Without You

  Maegan walked by me as Lauren, Libby, and Taylor all started laughing.

  “Ten bucks says she walks out with a guy,” Taylor said to Libby.

  “Taylor, that’s your sister,” Libby said with a giggle.

  “Please, you just don’t want to take the bet ’cause you know I’m right.”

  We all started laughing as we walked in. Libby stopped and stared out onto the dance floor. I followed her gaze to see Luke dancing with Claire.

  Ugh, that girl is a pain in the ass.

  I glanced around and saw Will. He was dancing with some girl I’d never seen before. It wasn’t a slow song, so they were just two-stepping. As he kept spinning her around to Dustin Lynch’s “Where It’s At,” she was laughing. It seemed like they knew each other well.

  “Who is Will dancing with?” I asked Libby.

  She pulled her eyes from Luke and looked at Will. She smiled and said, “That’s our second cousin, Trish. She is my mom’s cousin’s daughter. This is her first time in Texas. Will spent all day yesterday teaching her how to two-step. Her dad is in the military. She’s been in Alaska for the last five years.”

  Will and Libby had gone to Alaska once to visit someone on their mom’s side of the family.

  “Don’t worry, Lex. That boy only has eyes for you.” Libby bumped my shoulder.

  Will looked over and saw us watching him. He stopped dancing and whispered something into Trish’s ear. She smiled and nodded, and then they began walking toward us.

  Will stopped in front of me, and his smile melted my heart. For the first time in a month, my body craved something more.

  “Lex, this is my cousin, Trish. Trish, this is Lex,” Will said.

  She held her hand out and smiled big. “I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you. Will hasn’t stopped talking about you since we got here two days ago.”

  I reached out for her hand and shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Trish looked back at Will and hit him in the stomach. “You didn’t tell me she was drop-dead gorgeous.”

  I felt my cheeks blush as Will grinned bigger.

  “You want something to drink, Lex?” Will asked.

  Panic set in.

  Stop this, Alex. It’s Will.

  “Bottle of water if they have it.”

  Will frowned, but then he smiled. “You got it, sweetheart.”

  Grace walked up and started talking with Libby and Trish. I watched as Will walked over to a bunch of coolers. He opened each cooler, looking for water.

  Claire walked up to Will and put her hand on his arm. She leaned in close and said something to him. Will shook his head as he dug through the cooler. She leaned in further and whispered into his ear. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. I couldn’t tell what he said to her, but she put her finger in mouth and pouted.

  Oh no, she didn’t! That little tramp.

  Will shook his head again and went back to digging in the cooler. Claire shrugged her shoulders and began walking away.

  “I’ll be right back!” I shouted to Grace.

  “Where are you going?”

  I turned and looked at her as I smiled. “To set Claire straight once and for all.”

  Grace gave me a big smile and winked. “Go get her.”

  I made my way across the makeshift dance floor. Claire was now trying to put the moves on Luke, and he was pushing her away from him. I placed my hand on her shoulder and spun her around.

  “What the—” Claire looked at me and gave me a fake smile. “Alex, gesh, I thought you were someone else.”

  “Who, Claire? Another girl whose boyfriend you’ve either slept with or hit on tonight?”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

  I took a few steps closer to her and began poking my index finger in her chest. “Listen to me, and listen good. Will. Is. Mine. You so much as look his way again, and I’ll beat your ass from here to China. Luke is taken, too. So, bitch, just back the fuck off.”

  Claire swallowed hard and looked at Luke. I peeked over to him, and he smiled and nodded.

  “Um…sorry, Alex. I was just asking Will to dance, that’s all.”

  “Why don’t you focus on the guys who don’t have girlfriends?”

  She pushed my hand away. “I’m leaving. I don’t need this shit.”

  I picked up my hand and waved my fingers good-bye in her face. “See ya.”

  She pushed past me and headed out of the barn to leave.

