Without You Read online

  The look on Will’s face dropped. Then it appeared as if he remembered something.

  Oh God. Did something happen between him and the blonde?

  “Callie? You’re talking about Callie. Alex, nothing at all happened between us. She’s engaged to another guy, and they do all this mission work. I had just told her I would help them over Christmas break. I swear to you—”

  I put my finger up to his lips. “I know. I think I knew then, but I was scared, confused, and angry with myself. It was easier to hide than to face everything.”

  “Will? Alex? Are y’all coming or what?” Libby called out.

  I giggled. “Come on. If Lib’s forced to ride with Luke, Lord knows what will happen.”

  Will laughed and put his arm over my shoulders as we made our way to Libby.

  Finally, things felt like they were going to be okay.

  Three Months Later

  The door to my dorm room sprang open, and Luke came barreling in. He looked pissed, beyond pissed.

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  He spun around and looked at me. “What?”

  “You just came storming in here. You look like you’re about to rip someone’s head off.”

  Luke glanced around the room. He walked over to his bookshelf and moved a book before pulling out a bottle of whiskey.

  “Where in the hell did you get that from?”

  He shrugged and opened it up as he looked for a glass. The moment he found one, he poured some whiskey into the glass and downed it. He held the bottle out for me. “Want some?”

  I shook my head. “Luke, dude, you have to talk to me. I’ve never seen you like this before. What in the hell is going on with you?”

  “Nothing. I just need to release some steam. Too much fucking bullshit on my mind.”

  “Want to talk about it?” I asked.

  Luke walked up to the window and stared out. His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Hey, Abigail. Are you free?”

  I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Luke shoved his phone into his back pocket and walked over to the shelf. He put the whiskey back and then walked into the bathroom.

  “Why are you doing this, Luke?”

  He poked his head out of the bathroom and asked, “Doing what?”

  “Going to Abigail.”

  He walked out and looked at me like I had two heads. “I’m going to Abigail because I want to get laid. What’s wrong with that?”

  “What about Libby?”

  He turned and looked at me. “What about Libby?”

  I instantly got pissed off. Lex had talked to Libby over Christmas break, and Libby had finally told Lex what had happened last summer between her and Luke. The only problem was that Luke didn’t remember what he’d said to Libby, and it was tearing Libby apart.

  “Do you have feelings for my sister?”

  Luke swallowed hard. He shook his head and looked away.

  “Luke?”

  He snapped his head back and looked at me. “I can’t. I mean, I won’t do that to her. She means everything to me, and I’ll fuck it up, Will. I already broke her heart with the dick move I made on her before I left for college. What if I can’t…I mean, I don’t think I can…I’m not good enough for her, Will. She deserves someone better, and she found him.”

  My eyes widened as I stood there, shocked. “Wait—what do you mean, she found him?”

  He let out a gruff laugh. “I mean, she’s dating someone. I saw them just now. I was going to ask her if she wanted to see a movie when I saw her leaning against a building. Then, some dick fucking kissed her.” He turned away and whispered, “She looked happy.”

  My head was spinning. I knew for a fact that Libby was in love with Luke, but even Lex had said that Libby wasn’t going to wait around for Luke to stop acting like a jerk. Even Grace had tried to talk to Luke.

  “So, because you see Lib kissing a guy, you run to Abigail?”

  Luke reached down for his jacket and grabbed his truck keys. “I haven’t been with a girl in months. I need to get fucked.”

  I grabbed his arm. “Don’t do this, Luke. If you want to be with someone…” I closed my eyes and couldn’t believe what I was about to say. “If you want to be with someone, be with the person you love. Luke, Libby loves you.”

  His eyes widened in horror as he took a step away from me. He began shaking his head. “No…she doesn’t love me, Will.”

  “Luke, for Christ’s sake, will you just admit you love her? Libby was already your best friend once. Stop pushing her away. She cares about you, and you—”

  He held up his hand. “I’ve gotta go. Abigail is waiting on me.”

