Page 49 of Highball Rush
“Ow,” Bowie said, grabbing his arm. “What gives, Scar? I barely touched you.”
Scarlett gave him a smug smile. He grumbled something and walked away, heading for a table near the back. I noticed Cassidy didn’t take her eyes off him.
“You’re so gonna marry him,” Scarlett said.
“Shut up, I am not,” Cassidy said, but her smile said otherwise.
Amos turned and leaned over into our booth. “Y’all done? We’re heading back to the lake.”
“Sure,” Lacey said with a giggle.
“We’ll see you down there,” Scarlett said, standing to let Tanya and Lacey out. “Cass and I wanna get some lunch.”
Cassidy stood so I could get out. We said goodbye, then I followed Tanya and Lacey out the door. The knot of boys came out right after us.
I pulled on my sleeves, even though it was hot out today. Maybe I’d dip my feet in the lake to cool off. The water was bathwater warm, but it still felt refreshing. And wearing short sleeves wasn’t an option.
An engine rumbled behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and my heart did a little flip. Gibson Bodine drove by slow in his beat-up old pickup truck. He had his windows rolled down, music turned up. He wore a black muscle shirt that showed off his muscular arms and a pair of dark sunglasses.
The other girls stared, open-mouthed. Gibson Bodine was equal parts fascinating and intimidating. The type of guy the girls my age were both afraid of, and drawn to like flies to honey. The big, bad older guy, with stubble on his square jaw and a heart-stopping smile. A little scary. A little dangerous. A lot sexy.
And these girls had no idea he was my friend.
I held that secret like a treasure. I had a lot of secrets—far too many for a sixteen-year-old girl—but this was the one I cherished. A happy secret, instead of a terrible one. But still something I had to keep to myself.
So I didn’t wave when he drove by. He didn’t acknowledge me, either. He didn’t need to. We both knew.
“Last one in the lake is a bug-eyed catfish,” Amos yelled, then took off running down the street.
The rest of the boys followed, yelling insults at each other as they went.
Tanya and Lacey started to follow. “You coming, Callie?”
I made sure not to glance in the direction Gibson had gone. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay, see ya.”
I turned in the opposite direction, walking up Lake Drive while the girls headed toward the lake. Sneaking away was easy. The kids and teens of Bootleg Springs roamed the town until dusk all summer long, everyone coming and going. Forming small groups, then breaking off to form new ones. No one seemed to miss me when I wandered off.
Technically I wasn’t violating any of my parents’ rules. Although there was no way they’d approve of me hanging out with Gibson Bodine. He was twenty, and most people thought of him as the bad boy in town.
I knew better. He wasn’t bad. Misunderstood, maybe. But not bad. But I still couldn’t let my parents find out.
Making sure no one was watching, I cut between two buildings and made for the woods. Not far into the trees, I left the trail. I knew my way. Gibson had showed me a clearing that was deep enough in the forest that it was secluded and quiet, but close enough that I could easily make it home by dark, even if we lost track of time.
We did that pretty often.
I picked my way through the trees, careful not to stub my toe on the forest debris. As much as I worried about getting caught, I never hesitated to come. I couldn’t resist.
Gibson was already there, sitting on a fallen log, tuning his guitar. He usually parked on a dirt road and came in from the opposite direction.
He looked up at me and smiled. “Hey, Cal.”
I tugged on my sleeves, making sure they were pulled all the way down. Gibson and I shared a secret, but he didn’t know my other ones. “Hey, Gibs.”
“I learned a new song.” He strummed a chord. “Worked it out by ear, but I think I have it right.”
“What song?” I lowered myself onto the log next to him.
