My Skylar (16 page)

My mother and I were supposed to be at Mitch’s for dinner at six, but I had arrived early.

While in the midst of a private conversation, Mitch and Janis hadn’t realized the living room

window was open. I leaned in closer to hear.

“I don’t know.”

“Mitch…this is big. You shouldn’t keep this from her.”

“I don’t want to discuss it right now, Mom. You know how I feel. Stop pressuring me.”

The dialog stopped, and I assumed Mitch had gone upstairs.

My chest tightened in anxiety as I rang the doorbell.

Janis opened the door. “Oh…hi, honey. You’re early.”

“My mother wanted me to put this chicken pot pie in your oven, so it would be nice and hot

when we sat down.”

“Sure, come in.” I smelled a hint of gasoline and knew it was from Mitch who had just returned

home from cutting someone’s grass. She took the pie from me. “Mitch is upstairs.”

I ran up and heard the shower running in the bathroom off the hallway, so I waited in his

room.

Pandora radio was streaming from his phone, and Seamus was bopping his head to
Rapper’s

Delight
by the Sugar Hill Gang. That was his new thing. He was really into music—that and

whistling at me lately.

When the door opened, Mitch was wrapped in nothing but a small, white towel. “Whoa. I

didn’t know you were here. I almost walked in stark naked.”

My mouth watered as I marveled at how my childhood friend had transformed into an Adonis.

The towel hugged his round ass perfectly. Droplets of water ran down his cut, tan chest. His wet

hair was slick back and sexy.

He raised his brow at me, his voice low and intentionally seductive. “Like what you see?”

I cleared my throat. “Actually, I do.”

Lay off the truth serum, Skylar.

He smiled mischievously and licked his lips. “Good to know.” He grabbed a shirt from the

closet and threw it on the chair. “You’re about to see a whole lot more if you don’t turn around.”

My gaze lingered before I reluctantly turned toward the window. I started to obsess over the

conversation on the way in until his voice snapped me out of it. “Safe.”

He was still shirtless when I turned back around. This was not
safe
at all. His white

underwear peeked through the top of his pants, and when I looked down, I noticed a thin trail of

hair leading down to the arousal straining against his jeans.

He walked toward me, pulled me up into a standing position and leaned into me, his hot

erection pressing into my stomach.

Our lips were almost touching. I was throbbing between my legs when he gripped some of the

material of my skirt, and his hot breath tickled my mouth. “I like the way you were looking at me.

Actually, it’s made me a little crazy. It’s like you were eye-fucking me. It makes me want to just—”

The door burst open, and we both jumped.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Davey stood in the doorway, eating out of a bag of

Cheetos. “Were you two just about to get it on with that pervy bird bouncing his head, looking

on?”

Seamus was still rocking out, this time to
Low Rider
by War.

I was panting, still shocked and turned on by Mitch’s sudden aggression and dirty talk.

Mitch looked frustrated and threw a red t-shirt over his head. He said through gritted teeth,

“What brings you by Davey?”

Davey made himself comfortable on the bed, wiping his cheese-powdered fingers on his baggy,

black pants. “I had an interesting conversation with principal Shipton this afternoon. He asked

me if I had heard the amazing news about my friend. Congratulations are in order, man. How

could you not have told me?”

Mitch shook his head, silently urging Davey to stop talking.

I turned to Mitch. “What’s going on?”

He was giving Davey the evil eye. “Nothing.”

“Dude, don’t be shy. You should be damn proud.”

Mitch stayed silent, so I turned to Davey. “Proud of what?”

“Mitch here…got himself a full ride to Boston University.”

My heart beat faster with every passing second as the information set in. “What?”

Davey’s eyes widened. “A full four-year scholarship! Some old, rich Crestview alum set it up,

and they grant it to the graduate with the highest GPA every year. This year, it was Mitchy!”

My jaw dropped, and I looked over at Mitch. “How long have you known about this?”

His ears were turning red. “Not long.”

I feigned happiness even though I was freaking out inside. “This is amazing. I had no idea. I

mean, I knew your grades were good but the highest GPA?”

He had a vacant look in his eyes. “I had no clue either to be honest.”

I started to feel lightheaded but continued to put on a brave face. “Boston. Wow. I can’t believe

this. You accepted, right?”

He bit his lip and didn’t say anything.

“Mitch?”

Mitch shut off the music that had been playing, and Seamus squawked in protest. “Dave, can

you leave Skylar and me alone for a minute?”

Davey huffed, crumpled his Cheetos bag and went down stairs.

When the door shut, the mood suddenly became extremely tense. You could have heard a pin

drop. The tormented look in his piercing eyes nearly undid me. “I’m not going to accept it.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“I can’t.”

“This is what you and your mother were arguing about when I was at the door.”

“Boston is five hours away. I’d be gone for four years. Do you understand that?
Four years.
I just fucking got you back. I’m not leaving you.”

It felt like all of the air left my body. The fact that he was prepared to throw away this

opportunity to be near me was overwhelming.

“You’re considering giving up your future…because of me?”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “You
are
my future. It’s not like there aren’t any colleges here.”

“None that will give you a full ride, none that are Boston University! Holy crap, Mitch…you

have to take it. Imagine a life with no college debt looming over you, and BU is an awesome

school.”

He looked down at his bare feet. “You don’t understand. This is not up for debate. I’ve already

made up my mind.”

“Were you even going to tell me?”

“I don’t know. I knew you’d try to convince me to accept it.”

“Convince you? Mitch…you ARE accepting it. You’re standing here telling me you’re turning

down the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I would have to live with that for the rest of my life.

You’ve already given up so much over the past two years for me. You will take this…because there

will be no you and me if you don’t. I am not gonna stand by and watch you ruin your life and use

me as the excuse.”

