Burned (New Adult Romance) Read online

  His lips were soft against mine. I wanted to merge into him, to never leave this moment. He tasted sweet, like cocoa and sunshine. My heart thudded with happy excitement and I pressed in closer.

  The lights in the Lake house turned on, flooding the deck with artificial light. The moment was broken, and Andrew dropped his hands quickly to his sides, releasing me. In the harsh light, I couldn't believe I had kissed him. I pulled my hat down low on my head, feeling my cheeks burn. I couldn't look at him so instead I put my hands on the balcony, hoping he didn't see how badly they shook.

  The crowd dispersed on the deck, leaving the two of us standing awkwardly looking out at the lake. I fidgeted with my scarf, trying to figure out what to say. Andrew's phone chimed, saving both of us from having to speak first.

  "Mom says they are at the car. They'll meet us there at nine," he read from his phone. I nodded, looking at my watch. If we walked slowly, we would reach the car at nine on the dot. I stuck my hands in my pockets and suggested we head toward the car. Andrew agreed, and we starting walking, the silence uncomfortable between us. The snow squeaked under my boots as we searched for the car, the lights of the Lake House far away.

  "Holly, I..." Andrew started, but as I turned to look at him he stopped with a confused look on his face. "That's just gross."

  I spun to see what he was looking at, and at first all I saw was the car. With the windows fogged. And a hand print on the back windshield.

  "I hope that's the only part of Titanic they are recreating," I said slowly. Andrew snorted and we inched slowly to the car, Andrew hanging back as we got close. I decided to be the bold one, and marched over to the car, knocking on the window.

  I heard voices shushing and giggling as I waited. A moment later the window rolled down, and I could see Audrey and Ray in the backseat. Ray had lipstick smeared across his cheek and on his collar. Audrey's shirt was on backwards. I gave my best disapproving look and walked around to the passenger side door. Andrew and I slid into the car, turning the defroster on high to clear the windows. Audrey and Ray kept whispering in the backseat, Ray's arm wrapped protectively around her.

  "How was the wine tasting?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

  "Wonderful. We found this wine that we used to drink in high school," Audrey started immediately.

  "It was just as awful now as it was then!" Ray interrupted, sending them both into a giggle fit. I decided to give up and just turned on the radio. They continued to tell us all about the wine tasting and the fireworks, laughing as Andrew drove up the winding road. I listened absentmindedly, glad they were filling the car with words that I didn't have to respond to, my mind lost in fireworks.

  Chapter 6

  Red engines lined the road, spraying precious water at the blaze. Black patches of burnt grass hissed and steamed, still defiant against the hoses even as they sputtered. The flames still leaped and danced, their light highlighting the concern filling the fire chief’s face. It was already too late. The flames had too much of a head start. He knew the flames would win the battle tonight, but he called for more men to fight the war.

  ***

  I fidgeted with my gloves, gathering up my courage to get out of my car and go inside the hardware store. My dad had asked me to pick up some supplies for him, and I didn't have a good reason not to go. I thought Andrew was sure to be working. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Andrew; it was that I was nervous to see him. I shouldn't be nervous. Nothing happened.

  Nothing happened. I repeated it to myself, hoping the repetition would convince me. Nothing happened. I closed my eyes, but I could still smell his cologne, feel his body push into mine, his arms holding me. His lips were so close.

  Nothing happened.

  I sighed. Dad was going to expect me home sometime before the end of the week. I had to go in.

  I walked slowly to the door, opening it and hearing the familiar bell announce my arrival.

  Tyler streaked past me, his coat half off as he scampered out the door.

  "Hi, Holly! Bye, Holly!" he yelled, slamming the door behind him. I watched him for a second as he took off down the road and toward a row of houses. I knew a couple of kids his age lived over in that area, so I wasn't worried for him. If he was just leaving, though, that meant that Luke was working today.

  "Hey, Holly, how did your night at the Winter Carnival go? Andrew said it was a huge success." Luke grinned, setting a pile of hammers on the counter. I smiled back at him, wondering exactly what Andrew had told him.

