Saving You (Love Wanted In Texas Book 2) (7 page)

Luke pulled his head back and narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m not allowed to help you now, Lib? I thought we were friends.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s right; you haven’t reminded me of our friendship in a while. We certainly aren’t on the level of friends that you and the brown-haired Barbie doll at the library are. She seemed a bit pissed I walked up and interrupted your porn talk.”

“What did you hear?” Luke asked as he stepped around the car and walked toward me.

Swallowing hard, I watched his muscles move under his tight T-shirt as he made his way over to me. His eyes looked up and down my body and I was cursing myself for wearing sweatpants and an A&M T-shirt. I was sure I looked frumpy. I went to talk but nothing came out. I cleared my throat. “Enough to turn my stomach.”

Luke stopped walking. His eyes filled with something I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before. He turned and started toward his truck as my heart starting beating faster. “Where … where are you going?” I called out.

He looked over his shoulder. “To my truck to get tools. I need to take your battery out and take it in to be tested.”

Glancing back to my car I nodded my head.

I SAT IN
Luke’s truck and watched him walk out of the auto store carrying a new battery. I jumped out of the truck. “Your battery was no good.”

“How much do I owe you for the new battery?”

Luke set the battery in the bed of his truck. He looked at me and said, “Nothing.”

He opened the door to his truck, got in and started it. I sighed as I got back in the truck and I leaned my head back against the seat. The drive back to campus was no better than the drive to the auto store. Luke didn’t utter a word to me. The radio was playing and when the first few beats of the song came on my stomach dropped. Blake Shelton’s “Do You Remember” was filling the silent air in the truck cabin. It was the song Luke and I danced to the night he first kissed me. He told me it would always be our song. I turned and looked out the window. Luke probably didn’t even remember. Seeing as he was able to kiss me and leave like nothing magical had happened between us.

I felt the tears trying to build in my eyes and I refused to shed any more tears over him. He didn’t want me. He’d never want me.

Closing my eyes, I listened to the lyrics. I was instantly brought back to that night. The smell of his body invaded my senses. His green eyes looked into mine lovingly. He had been more than my best friend. He was my everything.

He still was. As much as I wanted to say he wasn’t … he was.

“Libby, I need to tell you something.”

I shook my head. “Please don’t talk to me, Luke.”

We drove the rest of the way listening to the song before it finally changed to a faster, louder song. The moment he parked his truck, I got out and made my way to my dorm room. As I walked by my car, Will started toward me. “Lib? Libby, what’s wrong?” he asked as he forced me to stop walking.

I tried to smile. “Nothing, Will. Just trying to figure out how to move on.” I looked back over my shoulder to see Luke standing there. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to talk, but he quickly shut it again.

Looking down, I turned my head back to Will. “I have a test to study for. Can you just be sure to bring me my keys?” I handed my keys to Will and walked away as I made a plan to avoid Luke Johnson as much as I possibly could.

I HAD SUCCESSFULLY
avoided Luke up until Christmas break. Now that we were back home, he was everywhere.

“Let’s head to the barn and see what the boys are up to,” Grace said as she held her arm out. I laced my arm with hers and we headed to the barn. Taylor and Lex were talking about Taylor’s last year of high school.

When we entered the barn, we could hear the guys talking. Grace put her finger up to her mouth and began tiptoeing up the stairs.

I heard Colt talking as we made our way up. “Makes me want to give up on women altogether.”

“No! Don’t ever talk that way, dude. A man needs a vagina to function,” Luke said.

“Really? You just said that?” Will asked. We were almost to the top of the stairs.

Luke chuckled. “Hey, I could have said pussy, but I kept it clean. It’s true though. A man does need pussy to survive in this world.”

Colt began laughing. Grace stopped walking and turned and looked at me. I was furious hearing Luke talk like he was. I moved past Grace and stopped at the landing of the stairs. Luke was sitting in a chair, pushed back balancing on the back two legs.

Colt was shaking his head as he said, “Damn, Luke. What is wrong with you?”

Luke held up his hands and laughed. “Keeping it real. Just keeping it real.”

I felt the heat move through my entire body. All I could picture was that day in the library when I overheard him and Abigail talking. The idea of Abigail having Luke and not me turned my stomach. Hearing him talk like this made me wonder if Luke was even capable of loving anyone. Maybe all he wanted was his fuck buddy.

“That’s why he has his fuck buddy. No strings. Just a fun way to
survive in this world.
Isn’t that right, Luke?”

