Welcome To Hickville High (Hickville High Series Book 1) (19 page)

Drew: Missing you.

Before she could think of a reply, her phone signaled a Facetime request.

Crap, she’d already taken her makeup off. She had to answer. She didn’t have an excuse not too. “Hey.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Beautiful? I’m not wearing makeup.”

“You look great. I miss you, Kelsey.”

“I miss you too.” Seeing him reminded her how much. He was so hot. Blond hair parted on the side, perfect skin, perfect face.
Nothing redneck about him.

“Something wrong, Kelsey?”

“No.”
Why? Do you see guilt in my eyes?
“I’m just tired. You know, with school starting and all.”

“I wish I could come down. Mom and Dad are freaking out about this being my senior year. They’re adamant that we spend the rest of summer at the lake house. They didn’t do this when Elliot was a senior.”

“But he’s not the youngest. I’ve spent more time with my family since we moved here, than probably my whole life. It’s kind of cool.”

He flashed his bleached white smile. “That’s why you’re so good for me. You keep things in perspective. I can’t wait until the gala.”

“Me either. I finally have enough money for the tickets.”

“Which is insane. I could have paid for your airfare.”

“You know my dad…”

“Yeah. It’s got to blow working in that diner.”

“I’m getting used to it.”

“What did Zoe say you called it—a trailer trash hang out? Just don’t turn trailer trash on us.”

“Never.” She tried to stifle a yawn, but it came anyway. “Can I talk to you tomorrow? I have an early day.”

“Sure.”

“Drew?”

“Yes?”

“I miss you too.”

“When you come, we’ll do whatever you want. Get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Nite.” How could she have doubted her feelings for him? Everybody loved Drew. He was just like his kisses, sweet, even tempered, and predictable. He was perfect.

Thoughts of Austin niggled back into her mind. She couldn’t help but give a deep, satisfied sigh. What was she going to do about Austin McCoy? She closed her eyes and mentally kissed him again. Nothing sweet about those. Drew might be the perfect guy for her, but Austin set her world on fire.

Her phone dinged a text.

It was from Drew.

Two words.

Love you.

In Texas, any man caught wearing a suit in public after midnight can be arrested for vagrancy.

Austin had trouble sleeping, but by the time he pulled up to the Quinn house the next morning, two things were very clear. One, if Kelsey wanted him to back off, he had no choice but to oblige. And two, he was not going to give up. She said she wasn’t sorry that she cheated on Drew and that meant there was hope. He was crazy about her and he had a pretty good idea she felt the same. Now all he had to do was make her see it too.

Kelsey and her sisters weren’t as chatty as usual when they climbed into his truck. Kelsey looked like hell. Her eyes were puffy and the dark circles beneath them indicated she hadn’t slept much. Good. He was glad she’d lost sleep and he couldn’t help but rub it in.

He tried über cheerful. “Hey, y’all. Ready for day three?”

Three grunts replied.

“Okay, come on. It’s not that bad. The rest of the week will fly by. We have our first home game Friday. Y’all go to many games in Chicago?”

Ryan answered, “We weren’t really into football.”

“Oh, that’s gotta change. You haven’t lived until you’ve gone to a Hornet game.”

“I’m going with girls from the PC.” Ryan looked at her sister. “How about you, Mackenzie?”

“Maybe.”

Kelsey stared out the passenger window. Austin’s stomach tightened. Things were already awkward between them. He couldn’t let that happen. “What about you, Kelsey? Are you going to the game?”

“I’m going with Hannah and Shelby.” She turned to face the back seat. “Mackenzie, you can go with us if you want.”

Mackenzie shrugged. “Maybe. It’s bound to be better than sitting at home.”

Austin smiled. “Definitely better than sitting at home.”

The rest of the way to school was pretty uneventful. The rest of school was uneventful. He didn’t see Kelsey again until lunch. She sat a few people away from him talking to Hannah and Shelby. At one point, he heard the name Drew and wanted to puke. So had she decided after a sleepless night that Drew was the one?

He thought about how she’d kissed him the night before. Those weren’t I miss my boyfriend and you’ll do kisses. Those kisses were full of passion. They’d had chemistry almost from day one, and last night that chemistry ignited something beautiful and magical. He’d be damned if he was going to let her go. But this time he was going to move slower. Let her come to him.

He didn’t see her again until after school. She was on her way to the pickup line and he was hurrying to football practice. She hesitated like she wanted to talk but he just smiled, waved, and kept going. Perfect. She can just think about what she is missing.

Thursday and Friday were a clone of Wednesday. Nothing new, nothing exciting, just a struggle to keep his distance from Kelsey. On the upside, Justin seemed to have taken a vacation from crazyville. He hadn’t exactly befriended Austin, but he wasn’t jumping him from dark corners either.