  “Damn, little cousin. Where in the hell did that come from?” Luke grabbed me and pulled me in for a hug.

  “I guess I got tired of hiding inside my own body.”

  Luke looked at me and grinned. “Welcome back, Alex.”

  “It feels good to be back. Hey, Luke?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did Will tell you that Libby left Zack?”

  Luke’s smile vanished. “Um…yeah, he did.”

  “Stop hiding inside yourself, Luke. She’s not going to wait forever.”

  He looked up and across the barn to Libby. “I know.”

  I turned and made my way back over to Grace and Libby. Grace was laughing, and Libby was smiling.

  Libby looked over at me and laughed. “What in the world did you say to Claire? She stormed out of here.”

  “I told her to stay away from Will and Luke.”

  Grace shook her head. “That’s it?”

  “I might have hinted at her being a whore in a roundabout way.”

  Libby and Grace both started laughing. Grace handed me a bottle of water.

  I looked around for Will. “Where did Will go?”

  “He said he had to go take care of something,” Libby said with a sly smile.

  The moment he walked up behind me, I felt him. I turned to see Will standing there with the most gorgeous smile on his face. My heart skipped a beat.

  I never want to live my life without Will in it.

  Before the next song, the DJ got everyone’s attention. I pulled my eyes off of Will and looked over to the DJ.

  “Hey, y’all. This next song goes out to one very special girl. Lex, this song is dedicated to you from Will.”

  I looked back at Will and tilted my head as I raised my eyebrow. The moment I heard those familiar notes play, I started laughing. Will reached for my hand and led me to the dance floor. He pulled me into his arms, and we instantly became one. He moved me across the makeshift dance floor, and I felt like I was floating on air.

  “Gramps?” I asked.

  Will through his head back and laughed. He looked back at me. “I’m learning from the best.”

  “Damn straight you are!” I said with a laugh.

  Will and I danced to Nat King Cole’s “Send for Me.”

  “You know, this is the song my dad plays for my mother after he has messed up,” I said.

  Will pulled me closer. “Oh, I know. My dad plays the same song, and my mother melts. Is it working?”

  I giggled. “Am I melting? Or is it working?”

  “Both!”

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I do. I didn’t mean to push you away, Will. I love you, and I just wasn’t ready to talk yet.”

  Will spun me around, and everyone started to shout out our names as we continued to dance it up on the dance floor.

  The song ended, and One Direction’s “You & I” began playing.

  Will smiled. “Something hit me so hard these last few days. It was the same feeling that I had last fall when we were apart.”

  “What was it?” I asked.

  Will shook his head slightly. “I never, for the rest of my life, Lex, want to be without you.”

  The tears began building in my eyes. I bit down on my lower lip in an attempt to hold my emotions back. A small sob escaped my lips as I whispered, “That’s not even an option.”

  Gently placing his hands on the sides of my face, Will wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “I love you, Alexandra Eryn Mathews. I love
you so much.”

  I placed my hands on his arms as I looked into his sea-blue eyes. “I love you, William Gregory Hayes, more.”

  He chuckled, and then he leaned down and began kissing me. This kiss was the one thing I needed to help me see that our love was stronger than anything Blake had done to me.

  Will loved me, and I loved him. Our love was and would always be…perfect.

  Lex and I stood at the bow of the ferry as we made our way over to Port Aransas. I was surprised all our parents had been open to the idea of us coming down for our own celebration. Colt, Lauren, and Taylor had graduated, and this was how we all wanted to spend our last summer together. While the rest of us were heading to A&M, Maegan would be going back to Baylor, and Taylor would be attending UT.

  “I can’t believe how fast this summer is going,” Lex said.

  I watched her beautiful brown hair whip around from the wind. She finally got tired of it and reached for my baseball cap. She pulled her hair through the hole in the back and made a ponytail as she pulled the cap down over her eyes.

  God, I can’t believe she’s mine.

  “I know. It is going by fast.”

