Free It Was You by Anna Cruise Page A

my sister out of the picture. I nodded to myself. I'd be living rent-free. Full access to a stocked kitchen and free laundry. Parents around if I needed them but not breathing down my neck; their jobs easily prevented that from happening.
    Yeah, things were looking good. More than good.
    I eased my way out of bed and my phone clattered to the floor. I grabbed it and flipped it over, hoping I wouldn't see a cracked screen.
    I breathed a sign of relief. And then a flutter of excitement. Because there was a text. A text from the unidentified number from the night before. The number that belonged to West.
    Good morning, beautiful.
    The time stamp was from 7:30, almost an hour earlier. Somehow, I'd slept through it. I stared at the message for a minute, trying to formulate a response. No guy had ever sent me a text, wishing me good morning. And no guy had ever texted me that I was beautiful. My heart did that little somersault thing again. I sat back down on the edge of my bed and tapped at the screen.
    Good morning.
    Within seconds, his response appeared.
    When am I seeing u?
    Now , I wanted to respond. Right this second . But I didn't. I needed to touch base with Tana, I needed to finish putting my room back in order. And I needed to relish a little in the reality that I was saying good riddance to my sister.
    Tonite?
    His response was immediate . Not soon enough.
    Before I could respond, the screen lit up. He was calling me. West was calling.
    “Someone's a little impatient,” I said.
    His voice was low, husky. “Someone is being a little difficult.”
    I smiled. “How is telling you 'tonight' being difficult?”
    “ Because I don't wanna wait that long.”
    I swallowed down butterflies I'd never felt before. “Well, you're gonna have to. I have stuff I need to do today.”
    His sigh was long, exaggerated. “Fine. When?”
    “ Tonight,” I repeated.
    “ Am I picking you up tonight?” he asked. “Or do you still think I'm an ax murderer who might break into your house and off you and your family?”
    “ Pretty sure you'd go all parkour on us. Instead of using an ax.”
    “ Parkour? You think I'd use your family as an obstacle course?”
    “ What?” I asked.
    He smothered a laugh. “Parkour is non-contact.”
    I felt my face redden. How was I supposed to know all that guy crap?
    “ Pretty sure you'd find a way to turn it into hand to hand combat,” I said.
    He stifled another laugh. “Whatever, Abby Sellers. Meet me tonight. Back at the beach.”
    “The beach? Is there another party?”
    “ No parties. Just you and me.”
    He hung up and I sat on my bed and stared at my phone.
    The last time I'd been given the full-court press by a guy was...never. And this was a guy that was magazine cover hot. He was insistent. He wanted me.
    I was pretty sure I wanted him.
    So I really hoped it was just me and him this time.
    I pulled on a sweatshirt and headed downstairs.
    Most of Annika's room seemed to be strewn around the house. Boxes filled with books and stuffed animals, bags filled with clothes and random odds and ends were spread through the house like a trail back to her room. My dad came through the front door with a dolly, beads of sweat running down his forehead.
    “ I think I'm glad you aren't moving,” he said, glancing at me, then piling several boxes on the dolly.
    “ A plus to changing my mind,” I said.
    He forced a smile. “Something like that.” He nodded at a blue plastic bin. “Can you grab that and follow me out?”
    “Do I have to?”
    “ Do you want a place to live?”
    I rolled my eyes and hoisted the bin, following him out the front door.
    He'd rented a small U-haul and most of the storage was already filled with boxes. I'd seen the size of the dorm rooms at State. Where the hell was she going to put all of this? He placed his stack of boxes against the wall of the truck and slid the dolly out from under them. He took the bin from me and set it next to the stack.
    He took a deep breath