Only One (7 page)

After eating and chugging back some of Mama’s famous mojitos, I slipped into a comfortable conversation with Danny Williams. Danny was a local boy several years older than me and worked in construction with Uncle Charlie. He shot me an ‘I know you won’t do that’ grin, but sat closer. It didn’t escape me that Cole’s eyes were trained on the pair of us the entire time, completely ignoring his date. Well, that was not true. He nodded every now and then, pretending to listen to her ramble. I did my best to ignore him by tossing my hair over to one side of my shoulder, turning away from Cole.

Daylight was slipping away as the alcohol flowed, and even though I was not technically legal yet, I was allowed to indulge on my own property, seeing as my birthday was only a month away. Cole had turned twenty-one when I was still in California, so we never celebrated. Not that we had celebrated any birthdays together for the last few years. I must’ve picked up my phone a hundred times, desperate to hear his voice each year, to tell him that I still thought of him. To tell him how I remembered all the times we shared, all the times we spent laughing, riding in that Jeep and how he made me feel. To tell him how much I missed him.

Once we turned thirteen, we started celebrating our birthdays in our own way. Usually, we’d take out the horses and run them until we hit the little creek a few miles away and go for a swim. Of course some local kids had installed a Tarzan rope to enjoy. We’d always jumped on together and landed in the water with a great big splash, like we were one big cannonball. Cole would climb on first, and I’d wrap my legs around his waist, our bellies touching, and then he’d kick off. We stayed in the air until Cole decided it was time to drop in. At first it was always a shock to the system, but by the time I turned fifteen I figured he always let us swing three full rotations, never one less, never one more.

I smiled widely, thinking back to the good times we’d shared. I stood to pour myself one more drink when the slightly unfamiliar voice from across the small fire we had going yelled across. “Hey, Annabelle, I was wondering if you could show me your horse?”

Even though Cole and I never dated, everyone knew that we had a strong friendship and most people pegged us to someday figure it all out. So it didn’t go unnoticed that a few heads turned.

I grinned, handing Danny my cup. “Will you get me a refill, Danny?” I purred loud enough for everyone to hear and made sure I winked to push it home that Cole’s presence wasn’t bothering me one bit. Apparently my acting skills were pretty darn good, considering not one person said a word. I wasn’t sure how long this little contest of “who can act like they cared less about one another” would last as Cole stared me down, but I planned on winning. Danny adjusted the crotch of his jeans just as I was turning to Hannah, making me flinch. That was so not happening.

“Sure thing. Follow me.” I sashayed. I actually sashayed my ass to draw attention from Danny and Cole. I felt warm breath as I stopped, causing Hannah to slam into my back. “We haven’t properly talked today. How’s the visit going? Are you having fun?” I asked, refusing to glance back at Cole, because I knew he must want to crawl into a hole about now.

She hiccupped, chuckling. “Oh, yeah, it’s been really fun. You have a great family.”

I shot her a genuine smile, since she was right. “Thanks.” We continued until we were standing in front of Lance and all of his massive glory. “Here he is. My favorite boy in the whole wide world,” I gushed.

“Really?” she asked skeptically. “I was thinking maybe Cole was.” She said the words softly, but I knew by the smug look on her face she wanted me to hear her say them.

“I’m sorry, did you say something important?”

She exhaled, not taking her eyes off of Lance. “I see the way you two look at each other. I’m far from blind, Annabelle. I just wanted to get a minute of your time to warn you.”

I laughed out loud, tossing my head back for extra effect. “Excuse me?”

“Cole. He’s mine, and I want you to stay away.”

I smirked, unable to rein it in. “Oh, honey, don’t worry that pretty little red head of yours. I’m heading back to California soon. But let me tell you something real quick before I do walk away.”

She crossed her arms, stumbling over those stupid shoes she wore. She held on to the stall for a quick second, trying to gather herself.

“If Cole loved you like I know you want him to, you wouldn’t doubt his love, nor his trust. He’s the most honest person I know. So I’m guessing he hasn’t said the big L word yet and you’re hanging on just waiting for him to drop it.”

She looked like she was ready to spit nails, so I knew I hit a soft spot.

