Someone Like You (Someone To Love Series) (32 page)

15

THE GIFT

Ally

A
lpha Sigma Phi is a hotbed of immorality
and hedonism, as evidenced by the vast display of alcoholic beverages that would put the grocery liquor department to shame.

“I don’t drink,” I lament as Lauren tries to shove a peppermint schnapps in my face. “Things go very, very bad in my life when I drink.” I shudder at the thought. “Coffee, I drink
coffee
.”

“You can’t get a buzz off coffee.” She lowers her lids. Lauren is already more than fed up with me, and if she keeps trying to lighten my mood things are bound to get lethal.

“You can the way I make it,” I mumble mostly to myself. Some old-school rock funk blares from the speakers and a group of girls from Alpha Chi scream as they throw their hands in the air. I spot Molly with a couple of girls from Delta house. She has connections through Pen’s mom so they’ll probably let her in by proxy, but this chapter of Delta is notorious for its particular taste in hazing. I’m sure she’ll enjoy the hell out of it—she’s twisted that way. I wonder if my path had never crossed Morgan’s if she would have been his summer fling. I can’t help but feel a little jealous over something that never materialized. I’m pretty sure I’ll look at every pretty girl and wonder if Morgan would have hung around town for her, at least offered her a decent good-bye. In my heart I was hoping for a picnic on the beach, maybe a midnight swim, and a roll in the sand afterward, during which we declared our undying feelings under the lamp of a hot August moon. Instead I got the shaft, the
See you later
,
have a nice life,
and not even that.

Kendall and Lauren pop up, each brimming with smiles and giggles.

“This is going to be an amazing year.” Lauren winks over at Kendall as if she knows something. “I mean, you got your job back.” She nods over at me as if Starbucks is the cure-all for this indescribable ache Morgan left in me. “Plus, we’re practically roommates again. I mean I’ll hear everything you say, the walls are paper thin.”

Perfect. Turns out, listening to Kendall and Cruise go at it was just the prelude. I’ll have the non-pleasure of experiencing Lauren and Cal demonstrating what I’m assuming will be something akin to a tribal voodoo ritual. I’ll need earplugs if I ever hope to get any sleep.

“That’s fantastic,” I say, lackluster.

Kendall wraps an arm around my shoulder. “And I could really use your shopping superpowers to help with all the little details my wedding is going to need. Lauren’s got champagne taste, but I’d love to have someone on my team who knows the value of a dollar.”

Kendall’s right. Lauren’s wedding budget alone could pull the space program out of fiscal purgatory.

“Okay, I’ll help.” A twinge of excitement pinches through me. The truth is, I love shopping on a budget. I think if I had dollars streaming from every orifice of my body, I’d still want to get the best deal on everything on the planet. It’s in my genes, and after witnessing Lauren purchase a jacket for eleven hundred dollars last winter, I’d say my thriftiness is not such a bad thing.

Blair comes up to our circle with Rutger by her side. They have on matching white polos and navy sweaters thrown over their shoulders—the uniform of assholes.

“Quick, someone alert the country club,” I quip. “We’ve got a couple of escapees slumming with the commoners. What’s the matter, Blair? Run out of boyfriends to steal?” I glance over at Lauren. “You’d better check on Cal. If my calculations are correct, his is the next penis she’ll try to deep fry with her designer vagina.”

Rutger belts out a laugh, and Blair swats him in the stomach.

“You always were a classless bitch,” she snipes at me. “At least I have someone in my life. Rumor has it you were ditched for those West Coast girls. I guess Morgan Jordan wasn’t that into you after all.”

Rutger belts out another laugh, and this time I
swat him in the stomach.

There it is—the truth that Lauren and Kendall have spent all night skirting. There was a fire in my heart no one could put out, and now my enemies are hosing me down with lighter fluid, creating an inferno from an already out-of-control blaze.

“I wouldn’t put too much weight on those rumors.” A familiar male voice hums from behind.

I spin on my heels and my heart rockets right out of my chest.

“Morgan!” I wrap my arms around his gorgeous frame and lean my head against his chest. If this is a hallucination I want to enjoy it just a little bit longer.

He presses a kiss over my cheek and pulls me in tight.

“Hello, Blair,” Morgan seethes. My body vibrates with the tenor of his voice as he growls over at her. “Coach Wexler let me know he shared some good news with my
girlfriend
.”

I pull back and my mouth falls open at what this might mean.

His dimples dig in, but it’s becoming evident he’s more than a little pissed.

“Great news.” He glances down at me. “I made Garrison’s baseball team with a full scholarship.”

“Morgy!” Kendall dives over to him with a hug.

“Almost lost it too.” He glares over at the blonde she-devil in our presence. “That’s the last time you get away with this shit. Cruise may have let you off easy, but I’m reporting you to every fucking authority outlet that will listen, starting with the school. The dean of admissions is very interested in speaking with you about tampering with another student’s private affairs. He mentioned it was grounds for academic expulsion, which would be great since Ally and I will be spending the next several years here.” He digs a smile in the side of his cheek. “So, Blair, you can take the next psychological vendetta you’ve got brewing and shove it up your ass because I’m not going to let you hurt another person. Except maybe him.” He nods at Rutger. “I’ve never seen a better-matched couple.” He picks up my hand and looks me in the eye. “We’re the exception, of course.”

Blair’s eyes fill with fire. “I’m the only one in this circle who belongs at Garrison.”

