Free Complicate Me (The Good Ol' Boys #1) by M. Robinson

all these emotions that are hard to comprehend and follow.
    I pulled away first, needing to secure the bit of control I still had over myself. I didn’t want to cry in front of him, I would always do it by myself. The hold he had on me when he was around, and the lock that was in place when he wasn’t, was enough to have me weak in the knees and heavy in the heart.
    I reassuringly smiled, gazing all around the back of the house. “I really love this house,” I said, trying to lessen the intensity boiling between us.
    His stare followed mine. “I’m glad you like it because my dad says it’s probably going to be one of those properties that just gets looked over and sit here empty for years.”
    “That’s a shame.”
    “I don’t think so. I thought it could be ours.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “Ours?”
    “Yeah, I mean maybe this could be our place. You know, where we get away from everyone.”
    “What about the boys?” I asked, uncertain.
    “What about them?” he replied, with certainty. “Ours, Half-Pint. As in yours and mine.”
    “Oh,”
    “Oh?”
    I chuckled, leaning my back against the railing. “Umm yeah. I really like that idea.”
    He was all grins and mischievous eyes. “Good because I’m full of them.”
    And just like that…
    We were Bo and Half-Pint again, spending the rest of the evening the way we always had, pretending that nothing changed, and knowing in our hearts.
    That it had.
     
    ***
     
    School was back in session and tomorrow was my first day of middle school. Words couldn’t express how nervous I felt about finally being back together with my boys. All of us under the same roof, although they were in eighth grade and Austin was in seventh. We spent the rest of the summer together and for the most part things remained somewhat the same. Except there were girls around, many more than there had been in the past. Even though the boys didn’t take any of them seriously, I knew there would come a day where they would, and it got closer with each passing week.
    I became a really good liar.
    I smiled when I was supposed to.
    I laughed when I needed to.
    And I played nice with all the girls because I had to.
    Even with the girls that hung around Lucas.
    It was easy to hide my feelings. To hide the way I felt inside. To hide my emotions from the truth I thought would be spilling out of me, but no one ever called me out on it.
    Including Lucas.
    So I just listened.
    And watched
    And kept pretending…
    Lucas and I spent a lot of time alone in our abandoned house. It was easy to get lost in each other when there was no one else around. Not having to worry about those who didn’t understand our closeness, our connection.
    He turned fourteen, and I swear he grew overnight. He started to look like a man. Okay, maybe not a man but definitely not like the boy he used to be. His appearance might have changed on the outside, but on the inside, he was still my Bo.
    He was still mine.
    “Are you ready for school tomorrow?” Dylan asked, sitting beside me on the beach in front of my parents’ restaurant.
    “I guess as ready as I’ll ever be.”
    His shoulder bumped mine, teasingly. “Have you decided what you’re wearing?”
    “Just because I dress like a girl doesn’t mean I act like one.”
    “No shit,” he laughed. “You’re going to be twelve in a few weeks. Our Half-Pint’s almost a teenager.”
    I sighed, pushing my feet into the sand.
    “What’s with the sighing?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Yes, you do.”
    I shook my head, bringing my knees up and hugging them to my body. It was then that he followed my stare, which was intently placed on Lucas and Stacey. They were walking next to each other on the shoreline and every so often she would casually touch his chest, flirting.
    “She’s just a girl, Half-Pint,” he stated like he knew I needed to hear it. “Can I ask you something?”
    “Of course. You can ask me anything.”
    “Do you like Lucas?”
    My mouth dropped and