This One’s For You Read online

  I moved like lightning across the bed toward the mirror Amelia was standing in front of earlier. If I was embarrassed before this, then I was certainly about to lose it. I looked like a freak show. My eyes were ringed with circles so dark, they’d make a raccoon laugh. That was the price I paid for not washing off my makeup prior to changing. My wavy locks were piled messily on top of my head, with strands of blonde sticking out in every direction.

  “Oh God . . .” I muttered under my breath.

  “Not to rain on your parade and all,” Amelia said. She appeared by my side, ruffled my hair, and winked at me through the mirror. “But you’re pretty scary in the morning.”

  I tilted my head and stuck out my tongue. The both of us laughed. I pulled on the elastic band that barely managed to contain my hair, and it cascaded down my back. Even if it was essentially a rat’s nest, it fell a few inches below my shoulders. It was a pain to keep up on, but short hair didn’t suit me. I had tried and tried, but no style above the shoulders did me any favors. My long, curly tendrils drove me insane, yet I loved them at the same time. They weren’t tight-knit like Shirley Temple’s, they were loose, like beach wave curls that framed my face.

  I crossed the room to retrieve my brush, as well as my makeup remover, and got to work. It didn’t take long before I was looking human again. I moved to the closet to find something to wear. I glanced out the window and saw the sun shining high in the sky, but I had heard about the crazy weather in Eugene and chose not to trust what I saw. A quick check of the weather app on my phone confirmed my suspicions. While it looked to be a nice, warm sunny day, it was, in fact, a chilly midforties with a high chance of rain.

  I couldn’t decide whether to bum it out and pull on a pair of sweats, or to wear actual clothes. Then I remembered who just happened to be across the hall, and quickly made up my mind. After pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a plain black shirt, my flats, and a hoodie, I was dressed and ready in no time.

  “You good to go?” Amelia asked as I slipped the sweater over my head. She made a tsk and I was well aware of the fact that she didn’t approve of the fleece material.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “Just need to look up where the nearest bus stop is and what time it comes next. Then we’re good to go.”

  I heard the sound of metal clinking together and looked over to see Amelia holding up a set of keys. “No need,” she said, a small smirk appearing on her lips. “We can take the beast.”

  “The beast?” I said, a little wary of what that might mean.

  “You’ll see,” was all she said before strutting out of the room.

  Five minutes later, I found myself staring at a vehicle that I could only describe as a beast—something I didn’t expect a girl from the Upper East Side would drive. The black-on-black Jeep Commander intimidated me. I wasn’t sure if it was the three-inch lift, or the fact that the tires seemed to be almost taller than me.

  I glanced over at Amelia. Raising an eyebrow, I silently asked her what the hell that thing was in front of me.

  “My parents tried to buy me a Benz,” she started to say, “but I was going through this rebellious phase where I wanted to do whatever I could to upset my mother. Imagine the looks on the snooty socialites when they saw it at my sweet-sixteen party.”

  I couldn’t imagine it, but I think I had a pretty good idea. I didn’t know anything about life in New York, and assumed it was mortifying for her mother and friends.

  “I thought traffic was bad in New York,” I said. “Doesn’t everyone walk, take the subway, hail a cab, or have a driver?”

  I felt like an idiot asking the questions. I lived a pretty sheltered life in one of the suburbs near Seattle. Sure, the city, in its entirety was huge, but I stayed in the cozy comforts of Lake Forest Park. There was no hustle and bustle of the city. It was a town close enough without being overwhelmed with city living, it was a little community, with its own little shops and all we could ever need.

  “Pretty much,” Amelia said, pulling me from my thoughts. “This will be the second time I’ve driven this beauty. The first was on the trip out here.”

  My eyes widened. I wasn’t going to lie and say I wasn’t a little nervous—because I was nervous. I already feared riding with someone I barely knew, and that this was only her second time driving the monstrous beast was a nightmare come to life. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and watched as Amelia rounded the car to the driver’s side, motioning for me to climb in. I practically needed a ladder just to get into the passenger seat.

