BUCKED Box Set: A Bull Rider Western Romance (3 page)

Chapter Three - Laci

“You’ve
got to be joking. Please tell me you’re joking,” I begged. I looked down at my
graduation gown at the
barbecue
sauce
stain Emily was pointing to. “Ugh, I am the only person in the entire world who
could find a stain on her
white
graduation gown two minutes before we walk,” I groaned. “I need that stain
stick thing you had in the car!”

“You’re
lucky,” she said, pulling the stain remover out of her cap.

“How
even?” I asked in awe. “And,
you’re
the only person in the entire world who could find a way to keep a stain stick
in your graduation cap. Brava, I’m impressed.”

“Well, it
was either the cap or my bra. And knowing you, of
course,
I needed to have one with me, and these things don’t have
any pockets,” she explained, indicating her gown. “They should really have
pockets.”

Just as I
finished rubbing the stain out, the principal walked up to the lineup and
announced, “Alright, people,
it’s go
time! Let’s get you graduated!”

I shoved
the stain stick back into Emily’s hands, and tucking it
into
her cap, she pushed me forward while hissing, “Go, go!” A few
minutes later, we were all seated in our assigned chairs, waiting for our names
to be called.

What we
didn’t expect was the video they played with pictures of the graduating class
when we were kindergarteners, then random shots of middle school and high
school events. Next came a video of different staff members congratulating the
class, talking about fun memories, and wishing all of us well. Since our
graduating class isn’t that large, the video only took about five minutes. I
may or may not have cried at the end. The audience erupted into applause as the
screen faded to black and a final message scrolled across: “Congrats, Class of
2015! Go make us proud!”

Principal
Myers stepped up to the podium and quieted the cheers before he started the
ceremony. When every name had been called, every diploma handed out, and all
the pictures taken and
hugs given
, Emily
and I walked out to the parking lot to find yet another surprise. Standing
there with my parents was Mark. That’s right, my second best friend who was
supposed to be in California shooting his second movie. I ran and jumped into
his arms. He gave me one of those cheesy, lift-you-off-the-ground-and-spin
hugs. When he put me down, I punched him in the arm.

“I thought
you were in L.A.!” I hugged him again.

“What kind
of friend would I be if I missed your graduation?” he asked. “Besides, my agent
made a few phone calls.” He winked at me and squeezed a little harder.

Dad
grinned at me over Mark’s shoulder.

“You guys
are just expert secret keepers, aren’t ya?” I teased my parents.

Mark and
Emily hugged and he congratulated her, as well. After a few photos of Mark and
I together, then me with both of my best friends, we all went out for a
celebration dinner with Emily and her parents.

Later that
evening, after Mark, Emily, and I had made a few rounds to several graduation
parties, we dropped Emily off at her house and were heading back to mine when
Mark pulled his car into the park in the middle of town. It wasn’t the kind of
park with swing sets and monkey bars; it was one of those garden parks. The one
the Blue Bonnets, our town’s preservation society, took pride in making the focal
point of the community, complete with white gazebo and twinkling lights. In a
word—romantic. Which was why I had no idea why we were stopping.

“So, you
know this park doesn’t have swings, right?” I asked, trying to get a feel for
what was going on.

“Yeah, I
know. I just thought we could sit and talk a bit. We probably won’t have any
privacy when we get back to your house. You know how your dad likes to talk.”

I wasn’t
really sure why we needed privacy. We’d never needed privacy before.

“That’s
Dad for ya. He’s a talker.” I didn’t know what to say. I admit, I was a little
out of my element. I’d never felt off balance around Mark before. This was new
territory. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Mark
turned off the car and got out. He walked around to my side and opened my door
for me, holding one hand out and keeping the other behind his back. Very
chivalrous. He finally started to speak as we walked the sidewalk toward the
gazebo.

“I got you
a graduation gift,” he said, pulling a small box from behind his back. I was a
little taken back.

“You
didn’t have to get me anything,” I protested.

“Well, I
wanted to. Laci, you’ve been my closest friend for as long as I can remember.
When I was struggling to fit in, you reminded me that standing out was more my
thing. When my heart was broken, well, you offered to hunt her down and slash
her tires,” he chuckled.

“And, she
would have deserved
it, too
,” I chimed in
with a smile.

“The point
is, you’ve been there for me through it all. I just hope you know I will always
be there for you. No matter what. No matter when. If you need me, I will always
come running.” He looked down at me with those green eyes I’d looked into a
thousand times before and smiled that dimpled smile he’s known for. I was
speechless, and he knew it. So, he let me off the hook. “Open it,” he insisted,
referring to the gift in my hand.

I
carefully tore through the paper to the gift box beneath. When I
opened
it,
inside was nestled a black velvet box. My eyes darted up to meet his, unsure
what to expect. The moment felt a little more intimate than anything Mark and I
had ever shared. Sure, there had been the occasional spark when our eyes met
and for a second something felt a little different, but I always chalked that
up to the fact that he is just a ridiculously attractive guy. Those moments are
going to happen, right? But this…this was something else entirely. He smiled at
me and urged me again. “Go ahead. It won’t bite you,” he laughed.

I pulled
the black box from
its
nest and opened it
up. Inside was a necklace with only half of the two masks you find on theater
signs. The smiling half.

“I have
the other half,” he said, pulling the sad-faced mask from beneath his t-shirt.
“It’s like a best friend charm, only I
hope less
cheesy.”

I couldn’t
help but smile. “Oh, it’s definitely a little cheesy, but I love it.” I wrapped
my arms around his neck and squeezed. “Thank you.”

