Always You, Always Us Read online

  But right now, I have bigger fish to fry. Case in point, Lacie. The stalker is back, and she comes with ammunition. The deadly kind.

  And she’s stealth like a ninja, too. I didn’t even hear my dorm room door open or close.

  “Hunter,” she purrs, her hot breath against my ear making me cringe. “How are you feeling this morning? Have you realized what a crazy mistake you made last night?”

  I fling an arm over my eyes to block out the bright stream of sunlight slithering in through the blinds that are now open, thanks to my uninvited guest. “Lacie, I didn’t propose a break. I said I wanted a break up.”

  She shrugs. “Maybe you just need to get some food into that tummy of yours so you can think straight. Here, I got you breakfast,” she says in a sing-song voice.

  This girl seriously must have fallen off the crazy train, and I’m not in the mood to deal with her insanity. I open my eyes a crack and let out a yelp as an offending baked good is dangled right in front of my face. It looks like a muffin…

  My nose crinkles and I recoil as if it’s bitten me. Banana…and strawberries.

  Lacie beams at me like she’s just cured cancer. “Freshly baked!” She crawls onto the bed next to me. “And what man doesn’t love to wake up to breakfast in bed?”

  “One who is allergic to the strawberry-laced breakfast. As in, can’t be around it. As in, immediate death if ingested.” I back farther away from the muffin still hanging in front of my face.

  She jumps back, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God! I almost killed you! Now I’ll never win you back!”

  I rub a hand down my stubbled face and groan. Jeez, do I know how to pick the winners. “Relax. It’s all good. Let’s just get it out of here.” I glance at the clock on my nightstand. Shoot. In about twenty minutes, I’m going to be—

  “Knock, knock, pumpkin! Time to get your butt out of that bed so we can get on the—” The door to my dorm room flies open, and I collapse against my headboard, startled, almost knocking myself out.

  Great timing, as usual.

  Lacie flips around toward the door, her blue eyes wide. “What are you doing here?” She turns back to me. “I knew I couldn’t trust you, Hunter! I knew there was something going on with you two! I thought we shared something special! And I got you breakfast, you jerk!”

  My best friend Liv unsuccessfully stifles a snicker as she nods toward the untouched muffin in Lacie’s outstretched hand. “If you shared something so special, why would you want to kill him with that?”

  Lacie narrows her eyes at Liv, who is at least a head and a half taller. “Obviously, I didn’t know he was allergic to strawberries!”

  Liv taps the side of her face. “Well, that or you really wanted to punish him big time for giving you the most intense pleasure you’ve ever had in your life and then yanking it away, as he’s reputed to do to every unsuspecting female who graces his bed.” Her lips curl upward into a mischievous smile. “Oh wait, let me guess, you thought you’d be the one to change him, right?”

  The muffin sails toward my head and I swerve out of the way just in time to see it ricochet off the window sill behind me. Maybe Liv was onto something.

  “Screw you, Hunter McKinnon!” She stops on her way toward the door and points at Liv. “And, screw you, too, Liv.”

  Liv points to a jar sitting on my desk. “Oh, Lacie, don’t forget to grab that on your way out.” She winks at me and mouths, “Plumeria.” With an exaggerated motion, she drags a finger across her neck and pretends to croak.

  Lacie grabs her things and stomps out of the room, slamming the door behind her so hard, the basketball trophies sitting on my desk shudder from the force.

  Liv flops onto the foot of my bed. “Nice pick. If I hadn’t shown up when I did, she might have started redecorating this place in Laura Ashley. I still can’t believe you go after so many of those flowery, goody-two-shoes chicks.”

  I smirk and settle back against my pillows. “They’re the freakiest ones. And just so we’re clear, they come running to me.”

  “Touché.” Liv grins, but her lips don’t reach her eyes. “We should get going. I told my mom we’d be home by early afternoon.”

  “Not going anywhere until you tell me what’s up.”

  She shrugs, averting her eyes. “Everything is…you know, whatever.”

  “How was last night?”

  “We broke up.”

