Coastal Runaway (Coast to Coast #1)

Ten

ten

Keegan

I needed to get as far away from the pong table as possible. I realized too late in the game that I was openly flirting with Luke Cavan in front of the entire athletic department, and that I was enjoying it. I walked towards the back door and into the kitchen in search of something strong to drink.

The house was shoulder to shoulder with drunk college kids having a fun Friday night. I muscled my way through the crowd until I got to the kitchen island; it was covered in every variety of liquor and mixer that I could think of. I poured myself a hefty cup of vodka with a splash of lemonade before I chugged it down and poured myself a second.

Each time Luke and I were in the same room, it was as if I lost all freewill and became the same dorky girl who fell for him in high school. The moment that he flashed his signature smirk, I completely forgot why I hated him.

Momentarily… of course .

While sparring with Luke came naturally, I couldn’t let myself forget the way that he used me and ruined our friendship for a quick fuck. Those eyes had made me stupid for my entire life but I had to remember what I promised myself when I moved out to the west coast.

Finally feeling loose, I headed out to search for Maeve. She came as the sober driver for the night and I found her dancing in the living room with a guy that I recognized from the baseball team. She spotted me and waved me over.

I pushed my interaction with Luke to the back of my head, and joined them on the dance floor. I was here to have fun, not to get flustered by a particularly grumpy East Coast boy with striking blue eyes.

I felt free, shimmying my hips to the music and dancing with my sister, her latest suitor pasted behind her. A familiar pair of hands slowly grabbed onto my hips. I glanced up to find Sinclair staring down at me with a seductive smile.

This was fun. Familiar. Safe.

I backed up, removing the distance between us and started grinding my ass on him to the beat of the music.

After a while, Maeve and the baseball boy left to find a dark corner, leaving me alone with Sinclair. His hands rounded my hips, climbing further up my middle. He leaned down until his lips touched where my neck met my collarbone. This muscular, successful football player was completely wrapped around me and it should have elicited a spark and pooled wetness between my legs.

But instead I was drier than the Sahara Desert. One handshake with Luke had me walking away flustered, but this beautiful man was begging for my attention and I felt nothing.

Maybe I was broken .

Frustrated with myself, I danced harder with Sinclair to try to convince myself that I was feeling a spark. That I felt anything at all.

“Baby, you’re driving me insane right now.” He whispered in my ear while copping a feel of my boob. I giggled and leaned into his teasing.

“Maybe we should find a corner then?” I replied and slid my hand into his, leading him to the wall lined with couples making out.

His mouth was instantly on mine as he pushed me up against the wall, hands roaming freely over my ass. I kissed him back to distract myself from the feeling that this wasn’t right—that it wasn’t what I wanted.

After a few minutes of aggressively making out, in open view of the party, Sinclair pushed his hand up and under my crop top. I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand out from under my shirt. Sinclair detached himself from my mouth and looked at me, confused. I felt increasingly uncomfortable under his stare.

“What’s wrong?” He asked with his hips still pinning me to the wall.

“Nothing, I just don’t think I am feeling up to this tonight.” I felt panic rising within me.

“What do you mean you’re not feeling this? You shoved your ass against my dick and suggested we come over here. Now you want to leave me with blue balls?” He spat the words in my face, “Don’t be a tease, Keegan, I thought we had an understanding.”

“What understanding is that, Patrick?” I retorted. I pushed his body off of mine, popped my hip out and crossed my arms in front of my chest, defiance rearing its ugly head.

With a sleazy smile, he said, “Don’t act stupid, baby, you know the deal. We have a mutual understanding about what this always is.” Coming back into my space, he placed his hands on my hips with more force than I was comfortable with, “Let’s have some fun tonight like we always do.”

I tried to move out of his grasp, but he just held on tighter, “Let me go, I said no.” I snapped.

“You know you want it, come on.”.

I reared back to give him a piece of my mind when I noticed a commotion in my peripheral vision. Suddenly Sinclair was yanked away, and a tall familiar set of broad shoulders stood in front of me, blocking my view. `

“I’m pretty sure she said no.”

Luke shoved Sinclair further back.

“Who the fuck even are you, bro?” Sinclair snarled, “this doesn’t concern you.”

Luke calmly shook his head and said, “Keegan’s safety always concerns me.”

