And just like that….she was moving on.

“Do you really think that telling Jefferson you had sex with another guy last night is going to make him just…… move on? Ari, I know Jefferson has feelings for you. Why don’t you….”

“I said NO! I’m done with all of this; I’m not talking about it anymore. I’m going to get you the shoes and belt then I’m heading out to meet my mom for breakfast and then I’m going to call Jason. Tell Gunner I said hi.”

She turned and walked out the door. I put on the pants and shirt and walked back into the bathroom. I tried messing with my hair but nothing looked good so I ended up pulling it back up into a ponytail. I put on a little bit of makeup and ran my fingers over the daisy necklace. I had to smile at the memory of our first kiss. Good God how I wanted to kiss him again so badly. To feel his warm breath against my face, his hands wrapping around my body to hold me close to him. I closed my eyes and dreamed of that kiss. Everything about it was perfect. He was perfect…….but did he truly want me? Was I good enough to keep someone like Gunner?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. This is why I needed time. I needed to get my feelings and thoughts in order.

Here I was pushing Ari about Jefferson and I was too damn afraid to admit my own feelings for Gunner. I heard the bedroom door shut so I walked out to see if Ari had come back. She had left a pair of black flats and a black belt lying at the foot of the bed.

I looked at the clock. They would be here any minute. I tried to call Jefferson again….right to voicemail. I tried Gunner’s cell next.

“Hey sweetheart we’re almost there.” My goodness my heart stopped beating for a second when I heard his voice. I would never get tired of hearing him call me sweetheart. Never.

“Okay great. Um, I’ve been trying to call Jefferson. Does he have his phone turned off do you know?” I asked.

“Yeah, um about that….we have to stop and pick Jeff up a new phone. He kind of, well he kind of broke his phone earlier so….that’s why it’s going straight to voicemail.”

“I see…..I take it he got Ari’s message then?”

“Oh yeah……” Gunner said in a hushed tone.

“Right….well I guess I’ll just meet you out front. Ari might still be here and she was pretty clear she didn’t want to see Jeff today.”

Gunner laughed a nervous laugh, “Okay Ells we will see you in about three minutes.”

I hung up and grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. Sure enough Ari was still home. I heard her on the phone as I walked to the front door.

“Lunch sounds great Jason. Do you want to just pick me up or should I meet you?”

I had a terrible feeling in my stomach. What was this about? I poked my head into the library where Ari was sitting and waved goodbye to her. She smiled up at me but the smile was so lost and insincere. She then looked out the window and her smile quickly faded. She looked back at me and I could see the tears building in her eyes as she tried to give me another smile and a wave.

Shit……

As soon as I walked outside Gunner jumped out of Jefferson’s truck and helped me into the front seat. He kissed the back of my hand and his smile grew larger when he saw the blush creep up into my cheeks. Shit! Why does he have this affect on me!

Snap out of this Ellie!

I turned to look at Jefferson who leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I saw him look past me like he was looking for Ari to be right behind me. There went that sick feeling again.

“Good mornin’ honey!” Jeff said as he looked over my shoulder. “Um, where is Ari? I thought for sure she would be coming with you to pick out your new car.” He kept looking at me and then back at the house.

“She um, she really wanted to come but she had already made plans for today.” I said as I tried to think of a way to change the subject before he asked me what her plans were.

To late…..

“Oh really? What could be more important than her best friend getting a new car?!” Jefferson said as he stared at Ari’s house.

“I guess she had lunch plans.” I said with a shrug and turned back to look at Gunner.

“Gunner I‘m so glad you’re coming with us!”

“Do you know what kind of car you want Ells?” Clearly he knew I was trying to change the subject but Jefferson was not letting this go.

“Who did she have lunch plans with?” He asked before I could answer Gunner.

Fuck a duck….why me? Damn Ari right now for putting me in this spot.

“Um…with um, an old friend from high school or something.” I said as I looked up at Jefferson who was staring at the house still. I turned to look and I could see Ari standing in the window talking on the phone, probably to Jason still.

“Is it Jason Reed? Is he the old friend from high school?” Jefferson asked as he looked back at me.

God when I got back I was going to lay into Arianna! Her stupid childish behavior put me here in the middle of all of this…….. FUCK!

I looked up at Jefferson and did the only thing I could do. “Yes Jefferson, she is having lunch with Jason Reed today. I guess they ran into each other at the country club yesterday.”

“Did he take her out last night?”

“Umm…..she mentioned something like that.” Oh dear God please Gunner change the subject.

Just then Gunner cleared his throat and Jefferson seemed to snap out of it.

“Brad called earlier to see if we wanted to join him and Amanda at Rebels tonight. Do you think you would maybe like to go?” Gunner asked me as Jefferson started to pull out of Ari’s driveway.

