Beautiful, p.24
Beautiful, page 24
My heart ached in my chest. “But Mitch—”
“Mitch wasn’t thinking about Michelle when he cheated.”
“I know, but he said he wasn’t dating anyone. His heart is broken.”
Wyatt placed his finger on my chin and brought my eyes to his. “And whose fault is that? Honestly, Sky, you can’t expect Michelle to just sit and pine over Mitch, can you? He hurt her and broke her trust. Maybe what they both need is to see other people.”
My eyebrows drew tightly together.
Before I had a chance to say anything, Wyatt placed his finger over my lips. “Stop thinking like that.”
“Like what?” I muttered against his finger.
“We don’t have anything to get out of our system, Sky. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that in the deepest part of my heart.”
Feeling the uneasiness melt away, I smiled. “I know it, too. I love you, too.”
His hand slid behind my neck, drawing our lips closer together. The kiss was soft and sweet. If we weren’t in a coffee shop, I was positive it would turn to more of a heated exchange.
“Now, let’s get you ready for that last final. I’m ready to head home to get some of my mom’s home cooking.”
***
“You’re not going to tell me what y’all did?”
Michelle spun around, her hands now firmly on her hips. “Sky, if this is going to be weird, me living here and possibly dating guys, then we need to decide if being roommates is going to work.”
“No! I’m curious; that’s all. I swear, it’s not going to be weird. I hope you and Mitch work things out, but I also understand that you want to move on.”
Something passed over her face.
Sadness maybe?
Glancing down at the floor, Michelle kicked at something. “I love Mitch. I’m not sure if I’ll ever stop loving him, Sky. But…the hurt I feel in my heart is still so strong.”
Chewing on my lip, I did what I’d promised Wyatt I wouldn’t do. I butted in. “So, if you’re still hurting over Mitch, is now a good time to date someone?”
Michelle laughed and turned back around. “I’m not dating anyone. Zeb was nice enough to show me around. We walked around campus and went to dinner. That was it.”
I lifted a brow. “That was it?”
“Yep, that was it. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t hoping he would at least give me a hug. Or a kiss. Or cop a feel on a breast or two.”
“Michelle!” I gasped as I threw my pillow at her.
Laughing, she tossed it back at me. “Mitch is the only guy I’ve ever been with, Sky.” She shrugged. “I’m curious about what it would be like to kiss another guy, play around a bit…”
“Have sex?”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe.”
But what about Mitch?
My biggest fear was that Michelle would rush into something with someone purely out of spite. A payback to Mitch for what he had done to her.
“Stop overthinking, Sky. I’m not going to go out and fuck a guy just to get back at Mitch.” She threw her eyes up in thought and sighed. “Or…maybe I will. He didn’t really think of me when he slept with that whore.”
My stomach twisted in knots. “Just don’t do anything you’ll regret. Once the action is done, you can’t take it back.”
Michelle’s eyes met mine. They flooded with tears as she softly spoke, “Believe me, nobody knows that better than I do.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
* * *
Wyatt
“WYATT!” MY MOTHER and Skylar yelled at once.
Rushing out of the bathroom where I’d just showered, I ran down the stairs, dripping wet with only a towel wrapped around my waist. “What’s wrong? What is it?”
Skylar turned to me, and her eyes widened in surprise and then turned dark with desire.
Shit. I hope I don’t get a hard-on.
Then, my mother rushed into the room.
Nope. No problem there.
“It’s snowing!” Skylar said with a giggle. Her eyes roamed over my body as she attempted to hide her red cheeks.
“Good Lord, son, go get dressed.”
My mouth dropped as I turned to my mother. “You screamed like something was happening.”
“Something is happening. It’s snowing! In Texas! And on Christmas Eve!”
With a chuckle, I turned and headed back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Let me get dressed,” I called back to Skylar and my mom.
“Hurry!” Skylar shouted back.
After getting my hair somewhat dry, I headed back downstairs. Skylar and my parents were in the kitchen. There had been some serious baking going on all day. I didn’t want to ever see a sugar cookie again for as long as I lived.
“So, is it still snowing?” I asked, walking into the room.
My father glanced over at me and smiled. “Yep. And, with the cold weather we’ve been having, it appears to be sticking.”
Skylar clapped her hands. “Oh, I love this kind of weather. Do you think it will stay for tomorrow? It would be a white Christmas.”
My mother was equally as excited. “Let’s hope.”
Spinning around, Skylar flashed me a huge smile. “Casey Romp sent me a text. Said a group of kids from high school are meeting at the park. A snowball challenge has been issued. Guys against girls.”
Grinning, I nodded my head. “Sounds like fun. Plus, we can see some old friends we haven’t seen in a while.”
Skylar’s smile faltered a bit before she recovered from whatever memory had hit her.
“Your hair is still wet, Wyatt!” my mother cried out.
Rolling my eyes at my mother, I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s fine, Mom.”
“If you cut that hair some, it would be dry by now, you know.”
I let out a moan as Skylar laughed. My hair wasn’t that long, but my mother liked it shorter than what it was.
“Mom, not again. I like my hair, and I’m not cutting it.”
