Without You by Kelly Elliott
“Shit. You don’t think he’ll do anything, do you?” Lauren asked.
“No! Gesh, Lauren, you know better than that.”
“I know, but the last couple of months, the two of them have been at each other nonstop. Now, they’re pretty much avoiding each other, and with Libby going off and saying what she just said…”
I shook my head. “I think they need to talk. Things need to go back to normal.”
Luke stopped and let go of Libby, and she turned her back to him.
Lauren let out a gruff laugh. “Things will never be normal again, Alex.”
I turned and looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Alex, come on. I know you and Will are happy and all, but you have to see how the rest of us are all drifting apart. Luke never does anything if he thinks Libby will be there—or worse yet, if Jason and Libby are both there. Colt hasn’t talked to me in over a month.”
“That was your doing, Lauren.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so, but still. We all used to be so close, Alex. Maegan is acting like some sex-craved nutcase. Grace is dating the biggest dick on the planet, and somehow, she is the only one who doesn’t see it. Taylor is burying herself in schoolwork and has no life whatsoever. Things are not the same. Y’all are leaving in a few weeks for college, and well…”
I saw the tears building in her eyes, and my heart broke.
“I just want us to be…us. I want us to have fun without everyone fighting. I’m going to miss y’all, and if you leave with our group being broken, I’m just afraid it will never be fixed.”
I pulled Lauren into my arms as she began crying. “Shh…it’s okay, Lauren. I promise you, I’ll fix this. I promise you.”
I looked over and saw Colt staring at us. I knew he had been hurt so badly the night he admitted to Lauren that he liked her, and she’d walked away. He had begun dating Rachel again, and I knew he was so unhappy. Every time I tried talking to him, he would just tell me that he was fine.
Colt looked directly at me and mouthed, Is she okay?
I smiled and nodded my head slightly.
Lauren pulled back and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. What a baby I am. I think I’m just sad that y’all are leaving for college, and it’s just going to be me, Taylor, and Colt left.”
“I know, honey. I’m sad, too.”
Libby came walking by with Luke following closely behind her.
I grabbed his arm and stopped him. “What did you say to her?” I asked as I looked at Libby walking over to everyone else.
Luke smiled weakly. “I called a truce.”
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Let’s go to the river and cool off, y’all!” Luke yelled.
Everyone began walking over to their cars.
Will came up and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Is Lauren okay?”
I shook my head. “I need to talk to you, Grace, Libby, Luke, and Maegan. I need to talk to y’all sometime today.”
Will nodded his head. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll make it happen.”
When we got to the river, Will told me to head over into the open field behind the large oak. I began walking over there.
Maegan walked up right after me. “Hey, what’s going on? Will said we all had to meet here. Something about Lauren?”
I heard Luke, Will, Grace, and Libby all talking. They stopped and all stared at me.
“What’s up?” Grace asked.
I took a deep breath and just went for it. “We need to get our shit together, all of us. Lauren broke down today because Luke and Libby are fighting. And, Maegan, you’ve turned into a sex-craved bitch.”
“Hey!” Maegan said, putting her hands on her hips while giving me a dirty look.
“Grace, you’re so wrapped up in your boyfriend that we never see you anymore, and Will and I have been so wrapped up in us that we’ve forgotten about Lauren, Taylor, and Colt.”
Everyone began looking at each other. We all knew things hadn’t been the same within our tight little group.
“So, here is what we’re going to do. We only have a few weeks before we leave for college, and we are going to make the most of it, starting today. Luke and Libby, either admit how you feel for each other or move the hell on. It’s getting old.”
Libby’s mouth dropped open as she stared at me.
“Maegan, for Christ’s sake, stop throwing yourself at Luke.” I faced Luke and raised my eyebrow at him. “Luke? Are you ever going to sleep with Maegan?”
His face instantly turned bright red. Maegan and Libby both snapped their heads over and waited for his answer.
“Um…well, um—”
“Luke!” I shouted.
“No! Jesus, Alex. No, I’m not ever going to sleep with Maegan,” he shouted back at me.
Maegan’s face dropped, and I knew Libby was attempting to hold back a smile.
“I’m sorry, Meg. Honey, you’re like my little sister, and I-I don’t think of you like that.” Luke pushed his hands through his hair and rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Alex, for putting me on the damn spot.”
I put my hand on my hip and sighed. “Well, it’s out now. We all knew you never had any intention of sleeping with Maegan.” I turned and looked at Maegan.
She smiled weakly and nodded her head. She turned to Libby. “I’m sorry, Lib.”
Libby looked shocked as she looked at Maegan. “Uh…sorry for what?” she asked Maegan.
“I knew you liked Luke, and I don’t know what came over me. I just got jealous and all. I knew my flirting with Luke drove you nuts.”
Libby quickly glanced at Luke before looking back at Maegan. Luke stared at Libby, but he didn’t say anything.
I cleared my throat. “Grace, I think we all just want to know. What in the hell do you see in Mike?”
Luke stepped in front of Grace and put his hands on her shoulders. “I swear to God, Grace, if I ever catch him talking to you like he was the other night, I’ll kick his damn ass.”