  The loud beat that blared through the speakers was enough for me to lose my hearing. I covered my ears and bent forward, placing my head in my lap. Amelia quickly hit the Off button on the radio, and I could still hear the ringing in my ears.

  “Sorry about that,” she apologized. “Had to blare music on the drive to stay awake. Forgot to turn it off when I arrived.”

  I smiled and nodded. Amelia set the GPS to lead us to the closest mall and started to back out of the parking spot. I focused my attention toward trying to calm my bouncing knees, fighting off the panic attack threatening to surface. I inhaled a sharp breath as she eased out into traffic.

  We drove through town for a few minutes before hitting the freeway on-ramp. My heart lurched in my stomach as the Jeep began to pick up speed and Amelia wove in and out of traffic.

  “So did you bring yours?” Amelia asked, taking her eyes off the road and glancing at me. My stomach flipped, and my breaths became shallow and quick.

  I shifted my eyes to her before quickly staring back out the window. “Did I bring what?”

  “Your car,” Amelia said, laughing. She let go of the steering wheel, and I swore I was about to lose my mind. I slunk down in my seat and prayed we’d get to the mall soon. And in one piece.

  I wasn’t sure why she asked me that—it was obvious I didn’t bring my car with me. “I don’t drive.”

  “Oh!” she said, her voice hitting a high pitch. “I just assumed you have a license.”

  “I do,” I corrected her. She didn’t move her head, but I saw her eyes look over to me. “I just don’t drive.”

  She gave me another suspicious glance, as if asking me to elaborate, but I didn’t. How did I explain why I didn’t drive without making it seem like I was a horrible person? The truth was, I hadn’t touched my car since the night of New Year’s Eve, nine months ago. And I had no intention of doing so. It could sit parked in the garage at my parents’ house and collect dust for all I cared.

  It wasn’t as though I’d never drive again, but it was going to be a long time before I got behind the wheel. I was making progress; getting into the car with Amelia was proof of that. Until now, I’d only ride in the car with my parents or my brothers. Otherwise, I’d stay home, or take the bus. Granted, a new person drove the bus every time I got on, which was why it was a last resort. But a bus felt safer than a small vehicle. It’d take a lot to take a bus out. It was also the reason Damon drove me down yesterday.

  Maybe that’s why I was okay with riding with Amelia. True to its nickname, her car was a beast, and it wouldn’t go down without a fight. The car fell silent as Amelia took the exit toward the mall. I could tell she wanted to pry, and I was thankful she didn’t. It was another thing to add to the quickly growing list of “Why I like my roommate.”

  We arrived to the mall within a few minutes and spent a lifetime searching for a parking spot. After circling the vast lot—Amelia was adamant about not parking way out in Timbuktu—she finally settled for one further than she would like.

  “Jeez,” Amelia said, meeting me at the front of the car. “I think everyone and their grandma is here today.”

  I laughed. Amelia linked her arm into mine, and we headed inside. Her assessment was right; everyone and their grandma was in town. Foot traffic was shoulder to shoulder inside the department stores, and people kept bumping into each other as if it didn’t matter. Amelia took charge, and we shoved our way through th
e crowd toward our destinations.

  We hit the clothing stores first—not that we needed any more clothes between the two of us. Regardless, by the time we left the third store, our arms were already full.

  “Before we grab what we need for the dorm, we need to stop by the Duck Store,” Amelia said as we walked toward the food court. “We need to stock up on our school spirit.”

  I had only one shirt that had our school name on it, and I’m not even sure I remembered to pack it. We stopped to look at the map in the middle of the mall, located the store we were looking for, and headed in that direction.

  The store was small, and jam-packed with other students. Some were with their parents, rolling their eyes and ready to be freed from the rope tying them to their former rule makers. Amelia started to grab whatever she could in our sizes, paying no mind to what it was, handing items to me, before throwing them down onto the counter.

  As the cashier started to scan the items, I realized she was scanning everything. I reached out, pointing to a yellow shirt she had. “That one’s mine,” I said.