By game time on Friday, Austin was focused on one thing and one thing only. Football. As soon as the team suited up, they huddled near the exit of the field house. On Coach Peterson’s direction they took a knee and Coach prayed for a safe game and then went into a pregame speech. Nerves played in Austin’s gut as he listened to Coach blather on about how this was their time but they were playing for those who went before them. Yeah. Yeah. Not that Coach’s words weren’t inspiring, but he’d heard this same first game speech for four years. He just wanted to get onto the field and play.

When Coach finished, Travis started the Hornet hum. “Zzzzzzz.” The rest joined in and bounced together in the rhythm to their buzzing.

Coach moved to the center of the hornet’s nest and yelled, “Who are we?”

The team yelled back. “The Hornets!”

“What time is it?”

“Game time!”

“What time is it?”

“Game time.”

“Hornets!”

“Fear the sting!”

“Now get out there and do your job.” Coach swung the door open and the team ran to the tunnel and waited to be announced onto the field. They joined hands and someone started the buzz.

As they bounced and buzzed, adrenaline coursed through Austin. The announcer’s voice echoed across the stadium. “Let’s hear it for The Hillside Hornets!”

The team ran through the cheerleaders’ spirit sign and onto the field. The crowd screamed and whistled like they were rock stars. This was it, Austin’s senior year. His last season to play football. Nothing would stop him from making it his best.

*

Kelsey walked between Hannah and Shelby as they made their way to the student section. She wondered what Austin was doing right then. Was he nervous? Excited? She shook her head to dislodge Austin-thoughts.

It had been weeks since she’d asked Drew if he loved her. How weird was it that he decided to tell her the exact night she cheated on him? They’d talked every night since. He’d described Italy and how someday he’d take her there. It sounded way more romantic than early mornings feeding chickens and shoveling horse poop. She’d taken a ride on the wild side but she was Junior League trained. Drew was her ticket to that life, not Austin.

She looked at her friends. She would leave them behind in a few months but they’d been good to her and although she wouldn’t allow herself to get attached, she would play along. Go to their games, hang out at the coffee shop, whatever. She’d never be one of them. She was just a tourist on an extended visit. And in a few months, she’d return to her world and Hickville would be stored away in the “fond memories” section of her brain.

Hannah turned to her. “What do you think about your first Texas football game so far?”

“I can’t believe how many people come to these things. It’s like the whole town is here.” Kelsey scanned the stands. “One question?”

“Okay.”

“I get the whole idea of everybody wearing the same shirt. It’s pretty impressive to see how many people are supporting the Hornets. But why black shirts with gold letters? I mean, it’s still like ninety degrees.”

Shelby laughed. “Yeah, but since the Hornets on the shirts looks more yellow than gold, they probably figured it was better than having a stadium full of pee yellow.”

Kelsey nodded. “Valid point. I guess black out the stands is better than yellow out.”

They climbed to the area where most of the seniors hung out. Ryan and Macey stood several rows behind them. They wore the same five-dollar black T-shirt as the rest of the crowd, but Macey somehow made it look less fashionable than pretty much everybody else in the stadium. She wore black shorts but they bagged on her super-skinny legs and her skin was so fair it almost created a glare. Kelsey was used to seeing pale skin in the Chicago winter. But here, in hell’s oven, everybody had some color.

Poor Macey had more than just super-white skin going on. The black T-shirt and huge white-rimmed sunglasses she wore just emphasized her lack of color. Kelsey shook her head. Who’d have thought her sister, the artist, would hang out with a girl who needed some serious fashion first aid?

Kelsey spotted her parents making their way toward the stands one section over from where she sat. She waved at them but they didn’t see her. She turned to Hannah. “Hey I’ll be right back,” and climbed down the bleachers.

“Hey, guys.”

They smiled when they saw her. It was weird to see her dad in a T-shirt; he was a collared shirt kind of guy. He reached for his back pocket. “How much do you need?”

Kelsey shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just saying hi.”

Her mom was definitely in Junior League mode. The sleeves of her T-shirt had a crisp crease down the center and were rolled in a neat cuff. She wore the shirt tucked into a pale khaki skirt with a wide black belt. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she wore gold hoop earrings.

“Mom you look fabulous, even in the Hornet football fan uniform.”

“Thank you, sweetie. I’d like to know who thought it was a good idea to wear black shirts in this heat, though. So, are you having fun?”

“Ehh.” Kelsey gave a shrug. “I didn’t realize you guys were coming.”

“Oh yea. We’re Hornet boosters now.” Her mom’s words held a hint of sarcasm. Poor Mom. Kelsey might be leaving in a few months, but her mom was stuck here forever.

Dad pulled a five from his wallet and handed it to her. “Just in case.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She looked at the five at the corner of the bill and was again reminded that in her other life, he’d have given her a couple of twenties. Of course, back then, she wouldn’t be caught dead at a football game.

Uncle Jack hollered from the stands. “Tom! Tom Quinn.”

Her dad looked up and headed toward his brother. “Hey, Jack.”

