Josh stood up, leaning against the truck.
“Jesus Christ, y’all. I’ve never felt like this before. This is why I never wanted to get involved with anyone. I just wanted to avoid the same shit my dad went through. ”
Josh took a deep breath and then looked up at me. Motherfucker. I could see the hurt in his eyes.
“She pretty much told me that she didn’t feel the same way I did and that we would only ever be friends. I’d never felt so gutted in my life. I was almost one-hundred percent positive that she felt something for me. At least, her kiss sure said she did. ”
“What happened after that?” I asked.
“I told her that if I walked out the door, I would never again ask her out again or bother her about wanting anything more than just friendship. Then, she just let me walk out. ”
“Damn, Josh. That really sucks, dude,” I said.
“Yeah, the worst part was I got trashed later. I ended up spilling my guts to two girls who were out on a girls’ night out. I guess Heather called, and one of the girls told her I was drunk. Long story short, I woke up this morning in Heather’s bed. She was on the sofa sleeping. She had left a voice-mail the night before, saying she wanted to talk. I wasn’t really in the mood for more rejection, so I just left without waking her up. ”
“Oh hell, Josh, that was a stupid-ass move. Maybe she wanted to explain why she freaked out. I mean, I’ve known Heather a long time, and I can honestly say that I’ve only seen her date a few guys at most. Maybe the idea of getting closer to you scared her. ” Jeff said.
Josh started kicking the dirt again. He looked up at the house when Ellie, Ari and Heather all come out. Heather looked directly at Josh with slight smile. Just then, Lynda walked out the door and walked up in between Heather and Ari. She said something that caused Heather to frown, and then she turned around and headed to the other side of the porch.
“Josh, go talk to Heather,” Jeff said, giving him a slight nudge.
“Dude, she doesn’t want anything more than friendship. ”
I was watching Lynda closely. She obviously had a thing for Josh, and if I knew Lynda, she would do whatever it took to get what she wanted.
“I agree with Jeff. Dude, you need to go talk to her. ”
Looking back to the porch, I smiled at Ellie as she gave me that beautiful smile of hers. I’d never get used to how this girl made me feel.
“Okay, I’ll go talk to her, but if she turns me down again, this will be it. I’ve never in my life begged or chased a girl, and I sure as shit am not about to start now. ”
Josh started to walk toward where Heather was sitting at the side of the house. Lynda came running down and stopped him. He must have told her that he needed to talk to Heather because her whole body sagged as she turned to head back up to the porch.
Ellie and Ari started to walk toward us, Ellie gave me a strange look. I knew what she was trying to tell me, but I’d already figured out that Ari hadn’t told Jeff about the baby yet. He would have said something to me by now.
“So, standing out here guy-talking huh?” Ellie said reaching up on her toes to give me a kiss.
I picked her up and deepened the kiss. It took everything out of me not to let out a moan. Shit. The things this girl did to me drove me crazy. I just wanted to load her up in my truck and take her home.
Ellie slightly pulled away from my lips and smiled. “I love you, Drew. ”
“I love you more, Ells. ”
“Yep, the whole newlywed thing is starting to get a little sickening, y’all. Take it back to your house if you’re going to hang all over each other,” Ari said as she gave us a smirk.
“Don’t be jealous, baby. That’ll be us soon,” Jeff said as he put his arms around Ari.
He placed his hand on her stomach, Ari jumped and stiffened. She tried to relax before Jeff noticed, but it was too late. He turned her around, giving her a funny look.
“Ari what’s wrong? Are you still feeling sick?”
Just then, Mom called us all to come in so we could talk about the party tomorrow. Ellie told Jeff that Ari was fine, and then she took Ari’s arm in hers as they walked up to the house together. Jeff grabbed my arm, holding me back.
Motherfucker. Please don’t ask me…please don’t ask me.
“Gunner, has Ellie mentioned anything about Ari’s appointment yesterday? She won’t talk to me about it. I know she had the genetic testing done. She’s a nervous wreck. I think she’s worried about the results. I just wish she would talk to me,” Jeff said as he ran his hand through his hair and down the back of his neck.
“I know Ari was upset about a few things yesterday, the test, the whole Rebecca throwing them all in jail, and then you sticking up for Rebecca. Did you ever find out if she really tried to call you?”