“A tip from his best friend…if he hasn’t said it yet, he doesn’t love you, honey. He’s one of those boys who falls hard fast, and when he does--he doesn’t hold back. You might want to move on and save yourself the embarrassment.” I started to walk away, but looked back at the shock on her face. “I hope you had a nice visit. Thanks for coming.” I raised my hand in the air, waving goodbye as I walked back out.

The remaining crowd, which had dwindled down a great deal, all stared at me, and then in unison they all, except for Cole, looked past me to see the repercussions of our little chat. Cole stood tall, his arms crossed, making his biceps pronounced. I held up my hands and shot him an innocent look, one that I was pretty sure he wasn’t buying. Danny strolled over and handed off the drink I’d asked him to fill to me.

I winked. “Thanks.”

He placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling me down next to him by the fire. We sat side by side on the old log we’d placed in front of that pit years ago. I let him whisper in my ear, laughing at every little thing he said, knowing it was causing a few glances our way, especially from Daddy.

Uncle Josh, wearing the same beat up old baseball cap that he always wore, came up to us a little while later on, leaving Aunt Ava shaking her head at him. “Hey, Danny, I need you to move that piece of shit you drive so I can get out.”

Danny looked up with a grin. He unclipped the keys from the chain hanging off his pocket and tossed them in the air. My uncle caught them but tossed them back. “Yeah, I would, but it looks like you got a flat. I ain’t fixing it, so you better get a move on.”

Danny jumped up. “What the hell happened? Which tire?”

Uncle Josh smiled, shrugging. “Left-rear. You know you need to be careful where you park out here in the sticks.”

I scanned the crowd until my eyes zeroed in on the small grin Daddy was trying to hide from across the fire.

“Fuck!” Danny muttered. He looked down at me. “I’m going to go fix that. Be back as soon as I can.”

I gave in to my immature uncle and daddy antics, because I was done playing this game. “Actually, Danny, I’m beat. I’m just going to head on in to bed. Why don’t you call me sometime, though?”

He leaned down and pressed a small kiss to my cheek, nodding before he took off down the drive to the field he parked in. Once he was out of earshot, I turned to both of them. “You two are terrible. We were just talking.”

Uncle Josh tipped his hat. “Darlin’, you owe me big. Danny doesn’t talk to any girl unless he wants something. So, you’re welcome for my letting the air out of his tire.” He and Daddy had a good old laugh before I stood up and dusted myself off.

“Where are you going?” Daddy shouted, laughing.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Oh. C’mon. It’s early. We were just messin’.”

I chuckled at their protectiveness. “Whatever you say.” I turned around before I made my dramatic retreat to the barn. My eyes found Cole’s immediately. “Goodnight,” I mouthed.