  “That took four weeks too long, if you ask me.”

  Liv plucks at a loose thread on my comforter. “I didn’t. And, anyway, he’s got some things to work through. Alone.”

  I cock an eyebrow. “That’s a pretty watered-down way of saying he’s an elitist and entitled loser who’s only here because of his family connections.”

  “I got tired of dealing with his nonsense, that’s all. We didn’t fit. He’ll find some other girl who’ll worship the ground he walks on.” She looks over at me. “You know, you get to pick and choose any bimbo on campus for a night and then move on with the next one without a care in the world. I don’t have that same luxury. Guys can’t handle you.”

  “So then forget the relationship stuff and just have fun.”

  Liv leans back on her hands and narrows her deep blue eyes. “That’s not who I am. It’s not enough for me. I want someone to talk to, to laugh with, to tease, to study with.”

  “You’ve got me for all of those things.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Seems like you can have the best of both worlds, Livvie. Just open yourself up to the possibility. No strings, no commitment. And you’re a cheerleader. That’s a huge bonus.”

  A pillow goes sailing toward my head, and for the second time today, I duck before it strikes.

  She jumps off the bed and grabs my duffel bag, pulling open the zipper. “That lifestyle is just not for me, Hunter. Besides, competition season is about to kick up about fifty notches with the Aloha Spirit Cheer Internationals. You know how important that competition is to my future. The ESPN scouts will be there, and if I want to land a spot on the pro exhibition team, I have to be beyond perfect. I’ll barely have time to study, much less time to canoodle with a guy.”

  “When you say canoodle, what exactly does that mean? Can you elaborate?”

  A snicker escapes her shiny pink lips. The sound never ceases to make me smile.

  “You’re such an idiot. Now get the heck up!” She tosses me a pair of jeans and turns around while she dumps clothes and toiletries into my bag. I don’t even ask what she’s packing because I know anything I could possibly need will make its way home with me.

  And the fact that she’ll be riding shotgun on the trip confirms that fact.

  Liv

  I keep packing so I don’t have to turn around. I grab anything and everything I can find on his desk and in his drawers, whatever keeps my eyes on the task at hand instead of on his insane pecs. And to think that Lacie was crawling up and down his taut, muscled body only a few hours ago.

  Argh!

  He still chose you.

  That little voice. It brings me false comfort, and I always allow it, even though the truth stares me right in the face. He didn’t choose me, he opted against her. He’d kept her around for a longer time than the others for some reason. I can’t figure out why. It’s not his MO, and I wonder if he might be getting tired of the chase.

  I hear pinging sounds and know without looking up that he’s playing Clash of Clans on his phone. I let out a sigh, grateful for the interruption of my crazy thoughts. “Why is it that I’m packing for you while you play video games in your bed? Shouldn’t you at least get dressed?”

  “Well, I would…” More pinging. “But I didn’t want to take the risk that you’d turn around and see me in my birthday suit, since my clothes are on that chair.”

  My pulse throbs against my throat, my hand clenching the drawer handle. I force out a snort and spin around. “Don’t flatter yourself.” I grab the jeans from the chair arm and toss them to him.

  His lips curl in
to a smirk and he wiggles into them while still under the bed sheet. My fingers itch to yank that sheet away, my knees wobbling at the thought of his hard body stretched out on that mattress…alone and in need of company.

  I could be that company.

  I pull the zipper closed and toss the bag onto the floor. My mouth is bone-dry, and I am desperate for anything liquid. I hear him pad toward me, but I focus on my fingernails. If he looks at me, he might see the secret I’m so desperate to hide, and that would be disastrous. It would ruin everything.

  He yanks on my ponytail as he passes, and out of the corner of my eye, I allow myself the pleasure of a quick view. His dark jeans hang low on his hips, his back a beautiful mess of ripples and curved muscle. I chomp on my bottom lip and force my eyes away so he doesn’t catch me silently drooling all over his desk.

  It’s true. I do want a relationship. The problem is, the person I want to be with is my best friend, and the more times I try to force myself into another guy’s arms, the more I realize that other guy will never live up to my standards. He’ll never be Hunter.

