The Best Time of My Life

Crash (Previous Summer)

One hour!!!

Kelly's text pings on my phone in the middle of the wardrobe consultation and I have to work not to push the woman out the door on the spot.

Peg, who's supposed to help me find "my signature style", and has just talked for twelve minutes straight about how meta my "punk-derivative look" is, waits patiently while I tap out a reply, then smiles when I look up.

"I'm boring you, aren't I?" Peg says. The answer is yes, but I don't say so. "Sorry. This is my thing, you know? And you have this effortless way of looking tortured, right? So, I was so excited when Amber called."

While she talks I stop waiting for her, and flip through the clothes on the four rolling racks she brought in, pulling out shirts, belts, jeans, suspenders, and one tuxedo jacket. I put the things I like on an open rail. The entire process takes me about five minutes and I shake my head. We could have been out of here an hour ago. While she pulls pieces out to talk about how perfect they are for me, I put them together in outfits, like she suggested.

"Omigosh! You should be doing my job."

"No, thanks," I say, sounding like a prima donna asshole, but I have to get out of here. "If you come up with stuff that fits with these, we're good. Is that enough for you to go on? I need to get moving."

"Yes! Yes! Oh, this will be great. Thank you."

It takes another twenty minutes to get her out the door. By then Kelly's answered my other text.

Will you still pick me up?

I tell Kelly I will, then fire off a text to Holly, Kelly's aunt. She's cool—way more relaxed than Kelly's mom. With school still out and Dan out of town for work, she's come to stay at his house for a few days and keep track of Kelly. As soon as I heard about Dan's trip, and Holly's visit, I sneaked her number off Kelly's phone and schemed with her. She's been awesome about it all.

Only just finished. I can still make it.

You got her bag packed?

Holly replies almost immediately.

On it!

I grin. "I hope so." I blow out a nervous breath. I'm stoked my idea's coming together. But there's a part of me that'll never feel comfortable being this vulnerable with another human being—even Kelly.

She'd never hurt me on purpose. But even people like Kelly do a lot of hurting without meaning to. And that scares the shit out of me.

Shrugging off the dark thoughts, I usher Peg out the door and jump in the shower. The brand new shower in my brand new house. The house that's listed in Amber's name because we're trying to keep the paparazzi clueless. I only have half an hour before I need to leave to pick up Kelly. By the time I head for the garage I'm sweating from running around the huge house, making sure everything's in place.

Keeping Kelly clueless about this place has been tricky. But we did it. And now I just have to hope she likes it. Because I didn't just buy it for me.

That thought sends a dagger of adrenaline straight to my gut. I trot down the internal stairs to the triple garage and into my custom jeep.

Kelly hasn't seen that either.

"Crash, are you kidding me?!" Kelly's standing on the curb outside her house, hands on her face, staring open-mouthed at my Jeep. "Your advance came through?"

"Yep." I can't help grinning. My girl is impressed with me. "And to celebrate, I'm taking you out tonight."

Kelly claps and squeals then throws her arms around my neck. I give in to the exuberance—and nerves—I feel, spin her around, then put her down for a kiss that turns deep fast.

Today's going to be a trip.

Holly clears her throat. "Can we at least pretend that you guys don't touch each other? Please?"

Kelly pulls back, laughing. She skips the few feet to her aunt, throws her arms around her neck, and squeezes.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Holly looks at me over Kelly's shoulder, reminding me of the conversation we had three days ago.

"She's a person, not a play-thing, Crash. I know you love her, but don't push, you hear me?"

"I do." And I did. Though I'm free to admit in the privacy of my own mind that if Kelly says no tonight it will suck. "This is more about getting some time alone than anything else."

Holly snorts. "Sweetheart, I love you, but I was not born yesterday. You give her a choice tonight or, so help me, I will castrate you. With a nail file."

I wince. "Roger that, Holly. Seriously."

She grumbled, but I could hear the smile in her voice.

Holly is Kelly's mother's younger sister—a lot more wild, and a lot less uptight than Kelly's mom ever was. But even Kelly's protective mom looks soft next to Dan's fucked up rules. He's always been controlling, but since Mrs. Berkstram died, he's become a Nazi. Only the fact that I know without a doubt he'd send me to jail kept me from kidnapping Kelly weeks ago. Between her mom's death, and Dan's boot-camp house, her anxiety levels are through the roof.

Well, Dan's gone for the next five days, Holly's here, and my girl's more relaxed than I've seen her in months.

And Holly believes teenagers need the chance to make their own decisions.

Praise the Almighty for that.

Now, with Kelly's bag in my trunk (packed by Holly and hidden in the garage for me to pick up before I knocked on the door) and my girl ready for a night out, we'll finally get the chance to make some decisions together.

If Kelly wants to.

I swallow hard and blow out a breath.

I really hope she wants to.