“You won’t for long.” Morgan wraps his arms around my waist and returns his eyes to mine.

Blair’s mouth opens and nothing but choking sounds comes out. She glares at me with a not-so-veiled threat before spinning on her heels and taking off.

Morgan leans in and crashes his lips over mine, and the room, the people melt away. The music, the noise of the crowd dissipates until all I hear,
feel,
is the beating of our hearts pounding over one another’s chests.

He pulls back and looks at me. Our circle of friends and enemies has long since disbanded.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“I love your surprise,” I squeal, jumping up and wrapping my arms tight around his neck. “But you’re all the surprise I need.”

“This is a better surprise.” Morgan gives a heartfelt smile and nods toward the door.

He leads us through the crowd, and we slip outside Sigma house under the feathered branches of a weeping willow.

“Wait just a second.” Morgan dashes to his truck parked a few feet away and returns with a large square box.

“What’s this?”

“It’s for you.” He hands over the flat package with a black-and-white checkered bow on top, and I’m quick to open it.

“Oh my God!” I gasp, removing the oversized scrapbook—then I see it—Ruby’s beautiful face staring back at me from the cover. “Morgan!” Tears flood my vision as I open the book. It’s page after page filled with pictures of Ruby growing up—including ones I’ve never even seen before. Pictures of those precious infant years—her first photo taken just hours after she was born. I flip the page, and my heart stops. The tears start flowing, and I can’t control them. It’s the picture Janice took when she came to the hospital to bring her baby home. She asked if she could take one of the two of us, and I didn’t protest the idea. There I am, holding my precious angel, my teary-eyed face, nothing but a baby myself.

“This is the one,” I whisper. “She went from my arms to Janice’s right after this.”

“I hope you don’t mind I included it.”

“No.” I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand. “God, no. I can’t believe she gave these to you.”

“Actually, she let me take pictures at the party with my phone. I told her that I wanted to help replace your scrapbook, and she didn’t mind opening up her photo albums.”

“You did that for me?”

“I wanted to. I’d give you everything in the world if I could, Ally.” His eyes widen and for the first time, Morgan looks boyish, vulnerable.

“In the world, huh?” I bite down over my lower lip. “Morgan, all I want is you in my life forever.”

A smile of relief bounces to his lips. “Lucky for me, because that’s exactly what I want too—you in my life forever.” He pulls me in by the waist. His warm hands ride low over my back.

“I’m the lucky one around here.” I slip my hands into his back pockets as his dimples press in deep as oil wells. “So I guess you’ll be needing someplace to stay.” I lick the rim of my lips with a promise.

“I’ve got sixteen bucks to my name, and I’m willing to make a trade-off.” His hand curves over the seat of my pants.

“
Morgan!
” I laugh, jostling him in the process. My features soften as I take him in like this, so perfectly gorgeous and sweet I could cry. “I guess happily ever after does exist.”

“I guess it does,” he whispers. “I want you as a part of my life.” He grows altogether serious. “Ally Monroe, will you be my forever?”

His words echo in the night long after they drift from his lips. They linger in the air like the crisp scent of jasmine, so sweet and delicious, you could never get enough.

“I want to be your forever.” The words quiver from my lips. “I want to be your everything.”

Morgan leans in and kisses me with a tenderness I’ve never experienced before. His lips press in soft; his tongue gives a careful swipe before dancing over mine.

Ruby’s book is sandwiched between us, solidifying us as a family as we linger with hungry kisses that stream out into this new forever we’re forging. The long braids of the willow brush gently over our shoulders. I can feel my mother watching us from the sky, smiling down over the two of us with her approval through the magical lavender night. She was right. I would find my forever when I least expected it, and here he is, warming my body with his love for me. I guess in the end my mother’s wisdom prevailed—I got my happily ever after in the last place I’d think to look—and God, I’m glad I looked. Maybe Pretty Girls wasn’t such a bad life move after all. Sometimes, a strange turn takes us exactly where we need to be. Sometimes when we fall, destiny makes sure the right person is there to catch us.

I’m glad I tore down the walls of judgment I erected during that crazy time in my life. It took a lot of growth and learning on my part, but with Morgan I was able to persevere.

With Morgan Jordan by my side the world has recaptured that rosy glow that died out so long ago with my mother.

He pulls my hand to his mouth before pressing in a kiss.

“I can’t wait to build a future with you,” he whispers.

“Perfect.” I pluck a set of keys from my pocket. “Just got these today. Looks like we get to decorate our first apartment.”

“Nice.” He pulls back and his dimples go off like bombs. “I’ve got one word for you—taxidermy.”

I belt out a laugh as we walk toward his truck.

“What’s so funny?” He pulls me in close.

“Nothing. I’m all about compromise. If a stuffed deer makes you happy then I want that too.”

“Really?” He blinks back with a grin. “Because I was thinking more like a bear.” He holds his hand in the air like a claw. “I’m teasing. As soon as you walk into that apartment it’s already going to have everything I’ll ever need. It’s going to have you.” He presses a searing kiss over my lips. “I love you, Ally.”

“I love you too, Morgan.” I give him a quick peck on the lips. “Hey, what would you have done if you didn’t get a spot on the team?”

“I was going to get the rest of my things and haul ass right back here. We’d figure the rest out later.”

“
We
—I like the sound of that.”

Morgan pauses. He touches his thumb to my cheek and admires me as if I were a treasure. “From now on it’s you and me no matter what life throws our way. We’ll get through it together. We’re a team.”