Page 29 of Sweet Oblivion

“Are you going to miss me?” he asked, glancing over.

More than you can imagine. “Yes.”

“Then come with me.”

“I can’t. I’m attending the summer program at MIT.”

“C’mon, Ay. You have plenty of time for school shit during the school year.”

“Actually, I don’t. And this will help me get into a top-tier college.”

He turned toward me, his pouty face adorable. “The tour won’t be as much fun without you. I really want you there.”

I did, too. I wanted to be with Nash more than anything. But if I didn’t get into MIT or Stanford, or even UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering, my dad would lean hard on my mother, trying to force me into a British university. I couldn’t understand why he’d taken an interest in my life. But since we’d moved back to Austin, he’d been making more and more noise about me moving to England.

Reginald Aldringham had managed to finagle a viscount title from his current wife’s family, which made him an actual peer of the realm. Not that we discussed such things. Our typical conversations were barely more than a perfunctory greeting, an assurance that my mother was still alive, and then a litany of his “plans” for my future. He didn’t seem to get that I didn’t want to see him, let alone live with him, which made this summer program all the more important. Only a few students were accepted, and it would set me apart from the many others who would apply for the same limited college spots.

My burgeoning mood began to sour. Ever since that time he’d kissed me, Nash had kept me at arm’s length, always reminding me we were friends. I flopped onto my back and stared up at the sky, angry tears burning the backs of my eyes.

“Why are you mad?” he asked, setting the guitar aside.

“Who says I’m mad?” I sounded angry.

I gritted my teeth. No matter what I said, he would find a way to circumvent my denials. This was the problem with spending so much time together, but I couldn’t stop.

He slid onto the cushion next to me, aligning his lanky frame to mine. He positioned himself with his cheek cradled on his palm as he stared down at me. He wore an orange T-shirt with the name of some band on it—most of Nash’s shirts were from bands he’d met on one of his dad’s tours.

I liked that about him. I liked everything about him. I was pretty sure I loved him, actually. Gazing up into his brown eyes, so filled with past grief and hope, made me ache. I clenched my fists to keep from reaching for him, desperate to tug him down to me, to kiss him again.

I looked away. “You don’t want a science nerd on a rock tour. I’d just be in the way.”

He gripped my chin, forcing my gaze back to his. My chest warmed and something soft, special spread through it.

“You are not a nerd. You are a math whiz, and you won that engineering award at school when you’d only been there for a few weeks. Most of the rest of the kids had prepped for their projects all year, Ay. That’s smart and badass. And it’s more than enough to get you into the school of your choice. You don’t need this extra program.”

My face flushed with pleasure, making me thankful for the darkness. “I don’t know…”

He flopped forward, pressing his forehead to my neck. “Come on. Live a little.”

Then he began to hum again. I knew this tune. It was one he hummed often: “Something” by George Harrison, he’d told me.

I softened against him as he began to sing the words. He had a beautiful voice—deep and rich, like dark chocolate.

We lay out there for another hour before he began to pester me again. I turned and flicked his nose. “Ugh. Stop it.”

“Once you say yes.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I’ll think about it.”

He smirked as he hugged me closer. “That basically means yes.”

My chest was smashed to his, and my nipples definitely took note. So did my lady parts. Before I could lift my thigh over his, Nash started, seeming to realize how close we were.

He rolled off the lounger and picked up his guitar. “Want to hear what I’ve been working on?”

I wanted to weep but instead I nodded. “Sure.”

He played a beautiful tune. I closed my eyes and pretended the girl the boy was in love with was me.

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