Pull

  work when a hot guy comes after her, but with Demetri it was

  never easy. I love him, don’t get me wrong. I hope that doesn’t

  make you uncomfortable, but he’s like a brother to me.”

  “Pretty sure my feelings don’t cross into familial territory.” I

  smiled as I heard Alec yell at Demetri and Demetri curse back at

  Alec. “I, um, I really like him.”

  Nat didn’t have a chance to answer as both guys came

  bounding down the stairs looking like high school football players.

  My heart clenched.

  There was no way Demetri could know. I mean, how could

  he? But the vision in front of me was too familiar. It transported me

  back to a time I wanted to forget yet hold onto. I was so torn with

  my memories of Brady.

  Demetri was hot. I mean, ridiculously hot in that sweatshirt.

  It said Seaside High Football, and it fit him tighter than most

  sweatshirts should fit a person, making his muscles bulge beneath

  the shirt. His hat was backward, but his long curly blond hair

  strained beneath it, as if it didn’t want to be hidden, much like

  Demetri. Always in the spotlight, always joking around. The man

  was like sunshine. Which kind of sucked, when you wanted

  nothing more than to live your life in a dark hole of guilt and

  sadness.

  “You okay?” He walked up to me and pulled me in for a

  quick hug.

  A muffled yes escaped my lips as he held my head against

  his chest. The steady beat of his heart helped me get my breathing

  under control, and then he kissed the top of my head. “I like you,

  you know.”

  Again, he had no idea that Brady was identical in the way he

  conveyed his emotions. I wasn’t able to respond. I knew my eyes

  were getting watery, because I could feel it. But I didn’t want to cry,

  not in front of everyone. This was supposed to be fun. I mean, I was

  hanging out with AD2 for crying out loud!

  Most girls my age would murder me on the spot for even

  thinking about tears at this moment.

  I took a soothing breath and grabbed Demetri’s hand. “So,

  where are we going to eat?”

  Demetri looked to Alec and back. “Somewhere… special.”

  “Why do I get the feeling there’s trickery involved?” I asked

  as we walked out of the house.

  “Always is,” Nat mumbled behind me. “Get used to it.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Demetri

  Okay, so it’s possible I’m going a little insane. I mean, I went

  to bed last night thinking of one thing. And it wasn’t getting high,

  drunk, or even having sex, though that would have been nice, if

  you get my meaning.

  Nope. It was about a short little girl who had managed to get

  herself so fully into my consciousness that I stared at the ceiling for

  like three hours doing nothing but smiling like an idiot and

  strumming my guitar.

  Yeah, I was losing my mind.

  I mean, what type of guy sits and stares into space for hours

  on end? Okay, let me clarify — what kind of sober guy does that? I

  wrote three songs. They were all about her, and I’m not gonna lie.

  It’s probably some of the best stuff I’ve come up with in years.

  Alec freaked out and immediately called, saying he and Nat

  were going to make an impromptu trip back to Seaside to make

  sure I wasn’t still on drugs.

  Seriously? As if they couldn’t trust me. I mean, I didn’t

  screw up that bad, did I? Well, okay fine. So I almost died, but still.

  A little trust never killed a person.

  They spent the day with me, and I finally caved. I had to tell

  them about Alyssa. I mean, clearly some sort of action needed to

  happen if a perfectly healthy eighteen-year-old is smiling like a

  mad man for hours on end.

  They immediately wanted to meet her. Shit, I wanted them

  to meet her too. I mean she was slowly changing my world.

  Around her I didn’t feel like I had to be anything but myself, and I

  hate to admit it, but it kinda felt like she needed me just as much as

  I needed her.

  With Nat, things always seemed off-balance. It was like I

  was pulling all her energy, all her affection, everything that made

  her Nat, and trying to suck it into my black hole of depression. She

  willingly gave, but I offered nothing back in return. With Alyssa,

  well, it felt balanced.

  I finally feel balanced without pot or some sort of chemical,

  and it was the best high I could ever experience in my life.

  At first Alyssa seemed pissed that Alec was breathing the

  same air as her, which was totally fine by me. I hated the

  competition with my brother, and I… I mean, I knew he loved Nat,

  but it would kill me if Alyssa liked him too.

  I’d probably get in another car accident or off myself. I

  mean, seriously. A guy can only handle so much rejection, right?

  But she was freaking awesome. Dude, she even cursed. I

  laughed aloud, then realized it wasn’t daydream time with Demetri

  when Alyssa nudged me and lifted her totally cute eyebrows.

  “Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “So, you guys hungry?” Wow,

  good subject change. Almost hurt myself with that one.

  “Starving.” Alyssa scooted closer to me. God, I wanted to

  kiss her again. And the fact that she made me my own taffy? I

  mean, come on. A year ago I would have laughed in her face.

  Today I kind of wanted to cry. Stupid sober emotions rearing their

  ugly heads again.

  “Good.” I pulled her closer. Screw it. I was going to kiss her.

  Life’s too short. I leaned down and kissed her cheek. But it was so

  soft, and at the moment my lips touched her skin I knew I wanted

  more. I tilted her head toward mine and drank in the softness of

  her mouth.

