Without You Read online

Luke laughed. “Then, what in the hell are you worried about?”

  My mouth dropped open. “Did you hear me? Sex. No condom. Only takes one time!”

  Luke sat back in his chair and looked at me as he shook his head. “Is Alex worried?”

  “No! She kept going on and on about how amazing it felt, and—”

  “Oh, hell no, dude. That is way too much information right there. Too. Much. Jesus H. Christ. I just threw up in my mouth some.”

  I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh. “Luke, I’m being serious.”

  “So am I. I don’t want that visual in my head. Yuck.”

  I let out a sigh. “Have you ever forgotten to wear a condom?”

  “Nope. I will wear one until the night of my wedding. No way in hell a girl will ever get me not to wear one. Hell no. I don’t care if she’s on twenty different pills. I will always wear one. Always.”

  I let out a gruff laugh. “Wait until you’re with the one girl who changes everything.”

  Luke stared at me and then smirked. “I gotta ask. Did it feel different?”

  I smiled and nodded my head. “Felt fucking amazing. Makes me never want to wear one of those damn things again. But I have to, and I will even though Lex has begged me not to.”

  “Again, too much information.” Luke was smiling as he shook his head. He glanced up, and his smile instantly vanished.

  I turned around and saw Libby and Zack. They were holding hands as they walked by, and Libby was laughing. I turned back to look at Luke. He watched them go by. I couldn’t help but notice how Lib glanced at Luke and quickly looked away. I peeked over to Luke, and he looked down at his book and began reading.

  My phone vibrated, and I took it out of my pocket. I smiled when I saw Lex’s name.

  Lex: You can stop stressing out. I started my period.

  Me: Thank the Lord above.

  Lex: I am on birth control, Will.

  Me: I don’t care. That scared the piss out of me.

  Lex: Are you still coming this weekend?

  Me: I plan on doing a lot of coming this weekend.

  “Dude, that’s not cool.” Luke kicked me under the table.

  “Ouch, you bastard. Why in the hell did you kick me?”

  Luke tilted his head and gave me a look. “The smile on your face screams, I’m sexting. Knock it off.”

  I laughed. “We’re in the clear.”

  The relief that washed over Luke’s face showed that he must have been worried, too, even though he hadn’t let on that he was.

  Lex: I’ll see you in less than twenty-four hours. I love you. Gotta run.

  Me: I love you, too, baby. Bye!

  I pushed my phone into my pocket and stood up. “I’m heading back to pack for this weekend.”

  Luke nodded his head as he began to pack up his books. He looked around quickly, and I knew he was looking for Libby.

  Our parents—Jeff and Ari, Gunner and Ellie, Scott and Jessie, and my dad and mom—had all chipped in to buy a house in College Station since Lex, Grace, Colt, and Lauren would all be here next year. Luke and I had moved out of the dorm and into the house this past weekend, but Libby was still in her dorm. I knew she didn’t want to move in because of the whole Zack thing.

  “I’ll see ya later,” I said to Luke.

  “Yeah. I’ve just got one class left, and then I think I’m heading home for the weekend.”

  I looked at him. “Home? As in Mason?”

  “No, home as in Timbuktu. Yes, Mason.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Just want to go home.”

  “Spring break is in a week, so we’ll see everyone then.”

  He stood up and looked at me. “Jesus, Will. I just want to go home. I didn’t realize I had to fucking clear it with you.”

  He stormed off as I stood there and watched him retreat away. He glanced over to look at something, and I followed his gaze. Libby and Zack were sitting at a table, completely engrossed with each other. After one quick look back at Luke, I knew exactly why he was going home. It was either home or Abigail.

  Grace skipped by me and dropped something into her suitcase as she smiled. “Bikini, check. Sunscreen, check. Romance book to read on the beach, check. Hell, I’m all set and ready to go.”

  I laughed and shut my suitcase. “I can’t believe we’re heading to the beach!”

  “I know. There had better be some hot guys at the beach, that’s all I can say. I’ve been waiting weeks for spring break!”