  “Don’t do this, Luke. I swear to God, you’ll regret it.”

  He turned away from me and headed out the door. I took in a deep breath as I took my phone out and sent Libby a text.

  Me: Lib, are you dating someone?

  Libby: Why?

  Me: Luke said he saw you kissing someone, and he is out of control right now, Lib. He really cares about you, but he thinks he’s not good enough for you.

  Libby: Luke only cares about himself and his fuck buddy, Abigail. She made sure to tell me how much they hook up. I seriously doubt he cares about me when he has her. I’m heading into a movie.

  What in the hell? Libby talked to Abigail? How do they know each other?

  Me: Wait. Lib, when did you talk to Abigail?

  Libby: Two weeks ago. She came up to me in the library and started talking about her and Luke.

  None of this was making any sense. Luke hadn’t seen Abigail in months.

  Me: Libby, this doesn’t make sense. Luke hasn’t seen Abigail in months.

  Libby: Will, I’m tired of this. I don’t care anymore. I’ve moved on. Please let it go. I have to go. I love you.

  I pulled up Luke’s number and hit it. It rang two times and then went to voice mail. I called again. After two more rings, I got voice mail again. I tried a third time, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to answer his phone, so I left a message.

  “Dude, I just talked to Libby. She thinks you and Abigail have been hooking up all this time. Abigail talked to Libby in the library a couple of weeks ago. She made it seem like y’all were together. Luke, please don’t do this. Call Libby.”

  I hit End and stared at my phone, but nothing happened. I tried to call Libby, and her phone went directly to voice mail. I sat down on my bed and let out a frustrated moan.

  My phone pinged.

  Lex: I miss you. <3

  Me: God, I miss you.

  Lex: Guess what?

  Me: You’re naked and touching yourself, and you want to FaceTime?

  Lex: Nope. Better.

  Me: What in the hell could be better than you naked?

  Lex: Me standing in the hallway outside your dorm room and somewhat naked.

  I stared at her reply for a few seconds. I got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

  “Surprise!” Lex smiled at me.

  “Lex? You didn’t tell me…” I looked her body up and down.

  She was dressed in a long coat and had a large purse over her shoulder.

  “Why in the hell are you wearing that coat? It’s not that cold out.”

  She looked both ways down the hall before she untied it and held it open.

  Motherfucker.

  She was completely naked under the coat.

  I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into my room before shutting the door. “Holy hell. Tell me you didn’t drive like that?”

  She giggled. “Nope. I met a girl outside your hall, and I told her I was here to surprise you. She let me use her bathroom to change.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “You sneaky thing. What if Luke had been here?”

  She shrugged her shoulders as she took off the coat and let it fall to the floor. I licked my lips as I took in her perfect body. I reached behind
her and locked the door. Then, I picked her up and carried her to my bed.

  “I missed you, Will. I can stay until Sunday.”

  I gently kissed her lips. I began kissing down her neck and made my way to her breasts. She let out a soft moan.

  “God, I missed you, too, Lex.”

  I began sucking on her nipple as she ran her fingers through my hair.

  “Yes…Will.”

  “Oh, Lex, you feel so good.”

  “Touch me, Will. Please touch me.”

  I moved my hand down her body and between her legs as she spread them open for me. I slipped my fingers in and let out a moan as I moved my fingers in and out of her wetness.

  “You’re so ready, Lex.”

  I began kissing her neck as I worked my fingers. I moved down to her breasts and sucked on one nipple and then the other.

  Her breathing increased, and she pushed her hips up to me. “I need you, Will.”

  I quickly stood up and stripped out of my clothes. I reached into my side drawer, took out a condom, and rolled it on. I couldn’t wait to bury myself inside her. I crawled over her, and her smile made my stomach take a fast dip. I placed my tip at her entrance and teased her for a bit while I kissed her lips tenderly.