  The cashier put it aside and continued ringing up Amelia’s things. “Just scan it all,” Amelia said.

  “I can pay for my own things,” I spoke up.

  “I know,” she chimed. She looked back to the cashier, motioning her hand to do as she said, and the dark-haired girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Consider this your house-warming gift.”

  “But I haven’t bought you anything,” I protested.

  Amelia smiled and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Please let me do this,” she pleaded. “If it makes you happy, I’ll let you buy my bedspread.” She batted her eyelashes and puckered her lower lip. There she went with the puppy eyes again.

  “Deal.” I caved. “But I get to pick it out.”

  She nodded. After the girl was done, I balked at the total. As we exited the store, I insisted on giving Amelia a little bit of money, because there was no way a comforter set was going to cost as much as what she spent. But she wasn’t having it.

  “Take the damn money, Amelia,” I said, holding out a couple of twenties to her.

  “Nope.” She turned her nose up. “Not happening, Brenn.”

  “Please,” I begged.

  “I’m not taking it, Brennan, it’s a gift. One I wanted to do for you. And people don’t help pay for their own gifts.”

  “Actually,” I started, “some do. Now just let me repay you.” I waved the money in her face before attempting to shove it in her purse.

  She jerked away, swatting playfully at my hand. “I’m not taking it, okay.”

  “Okay,” I said, agreeing with her. Little did she know, as soon as her back was turned, I was going to slip it into her purse.

  We made our way to another department store, headed to the bedding section, and found what we were looking for. In the end, Amelia picked out her comforter. We agreed on a set of curtains and grabbed some throw pillows and other miscellaneous items for our room.

  After loading the Jeep, we decided to drive around town, to get the feel of it. We got turned around on more than one occasion; confused by all the one-way streets. Eventually, we found our way back to the dorm.

  “We’re gonna have to make a couple of trips in order to haul this crap inside,” I said, loading up as many bags as I could.

  I was pretty sure Amelia had a shopping addiction. Basically everything she landed her eyes on, she bought. From what very little she told me, I knew she came from money and had it to spend. “Remind me to never go shopping with you again,” I added, snatching another bag into my arms.

  “Like you’re one to talk!” she retorted. “I’m pretty sure you bought as much as I did.”

  She was right. I had bought a lot—more than I should have. But at least I knew I had an addiction.

  We headed inside, arms fully loaded, and I could barely see where I was walking. Then the unthinkable happened—I tripped on the rug inside the entrance and crashed to the floor. Bags went flying across the lobby. Amelia started to laugh. She set down the bags she had in her arms and came to my aid.

  “That was graceful,” she said, bending down to help me off the floor.

  I could feel the heat of embarrassment rushing to my face. A few people walked by, staring and snickering at me as Amelia helped me shove items back into the bags.

  “You forgot something,” a male voice said pleasantly.

  Oh God . . . please let it be anyone but him. Slowly, I came face-to-face with the only person the melodic voice could belong to. My nightmare was confirmed—it was the breathtaking, mouthwatering, guy across the hall—Mr. Sex-on-legs. Things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse than this, but they did. He held up a black lace bra. There was no mistaking it for mine—Amelia had two cup-sizes on me. I glanced toward the door. Maybe I could make a run for it.

  I shook my head slightly at the idea. I’d look like a bigger fool if I ran out. I inhaled a sharp breath, trying to keep myself together. His gaze locked on mine. A group of people walked through the space between us, knocking the bra out of his hand, and he bent down to retrieve it. I seized the moment to look at Amelia, who was standing directly behind him.

  That’s him, I mouthed, motioning to the guy in front of me.

  “That’s Mr. Sex-on-legs?” she asked, clear as day.

  I groaned. I couldn’t believe she said that out loud. He snapped his head up and looked at me. My face flushed and I looked away—looking anywhere but his face was fine. I could feel him standing there, and I couldn’t fight off the urge to not look at him anymore. I slowly faced him again. He held out the bra to me. I snatched it out of his hand and shoved it into a bag.