  “I thought you were through with guys? Have you had a change of heart?”

  She motioned with her hand like I was crazy. “Pesh, I’ve given up dating guys. I’m totally open for a fling over spring break.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t, Grace Johnson.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? Why is it okay for guys to have one-night stands, but girls can’t? I’m going to pull out my inner Maegan and slut it up.”

  I put my hand over my mouth and giggled. “You do know Maegan is all talk, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “She’s not all talk.”

  I let out a gasp. “What do you know? And why haven’t you told me?”

  Grace sat down and gave me an evil smile. “I just happened to walk up on Maegan and Josh Philips.”

  I sat down on my bed and stared at her. “And?”

  “And what?”

  My whole body dropped as I looked at her. “And…what were Maegan and Josh doing?”

  She tilted her head and looked at me like I had grown six heads. “Really, Alex? They were screwing. You know, having sex, getting it on, bumping uglies.”

  “I know what screwing means, Grace! When did you see this?”

  “New Year’s Eve party. I left my phone charger in Meg’s car, and she had parked it behind Grams and Gramps’s barn. I walked up and heard little Miss Meg crying out, and she wasn’t saying, ‘Oh God,’ ’cause she was praying.”

  I slammed my hands over my mouth. “No way. Her parents were there. Everyone was there! She could have gotten caught.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Please, I think Meg likes the thrill of having sex right under everyone’s nose.”

  I shook my head. “Wow. Do you think Meg’s had sex with a lot of guys?” I stood back up and put my suitcase on the floor near the door.

  “Nah. She told me she’s only been with three guys.”

  “Only three guys? Gesh, that’s a lot if you ask me.”

  Grace got up and put her suitcase next to mine. Then, she stopped and looked up, like she was thinking hard. “Considering we’ve only been with one guy each, I guess three probably seems like a lot, but it’s not. I knew some girls from Mason who slept with almost the whole football team.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Hey, Lex. Can I ask you something?”

  The look on her face told me she was about to ask me something she had thought long and hard about. Grace wasn’t impulsive by any means. When she turned serious, it would usually be because she was about to talk about something serious.

  “Of course you can, Grace. Always.”

  She began chewing on her bottom lip. “Are you…I mean, do you think you’ll be happy with just being with Will?”

  I gave Grace a small smile. “Yes. I can’t really imagine being with anyone else.”

  “What about when y’all were apart? Or when you were going through that whole crazy thing with Blake? Did you ever once want to be with someone else?”

  I didn’t answer right away as I thought about her questions. “I can honestly say, Grace, I’ve never wanted to be with another man besides Will.”

  “When did you really know Will was the one?”

  I smiled, and my heart started beating faster. “I think I knew for sure the moment he picked up Emma after I’d dropped her while I was swinging. He dusted her off and smiled at me as he handed her back to me. I couldn’t have been more than ten years old, but I remember thinking to myself that I was go
ing to marry him. Then, when I got Banjo and Will began helping me train him, he touched me one day, and something happened. It was so weird, like my body just said, Oh, yeah, he is the one. I’ll never forget it. In that moment, I think he stole a piece of my heart with just his touch.”

  Grace smiled. “That’s beautiful, Alex.” She looked down at her hand. “Just a touch,” she whispered.

  “Just a touch,” I said.

  She looked back at me and shook her head. Her eyes changed. I wanted to ask her why she was asking me all this, but something told me that Grace might have experienced something with someone, and she wasn’t really sure what to think of it.

  “You still gonna have a fling this week?” I asked.

  The left corner of her mouth rose up, and she smirked. “Hell yeah, I am.”

  I shook my head and laughed.

  I sat in the beach chair, reading, as Grace sat on one side of me and Libby sat on the other. Lauren and Taylor were playing football with the guys as Maegan stood off in the distance, talking to some girl from Baylor she’d run into.

  “Odd to see Maegan talking to a girl,” Grace said.

  I glanced up. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. She just always seems to gravitate toward men. Maybe being at Baylor is a good thing for her.”