  I looked back to the cars—or trucks really. Luke, Colt, and I had all brought our trucks, and the girls had ridden down with us. I had been shocked that Libby ended up riding with Luke. Luke had intended on leaving for the whole summer, but after Lex’s incident, he’d stayed. He’d avoided Libby pretty much the first month of summer, but that had changed after the barn dance a few weeks ago. At least now, they could be in the same room and apparently the same car together.

  I looked back at Lex. “Have you talked to Libby about Luke?”

  She turned and looked at Luke’s truck. Luke, Lauren, and Libby were all laughing about something.

  “She said they’re talking, but it’s nothing like what Libby wants. Luke is keeping a safe distance from her. I’m hoping things will change for them this week.” She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “If you know what I mean.”

  I scrunched my nose up and made a face. “Oh shit, too much, Lex. Yuck. That’s my sister, ya know.”

  Lex started laughing as we headed back to my truck since the ferry was about to dock.

  After getting in the truck, I grabbed Lex’s hand. “You ready to have an amazing week?”

  Lex smiled so sweetly that I almost had to catch my breath.

  “Yes! I have a feeling this week is going to change a lot of things. It’s going to be beyond amazing.”

  A few minutes later, we were pulling up to the beach house. The sea-blue color of the house always made me smile. Even as a kid, when we would come to the beach, I loved the color of the house. I stood there and stared at it until I felt someone slap me on the back.

  “A lot of damn good memories in this house.” Luke looked at the house.

  “Sure is.”

  He turned and smiled. “Hell of a lot more will be made in the following week, no doubt.”

  I glanced at him and smiled before looking at Lex. She was talking to Grace about what to do first.

  “Beach or pool?” Grace asked.

  “Beach!” Lex said.

  They both darted toward the front door.

  I glanced back at Luke. “Do you think she knows? I mean, everyone else does, and I’m surprised Grace has kept it a secret.”

  Luke laughed.

  Lauren walked up. “She’s clueless. Grace has actually done a very good job at making it seem like nothing special is going on. I don’t think Alex has any idea.”

  “Good.” I kissed Lauren on the cheek. “Keep her distracted.”

  Lauren smiled. “Oh, I will. Now, my ass is going to get some sun on the beach.”

  Luke and I smiled as we watched Lauren skip away.

  “Do you think she has any clue how damn adorable she is?” Luke asked.

  “Nope,” Colt and I both said at once.

  Colt was walking by, carrying four pieces of luggage.

  “Why the hell do these girls pack so much shit?” Colt said.

  “Dude, that is one of many questions about women I’d like to have answered.” Luke picked up three suitcases and followed Colt.

  We walked into the beach house that my parents had bought when Libby and I were about four. Gunner and Ellie had built the house on our right, and Jeff and Ari had built the house on the other side.

  I smiled as I looked around. My mother had the house decorated in what she called a beach-shabby chic style. It was mostly whites and blues. The walls were large pieces of plank wood that had been painted white. The floors were all stained, and the furniture was either mostly blues or leather. The two-story house had four bedrooms and four bathrooms along with a small poolside house that could sleep two people.

  The girls had already decided who was bunking with whom. Lex and I would get one room. Grace and Libby were in another room. Lauren, Taylor, and Maegan were sharing a room. Luke and Colt had fought like hell on who was going to get the poolside house, and Luke had won out after three rounds of arm wrestling.

  Maegan grabbed two suitcases and started toward the stairs. “I’m gonna unpack and head to the beach. My white skin needs some sun, and my eyes need to look at some di—”

  “Stop!” Grace and Lex said at the same time.

  Libby laughed as she went to grab her suitcase.

  Luke took it for her and smiled. “I’ll get it for you, Lib.”

  Libby smiled back and nodded her head. I was glad to see the two of them were slowly getting back to somewhat of a normal relationship. Now, if they would just talk to each other about their feelings, everything would be even better.

