Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
I take her behind the stage and talk to her coach. When I get Alexis settled, I make my way back to where I left Davis. As soon as I see him, my stomach clenches. I should have known that if I left him alone, he wouldn’t be that way long. And of course, it’s Katie Long that has decided to stop and talk to him. Katie was one of the mean girls in high school, and she hasn’t changed much since then. My pace slows, but I keep putting one foot in front of the other until I stop next to Davis.
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, Abby. This is… I’m sorry, what was your name?”
I try to hide my smile. “Yeah, I know Katie. How’s it going?”
Davis moves his hand to my lower back. “I’m going to sit down and make sure I save these seats for your mom and dad.” He ignores Katie and takes a seat.
Katie watches him, staring at his butt as he walks away before turning to me. “Who is that?”
“His name is Davis. He’s a friend of the family.”
She leans in and whispers, “Is he seeing someone?” Before I can answer her, she laughs. “Forget it. When has that ever stopped me? I’m going to take the row behind you.”
She slides into the next row and sits in the seat directly behind Davis.
I grit my teeth and sit down, leaving the two seats between us empty for my mom and dad.
“Hey, you okay?”
I nod. “I’m good. Thanks for coming. I know Alexis will love having you in the audience.”
It all feels so formal, but with Katie’s eagle eyes watching us, I’m completely on edge. My parents show up, and instead of letting them slide past, after saying hello, Davis gets up and moves down the aisle next to me. My mom and dad are smiling at both of us, and Davis leans toward me. “Is it making you uncomfortable with me being here?”
“What? No, why would you think that? I’m glad you’re here.”
“Ever since we got here, you’ve been… quiet.”
I look behind us, and sure enough, Katie is staring at us. “Uh, I don’t know if you realize it or not, but Katie is interested.”
He leans back in his chair as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. I feel the heat from his arm on the back of my chair. “Who?”
I look at him in surprise. Not many people forget Katie when they meet her. She’s beautiful, confident, and flirty. I gesture behind us with my eyes, and he turns to look and then quickly faces me again. “Her?”
I nod.
He scrunches his nose up. “No thanks.”
My mouth drops open. “No thanks? Really? I mean, from what I understand, she’s a sure thing.”
I wait for him to change his mind and maybe turn around to check her out again, but he doesn’t. He leans forward. “Still not interested.”
I try not to smile, I really do, but I can’t hold it back. The announcer for the recital comes forward, and I turn in my seat, smiling like a loon.
The recital only lasts an hour, and Alexis’ solo is short, but I swear I hold my breath the whole entire minute and thirty seconds. When she’s done, Davis is on his feet, clapping with the rest of us.
After the recital, we all go out to dinner, where Alexis is the star of the meal. She talks to all of us, replaying the night’s events. When we get back to the house, Davis comes in, and Alexis insists that he help tuck her in.
We’re walking into the living room when he stops at the entrance. “I should probably go.”
I hold my hand up. “Before you leave, do you think we can talk for a minute?”
While we were at dinner, I came up with this plan, and I know if I let him leave without talking to him first, I won’t forgive myself.
He rubs his hands together. “Sure.”
I point to the couch, and he goes to sit down. I move to sit next to him. “Why did you come over here tonight, Davis?”
He opens his mouth and closes it, but I wait him out. When he starts again, he leans his elbows on his knees. “I wanted to see you.”
“Did Zach ask you to?”
He rubs his hand through his hair. “When I came to Whiskey Run, Zach asked me to check in on you.”
I open my mouth, but he holds his hand up to stop me. “And last night, Zach and I talked about me going to The Club. But tonight…” I stop and try to collect my thoughts but decide to just put it out there. “Tonight was all me. I wanted to see you, especially after last night. I needed to make sure you were okay.”