Make It Count (23 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

A
LEC REACHED ACROSS
the backseat and grabbed her hand. Smiling at her with retro sunglasses over his eyes, slouched against the door of the truck, Converse-clad feet spread and the sun shining off his pompadoured head, he looked like a model on break from some fifties photo shoot.

Kat wanted to climb him like a tree, but Cam was driving and Max was yelling at one of his brothers on the phone so it wasn’t the most appropriate time to be thinking impure thoughts about jumping her boyfriend. She squeezed his hand back and shot him a wink.

Kat now felt justified for complaining that Max never held her hand. Because holding Alec’s hand, walking across campus, in the car, in bed, was
awesome
. Hand-holding was such a big deal in high school. It was the widely adopted symbol for officially “going out.” When soccer forward jock Carter Lewis held hands with goth Laura Hillenbrand, the whole school went into a tizzy. It lasted two weeks, but that had been an infamous hand-hold. Admittedly, not as famous as when Carter Lewis had held hands with the goalie from his team, Nick Durgess.

Alec holding her hand didn’t feel like a high-school statement, an official claiming. It felt natural to have the physical connection to him.

“I left one hour early, Cal, get off my fucking back,” Max spat into the phone. Kat stiffened, not used to hearing Max that angry. He gripped the back of his headrest in front of her and his knuckles were raw.

Her eyes shifted to Cam’s in the rearview mirror and he shook his head once. She pursed her lips and looked away, gripping Alec’s hand tighter.

Max’s mood had definitely darkened the last month or so. He kept up the outgoing, love-life attitude but the warmth wasn’t in his eyes anymore, his smiles a shade fake. Despite their rocky past, Kat cared about him, and it pained her to see him hurting. Alec was sick to his stomach about it, but he said family issues had always been off-limits with Max.

Which was why Kat and Alec agreed their bet date—which was altered because in the end she passed her midterm and the class—would be a group affair. They’d invited Cam and Max, and Tara and Danica, who were meeting them there a little later. Shanna refused to come since Cam blew her off after the night at the party. Kat didn’t blame her. Cam Ruiz was gorgeous, with his golden skin and liquid brown eyes, full lips and deep dimples. But his “love ’em and leave ’em” philosophy was harsh.

Max ended his call and threw his phone on the dashboard with a hissed curse.

“Hey, don’t take it out on Maggie,” Cam said, caressing the steering wheel of his beloved beast of a white Dodge Ram.

“Pretty sure Max doesn’t want to hear about your anthropomorphizing your truck right now, Cam,” Alec said.

Three sets of eyes stared at him.

“Never mind,” he mumbled, sinking into his seat.

Kat giggled.

“So, let me just get this straight,” Max said. “We’re driving an hour and a half to go bowling. Because we have to go to this specific bowling alley.”

Alec straightened. “Yeah, it’s in Kat’s hometown.”

Cam squinted in the rearview. “And what’s so special about this bowling alley?”

“It’s the sign,” Kat blurted. “Great . . . signage.”

She looked at Alec and raised her eyebrows and he threw his head back on the seat and burst out laughing.

Max turned around and scowled at them. “This
is
a bowling alley, right?” His scowl turned to a smirk and the familiar humor heated his eyes. “Is
bowling alley
really code for ‘strip club’?”

Cam smacked his head.

“Ow!” Max protested.

Kat turned to Alec. “I actually always wanted to go to a strip club.”

The truck fell silent, the only sound a classic rock song wailing through the speakers.

Alec’s mouth was open and it took him a minute to talk. “Fuck, I love you.”

Kat blushed as Max turned back around to face out the windshield. “Great, now we gotta hear lovey-dovey bullshit the rest of the way.”

Kat watched the scenery flash by outside her window. Finals were over and this was the last Saturday they had together before moving back home for the summer. Her stomach hurt thinking about being away from Alec, but he assured her they didn’t live far and would visit as often as they could.

Max cleared his throat. “Uh, so, just checking because no one actually confirmed we aren’t going to a strip club—“

“For fuck’s sake, Max, we aren’t going to a strip club,” Alec said.

Kat giggled again.

T
HEY PULLED I
NTO
the parking lot and Max peered up at the sign. “Holy shit. That is the most amazing sign I’ve ever seen.” He turned around, a goofy grin on his face that made him look like a teenager. “Do you think they have T-shirts?”