He smiled softly, but didn’t say anything before I forced myself to keep on walking.

~~~

It’d been a full week since the barbeque, a full week without Cole stopping by to see me, or my stopping by to see him. I’d ridden Lance every day with Lily or AJ by my side, catching up on their lives and at times with them drilling me about Hollywood. Lily took a big interest, even though she was content studying business at the University of South Carolina, which bothered me some, seeing I didn’t want her caught up in all the hype. They’d all seen me when I came home and all expressed their concern, and I would do anything to keep her far away from that life. It wasn’t for everyone, but for me it was everything. At least that was what I kept telling myself.

I hadn’t told anyone other than Cole and Aunt Lu about my intentions to return to sunny California, but I was gearing up to it. Aaron had texted me nonstop with very appealing offers alongside his lame apologies and words of love, begging me to come home. Every single text I turned him down, refusing to fall for his words of love and apologies. Now he had no clue how to reach me since I had my new phone. But it was in my best interest for me to stay clear of him.

I had just finished loading up one of Daddy’s trucks with our stuff to head to the beach so AJ and I could spend some time together. Lily couldn’t come, after all. She’d promised her time to this local farm that took in abused horses. Mama would’ve liked to come, but she’d been staying busy helping out at Daddy’s office the last few years. She hated that empty nest feeling. Even though AJ was still way too young to leave, he was never home. Since she hated being cooped up with nothing to do, Daddy gave her a job filing and helping out with the phones alongside my Aunt Amy, Uncle Jason’s wife.

It was day two at the beach and AJ once again had disappeared on me when a few of his friends “suddenly” showed up out of the blue. I should’ve known better than to believe his intentions were honest. What teenage boy wanted to hang out with his pain-in-the-ass older sister? Still, I got him for one full day, playing board games that we used to enjoy when we were younger and watched him skim- boarding on the beach after breakfast this morning, so I was satisfied.

Once AJ and his buddies took off for the beach, I changed into my favorite black bikini before heading down to the pool to catch some sun. Turning my Smartphone on and cranking up a little Pandora, I settled on my tummy in my favorite lounge chair to hunker down for the day. The last thing I remembered was Miranda singing about it not being her mama’s broken heart before cold water startled me awake.

I jumped out of my chair. “AJ! I am going to kill you,” I shouted.

“Not AJ, sunshine. What the fuck are you doing here?”

My body froze, but my heart pounded like a drum when I looked at him. It had been nine days since I’d heard that voice. Both of us had done our damnedest to avoid each other last week. I’d even given up going to my favorite restaurant with the family when mama told me Cole was going to be there. Turns out he’d backed out, too. So we both lost out on a nice dinner.

I shifted until I was flipped over onto my back. I grabbed my glasses off the magazine I placed them down earlier and put them on. “It’s my house. Why the heck would I not be here?” I countered. “Better question is what the hell are you doing here?”

Cole chewed on the inside of his cheek like he was thinking of what to say. “Damn it!” he yelled before storming inside my house.

“Hey!” I hollered after him. Following him inside, I slammed the door behind me. “I asked you what you’re doing here?”

Cole had already helped himself to a beer from the fridge before he turned to me. “I’ll give you two guesses.”

I knew exactly who and why just by the look on his face. “Oh.”

“Exactly.” He slammed his beer and reached inside for another.

“Geez, thirsty much?”

He laughed, but it was more sinister than nice. “I’m going to kill them when I get done.”

He didn’t have to say it, because I already knew why he was here. Mama and Aunt Lu have been gunning for the two of us since we were babies.

I shrugged. “How long are you here for?”

He trained his eyes on mine before letting them slip a little lower, taking in my skimpy suit. “As fast as I can lay a roof, and then I’m gone.”

“Since when do you lay roofs?”

“I…shit, can you go put something on to cover you up. I can’t fucking concentrate.” He stalked away and out the back patio door. It wasn’t a question, it was an order the way he yelled it. I decided to oblige him. I ran upstairs and threw on a little sundress and raked my hands through my hair to pull it all up into a ponytail. My heart raced, knowing he was staying here for a few days, thinking maybe I could get my friend back, after all.

Cole

I was going to kill my mama when I got home. This was her attempt and Aunt Ash’s to get Belly and me talking. I would place my college scholarship on this whole thing being planned out the night of the barbeque. Once Annabelle went to bed, I had no reason to be there anymore. I just sat there, quiet, reminiscing in my head about all the little moments we had shared sitting on that same log that she had just left. I knew Mama noticed my sad demeanor, but kept quiet.

That night I left Hannah alone in her room with a promise to come in once my folks were asleep. I never went to her. The next day I lied, telling her I’d fallen asleep. Sleep had been the farthest thing from my mind after seeing Belly walk into the barn alone, knowing I could easily have followed her in and persuaded her to give us one more night of pleasure.

I got myself off with the image in my mind of her in those boots and that old Alabama shirt I’d given her. It wasn’t the first time I’d jerked off to the thought of a naked Belly, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be the last.

I was sitting at the patio table, drinking my fourth beer, when the door slid open and Annabelle strolled out in a just-kill-me-now, little, white sundress. I could see her bathing suit easily through the fabric.

She had a beer in her hand and she made her way over so slowly it was painful watching her as I drank each part of her in. “Mind if I join you?”

I held my arm out gesturing for her take a seat. “It’s your house, sweetheart, right?”

She reached down and touched my shoulder.

I flinched at her intimate gesture.

“Cole, would you look at me?”

I flicked my eyes up to her and waited to see what lame-ass line she was going to spout out. “I’m sorry for what I said to Hannah.” She shook her head. “It was wrong, and I’m sorry if I caused any problems. I promised you that I wouldn’t, but she cornered me and…”