  “Things are looking good,” Lex whispered as she watched Luke follow Libby upstairs.

  “Yeah, I think so. Do you mind if I meet y’all down at the beach? I’ll just be a couple of minutes. I want to work on something your dad wanted me to do.”

  Lex looked at me funny. “What did he want you to do?”

  “Expense spreadsheets. I think he’s starting to test me.”

  Lex laughed as she reached up on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on the lips. “Of course I don’t mind. I’m gonna go change into my new bathing suit. I think you will be very happy with it.”

  I instantly felt my dick getting hard. “Really? Well, I can’t wait to see this new bathing suit. The quicker, the better.”

  I grabbed our luggage as Lex grabbed her backpack. We headed to the only bedroom on the first floor.

  When we walked into the master bedroom, I set everything down and looked around. “Oh God.”

  Lex turned and looked at me. “What? What’s wrong, Will?”

  Lex had already begun to strip out of her clothes. I looked at her and then looked at the king-sized bed.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I mean…I don’t think I can.”

  Lex narrowed her eyes at me as a confused expression crossed her face. “What are you talking about, Will?”

  I looked back at the bed. “Sex. I don’t think I can have sex in this bed or even in this room.”

  Lex started laughing as she jumped on the bed. “Why? ’Cause your mom and dad have?”

  “Gross. Yuck. Oh my God, that turns my stomach just from thinking about it.”

  Lex reached behind her, unsnapped her bra, and dropped it to the bed.

  I had to control myself. I wanted to take her in my arms and make love to her. “You’re. Killing. Me.”

  She slowly started to unbutton her shorts, and then she shimmied them down. The moment I saw the bright yellow boy shorts, I knew I was done for.

  “Will, I don’t want to make love on this bed,” she said in a seductive voice.

  “You don’t?” I asked.

  She began slowly pushing her panties down, further and further. She bit down on her lower lip as she shook her head. “Nope. I want to fu—”

  Lex and I both jumped when someone started banging on the bedroom door.

  Grace called out from the
other side of the door. “Come on, Alex! It doesn’t take that long to change into a swimsuit…unless you’re giving Will a—”

  “Give me two minutes,” Lex said with a laugh. She quickly jumped up and skipped to her suitcase.

  “So wrong of you to do that right now,” I said.

  She looked back at me and shimmied her chest. My poor dick was already aching, and now, it was aching even more.

  “You don’t play fair, Lex.”

  She looked over her shoulder as she held up a teal bathing suit. “I didn’t realize you wanted me to play fair, Mr. Hayes.”

  I laughed as I walked over to my bag. I took my laptop out and set it down on the desk. I pulled up a bunch of spreadsheets in an attempt to look like I was going to work.

  Lex cleared her throat behind me.

  When I turned to look at her, my mouth dropped open. “Holy shit, you look beautiful.”

  Lex blushed as she moved around like she was embarrassed. I looked her perfect body up and down. Lex had the most amazing body. I’d heard her and Grace talk about how they both had hourglass shapes. Neither one of them had ever really worried about their weight, and I loved that. Really, none of the girls were fixated on their bodies, unlike how some of the girls in high school had seemed to be.

  I looked at Lex’s breasts. She seemed to be showing much more cleavage than normal.

  She must have noticed. “It’s a push-up top.”

  “Well, it’s pushing ’em up, that’s for damn sure.”

  She giggled. She put her finger in her mouth and gently bit down on it. It was a nervous habit she would do, and I didn’t think she realized that it was sexy as hell. I looked her body up and down again. I wanted her more than anything, but I needed to remember what I needed to take care of. I could have Lex all night long.

  “Lex, you’re so beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she walked over to me. She pushed her hand through my hair and kissed me. “I think you’re beautiful, too.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Go, before Grace has a heart attack, and I die from blue balls.”

  She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a sundress. She slipped it over her head and blew me a kiss before leaving. “Don’t work too hard. Daddy needs to understand that we’re on our vacation!”