  “I love you, Lex,” I whispered as I pushed my dick into her.

  She let out a gasp and whispered back, “I love you, too, Will. I love you so much.”

  I moved in and out of her slowly and gently as we kissed passionately. Nothing felt better than making love to Lex. If I could crawl into her body, I would.

  We hadn’t seen each other in two weeks, and I had missed her touch more than I’d thought. We could now only go two weeks max without seeing each other. I had three tests coming up this week, and I was planning on driving to Austin to see her this weekend, but her coming here on Thursday gave us more time to spend together and gave me time to study.

  “Lex, you feel so good, baby.”

  Her fingertips lightly moved up and down my body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. With each stroke, I felt my love for her. I didn’t think I could love her any more, but every time I saw her, made love to her, or talked to her, my love would grow stronger and stronger.

  “Will…” she whispered as she arched her body. She began saying my name over and over.

  “Talk to me, Lex.”

  “Will, oh God…”

  I pushed in more and tried to hit the spot that would send her over the edge. My own desire was beginning to bubble up, and I didn’t want to come before her.

  She snapped her eyes open and looked into mine. I pressed my lips to hers, and I took in her moans of pleasure. It wasn’t long before I was releasing myself and moaning back into her mouth.

  As I slowed down and came to stop above her, I saw a tear beginning to roll down her face. I leaned down and kissed it away. I whispered, “Is that a happy tear, Lex?”

  She nodded her head and whispered back, “Very happy tear. You make me feel so loved and so wanted, Will.”

  I swallowed and closed my eyes briefly before opening them again. “Lex, I’ll love and want you until the day I die.”

  “Will…” She placed her hand on my neck and brought me in for another kiss.

  Our kiss was filled with so much love that I could feel it moving between our bodies.

  I got an idea. “Can I take you somewhere, Lex?”

  She smiled. “Are you going to take me to heaven and back again?”

  I grinned. “How about later? I don’t think my guy can recharge that fast.”

  She pushed my chest and laughed. “You can take me anywhere. First, will you hand me my bag, please?”

  I got up, reached for it, and handed it to her.

  She began taking her jeans and T-shirt out. “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere special,” I said with a wink.

  “Will, it’s so beautiful here,” Lex said as she looked around.

  It was a bit chilly, so Lex was wearing one of my A&M sweatshirts. She looked beautiful, all swallowed up in it. Her shoulder-length brown hair was swept up and piled on top of her head with a few strands hanging down. Her blue eyes looked like diamonds sparkling when the light hit them in just the right way.

  I took her hand and walked us over to a bench overlooking the pond. The sun would be setting soon, and the sky was turning an orange-pink color. I sat down, and she sat next to me.

  “The time we were apart, I would come here every day, sometimes twice a day, while I was running.”

  She squeezed my hand as she looked at me.

  I looked at her. “I did a lot of thinking during that time, and I know you did, too.”

  She nodded her head and smiled. I began playing with her promise ring. When I had come home for Christmas, I had never been so happy when I looked down and saw it on her finger. Since then, I’d wanted to ask her if she’d ever taken it off.

  “Did you ever take this off, Lex?”

  She glanced down to her ring and then back up to my eyes. “Never. Not once.”

  I smiled and placed my finger on her chin. I pulled her closer to me to kiss her. My lips were still touching hers when I whispered, “I love you so much.”

  She smiled. “I love you more.”

  I laughed and looked out over the water. The sun was sinking farther in the sky. I took a deep breath and got ready to do the one thing I’d been dreaming of since I was ten years old.

  I turned my body and faced her, and she did the same. I took both her hands in mine and began rubbing my thumbs back and forth across the backs of her hands.

  “Lex, I remember the first time you looked at me and smiled. Right then, I felt something happen. I swear, I was only ten. In that moment, I knew that I wanted you to be mine. The way you smiled at me used to literally take my breath away.” I chuckled. “Hell, it still does.”