“What? What happened?” Will asked as he pulled me into his arms.
Grace stepped back and away from Luke. “He was drunk, Luke. He isn’t normally like that.”
“Grace…” I whispered.
I hated that she was making excuses for that ass. I had heard him belittle her on more than one occasion. Why Grace put up with him I didn’t know, but she didn’t put up with anyone’s shit. She looked at me and smiled weakly.
“I promise. He really isn’t a dick like y’all think. Once we leave Mason, things are going to change,” Grace said.
I had a terrible feeling in my stomach. Things were for sure going to change, but I didn’t think it would be how Grace thought.
Will slapped his hands together. “All right, y’all. Let’s make the next few weeks like the last eighteen years of our lives. Let’s have fun and get crazy!”
“Hell yeah!” Luke said as he and Will slapped their hands together.
We all laughed, and Will grabbed my hand as we began walking down to the river. Taylor and Lauren were standing on the edge of the river while Colt tried to talk them into using the rope swing.
“It’s freaking cold, Colt!” Taylor said in a whiny voice.
Will dropped my hand and pulled his T-shirt up. Then, he looked over at Luke.
“Oh no, y’all! Don’t!” I said as they both took off running.
They ran up, and Luke grabbed Taylor. She screamed when he threw her into the water. Lauren attempted to run away from Will, but he got her and threw her over his shoulder. He ran up to the rope swing while Lauren called him every name she could think of.
“William Gregory Hayes, if you even think about—” Lauren yelled.
Will grabbed the rope swing, and Lauren screamed the entire time. She was even screaming when she finally popped up out of the water.
Grace and Libby took off running and jumped into the water while Colt did a flip off the deck.
I stood back and watched my best friends laughing and having fun. My
“You’re sure quiet today,” Luke said as he continued to work on the fence.
“Just thinking.”
He stopped and let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s sit for a bit and take a second to relax under a tree. It’s so damn hot out here.”
I reached into the cooler and pulled out two bottles of water. I gave one to Luke, and we made our way over to the large elm. Luke sat and leaned against the tree. Closing his eyes, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
I sat down and looked at him. “You like being single and going from girl to girl?”
He opened his eyes, and I saw sadness even though he was smiling.
“Hell yeah, I do. I don’t have time for a relationship. I figure when I meet the right girl, it will all change.” He took a long drink of water and looked away.
I nodded my head and took a drink.
“Are you worried about you and Alex?”
I knew Luke would just cut to the chase.
“Yeah. A part of me is worried, but another part of me isn’t worried, if that makes sense. I love her, Luke. I mean, I’m pretty damn sure I fell in love with her when I was ten years old.”
He started laughing. “That’s a long time, dude.” He shook his head and looked at me. “Will, I love Alex. I mean, she’s more like my sister than my cousin. I want to see her happy just like I want to see you happy, but…”
“But what?”
He pushed his hand through his hair and let out a quick breath. “Will, what if you meet someone else? What if Alex meets someone else? The only thing y’all have ever known is each other. I mean, did you even date anyone else before Alex?”
I looked down at the ground before glancing back up at Luke. “I don’t know how to explain it, Luke. When I see her, she steals my breath. When I’m near her, I can feel the attraction between us. I feel the love. I’ve never in my life felt like that around another girl.”
“Dude, there are a lot of girls in college. A lot.”
“Not interested.”
Luke threw his head back and laughed. “You’re a better guy than me.”
I stared at him. “How many girls did you hook up with last year while you were at school?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Two. One is just a fuck buddy. She doesn’t want anything from me, and I don’t want anything from her.”
“The other one?” I asked.
“Just a girl I dated for a bit. She wanted more, but I wasn’t ready to give it to her.”
I nodded. “So, there has never been a girl who made you want more?”
He looked off over the pasture. He turned back to me and said barely above a whisper, “No. Never.”
But his eyes were giving me a different answer. I knew Luke cared for Libby. How much he cared about her was what I didn’t know. I wondered how Libby would react to seeing Luke at school with another girl. I pushed it aside and finished off my water.
“She loves you, Will.”
I smiled and nodded my head. “I know she does. I also know Gunner has been filling her head with you-need-to-experience-more-in-life bullshit.”
Luke laughed. “Sounds like Uncle Gunner. He just wants to make sure she’s happy, Will. You’d be the same way if it were your daughter, and you know it.”
I stood up and let out a moan. “Fuck, I know. I just feel like Lex is…”
Luke stood up. “Is what?”
“I don’t know. Never mind. I’m letting my imagination run wild, and all it’s going to do is eat me alive this year.”
Luke slapped my back. “Ain’t that the truth? Dude, you can’t worry about Alex and what she’s doing. Trust her, Will. She loves you.”
Nodding my head, I agreed. “We still throwing the field party tomorrow night?”
He looked over at me and gave me a funny face. “What the hell is wrong with you? Hell yes, we are still throwing it, and I plan on getting drunk off my ass.”
I let out a gruff laugh. “Why?”
“I just need to forget shit for a bit.”