  “She said she loves it there,” Libby said as she looked at her magazine.

  “Break time. Damn, I need to cool off!” Luke shouted as he took off toward the water.

  Colt followed, but then Maegan walked by, and he stopped and said something that made her laugh. She was smiling as she made her way to her chair next to Grace.

  “God, I need to get laid,” Meg said as she plopped down.

  “Me, too,” Grace mumbled.

  Libby shot her head around me and looked at Grace. “What did you say, Grace?”

  Grace smiled and winked at her.

  I laughed as I watched Will, Lauren, and Taylor all walk to the edge of the water. Will dove in as Lauren and Taylor just stood there and talked. I looked back down at my book and smiled as I attempted to get lost again in the story.

  A few minutes later, I heard Meg start laughing.

  She called out, “Holy shit! It’s like a wet T-shirt contest, but better! Mr. Johnson, you, my dear, are packing some serious heat.”

  I looked up and saw Luke standing there, drinking a Coke.

  He looked confused as hell as he stopped drinking and looked at Maegan. “What?”

  Meg laughed her ass off. She looked over at Libby. “Too bad you have a boyfriend, Lib. You could be getting some of that!” She threw her head back and laughed harder.

  I looked down at Luke’s swim trunks. They were mostly white with a light-tan band running around it. My mouth dropped open when I noticed what Meg was laughing about.

  Grace busted out laughing as she pointed to Luke. “Dude, I can totally see your dick!”

  Luke looked down and then back up. He quickly looked at Libby, which caused me to look at her. She was blushing as she stared, and she was staring hard. She finally snapped out of it and then glanced back down at her magazine.

  Luke grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he looked at Grace and Maegan. They were both still laughing their asses off.

  “Fuck off, both of you.” Luke started off toward his truck.

  I couldn’t help but giggle as I watched him walking away. I turned back and looked at Libby. I leaned over and bumped her arm. “Don’t let Maegan get to you, Libby.”

  She raised her hand like she couldn’t care less, but I could see it all over her face. She might be dating Zack, but her heart belonged to Luke.

  As we walked down the street, making our way to Desserted Island Ice Cream, I listened to Luke and Libby arguing about where to have dinner. I rolled my eyes and looked down at Lex.

  “I don’t want to go where our parents are all going, Lib,” Luke said.

  “Then, don’t, Luke. I haven’t seen my parents since New Year’s, and I want to spend time with them.”

  “I have to agree. I’d like to have dinner with my mom and dad,” I said.

  Lex nodded her head. “Me, too, Luke.”

  “I’m with Luke. I say ditch the parents,” Colt said as he and Luke slapped hands.

  “We can just go pick up a few girls then,” Luke said as he winked at Colt.

  “Nice. Don’t you have a girlfriend, jerk-off?” Lauren asked as she pushed Colt.

  Colt smiled. “Why, no, Lauren, I do not. I happened to walk in on her and some dick football player from Fredericksburg getting it on at a party a few weeks ago.”

  Lauren frowned. “Oh…I’m really sorry, Colt.”

  Colt shrugged his shoulders and looked straight ahead. “Doesn’t matter. I’m done with the whole bullshit thing called relationships. All women do is fuck with your head…and heart.”

  “Amen,” Luke said.

  Libby peeked over to him and then looked straight ahead. Lauren peeked up at Colt and then looked down and away with a sad expression on her face.

  After we walked into the ice cream parlor, I held Lex back. I kissed her sweetly on the lips. “I love you, Lex.”

  She smiled. “I love you more, Will.”

  I smiled bigger, and my heart melted.

  “I’m so blessed to have you in my life. I just wanted you to know that. Thank you for loving me.”

  My stomach did a weird little flop, and I looked down at my thumb rubbing across her promise ring on her left ring finger. We hadn’t told anyone we were secretly engaged. For now, we were using the promise ring as an engagement ring.

  She placed her hand on the side of my face. “I’m just as blessed, Will.”

