This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1) (22 page)

“Promise
me you won’t believe everything he tells you,” she whispers. “I’m not half the
trouble he makes me out to be.” She’s being playful.

“We’ll
have to see about that sweetheart.” I’m doing everything Brody told me not to
and laying my Southern charm on thick, even accentuating my drawl. Her cheeks
redden a little more and she turns to look at Brody. “I’ll be back in a few
minutes with your food,” she repeats. Brody smiles at her and we watch her
leave.

“Well
well, the last time I saw you get all tongue-tied and breathless like that over
a girl was when you met Haley.” The mention of my ex girlfriends’ name makes my
entire body go rigid. I haven’t spoken about her or seen her again since she
cheated on me in our freshman year and skipped town. That was 2 years ago.
That’s not all she did
I remind myself.

I
scowl at him. “Brody, don’t.”

He
shrugs. “Just callin’ it like I see it.”

Before
our conversation can continue, Huntley exits the kitchen and starts towards us.
Thank God our food is done, I’m starving and hopefully Brody will shut up while
we eat. I hate that the mere mention of Haley’s name can put me in such a foul
mood so quickly. Obviously I’m not as over it as I thought. Maybe if cheating
on me was all she did then I’d be over it. But it wasn’t and what followed was
a long string of random hook-ups to try numb the pain. She left me when I
needed her the most. It was the hardest time of my life.

I
drag myself away from my vehement thoughts and instead of turning to look at
Huntley, I find Rebecca’s angry glare. She’s shooting daggers at Huntley but
when she sees me watching her, the expression changes into something more
sinister, evil.
 
What the hell is up
with that? Brody wasn’t lying when he said Rebecca was the she-devil incarnate.
She has a nasty jealous streak and an imperceptible cruelty about her.

I
should’ve known what would happen next. I should’ve expected it.

Rebecca
sticks her leg out slightly and catches Huntley by the foot. The tray flies
into the air and before I can think twice about what I’m doing my feet start
moving towards the accident-in-progress. The plates and coffee cups join the
tray and come crashing down with a deafening clatter. I grab Huntley by the
waist and catch her before she can hit the ground. Her head snaps up and she’s
looking at me like a deer caught in headlights. I notice then that her eyes are
the most incredible shade of indigo. But it’s their depth and lucidity that
surprise me, like they would be able to see right through me if given the
chance.

Get a damn grip
Grayson.

“Oh
my God, are you retarded or just clumsy by nature?” Rebecca snaps. There’s a
cold edge to her tone and I’ve only seen her use it when she’s threatened by
someone. Huntley whips her head back towards Rebecca but doesn’t say anything.
“Oh, so I guess you're just clumsy then.” Rebecca is taunting her, kind of like
how a cat sometimes plays with its’ food before eating it. God she’s a bitch.

Huntley
yanks herself free from my grip and scrambles to pick up the mess on the floor.
The girls at Rebecca’s table say nothing; instead they sit there and laugh,
like their Queen Bee had nothing to do with what just happened. Mrs Coach steps
closer to Huntley and whispers something in her ear. I catch a glimpse of her
tear-filled eyes and that’s all it takes. “Rebecca, why do you have to be such
a bitch? I saw you trip her on purpose!” I growl. She has the audacity to look
embarrassed, but only because she got caught. “What are you talking about
Grayson? I didn’t do anything.” The lie falls so easily from her lips and I
mentally castigate myself for ever getting involved with such a cruel person.
“You’re such a liar!” I roar, making her flinch. I should feel bad for getting
so angry with her but I’m not even sure why I am. Maybe it was my conversation
with Brody earlier about Haley.

Yeah,
that’s it. A single mention of her name and I’m ready to flip the fuck out.
It’s not Rebecca’s fault but hell, she had no right to humiliate Huntley like
that. And for what? I know the answer, the realisation only adding to my
misplaced anger. Rebecca saw me talking to Huntley. Before she has a chance to
respond Brody grabs my arm and slowly pulls me away from the chaos. “Let me
go,” I snarl, trying to loosen his vice grip on my bicep. I need to see if
Huntley is ok. I hate that Rebecca made her cry. As if sensing my intention
Brody shakes his head, “Just leave it Grayson, don’t get involved man. It’s
just Rebecca being Rebecca. She wants to see you flip out.”