  “Told you he wanted to make out with her,” Nat announced

  from the front seat. I flipped them off while still kissing Alyssa.

  Mature, I know.

  She giggled and pulled away, a slight blush staining her

  cheeks. I sighed happily and grasped her hand. She squeezed back.

  Alec drove us through town until we reached Highway 101.

  Alyssa’s hand tensed in mine.

  I rubbed her skin with my thumb.

  Her hands started getting super clammy. I turned to look at

  her. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking.

  “Lyss,” I whispered in her ear. “What’s wrong?”

  “Um…” Her lower lip trembled again. “I just…” Her

  breathing became really shallow.

  I tapped Alec’s shoulder. “Pull over, man.”

  “Dude, we just got on the highway, and—”

  “Pull the hell over before I slam my fist into your head.”

  “Pulling…” Alec whistled and put the car into park. I

  unbuckled Alyssa’s seatbelt. It was like she was frozen, like she

  couldn’t move. Could people go into shock like this? I scooped her

  up and into my arms placing her on her feet just outside the SUV.

  “Lyss, talk to me.”

  Shaking, she hugged me so tight I almost choked on my next

  breath. “The — the accident. I haven’t driven this far out of town

  since the a
ccident.”

  Damn.

  “Panic attack?” She nodded into my chest. “Shit, Lyss, I had

  no idea! I can be such an ass, I didn’t even ask.”

  She sniffled against my chest. “To be fair, it’s not a normal

  reaction, so there’s no way you would know.”

  “Hey.” I gently pried her away from my body and tilted her

  chin up with my finger. “Who am I to say what’s normal and not

  normal? I eat freaking taffy to curb my cravings for drugs. You

  think that’s normal?”

  A faint smile danced across her face.

  “Alyssa, look at me.” She did. “I’m terrified of birds. Not just

  terrified to get attention, but so freaking terrified that if a bird

  landed right next to us, I’d leave you. No joke. I’d get in the car,

  and it’s possible you’d hear very unmanly noises coming from my

  mouth.”

  She burst out laughing and wiped the tears away from her

  eyes. “All birds or just seagulls?”

  “All birds. I mean, come on. Have you ever seen an ostrich

  before? There’s something very wrong about a bird that can look

  you straight in the eye. Know what I mean?”

  She laughed again and nodded. “Thanks.”

  “For what?” I grabbed her hand again. She was so small

  compared to me. I liked protecting her, being next to her.

  “Making me laugh during my insane freak out. I promise I

  can do this. I can ride in a car. How far away are we driving?”

  “Ten more miles tops. I promise.”

  She nodded. “Okay, I can do it. Just… um I just can’t go any

  farther.”

  I bit my lip. “One of these days you’ll be able to, Lyss, trust

  me. And when you’re ready to go all crazy and hit up eleven miles

  or, God forbid, even fifteen, I’ll be there.”

  Her eyes widened and for a minute I thought she was going

  to freak out again. Instead she launched herself into my arms and

  pressed her lips against mine. “I really like you, Demetri Daniels.”

  I sighed against her hot mouth. “I really like you too,

  Alyssa…” Holy crap. I had no idea what her last name was. I set

  her on her feet. “What’s your last name?”

  “I’m hurt, you don’t even know?” She swatted me as I led

  her back to the SUV.

  “Well, one of us is famous, so it’s not my fault you already

  know mine.” I opened the door for her and motioned for her to go

  in. She crossed her arms and shook her head.

  “Guess you’ll have to do your research, huh?”

  I grinned like a fool and nodded my head. “Guess I better.”

  We got into the car where Alec and Nat were fighting. Of

  course they were.

  “Okay, guys, we can go now.”

  “No, we can’t.” Nat crossed her arms.

  “Why?” If the murderous expression on Alec’s face was any

  indicator, Nat was a few seconds away from death.

  Nat flipped around and directed her attention toward

  Alyssa. “You a fan of One Direction?”

  Alyssa’s deer in headlights expression didn’t help matters.

  She looked from Nat to me then finally exhaled. “Okay, honest

  moment, and if you ever tell anyone I’ll swear I never said it. But I

  used to be obsessed with Justin Bieber to the point of stalking his

  Twitter account daily, and though I haven’t listened to music in a

  while… If One Direction is that new British boy band I keep

  hearing about then, yes. I’m sure I’ll love them.”

  Nat grinned and gave Alyssa a high five. “We shall be

  friends forever.” She turned back to her seat and nudged Alec.

  “The ladies have spoken. Give us our boy band!”

  Alec cursed and flipped the volume up where One Direction

  was playing their newest hit.

  I wanted to punch the seat in front of me. I totally shared

  Alec’s sentiment. I mean, those guys were competition. You don’t

  see the Seahawks painting their uniforms red in order to support

  the 49ers. It just wasn’t done.

  Finally, after Nat belted out the chorus and Alyssa began

  moving in her seat next to me, I yelled. “Cheaters! Both of you!”