His face turned crimson in anger. “Skylar, do you understand what you’re asking me to do? I’d

be gone. We would only see each other once in a while. We were supposed to finally get to be

together now. I want that so badly.”

“We’d see each other on breaks and some weekends.”

“But it won’t be the same.”

No, it wouldn’t.

“We can make it work. We’re stronger than distance.”

He began playing with the button on my dress, lost in thought. “I don’t feel good about this.

Something at the pit of my stomach is telling me going to Boston would be the wrong decision. I

fucking miss you already, and you’re standing right in front of me.”

Hearing him say that had caused me to break down. I had no words, so I reached over to hug

him. His beating heart pounded against my own, which felt like it had been turned inside out.

A million thoughts raced through my mind. The thought of him living in a dorm with a bunch

of horny girls made me shudder. Maybe I would tell him to stay. No. This was his future. He

would never get an opportunity like this again.

He spoke into my neck. “I know accepting this scholarship is the right thing to do on paper,

but the only thing that
feels
right is staying with you.”

I know.
But I still couldn’t let him do it.

“I won’t let you turn it down. I won’t live with that guilt.”

“You’re saying you won’t be here for me if I stay? Don’t you love me?”

“I’m doing this
because
I love you.”

That night, after further ambush by our mothers at dinner, Mitch reluctantly agreed to accept

the scholarship.

***

feeling gnawing at me, I never let him see that I was having doubts about pushing him away. If he

knew how sad it was really making me, he’d never leave. Mitch worked hard. He deserved that

scholarship. I wasn’t going to fuck it up.

That meant controlling myself around him, not allowing things to go any further than kissing.

Boy, did we kiss a lot that summer, to the point where I could feel his lips on me at any given

moment even when he was nowhere in sight.

He’d grab me the second I’d walk into his room, and we’d just get lost in each other’s mouths

for minutes on end. He’d be hard as a rock, and I would be wet, but despite our animalistic

attraction, we never took it any further. We seriously should have won an award for our resilience.

I think deep down, he knew it would complicate things. The kissing was intense, though.

There was only one time that we almost slipped. Mitch had run his palm over my breast,

squeezing it hard while he kissed me. I almost came from that sensation alone, but he stopped it

before things went too far. He knew just as well as I did that if we ended up having sex, we

wouldn’t have been able to let each other go. Maybe if we survived the first semester apart, I’d feel more confident about taking that step.

What also helped keep things in check: I’d only go over his house when Janis was home. My

body was in a constant state of arousal, and I knew with the first opportunity to be alone, we

would give up control.

A certain camping trip at the end of the summer proved that.

***

was Zena, and she was like a female version of him: stalky with dreadlocks except hers were

strawberry blonde. They met at a Star Wars convention and realized they lived two miles apart.

We were all happy for him because he was no longer the perpetual fifth wheel.

Davey had this idea to take Zena to a campsite in Lake George, New York for her birthday. His

grandfather had given him the keys to the family RV, and he invited Mitch, myself, Angie and

Cody to tag along.

The RV was older, had a full-size bed all the way in the back and seating with 1980’s plaid

upholstery on each side in the middle. There was a small kitchen area just before the bedroom.

It was a week before Mitch would be leaving for Boston, and if the ride to Lake George were an

indication of how the trip would go, I was in trouble.

Mitch sat next to me for most of the ride, and the heat from his leg that was practically glued

to mine radiated throughout my body.

He squeezed my thigh. “Are you excited to go camping?”

“Yeah…you?”

Instead of responding, he took my bottom lip into his mouth, sucking on it hard before slowly

releasing it. “I’m excited to go camping with
you
.” My body went limp.

Cody was playing his guitar while Angie and Zena sang along with him to
Blowin’ in the

Wind
. Davey, who was driving, used the opportunity to point out that “blowin” was a prelude to his planned activities with Zena later.

Mitch whispered in my ear, “What the hell is with this music anyway? My grandmother used

to listen to this. Peter, Paul and Mary, I think…except Cody sounds like the Mary.”

He kept making me laugh as we held hands. When he left our seat to give Davey a break at the

wheel, I moved up front. I hadn’t even wanted to be away from him for 30 minutes. How was I

supposed to handle him going away for four years? My stomach turned at the mere thought.

He’d glance over at me while driving, and I’d melt. The sunlight made his already blue eyes

glow into an aquamarine color. He reached for my hand. “I can’t wait to spend time with my

favorite girl.”

Davey overheard and cracked, “There’s only one bed. Zena and I have dibs. You two are gonna

have to shag in the woods.”

“Shut the fuck up, Davey.” I had never heard him snap so angrily at Davey before. “I’m sorry,”

he whispered to me before returning his eyes to the road. Mitch was seriously pissed.

If he only realized how turned on I was at the thought of him taking me in the woods.

Angie snuck up behind us and took a picture of our entwined hands then disappeared.

When we finally arrived in the middle of the afternoon, the guys set up two tents and started to

grill hot dogs and hamburgers. I had brought an angel food cake and dressed it with whipped

cream and fresh berries.

We threw some blankets on the ground and had a picnic on the dewy grass. There wasn’t a

cloud in the sky, and a gentle breeze blew around our napkins.

Zena meant well when she asked, “Are you all set for Boston, Mitch?”

Before answering, he looked at me with sadness in his eyes. “Not really.”

I gave him a sympathetic smile.

When the others were involved in an argument about sleeping arrangements, he lifted his

index finger prompting me to come closer. “You have whipped cream on your mouth.” Before I

could respond, he pulled my ponytail slowly toward him and slid his hot tongue across my lips.