Impossible (4 page)

Ash’s eyes gleamed triumphantly as she stuck the key in the back pocket of her denim shorts. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Seeing her here in my personal space made me both angry and nervous. Angry, because who the hell was she to barge in here like she owned the world? And nervous, because she was in my personal space and, damn, did she look good. Those shorts were cut-off at the perfect place showing off her long, golden legs. The tank top she wore teased me with a sliver of flat stomach and hugged her chest tight so her boobs stood out.

“What are you doing here, Ashton?” I asked again, folding my arms across my chest.

Ash followed my movement and two spots of pink appeared on her cheeks. Was she checking me out? Her sky blue eyes locked with mine again and she scowled. “Unlike the rest of you bottom feeders, I actually have aspirations to go to college and make something of myself. That requires me to study, but I can’t do that when you’re making so much noise.”

“Hey, we’re not making noise, we’re making music,” Riley insisted from behind me. He put down his bass guitar and leaned against the garage wall, staring Ash down.

Riley Adamson, Eddie Cavallari and Stacey Parker had been my friends since junior high. While Stace wasn’t one to shy away from a fight, Eddie was a bit mellower. He liked to take things in stride, whereas Riley was the crazy, outgoing one. He was always flirting, always trying to get himself a girlfriend. I didn’t know who he was trying to kid though. It was starting to become obvious that he had a thing for Stace.

When I’d lost Ash, I’d found these three. We’d grown together over the past few years, formed a band and changed our images together. They’d been there when I needed them, and Ash had no right to barge into my house and insult them.

Ash snorted. “In a few years’ time you lot will still be living at home and getting your mother to do your laundry. If you somehow manage to find an actual job, pumping my gas will be the highlight of your career.”

My mouth fell open and I glanced behind me to see the see the offended looks on Eddie’s and Riley’s faces. Stace, on the other hand, looked plain angry. This was not going to end well.

“What the hell did you say?” Stace stood up very quickly and was beside me in a second, ready to take Ashton on. “You think you’re so much better than us with your expensive clothes and your plastic personality?”

Ash’s gaze flickered over to Stace and she smirked. “No, I don’t think I’m better than all of you. I just think I’m better than you. At least these guys are doing
something
. You’re just sitting around like a stalker, watching them play.”

Stace let out a hiss like an angry cat and took a step forward. I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to punch Ashton in the face. What Stace didn’t know was that back when we’d been kids, Ash could beat me in a fight. The girl knew how to hold her own.

The situation had to be diffused before it got completely out of hand.

I held out an arm to stop Stace from getting any closer to Ash. “The only bottom feeder here is you, Ashton. We’re going to play our music, we’re going to play it so loud that your ears bleed, and then we’re going to play some more. So, kindly, get the hell outta here.”

I placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder and steered her out of the garage, kicking the door shut behind me. Ash shrugged off my hand and whirled around, her face bright red. Despite that, she still looked totally hot.

“How dare you speak to me like that! You and your loser friends—”

Anger rushed through me and I pinned her against the wall. “Don’t you dare talk about them like that, you stuck up little snob.”

“Let go of me!” She tried to free herself from my grasp, but I pressed my body against her to stop her from moving.

“I’ll let you go if you say sorry for what you said in there.” I tried very hard to focus on what we are arguing about, because I was quickly becoming distracted by her body wriggling against mine.

The look Ash shot me was full of contempt. “In your dreams. I will never apologize to those Satanists.”

“When did you become such a bitch, Ash? When did other people start meaning so little to you? You can’t walk into my house and treat my friends like shit. You’ve changed so much; you’re fucking messed up.”

“And you haven’t changed? Look at you.” She looked me up and down in disgust as she continued to squirm. “You dress like a complete freak, your hair is black, you have tattoos all over your body, yet you say I’ve changed. You’re delusional.”

Her comment was like a slap in the face. “Just because I look different doesn’t make me a freak, but it makes you shallow. And I happen to like my hair black.”

“I am not shallow, you disgusting person!” Ash cried, her eyes blazing. “Now, get off me!”

Frustration and anger surged through me, and I did the one thing I knew would really mess with her mind—the only way to win this argument and get her to shut her freaking mouth.

I kissed her.

And not one of those delicate, gentle kisses either. This one was heated and full of passion, fuelled by the tension that’d built up between us. I hadn’t meant to get into it, but I found myself deepening the kiss and sliding a hand up Ashton’s bare arm. What really surprised me was that Ash was kissing me back. Her kisses sent thrills up my spine, and I pressed my groin into her, wanting her.

Without warning, Ash pushed me back and slapped me hard across the face. I released her and put a hand to my cheek, reeling from the stinging that was spreading one side of my face.

“What the hell was that for?” I demanded.

Ash’s mouth was parted and her face was flushed as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. “You…you kissed me!”

“You kissed me back,” I said, my mouth curving up in a smile.

Ashton shoved me. Hard. “I…I did NOT kiss you! You make me sick!”

My smile disappeared and irritation filled every part of me. “If I make you sick then you shouldn’t have kissed me.”

“I didn’t! But you did!” Ashton jabbed me with an accusatory finger. “Why? Why did you do it?”

Okay, Ashton was really pissing me off right now. I was tempted to walk away then, but I wanted to get in one last thing before I did. “You really wanna know why? You act like you’re so high and mighty, but look at you now. You’re the girl who kissed Luca Byron, the
freak
.” I leaned in close, anger radiating off my body, so she’d hear every single word. “So, suck on that, Princess.”

It looked like Ash wanted to cry, and it gave me a sick satisfaction seeing her so defeated. Her bottom lip trembled and I could tell how upset she was even though she looked like she wanted to stab me in the gut.

