Veer (Clayton Falls) (29 page)

“Becca. I’m
,
uh
,
Gavin’s girlfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you
,
Becca, but is there any reason
you’re
not in his room?”

“Because he’s in there…”

“You did say you’re his girlfriend…oh
,
you
’
r
e
one of those.”
He nodded
as if everything
suddenly made sense.

“Excuse me?
”

“
I mean,
i
t’s cool
.
I’ve known plenty of wait till marriage girl
s
.”

“Oh no. That’s not it.” I don’t know why I was so quick to correct him. Maybe because I finally could. “I just felt weird in your
parents’
house.”

“Oh.” A slow grin spread across his face. “Okay, good because I don’t know how my brother could keep his hands off you otherwise.”

I’m sure I turned
beet
red. “But I’ll obviously get out of your bed. Your mom said you weren’t coming.”

“I decided to surprise her. But don’t worry about it
.
I’ll go crash downstairs.”

“No, this is your room.” I got out of bed, putting the pile of clothes I’d worn that day
back in
my bag so I could move it all out.

“Seriously
,
Becca
.
I don’t mind. Usually I’d be mad for getting booted from my room, but I can make an exception for you.”

“Brody?” Gavin walked back in through the bathroom. He was wearing nothing but boxers—
the most clothing he ever wore to bed
.

“Hey, man. I’ve just been getting to know your girlfriend here.”

A panicked look crossed his face
,
and I realize
d
Gavin
was worried about how I was taking all of this. Having a strange guy walk into the room
where
I was sleeping would naturally mess with me.

“I’m fine.” I smiled
to reassure him
.
It was a testament to how incredibly safe I felt with Gavin that I hadn’t freaked out more.

Brody looked between the two of us, probably trying to figure out what I meant.

“
I want to catch up, but it’s late. I was just telling Becca I’ll go downstairs.”

“No way
.
Becca will just come sleep with me.” I didn’t fail to notice the self-satisfied grin on
his
face. “I was going to come over and get her anyway.”

B
r
ody laughed. “I can’t say I blame you.”

Gavin bent down and picked up my newly repacked bag. “Ready?”

“Sure.” I was too exhausted to argue. Besides, I didn’t really want to search out another place to sleep.

I followed Gavin back through the bathroom and into his room. It was a mirror image of Brody’s room, except
his bed
had a blue comforter. He also had a whole line-up of trophies on the top of his dresser. I knew without looking closely
that
they were all for baseball.

Gavin pulled back the comforter on my side of the bed
,
and I slipped in. A moment later
,
he turned off the lamp and pulled me into his arms. “So much better. Now
you’re
where you belong.”

I snuggled into him, laying my head on his chest. “I happen to like this place.”

“Good, because
you’re
going to be spending a lot of time here.” I knew he wasn’t talking about his childhood bedroom.

Somehow
,
in t
he dark
,
his lips found mine.

I pulled away. “Gavin?”

“Hmm.”

“We’re in your parents
’
house.”

“In other words, don’t get too excited?”

“Exactly.”

“Fine. I’ll be good
.
I just need you in my arms.” I knew what he meant. I’d become so used to spending nights together
that
I didn’t know what was going to happen when I left. I
tried to shake away the thought. T
here was no point dwelling on it yet.

“Good night
,
” I said quietly before snuggling into hi
m
again and drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-
Eight

Gavin

Becca
was right where she belonged
:
wrapped in my arms. It
was
craz
y how quickly I got used to having
her sleep next to me.
I
felt like there was something missing wh
enever she made me sleep alone, which was still a couple times a week. I let it go, sensing it wasn’t something she wanted to budge on.

There was something really comforting about having Becca in my childhood home, especially in my childhood bed.
It felt
as if
we were
cementing our relationship or something.
She
’d
been
really nervous about coming back with me, but I hoped she’d relax and have a good time.

She tensed in my arms
,
so I pulled her in tighter. I had a feeling some of her unrest came from having my little brother barging in on her like that. She
’d
looked
fine by the time I got there, but I’m sure it brought back unwanted memories.

She seemed to get along with Brody. I couldn’t believe it when I walked into the room
and saw
him standing there with h
er. I’m sure she was terrified.
I was mad at myself for not waking up sooner.

Becca relaxed again, and a few minutes later she mumbled my name. I’m sure I
had
a ridiculous grin on my face. I loved that she dreamed about me. I definitely dreamed about her.
I needed to sleep, but I was still t
o
o amped up. I thought over the conversation I
’d
had with my parents after Becca went to bed.

