The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1)(35)

Three weeks ago I wouldn’t have had the nerve to say these things. Being with Beau had changed me so much.

Sawyer’s expression was somewhere between shock and confusion.

“Ashton, I respect you. You deserve respect. You’re everything I ever wanted in a girl. You’re not just some girl I’m filling my high school years with. I intend to marry you one day.”

Marry him? What? Really? Oh GOD.

He smiled at the shocked expression on my face. “I love you, Ashton. I intend to keep you forever. I’m very attracted to you. I just don’t want my future wife to lose her virginity in the bed of a truck.”

Beau

This was bullshit. She wasn’t happy. I could see it all over her face. Hell, she’d been so damn stiff while Sawyer stood there holding her it was impossible not to notice. It had also driven me mad. I hated seeing her so uncomfortable. Then Nicole had opened her stupid mouth and upset her more. I wanted to believe that she deserved all this but I couldn’t. Something was wrong. I’d been wrong not to question her when she’d come to me. My stupid pride had let her walk away. I’d f**ked that up good.

“Stop being so mean,” Nicole said, leaning on my arm in an attempt to keep from falling on her face. I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down to sit on the tire behind us. She couldn’t stand up without support and I didn’t want to feel her hands on me. The look in Ash’s eyes when her gaze had met mine had made every place Nicole touched feel cheap and dirty. I wanted her away from me.

“What’s going on with you and Ash?” Kayla’s question snapped me out of my inner turmoil and I shifted my gaze to meet her curious one. Damn. Leave it to a female to see what no one else notices.

“Nothing is going on with me and Ash.”

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Hmmm, whatever, Beau,” she replied before lifting her red solo cup to her lips. The girl had always been nosy.

“Can you get Nic home?” I asked Ethan, stepping far enough away that she couldn’t paw at me.

Ethan shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. If she comes on to me are you gonna kick my ass tomorrow?”

“Nah, enjoy yourself.”

Ethan smirked and shook his head. I didn’t wait around to see what other stupid comments came out of his mouth.

I headed for my truck. Staying here was impossible. I’d only come because I’d known she would be here. Wanting to see her had been my sole purpose for putting up with Nicole and Sawyer. I missed her. I missed her so f**king much. After the sad smile and hopeful look in her eyes as she walked away I had a new sense of hope that maybe this wasn’t over. Maybe I still had a chance.

Chapter 13

Ashton

The parking lot at the school was almost empty. Only a few parked cars remained. I recognized Sawyer’s truck as well as Beau’s. They would both still be at practice. I’d put off going home for over an hour. Sawyer was in the weight room and he hadn’t responded to my last text. Going home wasn’t something I could handle just yet. My Aunt Caroline and her daughter Lana had descended upon our house last night and were staying for an undetermined amount of time. Uncle Nolan had been caught doing things he shouldn’t with his secretary on top of the copy machine and Aunt Caroline had fled their home in Mississippi. We were the “only place she could think of” and didn’t that make us lotto winners. Aunt Caroline cried and regaled anyone who would listen about what she’d found my uncle doing. Hearing it the first time was hard enough. I really didn’t want to keep having to suffer through the recaps. Having Lana invade my personal space was beyond frustrating. She was so polite and polished. I wanted to scream or possibly mess up her hair and slap her around until she showed some emotion.

Leann had left for college already, Sawyer was always busy with football and Beau was acting like I didn’t exist. It was times like this when I felt so alone and lost I’d run to my Grana’s so she could make everything right again. Life was so unfair.

“What did your car do wrong?”

Beau’s voice startled me. I spun around to find him only a few feet behind me with his helmet and shoulder pads in one hand and the shirt he should be wearing in the other. Lordy, did he have to walk around shirtless? He shifted his gaze from my car to my face. I shuffled my feet nervously. We hadn’t been alone in sixteen, no, make that seventeen days.

“You’ve been standing here glowering at your car for five minutes. I’m assuming it’s somehow offended you.”

Tears stung my eyes. Being this close to him and having him actually look at me and speak directly to me was wonderful and so incredibly painful.

“What’s wrong, Ash?”

Swallowing the lump in my throat didn’t help. I bit down on my bottom lip and shrugged. He stood there silently for a moment. I could see the indecision on his face. Finally he reached for my book bag and touched my waist.

“Come with me. You can talk and I’ll listen.”

I didn’t argue. I wanted this. I needed him. I let him guide me to his truck and he opened the passenger’s door so I could climb in.

We didn’t speak at first. I worked on getting my emotions under control while he turned his truck down a familiar road I knew led to our spot on the bay.

“You wanna tell me what’s got you upset?” he asked.

He glanced at me for a second but quickly shifted his eyes back to the road. I wasn’t sure how to answer this question. A lot of things were wrong. I was with Sawyer, acting like someone I wasn’t. Someone I’d realized I didn’t even like. School had started back and Beau was there every day in the halls, in the cafeteria, in my classrooms. I could see him and not touch him. It was killing me. Then of course there was my Aunt Caroline and Lana taking away the only refuge I had left. My house. My room.