Kelsey’s mom said, “Call me if you go anywhere after the game.”

“Oh, I think we’re going to Pepperonis.”

“Okay. Be home by twelve.”

Mom turned to follow Dad and Kelsey watched as pretty much the entire section shook hands or hugged her dad like he was some kind of hometown hero. Didn’t they know the only reason he’d returned was because he’d failed in the real world?

Kelsey returned to her friends and tried to watch the game. She yelled when the rest of the crowd yelled, but she really had no idea what was going on beyond scoring points.

Her attention was drawn to potential drama where her parents sat. Her uncle left his place next to her dad and some lady sat down and started chatting him up like they were best friends. Could this be the infamous Cassidy Jones—the girl who’d somehow ended her dad’s football career? She had short tabby-cat hair and an abundance of lipstick, mascara, and blush. Not that her makeup looked bad, it was just sort of too much for a football game. But then, so was the huge blingy cross she wore around her neck.

Even from where Kelsey sat, she could see her dad’s face light up as Tabby-hair spoke to him. The strange woman placed her hand on his arm or knee several times as if to emphasize a point. Kelsey’s mom nodded and smiled at the women’s rambling but her hands were folded together in a white-knuckle clasp and with each of the woman’s touches, Kelsey’s mom’s smile became a little tighter.

Aunt Susan’s demeanor was less subtle. She sat on the other side of Kelsey’s mom with her arms crossed, looking like she’d sucked on a Sour Patch Kid or something. She darted her gaze toward Kelsey’s dad and muttered something. Whatever she said, seemed to break the tension. Kelsey’s mom laughed and batted at Aunt Susan’s knee in a stop it sort of way.

Uncle Jack returned carrying a cardboard tray full of drinks. Tabby-hair gave Kelsey’s dad a too-long-too-tight hug and headed down the bleachers. Uncle Jack sat next to her dad and her mom turned toward Aunt Susan, basically turning her back on dear old flirty Dad.

Kelsey heard “McCoy draws back…” boom across the stadium and looked just in time to see Austin launch the ball down the field. The other guy caught it and ran it across the goal line. Everybody yelled like crazy and even non-football Kelsey could see he was a pretty good quarterback. He rocketed the ball down the field all through the game. Every time he made a pass or gained yards, Kelsey yelled like she knew what was going on. She was caught up in the hype along with the rest of Hillside. And in the end, when they beat the Jackrabbits twenty-one to fourteen, she screamed and hugged Shelby and Hannah.

*

Kelsey and her friends were some of the first to arrive at Pepperonis. Apparently, it was a long tradition to go to the pizza parlor after the game and the restaurant was prepared for the onslaught of fans. The party room was full of gold and black balloons. Rows of wooden picnic tables were shoved together end-to-end to accommodate the crowd.

As soon as the girls sat, Kelsey’s phone dinged. When she saw the text was from Austin, her whole face broke into a smile. The kind that’s too big, but impossible to tone down without her face fighting her and morphing into some weird contorted shape.

Hannah elbowed her. “So what’d he say?”

Kelsey felt heat crawl up her neck to her face. Yeah, the red surely looked awesome with the weird gargoyle expression stuck on her face. “Who?”

Shelby answered, “Yeah, right. We’ve seen that look before. So what’d Austin say?”

“Oh, just that he and Travis are on their way and want us to save them a seat.” She tapped Okay on her phone and tried to refocus her emotions. She didn’t want to break out in a spontaneous grin when he texted. She didn’t want to feel all jittery when he was around, and she sure didn’t want to feel like something was missing when he wasn’t. She didn’t want to fall for Austin McCoy. The night of kissing was over. It was fun, but they were just two friends who let loneliness get the better of them.

She flipped to a picture of Drew just to remind herself where her heart belonged. Somehow looking at him didn’t cause uncontrolled facial movements, but she wasn’t going to think about that now. Instead, she shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

Shelby stretched her arms across the table and wriggled her eyebrows. “I wonder if Caleb James will be with them.”

Hannah shook her head. “He’s liable to see you and run the other way.”

“No, he won’t. It’s like a game. We flirt. I flirt more, he squirms.”

Hannah turned to Kelsey. “She’s totally obsessed. He’s too nice to tell her to get lost.”

Shelby added, “I’m not really sure I still like him, but I know I like flirting with him.”

Kelsey shook her head, “What about other guys? Do you date?”

“Yeah. But I hardly get asked out.” Shelby shrugged, “We’ve all grown up together.”

“That’s why we look at Spring Creek guys.” Hannah interrupted.

Kelsey said, “You know, if all the guys here know about your Caleb obsession, they’re not going to be too excited to ask you out anyway.”

Hannah said. “That’s what I told her. I think she does it because she’s afraid to put herself out there.”

“That’s so not true. Besides, there’s all that Spring Creek talent we’re getting to know.”

Hannah shook her head. “Not true. You talked about Caleb when we were with those guys Tuesday.”