“It’s been a while since I bowled here,” Kat said, “but I’m pretty sure they do.”

Max pumped his fist. “Score.”

They climbed out of the truck and Kat smoothed her shirt. Despite the warm weather, she’d worn jeans because bowling shoes with a skirt or capris wasn’t a good look.

Alec stepped beside her and grabbed her hand, his eyes even lighter in the bright sun.

“This isn’t much of a bet payoff,” she said, as they walked behind Cam and Max toward the front door. “I mean, you get to choose between bad pizza and old hot dogs at the food stand.”

Alec laughed. “You think I care about the food? You’re the reward.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You’re getting so sappy in your old age.” She bumped him with her hip. “Senior.”

He reached between Cam and Max and swung open the door, ushering her in ahead of them. “Ladies first.”

She rolled her eyes but secretly adored the chivalry.

Seconds later, she found out why.

“Surprise!” The shouts rang out in a semicircle of people crowding the lobby. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust as she stood frozen.

“Happy Birthday!” said a voice from the back she recognized as Marc’s. And a whistle made her turn her head, so she spotted Danica and Lea, grinning like fools.

Her parents stepped forward and Kat couldn’t hide her surprise. She hadn’t spoken to them much the last couple of months. She’d been busy with classes and changing her major.

“
Minha flor
,” her father said, wrapping her in his arms. “Happy birthday to my sweet, brave girl.”

Her hands flapped at her sides, trying to hold back the well of tears that threatened to spill over her lashes. She gripped her father’s shirt to keep them steady. “Thank you, Daddy.”

When he released her, he stepped back so her mother could greet her as well. “Katía,” she said, kissing her cheek.

“Hi Mom,” Kat whispered, doing her best to maintain her composure.

Her father glanced over her head. “Thanks for inviting us.”

She looked over her shoulder as Alec nodded. “Of course.”

Alec had done this? Gathered her friends and family together to celebrate her birthday? And that was it. The dam lifted and tears dampened her cheeks. Alec saw it and grabbed her, clutching her face to his chest. “Hey, it’s okay. We all wanted to do something nice for you. It’s been a hell of a year.”

That was an understatement and it made her laugh. She pulled back. “Thanks.”

He swiped the wetness from her cheeks with his thumbs. “No problem.”

She turned around and waved. “Sorry for blubbering, everyone. I’m just surprised. Thank you all for coming!”

One by one, she greeted cousins and aunts and uncles. A couple other friends from college. Marc walked up to her and flicked her forehead. “Hey, munchkin. You gonna introduce me to the guy now?”

She swatted his hand away and grabbed Alec’s arm, pulling him forward as she made the introductions. They shook hands, Marc’s cool gaze on Alec’s.

“I like this,” Marc said, gesturing to gathered friends and family. “Good job.”

Marc’s attempt to play hard-ass annoyed her but Alec just grinned. “Thanks.”

Marc excused himself as Lea and Danica walked over. They each hugged her, laughing about how long they’d been bowling but congratulating Alec on a successful surprise birthday party.

Danica wore a long purple wig with low pigtails trailing down her shoulders. Her eyes matched her hair and she wore a tight rainbow shirt, a short black tulle skirt and rainbow knee-high socks.

“And this look is . . .” Kat raised her eyebrows.

Danica performed a mock curtsy. “I was going for a derby-girl look. Did I pull it off?”

Kat chuckled. “I think so.”

Alec clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and then let them know pizzas and snacks were available at the food stand. As they walked over, Kat slapped her hand on his chest. “This isn’t fair, I was supposed to buy the food.”

Alec grinned. “I like knowing you owe me.” When she glared at him, he shrugged. “Actually, once I told your parents I wanted to do this, they decided to foot the bill.”

She raised an eyebrow. They’d had a lot of discussions about her parents. Alec tried to convince her that while misguided, their hearts had been in the right place. They’d made the wrong decision, but it didn’t mean they didn’t love her. “Really?”

“Kat,” Alec sighed patiently. “You’re their daughter.”

She pursed her lips and Alec directed her to sit at a table while he fetched their food. Kat plopped down in her seat and rested her chin in her hand.