Grace started giggling behind me as Will turned and looked at us. Luke looked over at me with a shocked look on his face.

“What?” he asked as he lost his balance and dropped backward onto the floor. I smiled and shook my head.
That’s what the bastard gets.

I glanced over and looked at Will. “I’m heading out for a while to meet someone. I don’t have my car. Can I borrow your truck, Will?”

Grace bumped me from behind. “Libby, don’t do this.”

I ignored Grace as Will stared at me. “Uh …”

Jumping up, Luke looked at me with a stunned, almost frightened expression. “You’re going out? On Christmas night? Who are you going out with?”

The anger kept building up.
How dare he ask me who I was going out with it!
I glared at him and he took a step back.

I had no idea where I was going to go and then I remembered Jason had texted me. “Jason’s in town and he asked if I wanted to meet him for dessert.”

Luke started laughing. “What kind of dessert, Lib?”

I was about to say something when Will did. “Watch it, Luke.”

Walking over toward Luke, I smiled. “The kind you’ll never get from me, Luke.”

I walked up to Will and held my hand out for his truck keys. I needed to get away from Luke. Being around him was more than I could take anymore.

Will was staring at me. “Wait. What did you just say?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Can I borrow your truck or not, Will?” Will pulled out his keys and handed them to me. One quick look at Luke showed that my comment about Jason and dessert made him mad.

Good. That’s what the asshole gets. Let him chew on that for a while.

AFTER LIBBY HAD
left, I couldn’t push it out of my head what she had said. I wanted to track her down and beat the shit out of Jason. If that was who she was really with.

After everyone talked in the barn for a bit, we had all decided to head into town. We ended up at Pirates Miniature Golf where Colt and I got into an argument.

We had been bickering when I looked up and saw Libby walking by. I stopped talking and watched her walk by as she made her way over to the girls. Turning back around, I looked at Colt. “You cheat, Colt.”

Colt’s mouth dropped open. “I do not, you asswipe. I got that hole in three swings. Lauren, did I not get that in three shots?”

I turned and looked at Lauren who smiled at me. “Hate to say it, Luke, but he got it in three swings.”

Shaking my head, I mumbled under my breath. “This night sucks.” I headed over to the counter. “I need a Coke.”

The few times I looked over at Libby, she seemed a million miles away. Grace would say something and cause Libby to smile. Then she would look at me and her smile would fade. I hated that I was the reason she was unhappy. I hated that I was the one who caused her to hurt. My phone went off and I pulled it out of my pocket.

Abigail
: In serious need of a good fucking. When are you expected back?

Peeking over, I looked at Libby and decided not to text Abigail back. I looked up and Alex was looking at me. She tilted her head and mouthed,
are you okay?

I nodded my head, but I knew by her expression she knew I was anything but okay.

Libby let out a scream and I jumped up. I quickly sat down when I saw she was smiling at Alex. “Y’all are coming to A&M next year?”

Alex nodded her head.

“What? So not fair!” Maegan shouted out.

Alex smiled bigger and said, “Yep, Grace and I are both transferring to A&M.”

Sitting down, Maegan pouted and said, “Ugh.”

Alex looked at her. “I thought you loved Baylor, Meg?”

Letting out a long sigh, Maegan said, “I do. It’s just … I miss y’all.”

As we all left Pirates Miniature Golf, I had the strangest feeling come over me. I peeked over and looked at Libby. My heart began to beat hard in my chest as the thought of losing Libby hit me like a brick wall.

IT HAD BEEN
three months since Christmas break. I’d been doing nothing but working out, running, and studying in the library. Libby did her best to avoid me and I did my best to help her with that. Every time I saw her, I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her.

Abigail was constantly on my ass about getting together. The idea of sleeping with her didn’t even appeal to me anymore. I realized this morning that I couldn’t keep doing this. I needed to tell Libby the truth about what had happened that first week I came to college. The night I met Karen and we slept together. The night I tried to push all my feelings for Libby deep down inside for fear of losing her friendship. I wasn’t sure how Libby would react. She might tell me to go fuck myself or she might …

I shook my head and gathered up my books and put them in my backpack. I decided I would start off slow and ask her to a movie. I headed out of the library and made my way to Libby’s dorm. Glancing down at the clock, I knew she was finished with classes today and would most likely be there. I rounded the corner of Commons Halls, Libby’s building where her dorm room was and stopped dead in my tracks. Libby was leaning against the building and some asshole was kissing her. He pulled away and Libby placed her hand on the side of his face and smiled. His hand was resting on her hip as they both looked at each other and talked.