“It’s
my fault,” I say, feeling somewhat calmer. Brody has that effect on me. He
knows when I’m about to lose my shit. “Rebecca saw me talking to Huntley.”
Guilt settles in my chest.

“Bro,
I haven’t seen you react that way in years, let alone defend a girl you’ve only
just met.” He’s eyes are questioning and I feel myself wondering the same
thing. Why did I feel the need to defend Huntley, protect her?

By
now the mess is cleared and people seem to have forgotten about it, resuming
their conversations like it never happened. I know Rebecca is staring at me but
I don’t care. I’m done with her. “I think we should get out of here. The guys
are already on their way to the lake,” Brody says, lowering his voice. He’s about
to leave when I see Huntley walk out of the bathroom. Her eyes are puffy and
her face is red. I find myself wanting to fold her tiny body in my arms and
comfort her. The thought takes me by complete surprise and leaves me baffled.
Perplexed. I look back at Brody and he nods once, walking out the door.

“Are
you ok?” I ask Huntley, meeting her in the middle of the bakery. She looks a
little surprised and I don’t blame her. “I’m fine,” she whispers, her voice
hoarse. “Thank you for catching me.”

I
nod. “I’m sorry. Rebecca did that because of me.” And I will talk to Rebecca
about that, but now’s not the time. Huntley looks confused by my apology but
doesn’t say anything. After a few seconds of awkward silence I pay the bill and
leave, but not before I turn to take one last look at Huntley’s tear-stained
face. In that moment I realise that calling her hot is an insult. She’s
beautiful.

My
mind is in overdrive and my behaviour makes no sense, to the extent that it
seems irrational and maybe even illogical.

Huntley
Morgan is a problem.

One
I’m going to have a hard time ignoring.

Chapter
3

~
Huntley ~

I toss my keys
onto the table by the door and let out a
huff
.
What a day. I’ve been here for 2 months already and it was by far one of the
worst days. I started it off like I do every Saturday – working at Aunt
Em’s bakery.
 
I love it. Until today
that is.

The sound of my
phone ringing makes my jump and I grab it out of my bag before I miss the call.
I fall onto the couch and slide my finger across the screen to answer. Of
course it’s my friend Demi. We met during freshman orientation in one of our
introductory psychology classes and hit it off. Strangely enough I felt at ease
with her immediately, something that still boggles my mind. I have a hard time
letting people in and Demi seems to be the first exception. I’m still cautious
though. After what my last best friend did to me I’m wary about the people I
allow close to me.

“Hey girly,”
Demi’s sing-song voice chimes through the phone and I smile. I like her.

“Hey Dem! I
thought you were coming over later for ice-cream and really bad rom com’s?” I
ask. We made plans last week for a girls’ night at my apartment after Demi
decided she needs a break from her boyfriend, Tommy.

“That’s why I’m
calling girl, I’m so sorry to have to cancel. Tommy went to Lake Dixon with the
rest of the boys and called me a few minutes ago asking me to go get him. He’s
too drunk to drive. Again.” She sighs and I can hear the exasperation in her
voice. This is almost a weekly occurrence. If uncle Alex knew what his boys got
up to he’d literally shit a brick house. That’s probably why they do it at Lake
Dixon, it’s a half hour drive outside of town.

“Do you need me
to go with you?”

“Oh would you
mind? I hate making the drive on my own,” she says. I would also hate making
the drive on my own.
 
I wonder why
Tommy would be so stupid to get drunk when he knows he’s got to drive himself
home.

“I would feel
better if you didn’t go on your own. Come get me in 20.”

She breathes a
sigh of relief and says, “You are awesome!! I will totally make it up to you.
Besides, you need to tell me what happened at the bakery today.”

