Dawn by McKayla Box

Chapter 7

We’ve been at the party for an hour and a half when I finally decide to text Trevor.

Gina is sitting in the lap of a guy I assume is the guy she mentioned earlier. Maddie and Bridget are talking to another group of girls. And I have yet to see or hear from Trevor.

So I break down and pull out my phone.

Are you coming?

It’s six long minutes before he responds.

Yeah, yeah. On the way now. Sorry. But I’m coming.

I don’t respondbecause I’m pissed. Now I’m taking this personally. My feelings are hurt. I’d been counting down the days and now it feels like he is completely indifferent to seeing me. And that sucks. It’s not what I was hoping for, and now I wonder if I should be counting down the days until I go back to school.

I walk back to Maddie’s car and pop the trunk. I refill my cup with more vodka than Sprite and down half of it, then refill it. I take a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady my nerves, wondering if he’s really coming or not.

But then I hear it.

I hear the truck and I turn toward the entrance of the lot.

I see the headlights in the dark, higher off the ground than most, and I remember the rumble of the engine in his truck. I remember it from the first day of school when he pulled up at lunch like he owned the place. It was unforgettable.

The raised black truck tears into the parking lot, the engine rumbling and music thumping from the windows. It makes a hard right, heading in my direction, then screeches to a halt right in front of me. I hold my hand up to shield my eyes from the bright headlights.

The engine goes quiet, the door opens, and he jumps out. He slams the door shut.

And Trevor is standing there.

He’s got on a black T-shirt, gray shorts, and sandals. His gorgeous blonde hair is a little longer and he runs a hand through it, pushing it up and away from his face. His blue eyes practically glow in the dark against his sun-glazed skin. And when he smiles at me, his perfect white teeth are nearly as bright as the headlights.

My heart skips a beat and any anger I felt two minutes earlier is now gone.

“New girl,” he says, grinning. “Look at you.”

I smile and rush at him, unable to help myself. He laughs and gathers me up in his arms, lifting me off the ground. I smash my mouth into his, craving his taste. He kisses me back and his lips are like coming home.

After a moment, I lean back so I can get a better look at him. I put my hands on his cheeks. He laughs, a crooked smile still on his face.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi,” he says.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

He laughs. “I’m sorry, Pres. Totally my fault. Just been busy with so much shit. But I’m here now.”

“About damn time,” I say.

But I’m not mad at him now that he’s here. My heart hammers against the inside of my chest. I just want to keep my hands on him and never let him go.

“I’ve missed you,” he says.

“Yeah?”

He nods. “Yeah.” He leans forward and kisses me again, brushing his lips softly against mine. “Yeah.”

“Was starting to feel like you were avoiding me.”

He shakes his head. “Never.”

“You sure?”

His blue eyes narrow and he shifts so that I slide down, my feet hitting the ground. But he holds on to me, looking down at me, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m positive. I’ve missed you. This has been hard.”

“Yeah,” I tell him. “It has.”

“I’m sorry I’m late getting here,” he says. “Not cool on my part. And I’m sorry I haven’t been up to Santa Barbara. It’s just…it’s been crazy.”

“Crazy how?”

Something flickers in his expression. “Just everything. You not being here. Me trying to figure my shit out.”

“You quitting your job…”

He blinks a couple times. “Your dad told you?”

“Someone had to.”

He purses his lips. “I guess that’s fair. Look, I was going to tell you. I just…I wanted to do it in person. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone or in a text, you know?”

I nod. “Okay. But why?”

“Because I wanted to look at you.”

“No. I mean, why did you quit?”

He looks over my head for a moment. The breeze drifts through his hair, catching a few strands. “It was just…I didn’t want to keep working for him. I wanted to do something else. You know my dad. He just wants me to do what he wants me to do.”

That I knew was true and it had been since I’d met him. Trevor chafed against it constantly and it was part of the reason he wasn’t in school right now. He was stuck between not knowing what he wanted and what his dad wanted.

“Okay,” I say. “I wish you would’ve told me, though. It was weird hearing it from my dad.”

He pulls me in close again. Even in the cool night air, his body radiates warmth.

“I know,” he says. “I’m sorry. That was dumb and I apologize.”

I press my head against his chest. “So what are you doing instead?”

“Uh, what am I doing?” he says. “I, uh…I’m just figuring it out.”

I pull back and look up at him. “Figuring it out.”

He bites his bottom lip for a second. “I’m helping Brett out with some stuff for now. But don’t worry about me. I’m good.”

It’s a weird thing for him to say.

Don’t worry about me.

Why?

I didn’t say that I was worried about him.

“Where is Brett?” I ask. “I just assumed he’d be with you.”

“Oh,” he says. “Yeah. He might come later. He’s tied up with some stuff. He’s working a ton.”

“Doing?”

He looks at me. “Hey.”

“Hey what?”

“I’ve missed you,” he says. “And I don’t want to talk about anyone else right now. I just wanna go walk the beach with you and hold your hand and kiss you and take you home and do all the things to you that I’ve wanted to do you for the last four months.”

A small thrill ripples through me. “Oh yeah?”

He grins at me. “I mean, we can skip the walk on the beach if you want.”

I wrap my arms tightly around his waist and lay my head against his chest. I can feel his heart beating. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but right at this moment, I don’t care. I just want to be with him.

“I want the walk first,” I tell him. “Then we can do those other things.”