“Okay, and keep that positive thinking right now.”
“Why?” I followed her gaze. Greg and Jason were on their way over. Thankfully, at the last moment, Becky grabbed Jason’s arm and Greg continued on without him. The triumphant smile Becky shot us made me grin. She thought she was stealing a guy I liked. Too bad she was actually doing me a favor.
“Some of the guys are setting up a bonfire down on the other side of the property. We should probably make sure it doesn’t get out of hand, babe.” Greg put his arm around Annie.
“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” She kissed him on the cheek.
“I think I’ll stay here.” I assumed the bonfire wasn’t just cover to go hook up again, but either way, I was tired of being a third wheel.
“Really?” Annie asked me skeptically.
“Yeah. I might try to find a ride home.”
“No. You can’t leave yet! I can’t have a party without you here.” Annie’s uncle owned the farm we were on, so in theory she was throwing the party. In reality, Greg was doing it all.
“All right. I’ll hang out for a while.”
“Yay! Text me if you need me.” She squeezed my hand before walking away.
“Fantastic.” I stood there by myself once again. The crowd had thinned down some, thanks to the bonfire, but luckily everyone was too drunk or too busy to notice me.
“Hey, pumpkin,” a low and warm voice whispered in my ear.
I jumped, spilling my Smirnoff down the front of my navy tank top. “Damn it, Colton!”
“Good to see you too, babe.” He picked me up and swung me around like I was a little kid or something.
I stepped back from him, taking in his muscular form. He was bigger than I remembered, but that sun tanned face and those killer blue eyes were exactly the same. Other than running into him over the holidays once, I hadn’t seen him since graduating. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be staying with your cousins this summer?”
“So you did ask around about me.” He winked. “I’m back for a few weeks.”
“Great.” I fought to keep a smile from slipping out. I’d been friends with Colton my whole life, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was kind of glad to see him. He had one of those personalities that was perpetually upbeat. Generally, all it took was a few minutes with him to find myself in a better mood. I’d had a crush on him for years, but considering I spent half of high school dating his older brother, I never did anything with those feelings.
“Did you get the package I sent you?” He stuffed his hands in his back pockets and watched me expectantly.
“Yeah. I did.” I thought about the large box that showed up on my doorstep two weeks before. It was full of the most random stuff, including magazines, figurines, and jolly ranchers. I loved jolly ranchers, especially watermelon. The gift wasn’t a complete surprise. He’d been sending little care packages to me occasionally since we were kids. It all started when he drew my name in this secret Santa exchange we did with some friends in middle school. He’d put together this awesome package of goodies for me, and I jokingly told him he should give me gifts more often. The care packages became a long running inside joke.
I tried to hold onto our friendship when I left, but like with most of my friends, we’d drifted. I think the fact that he was a grade younger and still in high school made it even harder to stay connected. Of course, there was also the little detail of his brother breaking my heart into a million pieces. “Thanks.”
“I was thinking about you.” He tilted his head to the side slightly.
“Yeah?” I finished off the part of my drink that wasn’t currently soaking into my shirt. “That was sweet.”
“I know.” He grinned. “I’m going to grab a beer. You want another drink?”
“Sure. You are the one who made me spill this one.” I held up the empty bottle.
“I could help clean up your top if you want.” He arched an eyebrow.
“I’m going to have to have a lot more to drink if you think that’s happening.”