Page 53 of False Start

“Not if they don’t support us, it doesn’t.”

He frowns, his lips thinning, and I feel like we’re about to fight. “You love them. Not everything is so easy and black and white. I don’t want you to lose them because of me.”

So, he’s worried about me. Of course he is. “I think they know how much I lo—” He tenses, and I change what I was going to say. “How much I care about you. If they love me, they’ll support me.”

“They do love you.”

I smile and kiss his temple. “Then it’ll be fine.”

I know it bothers him that I just take things as they come, but I can’t worry too much about other people’s opinions.

Not even my own family’s. That’s just not me.

Tonight is supposedto be much cooler, and if we don’t stay at our houses, our moms might riot. So we clean up the tent and campsite the next morning before I drop Austin at his house.

I’ll see him soon at my house, along with the rest of his family. I have to make a quick stop at the town’s bakery to pick up a couple of pies my mom ordered. I look around at a sea of familiar faces and am greeted by so many people I grew up knowing.

Some who know me from school, some who know my parents. Hell, even some who know my grandparents. It feels nice being back here like this, but I can’t lie... lately college has started to feel more familiar.

The same people are usually working at the student union and at my favorite coffee place. I see familiar faces on campus. It’s starting to become more like home for me.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Vaughn Montgomery.”

I chuckle when I see Benny walk in through the door as I wait for my order. Charlene—the bakery owner takes orders to be picked up every Thanksgiving morning and then shuts down for the rest of the week, so lots of people are scrambling to pick up their orders. “Benny McBride. What the hell are you doing in town?”

“You know I live here,” he says, that infectious smile on his face. “The question is what are you doing here?”

“Picking up a pie for Thanksgiving.”

Benny is grinning from ear to ear. It’s clear he hasn’t changed much. The guy is always happy. “Don’t tell anyone, but that’s what I’m doing too.” He says it in a loud whisper, and I laugh.

“You taking credit for it?”

He laughs. “Nope, but my mom is. As if my grandma doesn’t know she doesn’t bake them herself at Thanksgiving.”

“Hey, gotta support small businesses.”

He bobs his head. “Exactly.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “So how have you been?”

I should probably talk about football or college, but for whatever reason, when I open my mouth, it’s to blurt out, “In love. Completely and totally in love.”

He cocks his head to the side curiously. “I heard you and Van broke up...”

Of course he did. Damn, small towns really never change. “We did,” I confirm—kind of sad that I haven’t talked to Vanessa since we broke up. Maybe I should call her sometime—tell her that she was 100 percent right to break up with me. “It’s not her I’m in love with.” I keep my voice fairly low because of the busybodies who are posted everywhere inside the small bakery. “It’s not a her at all.”

His eyes widen, and the surprise is shining there, but he’s grinning even wider now. “Austin?”

I look around carefully, seeing no one is paying attention to me, but when I meet Benny’s eyes, I nod. “How did you know?”

He snorts dismissively. “How did you not know?”

I laugh. “Touché. Did everyone know?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t think so. And I didn’tknowknow. I just assumed. I saw how much you loved him but wasn’t sure if you’d ever get it together and just love him out loud.”

I chuckle at that, but my chest kind of aches, thinking about it. “I would.” I look into his eyes, I guess kind of relieved to have someone to talk to, even if it’s not at the most opportune time. “If he’d let me.”

His mouth is in a straight line now, as if he’s thinking it over really hard. “Ah, yeah, I had one of those.”

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