***

“She’s lovely.” Mom moved from an armchair to take a seat in the spot on the couch Becca had just vacated.

“Isn’t she?”

“She’s definitely a beauty.” That was actually a lot coming from
D
ad
. H
e didn’t talk much. “And she seems sweet.”

“But there’s a sadness
in
her too. How long ago did you say she lost her mother?”
Mom asked.

“
She died this
winter
.”

“And her father’s not in the picture?”

“No. He left when she was just a kid.” I decided to leave out his recent reappearance.

“Well, I can see why you’ve fallen
for her. I like
you
together
. Y
ou
complement
each other.”
I knew my Mom meant it. If she didn’t like Becca, I’d know.

“
N
ow the question is
:
what are you going to do to make sure you keep her?”
Mom
shifted so she could look right at me
.

“You mean with her going back to Boston?” I hated to even think about it.

“Yes. What are you going to do?”
s
he repeated her question.

“I’m not sure yet, but we’ll make it work. I’m not letting go.”

“Good for you. Don’t be afraid to take a chance. I know you’ve been hurt, but that doesn’t mean you should be afraid.”
Mom
looked at Dad for agreement
.

Dad gave it. “If the girl’s as special to you as I think she is, she’s worth the risk.”

“I’m not afraid. I brought her home, didn’t I?”
I was tired of everyone acting like I wasn’t over Dawn. I’d been ov
er her from the moment she
’d
left
.
I just didn’t feel like being some girl’s doormat ever again.

“That you did.” Mom patted my leg before standing up. “It’s late
.
I think we should all head on up to bed.
”

“Sounds good. Goodnight.” I hugged Mom and waved goodbye to Dad.
I was disappointed
to
discover that Becca really wasn’t sleeping in my bed
. A
t least it all worked out in the end.

***

Becca mumbled again, curling up in my arms. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed her closeness. Finally
,
I calmed down enough to sleep.

***

Becca wasn’t in bed when I woke up. I patted her empty side of the
mattress
, disappointed when I just
touched
air. I threw on some clothes and ran into Brody on the way down the stairs.

“
Sleep well?” he asked with a smirk.

“Very well.”

“I bet.”

“Nice job scaring my girlfriend.”
It wasn’t his fault, but that didn’t mean I was supposed to be happy about it.

“How the hell was I supposed to know she was in my bed?”
He grinned.

“Okay, don’t say it like that again.”
I didn’t need to think about Becca in anyone’s bed but my own.

He laughed. “You do seem to always get the gorgeous ones, man.”

“It’s definitely true this time. Becca’s perfection.”

“Perfection? How far gone are you?”

“Far.”

I heard Becca and my mom laughing from the back porch, so I poured myself a cup of black coffee and headed out.

“Good morning.” I kissed Becca on the cheek
and took
a seat next to her on the porch swing. She had her bare feet tucked up under her
.
I loved how comfortable she seemed.

“Morning
.” S
he
rested her head on my shoulder
. “It’s about time you got up.”

“You could have told me you were going down.”

“You looked so peaceful.”

I reflected for a second on how nonchalant she was about us sleeping together. She’d certainly changed her tune.

“
W
here’s that brother of yours?” Mom interrupted.

“I’m right here.” Brody walked out, taking a bite out of a strawberry
P
op
T
art. He was still such a kid sometimes.

“I’d yell at you for slinking in like that last night, but I’m just so glad you made it.” Mom got up and gave Brody a huge hug. He had to bend down for it
.
“How long have you been up?” I sipped my coffee, still getting used to seeing Becca on my porch.

“Not too long
. M
aybe an hour.”

“An hour? What have you been doing?”

She shrugged. “Just talking to your mom. I’ve definitely heard some good stories about you as a kid.”

I groaned. “Oh
,
no.”

Mom put her empty coffee cup on the side table.
“
S
top it. We were just getting to know each other better. It was pleasant getting to talk without any interruptions.”

“I bet.” I shifted my coffee into my left hand so I could put my arm around Becca. “
W
hat’s the plan for today
,
boss
?
” Mom always hated it when I called her that, but it was true. She ran things at the Powell house.

“
The party is at
seven
, so I’ll need you all ready by s
ix
thirty. Otherwise
,
the day is open. I
think the rest of the crew will be over in an hour or so.”

“The crew? That’s what you call your children now?” I teased.

“
Now that
I’ve got
five grandchildren thrown in the mix, it’s
an appropriate term
.”
She beamed, letting us know just how proud she was.