“There’s
more,” he added as I let him loose. “Turn it over.”

I quickly
obeyed, flipping the charm over to read the words engraved on the back.
Even at 3 a.m.
A smile crept over my
lips, and I moved my hand to the charm around his neck. I didn’t really need to
read it; I was fairly sure I already knew what it said. The night before Mark
left for California, we went out to dinner. I went on and on about how far away
he was going to be and that I didn’t know how I felt about him not being a
train ride away. That night, he told me that no matter how far away he was,
his phone was always on. He said he’d always answer, even at three in the
morning. I flipped his charm over to find the words:
I’ll always answer
. For the second time since we’d arrived at the
park, I was speechless. I smiled and rubbed my thumb over the words on his
charm. Before I could say anything, his fingers were under my chin and tilting
my head up so he could look me in the eye.

“You know
I’d do anything in the world for you, don’t you, Lace?” he asked softly.

I nodded.

“Good.
Then, maybe you know how I really feel about you, too.” He searched my eyes for
a moment. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for or if he found it, but he
continued. “I know this is probably not what you expected.
Truth is,
I didn’t expect to say anything
tonight, but I feel like I need to tell you. It’s only fair you know.”

“I-”
Before I could even start to say anything, Mark stopped me.

“No. Let
me say this. While I have the nerve. These last eight months have been
eye-opening, in a lot of ways. One of them being how I feel about you. Not
being able to hop on the train and see you, not being able to hang out with you
on weekends or practice lines with you, not being able to see that smile of
yours when I’ve had a tough day… It’s been hell. And, it’s made me realize how
much I love you. Not just in the way I’ve been telling you for years. It’s more
than that, Laci, and I think we could be more than that if you feel the same
way and are willing to give it a try.”

I just
stared up at him, completely taken by surprise. “Mark, I don’t know what to
say.”

“A
yes
would be fantastic,” he offered with
a hopeful smile.

“I…I don’t
know if I’m ready to say that. I mean, there’s so much going on in my life
right now. Graduation, the new movie, and I have to figure out what to do about
college once the movie is finished. It’s just…”

He smiled.
“It’s okay, Lace. I’m not asking you to jump in right now. But I did want you
to know how I feel. How I’ve felt for a long time. Since I’m coming clean here,
I’ve loved you since that time you fell down the steps on opening night and
jumped up like it never happened.”

“That was
in, like, seventh grade,” I pointed out, not sure what else to say.

“Yeah, it
was,” he nodded, cupping his hands around my face.

“I’m
sorry, Mark. You know how much I adore you, but-”

“I’m
sorry, too,” he interrupted me.

“For
what?”

“For
this,” he said, leaning down and placing his lips softly over mine. It wasn’t a
deep, longing kind of kiss; it was slow and tender, but respectful. It didn’t
come across like he was trying to change my mind—it was the kind of kiss that
spoke words he couldn’t say. When he pulled away, he looked into my eyes. “I
just needed to do that. Just once.”

I stood
there
dumbfounded
until he chuckled at me
and smiled.

“Come on,
let’s get you home. You’ve had quite a day.”

That was
an understatement. On the five-minute drive to my house, we were quiet. He
reached over and squeezed my hand once, but didn’t hold on.

When he
pulled into my drive, he came around and opened my door, then walked me to the
front porch, stopping short of the first step. He turned to face me.

“You know
I have to leave tomorrow morning to head back to L.A., but I’ll be getting a
couple of weeks off in July. Maybe we can get together then and hang out like
we used to do.”

“I’d like
that,” I replied.

“Good.
Because no matter what, you will always be my best friend, Lace.” He reached
down, took the box I’d been holding from my hand, removed the necklace from the
velvet nest, and placed it around my neck. “I mean it. No matter what time it
is, if you need me, call me. And, let me know if—
when
you change your mind because I’m not just going to stop
feeling this way. Understand?”

I nodded,
and he wrapped his arms around me, the kind of hug you give someone you know
you aren’t going to see for a while. Then he placed a soft kiss on my forehead
and told me goodnight. He waited for me to get inside before he walked back to
his car and drove off.

I
immediately called Emily and told her every detail. She assured me that
everything was going to be fine.

***

A week
later, I realized that Emily was wrong. Everything was going to be far from
fine.

Emily and
I were on our way back from the beach. Senior week was a tradition at our high
school. The windows were down, Emily was driving, and the radio was blaring our
favorite, upbeat music. It was your typical montage scene from any summer
movie—the wind blowing through our hair, our sunglasses on, my feet up on the
dash, singing at the top of our lungs. Then, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize
the number, but I answered it, anyway.

“Hello?” I
shouted. The person on the other end said something, but I couldn’t hear
exactly what, thanks to the wind and music around me. I turned down the radio,
put up my window, and told Emily to shut up for a second.

“Sorry,
we’re in the car,” I said. “Who is this?”

“Laci?”
questioned the other voice. I put my finger in my ear trying to muffle out the
sounds of the wind still whipping through Emily’s window.

“Yeah,
this is Laci. Who is this?” I asked again, motioning for Emily to roll her
window up so I could hear better.

“Laci,
sweetie, it’s Aunt Sara.”

I was a
little surprised to hear from her. She’d just called me last week to wish me a
happy graduation and apologize for not being able to make it.

“Hey, Aunt
Sara. How are you?”

She
paused, and I could hear her take a deep breath through the phone. Something
was wrong. I looked over at
Emily,
who
must’ve noticed the expression on my face. She flashed me a quizzical look, and
I shrugged.