him. I wanted to attend his graduation ceremony, but he told me no. It frustrates me to no end. Why he thinks he has to keep me in this little bubble I don’t know.

I am excited, though, because Jace says he has something special for me. The first real gift he will give me, or so he says. What he doesn’t know is I have every homemade card and note he’s ever given me, so this really won’t be my first gift from him. Every single one of those has been a gift of his love. Even more so, I love how his writing has changed over the years. He’s gotten fancier and sexier. The first card he made me, the Valentine’s card, is my favorite one to look at. I’m going to show it to him one day to remind him how long we’ve had each other’s hearts. I love them all the same, but that one is the beginning.

Summer is in full swing, except for the fact that I have one semester of summer school. I had to take it if I wanted to free up my schedule for next year. Summer is supposed to be for sleeping in, lying out at the pool, and beach days. One more school year, then I can do what I want. Right now, I’m studying for my final exam for my summer school class.

My Boy: What are you doing pretty girl?

Me: I’ve been sitting in my room for hours studying. Thinking about lying by the pool for a while.

My Boy: Oh yeah… in your bikini ;)

Me: Of course silly… Well, maybe in the nude. No one’s home;)

I tease him.

My Boy: You’re by yourself?

Me: Yes, charity event. Late night.

My Boy: Baby, I got to go… something just came up. I love you. I’ll call you back.

Me: Oh, ok. Love you too.

That was abrupt and so unlike Jace. He never hangs up with me like that. Throwing my phone down onto my bed, I grab a bikini out of my dresser. I have a lot of different ones, so I pick one of my favorites since no one’s home—the hot pink with a little ruffle on the bottom that’s both super cute and revealing. I grab my earbuds, so I can listen to some music, trying to unclog my brain from all that studying. I want to do well on my test, but my brain is fried.

Heading out my bedroom, I grab a beach towel from the linen closet and make my way to the terrace. It’s a beautiful day. I dangle my foot in the chilly pool, but the sun is blazing down, and it’s probably in the high eighties. Perfect for getting some sun. I lay my towel out, put my earbuds in, and lie down. 

As I feel myself drift off to sleep, I turn down my music a bit. Off in the distance I hear the roar of a motorcycle. It’s not often you hear one by our house, as it’s pretty secluded in the hills. The sound gets closer, so I take out my earbuds and sit up. 

Yes, the motorcycle is definitely close. Getting up, I walk around to the front of the property. That’s when I see it coming up our driveway. I stand next to the front gate, waiting to see who it is. Maybe Beau bought a motorcycle. If so, Mom will be a nervous wreck. The driver stops at the top of the driveway, and I watch as they turn off the loud engine. It’s a guy. He swings his long leg over, getting off the bike. Since I’m home alone and don’t know who the heck it is, I hide next to a bush. The driver takes off his helmet.

I gasp, putting my hand to my glossed lips. My stomach flutters when I see him. He shakes his ridiculously sexy dark hair and puts his helmet down. Then with long, sexy strides, he starts making his way to the front door. He has no idea I can see him. I walk around the side of the house, ready to tackle him. Taking off running, I jump into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. We almost fall to the ground.

“Whoa, baby, you almost knocked me down,” he says as he gives my butt a little squeeze. 

“You mean tackle. You know how well I can tackle,” I say into his neck as I squeeze him.

He nuzzles into me. I can feel him breathe me in. “You smell like coconuts.”

“It’s my sunblock.”

“Maybe, but you always smell like coconuts.” He inhales deeply. “You always smell like a summer day, baby.”

“Whose motorcycle is that?” I ask excitedly.

He keeps his lips pressed against my neck. “It’s mine.”

I release my death grip from around his neck, so I can look into his eyes. “I’ve been working for quite a while, so I could fix it up. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Is that why you are so secretive sometimes about what you’re doing?”

He looks down into my eyes and kisses my nose. “Exactly why.”

“I love it, Jace! It’s very vintage looking.”

He chuckles as he walks me over to it so I can see it better. “It is vintage, baby. I want to see you on it.” He helps me get on. “Now that’s a vision. My sexy girl on my bike in a little bikini.” He makes me blush. Leaning into me, he says, “God, you smell so good.”

“You think I smell like sunshine.” I look deep into his soulful eyes. We just stare at one another, because that’s kind of what we do. It doesn’t take much for us to get lost in each other. I run my hands through his hair as he holds me up on the bike.

“You’re killing me with this bikini you’re wearing,” he says, breaking our love-filled daze. I swing my bare leg over, getting off his bike and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Is this really yours?”

“Yeah, I can’t be without you anymore. I need to be able to see you whenever I want.” He cups my face, kissing me hard.

Biting my lip, I give him my sassiness he can’t get enough of. “Do I look good in my bikini?”

Patting me on the butt, Jace walks us to the grass along the side of the driveway. He lets out a little gasp as I wrap myself around him tighter. Gently lowering me to the ground, he lays on top of me. 

“You are the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” he whispers, kissing my collarbone. “Right now, in this bikini, you’re kind of killing me slowly.” As he presses himself into me, there is no doubt how much I’m killing him.

“I can tell, baby. Take me inside, Jace.”

“No way,” he says as he quickly gets off me while adjusting himself. I remain still on the grass while he looks down at me.
Yeah, he definitely liked the bikini.
“If I take you to your room right now, that will be it. I won’t be able to control myself.”

I give him my best pouty face and say, “I don’t want you to control yourself.”

“Shay, you don’t have any idea how bad I want that, but not like this. Our first time will not be a quickie in your bedroom while I’m a nervous wreck because your parents might show up.”