Songs for Cricket by Laine, E. (best books to read in your 20s TXT) 📗

18

shepard

The afternoon was warm made cooler by the longneck I had in my hands. I was taking a long pull when August came over.

“Have you ever seen Cooper like this?”

Amusement laced his tone, which matched the grin on his face.

Cooper was animatedly talking to Tori, and I smiled to myself.

“I think he likes her,” I pronounced, thinking of the good deed I’d done and taking another swallow of my beer.

“Likes her? He’s drooling. He needs some lessons on how to play it cool.”

Glancing over, I couldn’t see her expression, but I caught his. That had been the sole reason why I’d asked her to come over––to try to set them up. Tori was great, but she would have been my Plan B. She deserved far more than that, and the way Cooper fixated on her every word, he could make her feel as special as she was.

“I think he’s doing just fine,” I said.

August did a slow perusal of the backyard. “Is Cricket here?”

I almost choked, spilling some of my beer in the process. I’d hoped he’d forgotten all about that. Though August never forgot much. More like I’d hoped he would have moved on to something else.

“Damn, dude, this girl has you all tied up. Why don’t you just go for it?”

His prodding gave me permission to search for Finley in the crowd. I’d tried my best not to stalk her with my eyes, afraid someone would notice me checking her out. But she was gone.

“Is she here? Why don’t you admit who this girl is?” he asked.

I hadn’t ever kept secrets from him with the exception of this one. He was smart, maybe too smart to have not figured out that his sister was who I craved. So I opted to turn the tables on him.

“As soon as you tell me what you’re going to do about Emily.”

He dropped his hand, and it was suddenly like a mini winter storm surrounded us.

“She’s got a boyfriend. Besides, I broke up with her, remember? Why would I want her back?”

Obviously, he hadn’t realized that I’d noticed him tracking her like prey since she showed up.

One of the many cheerleaders he had invited came over and wrapped an arm around his waist. He had a thing for girls in uniform. And she was definitely his type, cute with girl next door looks, long red hair, and a bright smile. They traded whispered words. Not wanting to be a third wheel, I excused myself, though I doubted they noticed.

I went into the house, and Finn was in the kitchen alone. I surveyed the rest of the lower level and found that no one was inside except him.

“Looking for Finley?”

My eyes widened afraid that August would come in and overhear his observation. I quickly closed the gap between us and stood between two of the bar stools to lean on the counter.

“Why would you ask that?”

He set down a takeout container.

“You have three expressions. One is indifference. You’re walking around the party right now wearing that face. Any time Finley is around, your expression softens when you see her.”

Soft, I asked myself. I was never soft. Not when I lived next door to the Farrows nor when I ended up living in my grandmother’s trailer on the other side of town.

“The clincher is if you catch another guy getting too close to her, you get a murderous face. It’s not hard to see you have a thing for her. Why don’t you do something about it?”

Finn was good people. Outside of him, the two closest people to me were Finley’s brothers. Who else could I talk to? I sat up and dropped my hands to my sides.

“August would try to tear out my throat.” When Finn smirked, I added. “Try. In the end, I’d lose my best friend. And Cooper, you never really know what he’s thinking. Besides Finley’s got a boyfriend.”

I’d had to force that last word out of my mouth.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure about anything. That was the problem. So I gave him the universal sign for I don’t know and shrugged.

“I think if you don’t act soon, you could lose her forever,” he said.

Forever?

“Why? What do you know?”

“Sawyer, Ash, Chance, and Kelley, all walked into this house as single guys. They all left with someone I’m sure they’ll marry. College isn’t high school, or so I hear. Relationships formed now have higher odds of lasting.”

Forever. The idea that she’d marry Billy made the beer sour in my gut.

I dug half-moons in my palms as I fisted my hands. I focused on him and held his gaze a second before I asked a question with determination in my heart.

“Do you know where she is?”

“You just missed her. I believe she got a text from a Billy.” His brow lifted as he paused for effect. “From the smile on her face, she was happy to hear from him. Then she and . . .” He tapped a finger on the counter.

“Emily,” I supplied.

“Yes, Emily. They left for a party.”

My mind circled back to his words from the smile on her face, she was happy to hear from him. She’d told us Coach put her on notice not to start a relationship with the guy. Had we pushed her into Billy’s direction?

I cursed under my breath when August walked in trailed by a line of people. He stopped to stand next to me as people exited the house.

“Party at the Omega house. It’s for the football team as a sort of last thing before classes begin on Monday.”

August continued to tap at his phone, barely glancing up at me.

“We’re going?” I asked, though I knew Finley was there, of course I wanted to go.

“Yep.” He hadn’t looked up. “We’re riding with Tori. Finley took the car, and I plan to get fucked up.”

“Yeah okay.”

Cooper sported a grin ear to ear as he was the last in the long line of people leaving the backyard.

“Are we ready?” I