  “What?” they yelled in unison.

  “Competition!” I pointed at the radio. “That’s blatant

  cheating. From here on out, I say you girls can’t listen to any guy

  music, unless it’s us.”

  “Agreed,” Alec muttered another curse in Nat’s direction.

  Her response was to stick out her tongue. Clearly the honeymoon

  phase was over.

  “Denied,” Alyssa piped up next to me and gave Nat a high

  five, shoving me out of the way. I felt my nostrils flare as I repeated

  Alec’s curse and glared at both of the traitors.

  It was going to be a really long ten miles.

  ****

  Alec pulled up to the restaurant and turned off the car.

  When we first got to Seaside last fall, things got so crazy that the

  only place we could actually go to eat was this old run-down bed

  and breakfast on the beach. It was owned by an elderly married

  couple who, I swear, were alive before electricity was discovered.

  Their great-grandkids were also huge fans, which meant

  they didn’t think twice about closing the place down for us if we

  needed it. But considering it was a bed and breakfast, it wasn’t too

  crowded at dinnertime.

  I grabbed Alyssa’s hand. It was warm and fit perfectly in

  mine. I sighed in excitement. Everything about her felt so right. She

  smiled up at me, and my heart stopped in my chest. She had no

  idea what she did to me. She was so beautiful, like my own

  personal light. I couldn’t help but grin back. I felt my cheeks heat.

  How did a girl make me blush?

  “Boys!” Old Mrs. Miller greeted us and swatted Alec with a

  towel when we walked in. “I just saw you on TV a few days ago!

  Are you back for good now?”

  Alec grinned and pulled Mrs. Miller into a side hug. “Nope,

  just here for the day, but Demetri’s here for a while. Did you know

  he works at Seaside Taffy? Show her the jingle, bro.”

  Damn brother and his inability to keep his mouth shut. Mrs.

  Miller looked expectantly in my direction. I managed to get

  through the jingle in record time. Alyssa and Nat clapped. Alec

  pursed his lips together and looked away. Payback’s a bitch, and I

  was going to get him one way or another.

  Mrs. Miller, bless her heart, just sighed and patted my hand.

  “That’s so nice, Demetri. Good for you! It’s good for a boy to

  work.”

  Why was everyone under the impression that I didn’t work?

  I nodded and gave her a hug once Alec released her. “Where’s Mr.

  Miller?”

  “Oh, he saw your car pull up and knew you’d want some

  dinner, so he’s firing up the grill out back.”

  Excellent. And that was why I loved them. “Come on in. Sit,

  sit.” It was a really warm night, even though the breeze from the

  beach was a little cold.

  She led us outside to the porch, so we could watch the

  waves, and passed out blankets to the girls. Our chairs surrounded

  the little outdoor fireplace.

  “What can I
get you to drink?” Mrs. Miller pulled out her

  little notepad and stared at the blank page, her pencil hovering

  over the paper.

  “Coffee for me.” I looked to Alyssa. She tilted her head for a

  minute.

  “Hot chocolate?”

  “Ooo, me too,” Nat agreed.

  Alec ordered coffee. Straight up black coffee with no sugar,

  no cream. Boring and gross, but Alec ordered food according to his

  personality sometimes. I always wanted to add spice to things. He

  was perfectly happy with the natural state of everything.

  And this is what I mean about losing my mind. How did I

  get from coffee to our personality differences? Why did I have to be

  addicted to all drugs? Clearly I needed something to pull me out of

  my estrogen-like state. I shuddered and had half a mind to roar or

  something just to remind myself that I was a dude.

  “So, how’s it going in Seaside? I mean, how is it really

  going? Are things… hard?” I could tell Alec was trying to ask me

  about the drugs and my depression in a covert way, but I had no

  secrets from Alyssa. He shifted in his seat and sighed.

  “It hasn’t been easy. Actually it’s been hell, but I’m getting

  there. I feel better than I’ve ever felt and this one over here…” I

  nudged Alyssa. “Has magic taffy powers. She provides me with

  everything I need.”

  She blushed profusely, and then I realized what I had just

  alluded to. I quickly backtracked. “I mean, when it comes to like

  food, not physical stuff like… shit.”

  Alec’s shoulders shook from laughter. “It’s okay, I knew

  what you meant.”

  Nat stared at Alyssa and grinned.

  “So magic taffy powers?” Alec winked at Alyssa and leaned

  back in his chair, his arms crossed behind his head, making his

  shirt pull up just slightly. The guy was going to give Mrs. Miller a

  stroke if he didn’t keep it in his pants.

  She blushed. “Don’t let him fool you. It’s not near as cool as

  it sounds.” Alyssa didn’t seem the least bit affected by Alec’s

  peekaboo six-pack, or the fact that he was flashing her a giant ass

  smile. She tucked her head into my shoulder. I kissed her on the

  hair and grinned.

  “Yes. It really is,” I confirmed to Alec, fighting the urge to

  tell him mine really was bigger than his. I knew he wasn’t doing it

  on purpose, but sometimes I hated how much girls flocked to him.