Sinclair’s laugh was sinister, “oh, I get it, the little slut puts out for you too, huh? Trust me, her pussy isn’t that good, but by all means, I’ll pass the torch happily.”

I could feel the heat radiating off Luke’s body as he wound his fist back and punched Sinclair in the nose with so much force that it caused the jock to crumble to the ground with a yelp. Nolan came running up and grabbed Luke. He pinned his arms in place with a bear hug and tried to drag him away before he could jump on top of Sinclair and really go to town on him. Luke kept lunging towards Sinclair, fighting out of Nolans hold on him.

Not wanting to see how the rest of this unfolded, I turned and headed towards the front door. Once outside, I walked until I was halfway down the street. I was gasping for air but I couldn’t seem to fill my lungs.

Luke came to your rescue.

You stupid girl.

Always weak and in need of saving.

The intrusive thoughts surrounded me as tears gathered in my eyes.

“Keegan, stop!”

I froze at the sound of Luke’s voice.

“Are you okay?” His voice was barely audible as he came up behind me.

Finding my strength, I turned around slowly to face him. A maniacal laugh bubbled out of my chest.

“No, I’m not okay!” I yelled, waving my hands around, fully aware of how crazy I looked.

Luke approached me hesitantly. Like one step in the wrong direction and I’d sprint away.

He wasn’t wrong.

“You don’t get it do you?” I cried out.

“Please, Keegan, enlighten me about what I misinterpreted when I pulled that aggressive douchebag off of you just now.” His voice was louder now, more stern and commanding.

“You don’t know me, Luke. Stop trying to act like nothing has changed!”

“You’re right. I don’t know you anymore. The Keegan that I knew would have rather put blood, sweat, and tears into an athletic floor routine, instead of wave shiny plastic balls of confetti while you prance around in a short skirt and hope to snag the attention of some hot-headed jock.”

His words stung. I was aware that I wasn’t who I used to be in high school, but that was on purpose.

The girl that I used to be, got used .

That girl hid behind others so she didn’t stand out.

That girl didn’t shine.

In high school, I was invited to be a cheerleader due to my short stature and ability to flip through the air but I shot it down every time, and ignoring that invitation definitely did not improve my social standing.

Back then, being the twin sister, and best friend of the two most popular guys in school came with a lot of advantages. I got invited to all the parties, got asked to all of the dances, and all of the girls wanted to be my friends; but what I learned very quickly was that all of the invites, smiles, and friendships were a formality, a ploy to get closer to Nolan and Luke.

In high school, being popular by association was better than not being popular at all. I would’ve chosen the latter if being a Kelly by name didn’t already assign me a spot in the social hierarchy.

Who I was now may have been an act, but at least I was an individual and people respected me.

“I don’t need you to take pity on me and come to my rescue anymore, Luke. I didn’t need it that night, and I don’t need it now,” I choked out, willing myself to not let a single tear fall for Luke Cavan.

Luke looked at me with an expression that I couldn't quite decipher. But it looked dark.

Stormy.

“I have never pitied you, Keegan.” His voice was sincere.

“From where I stood, that wasn’t what it sounded like.” I couldn’t hold back the quiver in my voice as I almost revealed to Luke how much he shattered my heart.

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated with my outburst, “Keegan, what are you talk?—”

“Oh my god! I just heard what happened! Are you okay?” Maeve came bolting down the sidewalk, cutting Luke off mid-sentence. Nolan was a few steps behind her.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just want to go home,” I sighed as she wrapped me in a hug.

After a few minutes, I composed myself. She kept one arm looped around my shoulders after I pulled away from her embrace.

We started heading towards my car. As we passed by Luke, she quietly thanked him. He just nodded his head but he didn’t let his eyes sway from mine. We walked down the sidewalk with her arm still around my shoulders until we reached Baby Blue. Maeve placed me in the passenger seat and hopped behind the wheel.

Without fail, Maeve always gave me the space I needed to process my feelings. She drove us home in silence and I finally let the tears fall. Maeve placed a calming hand on my thigh. She didn’t push, but the look on her face told me that she knew that the exchange between Luke and I was deeper than just him laying out Sinclair.

Tonight I briefly let the dorky girl that I used to be creep in; momentarily forgetting the promises that I made to myself when I moved across the country to start over. By the time we got home, my tears had dried and I wore a look of feigned indifference.