She shrugged. “I’m only saying because you look like you’re sixteen when you’re almost twenty.”
“Twenty? Mom, I turned nineteen last August.”
“I know! And twenty is only eight months away.”
Lifting her brows, Skylar winked. “It does make you look younger.”
“Not you, too,” I said with a groan.
My father walked past me and hit me on the back. “Simply nod and tell her you’ll take care of it. The faster you learn that move, the better off you will be.”
A cookie sailed across the room and hit my father in the back of the head.
“Joel Smith! No fudge for you!”
Laughing, I kissed my mother again and took Skylar’s hand. “Let’s get our coats on. I’ve got a snowball fight to win.”
***
The next hour was nothing but the guys huddling together and coming up with plays while the girls all jumped around, laughing and trying to eat snow. When it came time for the next few rounds of fights, they slaughtered us. Each. Time.
“How? How are you making them so fast?” I asked as I leaned over to catch my breath.
It had been snowing, but I’d already gotten rid of my jacket and hat. All the running around and trying to make snowballs had caused me to start sweating.
With an innocent shrug, Skylar smiled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I shook my head and pointed at her. “You’re hiding something.”
“What? Why do you think I’m hiding something?”
“Because all you’ve done is run around, trying to catch snowflakes, while we’ve been coming up with plans. Then, somehow, you come up with endless snowballs.”
Michelle laughed. “Smith, I think you’re paranoid. Just admit, we’re winning, and y’all are losing.”
“Hey, guys.”
Michelle’s smile faded as Mitch walked up to us.
“Hey, Mitch,” Jacob Miller said as he shook Mitch’s hand.
A few other guys followed suit, and then a few girls came up and gave him a hug.
With a grin, Mitch turned to Michelle. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Michelle glanced. It was like she was thinking about if she was going to respond to Mitch or not. I was hoping she wouldn’t shun him, not here in front of everyone.
“Hey. It’s going good.”
Mitch nodded. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”
A small smile formed on Michelle’s face. “Th-thanks,” she softly replied.
“All right, now that we’ve got Mitch here, we’re going to take y’all down!” Jacob yelled out.
The girls laughed and skipped off to their side of the field. When all the guys got into a huddle, I stayed out and watched the girls. My mouth practically hit the ground when I saw a bunch of little girls run up and dump piles of snowballs next to one of the slides.
Shaking my head, I said, “Son of a bitch.”
“What’s wrong?” Mitch asked.
“They’ve been playing us. They’ve had those little girls making snowballs for them the whole time. That’s why they never run out of them!”
Mitch laughed as Jacob came and stood next to me.
“Time to change the game, boys.”
Turning to Jacob, I smiled. “What do you have in mind?”
Jacob rubbed his hands together. “Flag snowball.”
“What?” Mitch asked.
“Huddle back up before they see that we’ve noticed their stockpile.”
We all huddled up and listened to Jacob’s idea.
“Instead of flag football, we’re going to play flag snowball. One person from each team will be assigned to tag a snowball out.”
“How do we do that?” I asked.
“Are y’all done yet?” Casey called out.
“Just go with me on it.”
We all clapped and yelled, “Break!”
We walked up to the girls.
“It’s time to change the game, ladies,” Jacob said with a smile.
“You can’t change the game in the middle of it!” Beth, one of Skylar’s and Michelle’s old friends from high school, said with her hands on her hips.
“We can. There are no rules, so we’re changing up the game.”
Michelle took a step closer. “Fine. If you’re that worried we’re going to kick your asses, change the game.”
Jacob stepped close to Michelle. They were face-to-face, and I couldn’t help but glance over to Mitch. He looked pissed. He must have walked up on the last game when Michelle and Jacob had been flirting with each other.
“One person from each team gets to tag an opposing team member out. So, if a girl is holding a snowball and our guy tags her out, her snowball doesn’t count and gets dropped to the ground.”
Michelle lifted a brow.
Jacob’s smile grew bigger. “What’s the matter, Michelle? You afraid?”
Squaring her shoulders, Michelle wore an evil smile. “Of you? Oh, Mr. Miller, you make me feel a lot of things, but afraid is not one of them.”
Jacob threw his head back and laughed as Mitch balled his fists.
Walking over to him, I hit him on the shoulder. “You’re not together, Mitch. Get that look off your face.”
“She’s flirting with him on purpose, Wyatt. She saw me standing there during the game, and that whole little show earlier was for my benefit.”
I sighed and ran my gloved hand through my hair. “Do you blame her, Mitch? Just let it go. I highly doubt Michelle and Jacob will be hooking up anytime soon…if ever.”
Mitch nodded his head and walked toward the other guys.
“Girls get to pick which guy on your team is the tagger,” Casey said.
“Fine,” Jacob replied. “Same here.”
Casey looked around before finally giving her pick. “Mitch.”
Michelle rolled her eyes as Skylar clapped her hands.
Jacob smiled and said, “Guys pick Beth.”
“The slowest girl?” Michelle cried out.
Beth stomped her foot. “Hey! I’m not slow.”
Casey patted Beth’s arm. “It’s okay, sweetie. Just try your hardest to move fast.”
