Without You

I laughed as I reached for my wallet, and I threw a twenty down. Gramps looked up at me and frowned. I pulled another twenty out.

He winked. “Let’s do this.”

The moment he won the first hand, I knew I had just lost my forty bucks.

As we walked up to Mr. Banks’s barn, Grace and Maegan wouldn’t stop arguing. Mr. Banks had been letting us use his barn for barn dances since I could remember.

I finally stopped and spun around to face them. “Shut the fuck up. I can’t take it anymore. Maegan, stop acting like such a bitch. If you wanted to wear something different, you should have put the damn thing on in the first place. Grace, stop egging her on. My God, the two of you are acting like you’re in middle school.”

Maegan’s mouth dropped open, and Grace smiled at me.

“It’s about damn time Alex Mathews showed back up.” Grace blew me a kiss and walked by me.

Maegan continued to just stare at me before she finally said, “Fine, I’ll be happy with what I’m wearing. There’s no one in this damn town I want to impress anyway. Nothing but a bunch of country bumpkins are here.”

Maegan walked by me as Lauren, Libby, and Taylor all started laughing.

“Ten bucks says she walks out with a guy,” Taylor said to Libby.

“Taylor, that’s your sister,” Libby said with a giggle.

“Please, you just don’t want to take the bet ’cause you know I’m right.”

We all started laughing as we walked in. Libby stopped and stared out onto the dance floor. I followed her gaze to see Luke dancing with Claire.

Ugh, that girl is a pain in the ass.

I glanced around and saw Will. He was dancing with some girl I’d never seen before. It wasn’t a slow song, so they were just two-stepping. As he kept spinning her around to Dustin Lynch’s “Where It’s At,” she was laughing. It seemed like they knew each other well.

“Who is Will dancing with?” I asked Libby.

She pulled her eyes from Luke and looked at Will. She smiled and said, “That’s our second cousin, Trish. She is my mom’s cousin’s daughter. This is her first time in Texas. Will spent all day yesterday teaching her how to two-step. Her dad is in the military. She’s been in Alaska for the last five years.”

Will and Libby had gone to Alaska once to visit someone on their mom’s side of the family.

“Don’t worry, Lex. That boy only has eyes for you.” Libby bumped my shoulder.

Will looked over and saw us watching him. He stopped dancing and whispered something into Trish’s ear. She smiled and nodded, and then they began walking toward us.

Will stopped in front of me, and his smile melted my heart. For the first time in a month, my body craved something more.

“Lex, this is my cousin, Trish. Trish, this is Lex,” Will said.

She held her hand out and smiled big. “I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you. Will hasn’t stopped talking about you since we got here two days ago.”

I reached out for her hand and shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Trish looked back at Will and hit him in the stomach. “You didn’t tell me she was drop-dead gorgeous.”

I felt my cheeks blush as Will grinned bigger.

“You want something to drink, Lex?” Will asked.

Panic set in.

Stop this, Alex. It’s Will.

“Bottle of water if they have it.”

Will frowned, but then he smiled. “You got it, sweetheart.”

Grace walked up and started talking with Libby and Trish. I watched as Will walked over to a bunch of coolers. He opened each cooler, looking for water.

Claire walked up to Will and put her hand on his arm. She leaned in close and said something to him. Will shook his head as he dug through the cooler. She leaned in further and whispered into his ear. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. I couldn’t tell what he said to her, but she put her finger in mouth and pouted.

Oh no, she didn’t! That little tramp.

Will shook his head again and went back to digging in the cooler. Claire shrugged her shoulders and began walking away.

“I’ll be right back!” I shouted to Grace.

“Where are you going?”

I turned and looked at her as I smiled. “To set Claire straight once and for all.”

Grace gave me a big smile and winked. “Go get her.”

I made my way across the makeshift dance floor. Claire was now trying to put the moves on Luke, and he was pushing her away from him. I placed my hand on her shoulder and spun her around.