fading in the distance.
I’d sent Tayia a text earlier letting her know that I was coming over, but she never responded. I hoped that she was awake to let me in; otherwise I had no idea what I would do. I couldn’t call my parents or my brothers. I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with them right now so I knocked on the door and waited.
Nothing.
I knocked a second time, a little louder, and waited.
Still nothing.
I rang the doorbell quickly as a last resort. Finally, I heard noises on the other side. Then the door swung open to reveal a shirtless Blake glaring down at me while Tayia peeked around him.
“Jonna?” Tayia called out. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She stepped forward and nudged Blake to the side, however he looked like he didn’t really want to move or let me in. I’d always gotten along with Blake, which was why his actions surprised me.
Once inside, Tayia and I went up to her room and I filled her in on my night with Mack. I’d never been so unsure about anything in my life. The one thing I did know was that I’d connected with Mack in a way physically that I never had with anyone else. The rest of it was completely foreign. I had no idea what sort of things he was involved in, but I knew they weren’t good. Here I was, a girl who could throw attitude with the best of them and had no qualms about going after what I wanted, yet when it came to Mack King, I was at a loss. I’d never experienced anything like this before, and suddenly I felt nineteen. And Tayia, just like me, had no idea what to make of this situation either, so instead we watched a movie until we both fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
We’d managed to convince my dad to let us leave early. The restaurant was dead and there were just a few people sitting at the bar. Drew had the night off and was headed with Woody to a race. I think this was also the reason Harley chose tonight to go to Charleston to pick up her box. While I didn’t like sneaking around behind my brother’s back, I also wanted to be there for Harley. I envied everything about her. She was gorgeous in a natural way. She never bothered doing anything special to her chocolate brown hair, but it always seemed to fall perfectly into place. Her makeup was minimal and she couldn’t care less about clothes or if she wore the same outfit twice in a week. Harley just wasn’t bothered by that kind of stuff. However, my favorite thing about her was that she spoke her mind. No filter and no hesitation. It was the way I wanted to be.
Growing up as the baby of the family and the only daughter with two older brothers, an overbearing mother, and a father who spoiled me rotten, meant that I had to fight for independence. I learned early own that my attitude would rattle them enough to back off a little. I was constantly trying to prove that I could handle way more than they gave me credit for.
And sometimes I was even right.
“So, what about this ex-boyfriend? Is there going to be any drama?” My thoughts went back to Travis. I didn’t know if anything was worth getting from his house if it meant seeing him again.
“No, he’ll be cool. It wasn’t like we were in love or anything,” Harley replied and looked out of the window.
“How long were you with him?”
“Five years.”
“Five years?” I repeated. “That’s a long time to be with someone and not be in love.”
“I don’t know.” Harley shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it was love so much as being with someone for a long time and tolerating each other. I think I could have loved him if I’d let myself.” She added the last sentence almost as an afterthought, then let out a long breath. “He could be good when he wanted to, but he also knew how to screw up pretty badly. I’d just had enough of the highs and lows. Plus I never really saw much of a future with him, not the way I do with Drew.”
“It looks like you made the right decision then.” I smiled at her and turned my focus back to the
I’d sent Tayia a text earlier letting her know that I was coming over, but she never responded. I hoped that she was awake to let me in; otherwise I had no idea what I would do. I couldn’t call my parents or my brothers. I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with them right now so I knocked on the door and waited.
Nothing.
I knocked a second time, a little louder, and waited.
Still nothing.
I rang the doorbell quickly as a last resort. Finally, I heard noises on the other side. Then the door swung open to reveal a shirtless Blake glaring down at me while Tayia peeked around him.
“Jonna?” Tayia called out. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She stepped forward and nudged Blake to the side, however he looked like he didn’t really want to move or let me in. I’d always gotten along with Blake, which was why his actions surprised me.
Once inside, Tayia and I went up to her room and I filled her in on my night with Mack. I’d never been so unsure about anything in my life. The one thing I did know was that I’d connected with Mack in a way physically that I never had with anyone else. The rest of it was completely foreign. I had no idea what sort of things he was involved in, but I knew they weren’t good. Here I was, a girl who could throw attitude with the best of them and had no qualms about going after what I wanted, yet when it came to Mack King, I was at a loss. I’d never experienced anything like this before, and suddenly I felt nineteen. And Tayia, just like me, had no idea what to make of this situation either, so instead we watched a movie until we both fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
We’d managed to convince my dad to let us leave early. The restaurant was dead and there were just a few people sitting at the bar. Drew had the night off and was headed with Woody to a race. I think this was also the reason Harley chose tonight to go to Charleston to pick up her box. While I didn’t like sneaking around behind my brother’s back, I also wanted to be there for Harley. I envied everything about her. She was gorgeous in a natural way. She never bothered doing anything special to her chocolate brown hair, but it always seemed to fall perfectly into place. Her makeup was minimal and she couldn’t care less about clothes or if she wore the same outfit twice in a week. Harley just wasn’t bothered by that kind of stuff. However, my favorite thing about her was that she spoke her mind. No filter and no hesitation. It was the way I wanted to be.
Growing up as the baby of the family and the only daughter with two older brothers, an overbearing mother, and a father who spoiled me rotten, meant that I had to fight for independence. I learned early own that my attitude would rattle them enough to back off a little. I was constantly trying to prove that I could handle way more than they gave me credit for.
And sometimes I was even right.
“So, what about this ex-boyfriend? Is there going to be any drama?” My thoughts went back to Travis. I didn’t know if anything was worth getting from his house if it meant seeing him again.
“No, he’ll be cool. It wasn’t like we were in love or anything,” Harley replied and looked out of the window.
“How long were you with him?”
“Five years.”
“Five years?” I repeated. “That’s a long time to be with someone and not be in love.”
“I don’t know.” Harley shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it was love so much as being with someone for a long time and tolerating each other. I think I could have loved him if I’d let myself.” She added the last sentence almost as an afterthought, then let out a long breath. “He could be good when he wanted to, but he also knew how to screw up pretty badly. I’d just had enough of the highs and lows. Plus I never really saw much of a future with him, not the way I do with Drew.”
“It looks like you made the right decision then.” I smiled at her and turned my focus back to the
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