  I flop into the same chair that had been housing Hunter’s clothes until a few minutes ago, trying to clear my lust-fogged mind. His ‘extracurricular’ activities with pretty much every girl on campus have never bugged me in the past. It wasn’t until that night last year when things started to change…and now these feelings have me reeling every time a girl so much as looks at him. I don’t even want to think about the women he meets through his business dealings. I’ve seen how those cougar moms eye him while he’s running around with their kids. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never gotten too involved with the camps he runs. Watching him work over those women with his charm and those ridiculous dimples…it makes my stomach roll.

  But I can’t help it. I’ve fallen. Hard. And it’s devastating because I know I want what I can never have. This time, no amount of hard work will lead to my happy ending. I guess there’s a first time for everything.

  God, I’ll never forget that day at competition, the one that changed everything. It was when I realized I was in love with Hunter.

  I wince in pain as the doctor wraps my ankle, tears streaming down my face. I’d just attempted to land a triple back handspring back tuck at our biggest competition of the year and collided with another tumbler on my team. She escaped unscathed, and I hit the mat. Hard. Luckily, with the large team surrounding us, it wasn’t a huge spectacle. And though we’ll lose points, I didn’t kill our chances completely.

  “How long will it take?” I sniffle. The last time I had an injury, I’d been out for half the season. And this ankle has always been weak. It was only a matter of time before I’d done something to screw it up for good, something that panics me on a daily basis since I can’t afford school without my scholarship. My parents could help a little bit, but the bill is just too high and academics have never been my claim to fame. It’s always been cheer, for as long as I remember. It’s my life. And if that gravy train screeches to a halt, then what the heck will I do?

  “Let’s give it a few weeks. It’s a bad sprain, so I don’t want you to push it, okay?” Doc Adams smiles at me and pats my knee. “The team needs you for nationals. Don’t worry about these interim competitions. You just rest up and get ready to take that title again.”

  I nod and she gathers her things together with a smile. “Liv, you are one of the most talented athletes I’ve ever seen, but you push yourself too hard. Give yourself this much-needed break. I’ll let Coach know.”

  “Okay.” I swipe at my eyes as the door slams shut behind her. Be calm. Relax. Take a break. These are words I never speak. I only know how to push too hard, how to practice tirelessly, how to keep going even if my body resists. And if I can’t compete for the next few weeks, who’s to say I’ll be conditioned enough for nationals? What if the sprain is worse than they thought? What if I can’t—?

  The door creaks open and I sniffle, tucking a loose strand of hair from my high ponytail. I stare at my ankle, wincing before I even hear Coach Val’s nasally voice. She’s a tyrant under normal circumstances, so now that I’m out of commission for the foreseeable future, I can’t imagine how insufferable she’s about to become.

  “The wheels are turning and I can smell the smoke, Livvie. Don’t get any ideas about pushing yourself back to the mat.”

  My head pops up. “Hunter? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at that networking thing for the Athletic Department!”

  He smiles and crosses the room in a couple of long strides. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “What are you talking about?” My voice cracks. “You can’t miss it! You need to go! It’ll do so much for Rising Star!”

  He pulls on my ponytail. “My best friend needs me more.”

  “Please don’t stay back on my account. I’ll be fine. One of the girls will help me back to the dorm. You can’t miss that reception. I want you to go.”

  “You were supposed to go with me, remember?”

  I roll my eyes. “Like there won’t be plenty of substitutes around, anxious to take my place.”

  “Yeah, well, you know I’m not interested in a substitute today. I want you.” Hunter hops onto the exam table next to me. “Are you okay?”

  “Did you see it?” I avoid his eyes because staring into them is going to make me start bawling like a baby, and I need to hold it together.

  “Yeah.”

  “Did we still qualify?”

  “Yep.”

  I gasp. “Really?”

  He nods.