  I leaned down and kissed her again.

  “Dude, that’s my sister you’re sucking face with, and it kind of grosses me out. Stop, please,” Colt called out from across the room.

  I pulled back just a bit and smiled.

  She smiled back and whispered, “He’s just jealous.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Probably.”

  I took her hand as we walked up and ordered.

  Libby and Luke each ordered the espresso-soaked brownie sundae. For the last five years, they’d been ordering it to share with one another after declaring it to be the best sundae they had ever eaten. This was the first time they hadn’t split it.

  I sat down next to Libby and smiled as I took a drink from my chocolate milkshake.

  “I say we camp on the beach tonight. Throw up two tents and build a fire,” Luke said.

  “Oh my gosh, yes!” Lauren hopped up and down.

  “Totally sounds like a good time,” Meg said with a smile.

  “We can make s’mores,” Colt said as he looked at Lex and winked.

  “We have to have s’mores!” Lex said with a giggle before turning to me.

  I looked at her and gave her my panty-melting smile. She gave me a sexy smirk as she bit her bottom lip. I already knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the same thing.

  “Taylor, you in?” Colt asked.

  She nodded her head. “I’m in. Sounds like fun.”

  Luke looked at Libby. “Lib? You down for some camping?”

  She smiled weakly and nodded her head. “Why not? Sounds like fun.”

  “Grace? You down?” Luke asked as he gently hit her on the side of the arm.

  “Hell yes, I’m down for that!” Grace said with a laugh.

  “Then, it’s a plan. We’re camping on the beach tonight,” Luke said as he glanced around the table and smiled.

  Colt, Luke, and I all sat on the sofa while our fathers just stared at us.

  “Camping on the beach, huh?” Jeff asked.

  I glanced over to Gunner. He was looking at me. It was almost as if he had read my thoughts from earlier.

  “Yes, sir. We have two tents. One for the guys, and one for the girls.”

  My father nodded his head. “Where at on the beach?”

  “We can pitch
them right out front, if y’all want,” Luke said.

  I wanted to look at him like he had lost his damn mind, but I kept my eyes forward and my mouth shut.

  “You boys will make sure the girls stay with you. No one outside of your group is allowed to hang with y’all,” Scott said as he looked at each of us.

  “Of course,” Luke said.

  Brad took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Boys, we’re trusting you. Don’t make us regret this.”

  “No, sir. We would never,” Colt said with that damn smile of his.

  Anytime he was ever in trouble, that smile would work on everyone.

  “You can camp a bit farther down the beach, if y’all want. Just know we can walk down the beach and check on y’all at any moment. No alcohol or any other…fun type of activities.” Gunner looked directly to me.

  I swallowed hard and nodded my head.

  “Yes, sir. We understand, sir,” Luke and I both said at the same time. We quickly looked at each other and then back to Gunner.

  My father stood up and clapped his hands. “All right then. I guess since y’all will all be sharing a house this fall it’s time to let the trusting begin. Let’s get all the stuff y’all will need.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. I had a feeling our parents wanted us gone tonight as much as we wanted to be gone.

  The tents were set up, and the fire was going. Lex was driving me mad with the way she kept looking at me.

  “Grab a stick and roast some marshmallows, y’all.” Luke passed out the sticks.

  He sat down next to Libby and said something to her, but I couldn’t hear what it was. She nodded her head and stared straight into the fire.

  Lex and Grace were giggling about something as they roasted their marshmallows. Colt started talking to me about school next year. He was going to be playing football for A&M, and Gunner couldn’t have been prouder of him. I glanced back at Luke and Libby, and they were talking—not arguing, but talking for once.

  As I looked around our group of friends, everything felt right. No one was fighting. They were all just talking and laughing. It felt like…home.

  I wasn’t sure how long we sat around the fire and just talked. We talked about school and the ranch. That led to Maegan mentioning how she never wanted to live in the country. Then, Taylor talked about her desire to study for a year in Italy, but her dad had said absolutely no way.