I frown. How did
she know about that? It only happened a few hours ago. I swear nothing gets
past this girl.

“Do you mean with
Rebecca?”

“Well yes, but I
also want to know what the hell happened with Grayson! But you can fill me in
on the way to the lake. I’ll see you in 20 girl,” She ends the call before I
can gather my wits.

What does she
mean what happened with Grayson? Nothing
did
happen. All he did was catch me before I face planted into the bakery
floor. It feels weird admitting to myself that his grip was a little tighter
than I would expect from a stranger. Although Grayson Carter isn’t
really
a stranger. I know all about him
and his less than spectacular reputation around here. It’s well deserved since
the entire school knows his affinity for getting unsuspecting freshman out of
their panties. The only place he seems to behave is on the field, or so I’m
told. Before today he was a myth to me.

Before I can get
caught up in analysing him and today’s events, my phone dings signalling a
text.

Demi: I’m outside. Move your caboose.

I giggle at her
old school word for “ass” and rush downstairs to her car after locking up. I
see her head of brown curls bobbing up and down to some country song before I
see her tiny body. She looks miniature behind the wheel of her red Lexus.

She grins at me
as I slide into the passenger seat and doesn’t even wait for me to put my seat
belt on before she hits the accelerator. I’m not a nervous passenger but Demi
is an adrenaline junkie when it comes to speed. And her car isn’t slow.

“Spill,” she
says, turning the volume down on her radio. “Brody told me that bitch Rebecca
tripped you after she saw Grayson talking to you.”

“What?” I say
confused. “Is that what Brody said?”

She rolls her
eyes and raises her eye brows like I’m supposed to know this. In the short time
I have known Demi, I quickly learned a few of her tells, eye rolling being her
most popular.

“Why would she do
that? I was taking Grayson’s order and he introduced himself.” It sounds silly,
like we’re back in high school. Then I remember Grayson telling me the same
thing just before her left.

“Rebecca is a few
screws short of a picnic. She’s mean and crazy jealous, especially when it
comes to Grayson, which is crazy because they’re friends with benefits minus
the friends. But clearly Psycho Barbie didn’t get that memo,” Demi says, the
vehemence in her voice clear as day.

“Well all I did
was take his order. I honestly didn’t know it would upset her.” It took me an
hour to calm down I was so embarrassed. The way Grayson looked at me didn’t
help. Demi wanted to know what happened with him but what do I say.

“But tell me what
happened with Grayson,” she urges. No wonder she knows everything about
everyone, she can read minds. I roll my eyes wondering how the hell I’m going
to get her to understand that
nothing
happened
with Grayson.

“Dem, nothing
happened. He caught me before I fell and that was that. I ran to the bathroom
before anybody could say anything,” I reply irritated.

She gives me a
pointed look, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth as she thinks about what I
said. “What did Brody say?” I ask.

“He said he’s
never seen Grayson react the way he did. He said when you ran to the bathroom
Grayson flipped out at Rebecca in front of everyone. He also said Grayson had a
really hard time keeping his eyes off you,” she replies, looking back and forth
between me and the road we’re on.

“He can’t keep
his eyes off anything with boobs. I’m not oblivious to what people say about
him.”

“Those are just
rumours Huntley. I’ve known Grayson since we were 5 and he’s not as bad as
people say. Yeah, he likes to have drunken one night stands now and then but
you can’t hold him entirely responsible when the girls are willing. They know
what he’s like and yet they still make him out to be the bad guy. Besides, have
you seen that boys’ ass?” she giggles and I smile.

I would never
admit to her that his face almost made me stop dead when I approached his
table. His green eyes met mine and held them for a second too long. His dark
brown hair fell just above his eyes in that ‘just fucked’ kind of way that made
every girl want to run their fingers through it. Yeah, he’s gorgeous. Even I
would be an idiot not to acknowledge the fact.

“Hey,” Demi says,
interrupting my daydream, “Where’d you go?”