  "Um, it was great. I thought Andrew was working today," I said cautiously. I couldn't see Andrew telling Luke we had kissed, but I wasn't sure. Besides, nothing happened.

  Luke looked at me like I was slightly batty, but then he shrugged and started putting the hammers up on a shelf. "We switched shifts today, so I didn't get to talk to him for long. So tell me about the Carnival," he demanded, a hammer in each hand.

  Luke was the person who had come up with the original promise never to date within our group. It wasn't so much a promise not to date, but more a promise that we wouldn't trade in our friendships for a fling. The brief kiss that Andrew and I shared didn't violate the promise; it was just skirting along the edge. We hadn't broken the actual promise, but I had a feeling Luke wouldn't see it that way. He had a strong sense of right and wrong, and kissing your friends after promising you would never get involved with them was likely wrong in his eyes.

  "Um, well, we watched Audrey and Ray fall all over themselves flirting, then we ate, ice skated, and saw fireworks," I said, intentionally being vague.

  "Wow, what amazing detail," he said sarcastically. "Come on, give me details!"

  Sure, let me tell you how I kissed my best friend. Let me tell you how good he smelled, and how strong he felt as he kept me warm. That's going to make me your favorite customer of the day.

  "Well, we caught your dad and Audrey making out in the parking lot," I said slowly.

  "Seriously?" He stopped with a hammer gripped in his hand, as though he had completely forgotten about it.

  "Yeah, I felt like a cop at Lover's Lane. He had his hand down her shirt and everything," I replied.

  "That is so awesome! And gross! So gross. But awesome!" he said, laughing and making a face at the idea. I chuckled as well, glad to have found a safe topic. "So, what is the next step of Operation Love?"

  I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. They have just taken off. It's like they are back in high school with teenage hormone levels. I'm not sure we have to do anything at this point other than make sure they don't implode."

  Luke nodded and grinned. "I've never seen him this happy. I mean, he is stupid happy. He actually let me do the inventory this month. I've been begging him to let me do it—to get it done electronically. Today he decided I could do it so he could go on his date. This is so awesome, Holly. I don't know if it is going to help get Tyler back home, but it is certainly making my life better. I can't thank you enough."

  "Why is everybody thanking me for this? I didn't do anything! But I am glad it is working out so well," I said, smiling.

  Luke finished setting the hammers on their shelf and helped me find the supplies for my dad. He didn't bring up Andrew again, and I decided that the whole thing must have been in my head. Andrew would never want me anyway. We had been friends too long, knew too many stories about one another. I must have just imagined it.

  I heard the doorbell ring, thinking it was a customer. I was shocked when it was Andrew's voice I heard. "Hey, Luke, can you cover my shift next Thursday? I have a dentist appointment." I was glad Luke had his back to me or he would have seen me stiffen and blush. Luke popped his head out from the aisle, and called him over. I wanted to hide as Andrew strode around the corner. Nothing happened, nothing happened, nothing happened!

  Andrew's face twitched, a blush creeping up into his cheeks as soon as he saw me. Our eyes connected and I knew I was just lying to myself. Something did happen, maybe?

  "So Thursday? That shoul
d work. Let me check Holly out, and I'll pull up the calendar. I think I have all the stuff your dad needs," he added, glancing in my direction as he balanced screws and lathes. He headed toward the checkout desk and I followed meekly, avoiding Andrew's gaze.

  "Okay, $10.34," Luke announced as he bagged all the items and took my money. I was amazed he didn't seem to notice the tension in the room. I could feel Andrew's eyes on me, his gaze burning into my skin. I could feel the blood rushing to my face, and my hands started sweating.

  "Thanks, Luke. I'll see you guys around. Bye, Andrew," I said hastily, shoving my change into the plastic bag and heading toward the door. My mouth hung onto Andrew's name, yearning for another kiss from Andrew's mouth.