  “Thanks,” I said quickly, averting my eyes.

  “I don’t mind helping out a damsel in distress from time to time,” he said, flashing a crooked smile and winking.

  From behind, Amelia had a huge grin on her face as she made some sort of gyrating motion. A laugh escaped my lips. He turned to see what I found so amusing and caught her dead in the act. She shrugged it off like she didn’t have a care in the world. I couldn’t believe it—the girl was something else. The sound of his deep, rich laughter filled the air and it was then then that I felt it—the tingling sensation of the invisible cord pulling between us. I searched his eyes for any sign that he felt it too. Before I could find what I was looking for, Amelia appeared at my side. I glanced at her, shocked that she didn’t seem affected by him as I was.

  “So, Mr. Sex—” she started to say. I elbowed her in the ribs. She narrowed her eyes at me, only for a moment, before a cheesy grin danced across her face. “So . . . hot stuff . . .” I groaned inwardly. “Are you going to introduce yourself or just keep staring at my friend here like you’re going to rip her clothes off?”

  “Oh, uh,” he said. He cleared his throat and looked away. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one taken aback by her unfiltered mouth. His cheeks flushed pink. “Owen,” he finally answered. “And you are?”

  “I’m Amelia,” she said, jutting out her hand. “And I heard you already had the pleasant opportunity to meet my girl here Brennan.”

  His intense stare made me shift uncomfortably. “Ah that I did. Good to see you, Brennan.”

  The way my name danced off his tongue made my knees weak. I swayed slightly from side to side, unable to focus on anything but his green eyes. It was Amelia’s turn to elbow me, which pulled my attention back.

  “Ow!” I said loudly. “Oh, uh, it’s good to see you too, I guess.” I forced the lump down my throat. He flashed me a delicious smile. “At least this time, you’re not tongue dancing with someone.”

  Before he could say anything back, a girl’s voice called out for him. It was the most annoying thing I had ever heard. I didn’t need to look to see what was coming—those kinds of voices only came from one sort of person.

  “Owen!” the high-pitched voice shouted again. We all turned toward voice simultaneously. It belonged to
a real life Barbie—tall, slender, platinum blonde hair, and entirely gorgeous.

  “Hey look, I gotta run,” he said. “See you at the party tonight?”

  “What party?” I asked.

  “Well, you’ll have to figure that out now, won’t you?” he replied, low and husky. Barbie called his name for a third time. He glanced between the two us—he almost seemed reluctant to go. “So, I’ll see you there then?”

  “Well, I, uh . . .” I mumbled.

  “We’ll be there,” Amelia interjected, casually draping her arm around my shoulder.

  “Great,” he said. His name was called once again. “See ya then.” He started to turn. “By the way, it was really great seeing you again, Brennan, and this time under . . . better circumstances.”

  I rolled my eyes. It may have been better circumstances for him, but not for me. I tripped in a lobby full of other students, my bra on display for everyone, and unable to understand the attraction I felt for the stranger across the hall. At least I knew his name now.

  He walked away and Amelia shouted out to him, “Nice meeting you too, jackass!”

  He spun around, walking backward, and blew her a kiss. Amelia pretended to catch it. Instead of slipping the air kiss into her pocket, she threw it on the ground, and smashed it with the tip of her toes. Owen clutched his hand to his heart and feigned that it was broken. The two of them laughed. He turned back around and joined Barbie, who was glaring at me. She wrapped her arms around his torso and planted a kiss on his cheek. I looked away.

  “She’s trying too hard,” Amelia said, out of the blue.

  “Huh?”

  “I said, she’s trying too hard,” she repeated herself. “He clearly isn’t into her.”

  I focused my attention back to him. Owen pulled out of her grasp and glanced back toward me. His blonde companion followed his eyes and sent me shooting daggers. How did that saying go? If looks could kill . . . then I’d totally be dead and buried six feet under right now. Out of my periphery, I saw Amelia hold up a middle finger. I heard Owen laugh, and the prickling sensation shot through my whole body, causing me to almost drop my bags a second time.