  Lex sniffled, and I saw a tear rolling down her face. I reached up and wiped it away. She smiled at me, and my heart soared.

  “I know your daddy loves you, and I want to do this proper and all, but I also want this moment to be just you and me. I want it to be a moment that is only ours and no one else’s.”

  She let a sob escape her throat.

  “Lex, I love you so much. I never want to be apart from you again. I can’t breathe without you. When I think of my future, I only see you in it. I want to make love to you every day. I want to take long walks on the ranch with you and watch you fuss over Banjo. I want to see you coming toward me in a beautiful white dress before I take you somewhere amazing for our honeymoon. I dream of holding children of our own in my arms and watching them grow up to love the ranch as much as we do. I have so many dreams for us, Lex.”

  She started crying, and my voice cracked. I had already bought her engagement ring a few weeks ago. Originally, I had planned on asking Gunner for her hand in marriage and then formally asking her when we all went to the coast this summer.

  “Lex, will you marry me and be my secret fiancée?”

  She started crying harder, but then she started laughing. She threw herself into my body. “Yes! Oh God, Will, yes, a thousand times.”

  She pulled back, and I placed my hands on the sides of her face.

  I whispered, “You’re mine,” and then I kissed her.

  She smiled. “Always.”

  “Promise me,” I whispered.

  A tear slid down her face as she whispered, “I promise you, Will.”

  Will pulled up to the hotel where Grace and I were staying this weekend and parked his car. I smiled, and I couldn’t wait to tell him that I had a separate room from Grace. His face had fallen when I told him Grace had come along so that we could check out A&M. I had a sneaky feeling that Grace was hoping to run into Noah again, but she’d told me I was nuts for even thinking that.

  “Maybe you should go back to your dorm and pack up some clothes and your books.”

  Will pulled his head back and looked at me. “I’m not sure Grace wants me bunking with y�
��all.”

  I bit down on my lip and grinned. “We have our own rooms.”

  The smile that spread across Will’s face caused me to giggle.

  “No shit?”

  “No shit. When she said she wanted to come, I told her she had to get her own room, and she agreed. She didn’t want to spoil our weekend.”

  “God, I love Grace,” Will said as he lifted his eyebrows.

  “Me, too!”

  Will reached over and quickly kissed me. “Give me a few minutes to go back to my room and grab some stuff. When I come back, we can get some dinner.”

  I nodded my head. “Sounds good. Be careful, but hurry!”

  “I will, baby.”

  I jumped out and headed into the Hilton Hotel. When I got up to my room, my phone pinged, and I pulled it out of my purse. Grace had dropped me off earlier at Will’s dorm, so I figured she was texting me. Instead, I saw it was from Libby.

  Libby: OMG! Grace told me y’all are in town all weekend!

  Me: Yep! What are you doing?

  Libby: About to go to dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse.

  Me: With who?

  Libby: A guy named Zack. We went out to a movie and will be heading to dinner soon.

  My heart dropped to my stomach. Libby was out on a date.

  Damn it, Luke.

  Me: A date, huh? What about Luke, Lib?

  Libby: I can’t wait for someone who clearly doesn’t want the same thing I want. Besides, he’s been hooking up with that Abigail girl the last few months.

  Me: What about what he said to you, Libby?

  Libby: He was drunk. Alex, I’m done waiting. Want to meet us for dinner?

  Me: Okay. Will went back to his dorm to get some clothes, so he could stay with me at the hotel for the weekend. Can we meet you there in half an hour?

  Libby: Sure! We’re just talking at Starbucks.

  Me: Okay. See you soon, sweetie!

  I sucked in a breath and let it out as I got up. I changed my clothes and fixed my makeup and hair. I had texted Will and told him a key was waiting for him at the front desk. I also texted Grace and told her we were meeting Libby at Saltgrass for dinner in about thirty minutes.

  I heard the door open and close, and I instantly felt my lower stomach clench with anticipation. Will walked in and leaned against the doorframe.