The door opened behind us and I heard Eddie’s voice. “Is everything alright out here?” It was just like Eddie to come and check up on us. He cared too much for his own good. Even though Ash had been completely rude, it was his natural instinct to care. Ashton didn’t deserve his compassion.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I answered, looking at Ash pointedly. “
She
was just leaving.”

My words seemed to jolt Ash out of her thoughts and she shot me a dirty look before walking around me to leave. Quickly, I reached out and grabbed her arm before she could get any further.

“What’s your problem?” she demanded, trying to free herself from my grip.

“You’re forgetting something.” I reached over and stuck my hand in the back pocket of her shorts, getting a good grasp of her ass, before reaching in for the spare key. “Can’t have you coming over here whenever you want, can I?”

“You’re a complete ass, Luca!” she seethed.

My hand brushed against her side pocket, which made a crumpling sound, and I raised an eyebrow. “What’ve you got in there?”

Ashton’s face fell and, without waiting for a response, I pulled out the paper—no, it was a photo—from her pocket. I stared at it and then I stared at Ash’s reddening face, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Why did she have a picture of us with my dad in her pocket?

As I looked back at it, I recognized it as the photo Mom had stuck on the fridge. My eyes widened and I glanced back up at Ash, trying to form words.

No words came out.

Ashton looked mortified and pressed her lips together to stop them from quivering. She managed to shoot me a look of pure hatred before storming off down the hall. A second later the front door slammed shut, rattling the house.

“What was all that about?” Eddie asked.

I shrugged, trying to play it off, but inside my stomach was writhing like someone had let a can of worms loose in there. Clutching the photo, I headed back to the fridge to stick it back on. No matter how I looked at the situation, I’d been a total jerk.

I couldn’t help but feel that I’d just made a huge mistake.

Ashton

On Monday morning I stood at the curb outside my house hoping to God that Kance got here before Luca left for school. I did not want to see him after what had transpired between us on Saturday. I was furious beyond words at the way he’d acted towards me and completely mortified that he’d caught me with the photo. I could only imagine what he thought of me. I bet he and his friends had spent the rest of the day laughing at me. The very thought made my fists clench and my eyes narrow.

Who the heck did he think he was anyway?

There was a beep and I looked around to see that Kance was pulling up beside me. Feeling relieved, I climbed in and we exchanged a quick hug before she drove off down the street.

“Are you ready for practice?” she asked, covering a yawn with her hand.

“Of course!” I hoped my voice sounded confident because I suddenly didn’t feel it. Maybe it was because I was nervous on my first official day as captain, or maybe my encounter with Luca had completely messed with my mind. “I mean, I’m just impatient for the pep rally tomorrow, so I can ask Oliver out already.”

Seeming satisfied with my response, Kance changed the topic.

“So, what did you get up to this weekend?” She turned her head in my direction expectantly. It was like she already knew what had happened with Luca. Okay, now I was just being super paranoid. There was no way that she’d have a clue.

“Not much,” I lied. “Just studied for math and went through some routines for today.”

My heart skipped a beat as thoughts of Luca’s lips against mine filled my thoughts. When he’d had me pressed up against the wall, I’d felt every muscle on his stomach ripple under his fitted t-shirt. He had abs that I’d never even known existed. Unlike Oliver’s Hulk-like body, Luca was lean and muscular. Maybe he secretly lifted weights in his spare time. There was so much I didn’t know about him anymore.

But that kiss, it had seared my lips and…I’d kissed him back. I’d denied it, but we both knew the truth. I had kissed Luca Byron, the freak of the school, and a part of me had liked it. I bet he loved holding that over my head. Somehow, he’d known it was the one thing that would get to me.

“Ashton, are you listening?” Kance interrupted my thoughts and my head snapped towards her.

“Yeah, sorry,” I apologized, giving my full attention to my best friend. I would not think about Luca Byron. I would not think about Luca…

Kance rolled her eyes and turned into the street that our school was on. “I was saying that Elly Marles told Francine that she has a crush on Oliver. Can you believe that?”

I burst out laughing as I imagined chubby Elly dating the school’s quarterback. I couldn’t blame her for liking him though. Oliver was a catch. Plenty of girls had crushes on him.

“Are you joking? She gained like 20 pounds over summer. No one is going to want to date that girl.”

Kance pulled into an empty parking spot outside the school and put on the parking brake. “You know what I heard?” She undid her belt and turned in her seat to face me, her eyes gleaming. “She’s going to try and beat you to it tomorrow. She’s going to ask Oliver out
before
the pep rally.”

My mouth dropped open. “No way!”

“Yes way,” Kance said as we got out of her car and headed into the school building. “Apparently, someone told her that you’re going to ask Oliver out, so she wants to do it first.”

“Does she really think she has a chance with him?” I asked as we walked into the senior courtyard. The courtyard was large enough for all the seniors, but they didn’t all hang out here. There were a few picnic benches and tables positioned around the courtyard which the jocks and cheerleaders had claimed. The other students could have whatever was left.

We took a seat at our table waiting for the bell to ring for first period. Kance pulled out a compact mirror and began fixing her hair. “That’s what she’s been telling all her friends. She said she has a better chance of getting him than you do.”

Irritation clouded over me and I bit my lip. “Who does she think she is? She was a nobody a couple of years ago. Remember when she had braces and that disgusting excuse for hair?”

“I think she needs to be put in her place.” Kance put away her mirror and glanced around, her expression brightening. “Fix that frown. The boys are coming over.”

Following her gaze, I noticed that Oliver and a bunch of his friends were heading towards our table. Amongst them was Bennett Anderson, my good friend from middle school. It helped when you were friends with a jock who hung out with Oliver. That way, you always got the inside details on the guy you were crushing on.