  “Thank God! Maybe if I rest for the next few days, I can start back with—“

  “Livvie, stop. I knew that was what you were thinking when I walked in here. You need to give your body time to heal. It was a bad fall, and if you don’t listen to what the doctor says, you could really do serious damage. Trust me, I know.”

  My head throbs and I press my temples. “Hunter, you know how competitive this sport is, how there are so many backstabbers angling for my spot the second it opens up. I can’t risk losing an opportunity to perform. I c-can’t lose my scholarship.” I cover my eyes, but it’s too late to stop the tears from streaming down my face. My shoulders shudder as the sobs wrack my body. “If I can’t cheer, I c-can’t stay at USC.”

  Hunter drapes an arm around me. I snuggle into his chest, the frigid cold evaporating from my body. His heat instantly warms me, a feeling of security and comfort that nobody other than my best friend has ever been able to provide. “What’s really going on, Livvie? You’re fierce with this cheer stuff, but why all of a sudden are you freaking about losing your scholarship?”

  “B-because my dad lost his job,” I whisper. “My mom called me last night to let me know. His whole group was eliminated. Something about corporate restructuring. He’s got some job leads and some money to last for a little while, but…” I wipe my face with the sleeve of my warm up jacket. “They can’t afford to help me with tuition, and it’s too far away from home to commute. I’d have to leave.”

  “What about loans?”

  “I don’t exactly have collateral, and no bank is going to let a jobless parent co-sign for me.”

  Hunter tilts my chin upward. “Hey,” he murmurs. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise. I’m going to be with you every step of the way. Anything you need, I’m there, day or night. You’re not going to lose your scholarship, Livvie, and I won’t let you do something stupid because you’re flipping out about losing your spot.”

  I manage a sniffly snicker. “No pun intended?”

  “None.” He pulls something out of his pocket and dangles it in front of my face between two fingers. An unopened pack of strawberry Bubbilicious which he is holding like it is a biohazard baggie.

  “Oh my God, where’d you find that? I haven’t seen it in the stores for so long!”

  “I know it’s your favorite, and it looks like you need it more than ever now, so I’m glad I risked my life to get it for you.” He drop
s it onto my lap. “Please don’t offer me a piece, though. I’ve sacrificed enough.”

  “Thank you so much!” I breathe in the scent of strawberries. How ironic that the thing he despises most in life is my favorite.

  He nudges me. “Anything for my girl.”

  Our noses almost touch, and I am suddenly very aware of his scent – so masculine, like a mixture of sweat and musk. I’ve known it for so many years, and yet I’ve never really noticed it until this second. He’s bundled in Under Armour, and I know he came straight from the gym. He never misses a workout day with the basketball team. I think it makes him feel better, stronger, even though he can no longer play the game he loves most.

  My breath hitches, the heat of his breath warming my tear-streaked cheeks. Deep-set hazel eyes and a smoldering gaze sizzle my insides. His hair is still slicked back, and my fingers itch to touch it, to rake through the thick dark waves. But it’s his lips that captivate me, the ones I’ve stared at so many times before without a second thought. Pink and full, and so bitable. How had I missed all of this for so many years? Why hadn’t I ever really seen my best friend in this light before?

  And how am I supposed to ignore it now that my eyes are finally open to it?

  It’s a question I’ve asked myself pretty often since that night. I thought using other guys as a distraction would help, that my pent-up desire would just eventually dissipate. But it only got more agonizing to watch him parade around the endless line of dipstick girls who flocked to him like he was the last man on earth.

  Jeez, can he take any longer to put on a shirt?

  My phone buzzes in my pocket and I grab it, happy for the distraction. “Hey, Elle.”

  My older sister’s excited voice comes over the line. “Are you on your way yet? I can’t wait to see you!”

  I smile. It’s been a couple of months since we’ve seen each other, due in part to my crazy schedule and in part to her whirlwind international-romance-turned-engagement. She’d just finished her last semester of school abroad, one she’s scrimped for since high school graduation, and met her soul mate at the top of Le Arche De Triumphe in Paris. Romance at its gooey-chewy finest. They met, fell in love in the City of Lights, and pretty soon, they’ll be getting married.