Love Me Back by Michelle Lynn Read Free Book Online Page B

so hard.  I had forgotten how Trent makes me laugh and feel worth something.  Wasn’t that the problem though, he could make anyone feel like they were special until he left.
    The night winds down and slow songs start to play on the jukebox.  Mostly couples are left so the dance floor is full.  Bryan is lovingly holding Mackenna rocking back and forth while Jack dips and spins Lindsey around. I sit quietly in the corner finishing my beer observing the happy couples.
    “Come on.”  Gabe whispers in my ear.  He grabs my hands leading out to the dance floor.
    Taking one hand and wrapping his other around my waist he pulls me closer dancing me around the room.
    “Are you having fun tonight?”  He asks.
    “I am.” 
    “You sound surprised.  Did you think you weren’t going to have fun coming back to Belcrest?”
    “I don’t know what I thought.”  I shrug.
    I can smell a hint of his cologne mixed with his sweat.  It is oddly appealing.  His strong hand is holding me firm against him and he has tucked our hands close between our chests.  His breathing is even paced and heart rate steady.  I have always admired his confidence in any situation.  I look up into his blue eyes and notice he is peering down at me.  Butterflies race around my body while my stomach drops.  We stare at each other for a couple minutes and the room fades away.  I can only concentrate on him.  He inches closer to me, I lick my lips in anticipation but then someone taps his shoulder and suddenly we are back to reality.
    “Can I cut in BRO ?”  Trent is behind him.  Trent’s eyes are tightly drawn glaring at Gabe.
    Gabe looks from me back to Trent.  The anguish in his eyes is evident. “Of course brother.”  He releases my body and it goes cold.
    I watch Gabe make his way to the table sitting with Ian.  I can’t explain it but I don’t want him to go.  I turn back to Trent who is smiling down at me wrapping his arms around my waist.  I automatically put my arms around his neck.  It feels comfortable, like home.  I stare over his shoulder at Ian and Gabe.  Ian is flailing his arms telling some story but Gabe’s eyes are set on me. 
    Trent moves me around the dance floor saying sweet things in my ear.  Things that used to make me melt but I am preoccupied from what just happened.  It is impossible for me to focus on Trent when I want to kiss his brother.
     

Chapter 7 - 16 years old
                 
    Maybe Mackenna was right about Trent and me.  We couldn’t stay away from each other but we couldn’t stay together either.  Trent broke up with Chloe the day after I returned to school.  Although we didn’t start dating right away, Chloe never sat at our lunch table again.  We started our friendship where it left off three years earlier.  Soon the four of us were joined at the hip. 
    Freedom came when I turned sixteen.  I passed my drivers test on the first try and with my dad still feeling guilty from the divorce and the move he bought me a car.   I decided on a Red Jeep Wrangler.  My dad wanted to get me a car but I had my heart set on the Jeep.  Since I was his little girl that missed her daddy so much, he bought me the Jeep.
    Mackenna didn’t turn sixteen for a couple months so I would be her chauffeur.  Bryan’s parents bought him a brand new FJ Cruiser.  Trent inherited Gabe’s Chevy Silverado.  Gabe had put custom rims with big mud tires and a muffler you could hear five miles away.  It was Gabe’s most prized possession so we were stunned when Gabe agreed to let Trent have it while he was at college.
    Trent and Bryan didn’t follow in their Big’s footsteps playing football, they were on the soccer team, both starters on varsity in their sophomore year.   At first I thought Trent was wasting his arm.  Everyone assumed he would be the all-state quarterback when we were younger but when I saw his first soccer game I knew he found the sport for him.  He was the lead scorer