“Dude, that doesn’t help.”
His eyes grew sad, and he smiled weakly. “It will for a little bit.”
I watched as Libby talked to Lauren, Lex, and Grace. I was so glad my sister was coming to A&M with me. Jason had been hanging around a little too close to Libby all night, and my patience was running thin with him. He had asked Libby to dance twice, and she’d turned him down both times.
I glanced over to Colt while he was dancing with Rachel. The bastard looked miserable. When my eyes caught Mike, I balled my fists. The fucker was whispering something to a girl I’d never seen before. I quickly looked back at Grace, who noticed Mike, too. Her smile faded, and she just stood there, watching.
This wasn’t the Grace I knew. The Grace I knew would walk up to the bastard and kick him in the balls. The girl handed Mike a piece of paper, and he stuck it in his back pocket. I looked back at Grace as she downed her beer.
I walked over to where the girls were standing. I made my way to Grace and smiled weakly. “Grace, tell me you’re not letting him get away with cheating on you.”
“What?”
I shook my head as I took her by the arm and pulled her off to the side. “Grace, I know you saw that girl give Mike her number. Why are you putting up with his shit?”
“I know what I’m doing, Will. For once in your life, will you please keep your nose out of my damn business?”
Taking a step back, I held up my hands. “Fine. You know what? If you want to be treated like that, have at it, Grace. It’s your choice.”
I turned and walked up to Lex. I kissed her on the cheek and asked, “Wanna dance?”
She nodded her head quickly. “I sure do, cowboy!”
Lex and I danced and laughed for most of the night. I knew we were both just trying to hide the fact that we would be leaving for college in two weeks.
She pulled me closer to her as she whispered, “Make love to me.”
Smiling, I asked, “Where?”
She looked around and bit down on her lower lip. “The river. Right now.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you nuts?”
She started laughing, and then she began running to the river. I quickly followed after her, but there was no way I would have sex with her in front of all these people—dark river or not.
Lex stripped out of her T-shirt and then pulled her boots off. Next came her jean shorts. Two seconds later, she was jumping into the river in her two-piece suit.
Right before coming to the party, we had all jumped off the rope swing into the river—well, mostly Colt and Luke had jumped off it, trying to outdo the other—so we still had on our swimsuits from earlier.
I pulled my T-shirt over my head and took off my sneakers. I’d opted to just wear my swim trunks here and not sweat my ass off in jeans. I glanced around. No one else was in the water.
I turned back around and looked at most everyone dancing. Taylor and Lauren were dancing with their friends, and Maegan was making out with some guy she had brought from Fredericksburg. Some people were standing by the fire we’d started in the fire pit. I saw Luke talking to Libby. He was already drunk, so I just prayed he wouldn’t say anything to hurt her.
I looked back at Lex, and she was holding up the bottoms to her swimming suit.
Motherfucker. She’s gonna kill me.
I quickly checked my pocket for a condom and ran toward the river. I jumped in, and she let out a small scream. I made my way to her and pulled her to me. My dick was already hard as a rock, knowing she was half-naked in the water.
She wrapped her legs around me, shoved her swimsuit bottoms into my pocket, and stuck her hand down my shorts. She slowly began stroking me.
“Damn it, Lex. If your brother sees us…”
She began kissing me. “He won’t.”
“Luke…” I whispered against her lips.
“He??
When she pulled her hand out of my shorts, she began pushing them down until my dick sprang free. She jumped off me, and I ripped the condom open as I moved to shallow water. I quickly rolled it on before moving back to where Lex was.
She quickly positioned herself over me and sank down.
I let out a groan.
She whispered, “Yes, that feels good. I’ve been wanting you all day.”
“Lex…”
She began grinding against me as she brought her lips back to mine. “Will…oh God, this turns me on so much.”
I began walking a little ways down so that we were somewhat away from everyone. I stopped and looked around, making sure I didn’t see any snakes. One quick look back at the party, and I was satisfied no one could see us.
I turned back to Lex and decided to give her a little taste of something different. “I’m gonna fuck you now, Lex.”
Her mouth dropped open as she slowly sucked in a breath of air and then whispered, “Yes.”
I grabbed her hips and began moving in and out of her body, hard and fast.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and dropped her head back. “Yes! Will, yes!”
I could feel her tightening up.
She snapped her head forward and looked into my eyes. “I’m gonna come.”
I stopped moving.
“No! No, no, no, Will. Why did you stop? I was about to come.”
I could hear the frustration in her voice.
“I don’t want you to come yet, baby.”
Her eyes grew bigger. “Will, I want to come!”
After looking back again, I slowly made my way farther down the river, still buried deep inside Lex. I wasn’t sure what in the hell I was thinking. We could be seen at any moment, and there could be snakes around us. At this point though, the only thing thinking was my dick. I saw the rock I was looking for, and I made my way to it. By the time I reached it, Lex was panting with need.
“Will, I don’t want to go swimming. I want you to do what you said.”
I looked back and couldn’t see anyone.
When I turned back to Lex, I smiled. “Tell me what you want, Lex.”