  I made it to my car, throwing the bag in the passenger’s seat and breathing hard. I sat for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. I could barely keep my feelings straight. I wanted to kiss him again so badly, but I knew I never could. What if Andrew and I had been the ones making out in the backseat? The idea made me want to laugh and sent a jolt of heat through me inside at the same time.

  I heard a loud knock on my window and nearly jumped out of my skin. "Holly, you forgot your gloves," Andrew said loudly.

  I rolled down my window and took the gloves with thanks.

  "Holly, I want to talk to you about the other night," he said, leaning into the car. I could catch just a faint whiff of his cologne through the open window, his arm stretched out onto the roof and displaying his muscles through his long-sleeved shirt.

  "Nothing happened. Nothing can happen. We promised, remember? We can't do that to our friends," I said quickly, trying not to focus on his arms.

  "Okay, good. That's just what I was thinking," he responded a little too quickly. He dropped his arms off the car and folded them in front of him. "Good, so I'll see you around, then."

  "Yeah, definitely." I nodded. He backed away from the car, his eyes unreadable. I hightailed it back home, feeling my head spinning. I told myself I was glad I had told him no, but somehow it made my chest hurt. Nothing happened, nothing happened, nothing happened. Maybe if I repeated that enough times, it would be true.

  ***

  I effectively avoided Andrew for almost two weeks. I texted him as little as possible, and when I saw him in public, I always made sure there was another person nearby. I thought that maybe if I didn't spend time with him, I would stop dreaming about him.

  It didn't work. If anything, my dreams became more vivid. I loved and dreaded sleeping because I knew I would dream of his hands on my body, touching and caressing me, his lips on my skin, the taste of his tongue. I would wake aching for more, aching for the real thing.

  It was my first day off all week. My dad had left for a business trip that morning, so I had the house to myself. I sat in front of the TV in my pajamas, eating my third bowl of chocolate cereal, watching reruns of old sitcoms, and reveling in the opulence of a day off.

  Bing. Can you come meet me in the library? I want to show you something.

  I sat looking at my phone, Andrew's face smiling at me from the screen next to the message. I was dressed and ready to go in less than five minutes.

  The parking lot was empty even though the public library and high school shared the same parking space. I navigated through the library doors toward the main desk. I looked around the quiet and serene library for a moment.

  I smiled at the librarian stacking books to be put back on the shelves and headed toward the conference room. Andrew and I had met there to work on projects before, so I figured that was where he would be. I found him sitting at the main table with yearbooks scattered haphazardly around him. He smiled as I walked in and closed the door behind me.

  "My mom was telling me stories about her and Ray when they were in high school here, and I got an idea. You would not believe the stuff they did. Come here and look at these old yearbooks," he said pulling the chair next to him out. I walked over slowly, eyeing him carefully. I wasn't sure where we stood exactly, but I knew I didn't want to leave.

  "You wouldn't believe some of the things I've found out. The pieces are finally coming together," Andrew said.

  "I've already heard more than I ever thought I'd find out about them, so I'm not sure what you're going to say that you think will surprise me," I said.

  He smiled and opened one of the yearbooks he had out on the table. He flipped through the pages until he found a picture...

  ***

  Ray had been a quiet kid in class, much like Tyler was now. His older brother looked out for him during his freshman and sophomore years, but had gone away to college himself when Ray entered his junior year. Where Tyler drew his confidence from his acting, Ray had thrown himself in a different artistic direction: music.

  ***

  I couldn't help but laugh as I saw the picture. "That's Ray, all right. Looks a lot like Luke did our junior year. I had no idea he could play the trumpet!" I said.

  "It gets better," Andrew said. "Take a look in the flute section."

  It was hard to make out in the twenty-five-year-old yearbook's grainy photo, but I scanned over the picture. "Is that... your mom? She's so cute!" It was true. She looked about twelve years old in the picture, even though she would have had to have been about sixteen.

  Andrew laughed. "She's always looked younger than her age. I looked up the names on the list and recognized one in particular, Mr. Watson."

  "You mean Mr. Watson, the photography guy?" I asked curiously. Andrew nodded.

