Page 25 of Should've Been Us
Chapter Six
“Lucy Lee Nichols,we’re officiallylate.”
“ConnorAssholeShaw, you call me by my full name one more time and the only thing you’ll be on time for is your funeral.” Her voice drifted back to him from her side of the bungalow and Connor couldn’t contain alaugh.
Not many grown women preferred their childhood nickname to their full name but of course Lulu wasn’t most women. She’d been Lucy when they were in Kindergarten. He remembered because there was a joint art project where they’d finger-painted their names side by side in a photo album somewhere at his parents house. But sometime between then and finishing grade school she’d gotten the nickname and it hadstuck.
He’d always assumed she liked it because Derek was the one that had come up with it. A flare of annoyance slid down his back as he shoved the cell phone he’d been playing on while he waited for her in his pocket. She’d called him an asshole but he was so used to that it barely registered but one thought about the connection she and Derek shared and he couldn’t sit still anylonger.
“That is not my middle name.” He crossed through the open doorways between their rooms that he had been proud to see she hadn’t closed when he’d gotten out of theshower.
It wasn’t much but it was something. She hadn’t shut him out despite whatever weirdness had been going on with her down at the beach thisafternoon.
He’d thought they were having a good day. They’d managed to get through sandcastle building without too much drama. They’d fought like cats and dogs but that was par for the course for the two of them. They’d had fun together. He’d gotten to see her smile. He’d heard her laugh. He’d even caught her checking him out a few times. He’d thought he was making some progress in getting her to finally see him but then he’d suggested volleyball and she’d pulled away fromhim.
He had no idea what had happened but she’d very carefully avoided him the rest of the afternoon after that. She’d stayed in the shade, sunglasses shielding her eyes, while he played. When he’d claimed to need a break and collapsed in the chair beside her, she’d said something about needing to cool off and gone for a swim. She’d stayed in there until they’d all decided to head back to the resort and get out of thesun.
She’d gone to her room. He’d gone to his. But she’d left the doors between them open and he had to take that as a goodsign.
“Your middle name isn’t asshole?” She stuck her head out of the bathroom with a mock look of shock and he laughedagain.
“You know my middle name the same way I know yours. Stop pretendingotherwise.”
She tapped a makeup brush against her lips, appearing thoughtful before she shook her head, “Nope. Sorry. Asshole is all Igot.”
“Do you seriously not know my middle name?” He paused, the question one that he was certain shouldn’t bother him, but did. Because that flare of annoyance was back. She damn well knew Derek’s middle name. “We’ve been friends since we werekids.”
“Friends?” She winced though her eyes twinkled with amusement, “Is that what you’d callit?”
No. That wasn’t the word he’d call them if given the choice, but he didn’t dare tell her that he’d never once thought of her as his friend. She’d been the annoying little girl that tagged along whenever he and Derek went fishing. She’d been the overachieving annoyance that ruined the curve on every test he’d taken in school. She’d been the most frustrating aspect of his universe since the moment she developed breasts and hips and had started making his cock hard. But mostly they hadn’t been friends because he’d spent the last two decades watching Derek break her heart, helping her pick up the pieces and then been forced to watch as she gave it right back to the wrong man to do it again and again andagain.
Connor had been kind about it at first. He’d been sweet and understanding. He’d tried to talk with her rationally and reasonably back when they were still kids, but she hadn’t listened to him then any more than she listened to him now. He’d gotten frustrated, agitated and then angry. He’d started taking it out on her for treating him the same way Derek treated her. His pride had been hurt but so had his heart and he’d turned to snide, cutting remarks to try and protect himself from caring even though he knew he stilldid.
So no, they weren’t friends. She was right. But they were…something.
“Fine, but we’ve known each other since we were like four years old, you seriously don’t know what my middle name is?” He put his hands on his hips, and wished he could see her through the crack in the bathroom door when shesnorted.
“Jeez, Connor. I’m just giving you hell. Of course I know your middlename.”
“What is it?” He demanded, still uncertain she was beinghonest.
“James.” She leaned over to poke her head out and shot him a look, “Connor James Shaw. You’re named after your uncle, Jim, on your mother’s side. Happynow?”
Connor let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. She knew. Of course she knew. Everyone in small towns knew each others full names because at some point or another their parents had yelled at them in public using those names. Or at the very least they’d been spoken during the graduation ceremony. Still, he felt a rush of relief that she’d only been teasing him. That she wasn’t so completely unaware that she hadn’t cared enough to catchhis.
But no, he still wasn’t happy. Relieved. Not happy. He wasn’t sure he’d be happy until he was certain she knew all the tiny, insignificant details about him that he’d collected and stored in his brain about her over theyears.
“Sure. Whatever.” He looked at his watch and sighed, “But seriously Lu, hurry up. We were already late this morning. Now we’re gonna be late to this stupid dance lesson Aubrey set up for all ofus.”
“Fine. I’m hurrying.” Lulu retreated back behind the door where he couldn’t see her atall.
“This is you hurrying? You’ve been getting dressed for nearly twohours.”
“It has not been thatlong.”
“Ithasbeen that long and I know for a fact it doesn’t take that long to make you pretty so get out here and let’s goalready.”
“I’m not ready yet.” She completely ignored the compliment he’d just given her and he rolled his eyes as his patience worethin.
