Page 43 of Rebellious

Aspen’s gaze follows her father’s steps, and when I chance a look, I notice Anniston has gone inside with him, leaving us out here alone.

“Are you ready to talk to me now?” I ask Aspen, the adrenaline settling into exhaustion.

She sighs, pulling her gaze back to mine. “I don’t want to talk about last night,” she says. “I meant what I said. I want to enjoy the last summer we have together.” She tries for a smile, but it falls flat. “Can you give me that?”

Can I? I’m not sure I can. I don’t want this to be our last summer together. “I—”

“Can I make a rule?”

I smirk. “We don’t have a marker.”

“We can write it down later.”

I nod. “Alright, what’s the rule?”

“I want one weekend this summer—”

I’m already shaking my head.

“Hear me out.”

I sigh. “I’m listening.”

She smiles, and it’s killer. Her white teeth flash in the last rays of sun as her hands drop to the waistband of my jeans. “I want one weekend of no rules.”

My stomach dips. “You know I can’t agree to that.”

Her head dips as she stares down at the water. “Yes, you can.”

“Aspen—”

“Rule number whatever,” she cuts me off. “Whatever happens on that weekend of my choosing will never be spoken of.” She lifts her head, holding my gaze. “It’ll be like it never happened—just me and you and a memory we’ll always have.” She swallows. “Please, Bennett. I promise to obey all the rules for the rest of the summer. Give me this one thing.”

I consider her offer. As much as I would love to spend a weekend with her freely, I can’t. We won’t walk away with just a memory. We’ll walk away in pieces. “We can’t.”

She nods weakly and smiles. “It was worth a shot.”

My chest clenches at her acceptance. God, how I want to take her up on the offer. But I can’t. Things will get messy and I can’t afford that to happen.

She tries pulling away and somehow, deep in my soul, I know she’s shutting down. She might claim she wants to enjoy our last summer together, but I know what she really means is she’s preparing to leave me this summer. And I’m not prepared for that. “I can only agree to a day,” I blurt out.

Her entire body freezes as her eyes widen. “A day?”

Oh God, what have I done?

I nod tightly, fighting the rising panic. “Twenty-four hours,” I repeat. “I can only agree to twenty-four hours of no rules. We can’t be trusted for longer.”

She yanks me by my jeans, crashing our hips together. “You shouldn’t trust me for an hour, BJ, but you have yourself a deal.”

My stomach is in knots and the three beers I’ve had, have yet to loosen me up.

“Did Aspen make you cry or something?”

I jerk my head to Drew. He’s sipping on his beer, the Edison lights overhead illuminating the smug look on his face.

“Don’t you have anything else to do?” I clip.

He lives to annoy me. “Actually yes, I’m waiting on Vee’s slow ass to finish her drink and jump in.” He taps the pool water.

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