“What? I’m not slow!” Beth said as she followed the girls back over toward the slides.
Jacob motioned for Mitch. “Okay, you see where they’re hiding the snowballs, right?”
“Yep.”
Jacob hit Mitch’s chest. “Focus on that area, and take them down as they come back for more.”
“Take them down?” Mitch asked with a chuckle.
Jacob grabbed Mitch’s jacket. “Dude, this is for the win! Focus!”
With wide eyes, Mitch turned to me. I shrugged and let out a laugh of my own.
“Let’s do this!” Jacob yelled out.
We all bent over and made snowballs. I quickly put my jacket back on and made a few snowballs, putting them in my pocket.
The six of us lined up with Mitch positioned in front of Beth. Casey counted down from three, and we all started to throw snowballs. Mitch grabbed Beth, causing her to let out a scream, and he pulled her down onto the ground. With Beth down, Mitch took off toward the stockpile and made it there before any of the girls.
I watched as he slid behind the slide. It was then I got pelted with a snowball right in the forehead.
Michelle cried out, “Victory is ours!”
Pointing to her, I replied, “You’re mine!”
Reaching into my pockets, I grabbed the snowballs, keeping my eye on Michelle the entire time. She was running back to restock. When she grabbed a snowball, Mitch ran out from around a tree and tackled her to the ground. I ran up as fast as I could, dodging snowballs left and right.
Mitch was sitting on Michelle, pinning her and her arms to the ground, as I came up.
“Get off of me, you idiot!” Michelle cried out.
“Hold her down, Mitch,” I said with a smile as I leaned over her.
Shaking her head, Michelle widened her eyes. “You wouldn’t. I’m helpless. I can’t defend myself.”
With a wink, I replied, “Oh, I very much would.”
It was then I was hit. Hard. I flew to the ground and crash-landed.
“Yes!”
Turning, I looked up to see Beth standing there with a huge smile on her face.
“I’ve got a personal trainer, bitch.”
With that, she turned and took off toward the other four clueless guys.
Michelle, Mitch, and I started laughing. Glancing over, I noticed Mitch was still on top of Michelle, but he had let go of her hands. It didn’t take long for both to realize how close they were to each other.
“You can get off of me now, Mitch.”
He smiled. “Maybe this is the only way to make you talk to me.”
That was when it happened. Michelle lifted her hand and hit Mitch so hard in the balls, I thought they were going to come up through his mouth.
He fell to the side and started moaning.
Standing, Michelle stared at Mitch. “That’s for cheating on me, motherfucker.”
I watched as Michelle walked toward what now looked like a battlefield. Beth had taken every single guy down.
“Game. Over,” Casey said as all six girls high-fived one another.
I walked over to help Mitch up. “Dude, take my hand. You look like a pussy, lying here on the ground.”
“My. Balls. I think…they’re in…my stomach.”
Trying not to laugh, I shook my head and pulled him by his outstretched hand. Once I got him standing and not swaying, I glanced over my shoulder to see Skylar looking our way. I could see the sadness written all over her face. When I swung my eyes to our retreating friends, I saw Michelle was riding on Jacob’s back as they all headed to the parking lot.
“I think something else is about to get hurt, my friend.”
Mitch was leaning over, his hands on his knees, as he took in deep breaths. “What’s that?” Lifting his head, he slowly stood. Pulling his hat off, Mitch stared at Michelle as she got into the front seat of Jacob’s truck. “Yeah, that one hurts a hell of a lot more.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
* * *
Skylar
TURNING TO MY side, I smiled when I bumped Michelle’s back. I was so glad she’d decided to stay with us last night. It felt like old times again. We had even pulled out my old shoebox with both of our wedding dreams in it. Even though Wyatt and I were a few years away from a wedding, it didn’t hurt to start making a few plans.
Michelle sighed, and I knew she was awake. I had been terrified she and Jacob would end up at her house with her parents being out of town again. When they’d walked into the door at Pizza Mia, Wyatt and I’d each breathed a sigh of relief. Not to mention, Mitch had, too.
“It’s Christmas morning,” I whispered as I pulled her ponytail.
Jerking away, Michelle snorted. “So? Who cares?”
I rolled out of bed. “Oh, don’t be a Scrooge. You love Christmas.”
Michelle stretched and let out a long groan. “Yeah, well, that was before my parents decided to take separate vacations during the holidays, so they could avoid being near one another.”
Sadness filled my heart as I glanced back over to Michelle. “You really think they didn’t go together?”
She gave me a frosty look. “Of course they didn’t. They want to pretend like everything is okay when it’s far from it. My mother claims they are staying away for me, so I don’t have to listen to them fight.” Standing, Michelle shuffled her feet across the floor as she headed to my bathroom. “Honestly, I’d be much happier if they’d just split up. Then, maybe one of them would stick around.”
I rushed to the bathroom. “Oh no! I got up first. Hall bathroom for you.”
Michelle’s jaw went slack. “What? You’re making me use the guest bathroom?” She tried to make a pouty face and failed.
“Stop making that face. It’ll freeze and stay that way.”
Rolling her eyes, Michelle moved her hands to her hips. “Seriously? You’re making me use the hall bath?”