Oh God if I could jump across this seat right now I would so plant my lips onto his! I turned around and he winked at me. I smiled back.

“Heck yeah I would love to go! Ari, Amanda, me and Heather have all been there once before. Are you going to ride the mechanical bull?” I asked with a smile and a wink.

Gunner threw his head back and laughed. “NO! But Jeff here…..he can ride that thing like he grew up in the damn rodeo!”

“Wait…..did you just say Amanda AND Brad were going? Like as in…they are going together…as like a couple?” I asked as it hit me what Gunner had just said.

Jefferson and Gunner both let out a laugh.

“Yep….looks like your little friend Amanda left an impression on Brad!” Jefferson said as he raised his eyebrows up and down.

“I guess so.” I said as I laughed along with them.

“Why don’t you go ahead and invite Ari to come along tonight also. Maybe her and her friend Jason would like to go.” Jefferson said with sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

“Oh okay yeah, I’ll send her a text. What time do you think we’ll go?” I asked as I turned to look at Gunner.

“How about I pick you up early and we grab a bite to eat. Then we can just meet everyone there. Does that sound okay to you Jeff?” Gunner asked as he gave me a wink. I saw his eyes look down and land on my daisy necklace. I reached up and touched it with my fingers and his eyes instantly snapped back up and captured my eyes. His smile just about melted my heart. I tried not to but I dropped my eyes to his lips. Those beautiful soft lips…..Shit…..I wanted those lips on mine so damn bad. I felt my tongue run over my now dry lips as I looked back up at Gunner.

Oh my……. The smile that was on his face was replaced by a look of pure lust. I felt a tremble go through my whole body and the heat instantly on my cheeks. He leaned forward and brushed his hand along the side of my face and gave me that crooked smile of his. He sat back once Jefferson started to talk.

Holy hell………I could still feel the heat on my face from where his hand touched my skin.

“That sounds like a plan. We’ll just plan on meeting there around 8:30. Now…..Ellie……what kind of car do you want?” Jefferson said as he looked over at me with a huge smile on his face.

“Well do I have a price range I have to stick with?!”

Jefferson laughed….”Not really, just no BMW’s okay?”

“OKAY! Then I’m thinking fuel efficient here.”

Jefferson and Gunner both laughed. “I’m sure you are honey.” Jefferson said with a wink.

“A Honda Accord if that is something we can afford.” I said as I watched Jefferson’s face.

“Somehow I knew that is what you were going to say. Let’s go get you a car.”

I never thought shopping for a car would be so much fun! I ended up with a silver 2013 Honda Accord. Between Jefferson and Gunner the poor salesman had no hope. They got it for $300 below invoice and Jefferson wrote a check for the whole amount. When he saw my shocked expression he told me he had put money aside from our grandmother’s inheritance and had been adding to it the last three years plus what it earned in investments.

I ran into his arms and gave him a huge hug. I would be so lost without him.

I was on my way to pick up Gunner in my new car with Taylor Swifts “Fearless” blasting from the speakers. This song reminds me of how I feel when I’m with Gunner. I had to smile as I was singing along to the words. I had invited Ari to come along but she said she had made other plans with Jason and said maybe another time.

I pulled up to Gunner’s house and he was sitting on the front porch on his cell phone. As soon as he saw me he smiled and must have said he had to go to whoever he was talking to. He jumped up and jogged over to the car. I turned Taylor down and put the car in park. He hopped up and leaned over and kissed my cheek.

SHIT…..there goes that all too familiar ach between the legs…..I tried with all my might not to let out a moan…….. for Pete’s sakes it was just a kiss on the cheek Ellie!

Gunner and I ate at a little Mexican restaurant in Hyde Park and then headed downtown to Rebels. We spent most of the night just sitting at a table talking. Amanda and Brad sure were getting along. They practically hung on each other all night. Jefferson seemed disappointed that Ari was not there but he quickly recovered and spent most of the night dancing. I swear every time he sat down 6 girls would walk up to him and ask him to dance. He tried being as polite as he could and danced with most of them but by 11:30 he was exhausted. He started turning them down.

I was shocked at how many girls completely ignored me sitting with Gunner and asked him to dance. He turning them down even though I told him I didn’t care. I mean, we were just friends….right?

Then she showed up.

I noticed her chatting it up with Jefferson first but when she first walked up Gunner said hi to her. Her name was Lori. From what I could tell she must be majoring in Architectural Engineering as well. She soon turned her attention on Gunner. He introduced us and she did pretty much everything she could to keep me out of the conversation.

“So, your name is Ellen did you say? Your Jeff’s little sister right.” Lori said to me with a fake ass smile.

“It’s Ellie….and yes, I am Jefferson’s sister.” I said back with a f**k you smile of my own.

“So Gunner I didn’t know you were dating someone, let alone Jeff’s baby sister.”