  ***

  "So how did they get together?" Andrew asked.

  Mr. Watson laughed. "No one was ever really sure. One day, on the way back from a football game, it was dark on the bus. All of a sudden, someone saw them making out. We made fun of them, but soon enough they were inseparable."

  ***

  "So they were each other's first loves. Pretty much what we knew already," I said.

  Andrew closed the yearbook and opened another one. "There's a lot more in this one," he said, opening to a page somewhere in the middle of the book. There was a picture of the two of them in their dress clothes with the caption, "Voted Most Likely to Have Beautiful Children." It looked like it had been taken at prom.

  "I agree with that caption," Andrew said.

  I looked at him, and he made a model pose, and I laughed. "It's got one part right. You are a child!"

  He grinned. "It's a sweet picture of the two of them, but I was really surprised when I saw the next one."

  I turned back to the yearbook as he leafed through the pages. As he settled on one in particular, I gasped.

  ***

  "Were you there for the big moment?" Andrew asked.

  "Oh yes," Mr. Watson said, looking wistful. "It was a beautiful moment. I was in on it, of course. Someone had to take the picture. The drum major was in on it too. At the end of practice one day, he kept stopping the routine and telling Audrey that her tempo was off. Finally, he got off his podium and walked over to her. I remember him calling over to Ray, asking if he could please show his girlfriend the right way to mark time. Ray marched over to them, playing "Your Song" by Elton John on his trumpet the whole way there."

  "I bet Mom was mortified," Andrew said.

  "Most certainly. When he arrived, he continued to mark time in front of her, playing the trumpet, not in her face but right next to her. When the song finished, he got down on one knee and pulled a ring from his pocket. That's when I snapped the picture."

  ***

  I stared at the blurry picture. Ray was down on one knee. Audrey, her hands covering her face. Boys and girls in the background were clapping their hands or crying for joy. It made me want to cry just looking at it.

  "That's so romantic! I'm sure she said yes right away," I said. "There's no way I could have said no if someone did that to me."

  "Actually..."

  ***

  "I mean, she certainly didn't date any other boys in high school, but I've never been quite sure," Mr. Watson said. "There was so muc
h chaos afterword that I never heard an answer. She looked stunned, and Ray was on his feet before long. He hugged her tightly and whispered something in her ear. She let him put the dime store ring on her finger. We all thought it was official, but I guess puppy love never lasts."

  Andrew nodded. "Thanks for your time, Mr. Watson."

  ***

  "So that's it? He waited in town a year and then she left him here?" I asked.

  "Something didn't add up for me, either. I checked on the Internet and found another strange detail. Mom didn't stay in the dorms her freshman year. I did, however, find a very interesting lease in the public records." He pulled out a piece of paper from under a book and handed it to me.

  "Ray West and Audrey Oscars," I read. "This is a lease for Fort Collins. But...that means that Ray left with her?"

  "I had an interesting phone conversation with my Aunt Heather. She's not my real aunt, but she was Mom's best friend from college. It was the last piece of the puzzle."

  ***

  "Ray West. Haven't heard of him in years," Aunt Heather said.

  "What happened between my mom and him?" Andrew asked.

  "Oh, you know, the same things that many couples go through. Ray hated going out, was too shy. He wanted to stay in all the time, wanted Audrey to stay in with him. But, you know, part of the college experience is going out, doing new things, and she was curious."

  "So she went out anyway," Andrew said.

  "Oh no. It was like they were practically married, and she would never go against his word. But they fought a lot. Finally, one day, he left, and I moved in to cover his half of the rent. She met your dad a few weeks later," she said.

  Andrew paused, thinking it over. Heather piped back up. "It's funny. When she and your father decided that they couldn't support you while still going to school, he suggested that they move in with your grandparents back in Conifer. She didn't want to go, said she couldn't stand to see Ray, thought he would tell her, 'I told you so'. I told her to avoid him like the plague, to concentrate on her new family, and I guess she did just that."