The last couple of months with Alec had been like a dream. Not a Kat-land dream, because there had been a disappointing lack of bubbles, but as close to perfect as it could be. They got along, they argued, they made up and life went on. She’d never been with someone where she felt loved every minute of every day. But Alec never failed her, by the way his eyes searched her out in a crowd, his muscles visibly relaxing when he knew where she was, the way he deferred to her when making decisions that affected them both, the way he held her at night, their once-frantic sex now full of sweet words and soft touches.

Unless it was make-up sex. That was still awesomely aggressive. Like the time he refused to spend the night because she was procrastinating over writing a paper. So she poured her soda all over his head. Then, naturally, he had to shower. And naturally, she had to help him because she was the one who got him sticky. And naturally, that resulted in her pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist. Which naturally resulted in mutual orgasms.

“Hi, Katía.” Her mom’s voice took her out of her thoughts and she blushed at being caught daydreaming naughty things. Her mom took a seat across from her.

“Alec told me,” Kat looked around, “about you guys helping out with the party. Thanks for that.”

“Oh, of course. We were happy to help out.” Her mom grabbed her hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. “We’re proud of you, too, you know. Both your father and I.”

Kat squirmed and tried to shift away.

“No,” her mom said, tugging on her hand. “I’m sorry we didn’t take your teacher’s words seriously to get you the help you needed. And we’re so, so proud of you for doing it yourself, and for choosing such a wonderful vocation. You’ll be a great teacher.”

Kat bit her lip to hold back the tears. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted to hear those words until her mom said them. She wouldn’t know if she’d made it off academic probation until she received her final grades for the semester, but with the extra help and techniques she’d been learning, she felt much more confident in her academic future.

“Oh Mom,” she murmured. “Thanks.”

“Love you, Katía.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

When Alec returned to the table with their food, her mom murmured she had people to talk to and left them alone. As he sat down beside her and she took a bite, Lea and Danica sat down across from them.

“I can’t believe you two kept this a secret,” Kat said.

Danica narrowed her eyes at Alec. “Stone threatened my life.”

“Well that’s not very nice,” Kat said to him.

He rolled his eyes.

“Check it!” A deep voice hollered and Kat looked up to see Max strolling toward them, chest thrust out, pointing both thumbs at the front of his T-shirt.

“Christ, Max, you bought one already?” Alec said.

“Best shirt ever,” he declared, swiping a fry from Danica’s plate.

“Hey, get your own, jackass,” she said, covering her plate.

He leaned down. “One shot at my ass and I’d turn you straight.”

Danica coughed and fake dry-heaved. Max straightened up, a smirk on his face until he caught sight of Lea.

Surprise crossed his face before the smirk returned and Kat knew what was coming. Max sauntered over and pulled up a chair beside Lea, straddling it with his arms over the back. “Hey there, doll.”

Kat opened her mouth to tell him to leave Lea alone, but her friend spoke up first. “You steal one of my fries, and I’ll castrate you.”

Max’s body jerked before he threw back his head and roared with laugher. “Is that your way of saying you’re kinky? I think I could handle it.”

Danica snorted. “I’d like to see you try to handle Lea.”

Kat opened her mouth to explain Lea had been enrolled in martial arts since she was a kid but Danica shook her head and made a zipper motion over her lips. So Kat kept quiet, thinking it would be amazing if next time Max said something obnoxious, Lea executed a painful karate chop to his throat. She looked over at Max and Lea, who were locked in some stare-down.

“I’m Max,” he said, voice low, and held a hand out.

Lea ignored the proffered hand and scrunched her lips. “Hmm. I’ve heard about you.”

Max’s smirk didn’t falter. “Oh yeah? All good things I’m sure.”

Lea shifted to face him fully. “If you call arrogant asshole a good thing.”

His mouth dropped open and he placed a hand on his chest in mock affront. “I’m hurt.”

Kat spoke up before things got ugly. Or ugly-er.

“Sorry, Lea, this is Max, Alec’s roommate. Max, this is Lea, my—” Kat bit her cheek.

Now Lea’s narrowed eyes were aimed at her.

“Every time I have to avoid an acronym, a part of me dies inside,” Kat whined.

Lea sighed. “Go ahead . . .”