Keeping the Distance (I Heart Iloilo Book 1) Read online

  And he liked her.

  Her fingers itched to play every sappy love song she knew at the thought.

  "He makes me want to be brave," she found herself whispering.

  Cam snorted. "Well, if I knew he'd have this effect on you, I would've told you to make out with him a long time ago."

  As if he knew they were talking about him, Melissa's phone buzzed with a message from Lance.

  Currently at McDonald's. Can't help smiling over my fries. ;)

  Heat began to creep up her neck as she stared down at the message. Fast food had never seemed so... illicit.

  "He sent you a dirty text, didn't he?" Cam said in awe, face half-hidden by her camera. "He totally did."

  Melissa's face didn't only heat up after hearing Cam's comment. It burned. She held up her phone in defense. "It's not a dirty text, I swear."

  It was a ridiculously-adorable-bordering-on-cheesy text. She quickly typed up a reply.

  Working on something even better than 'fries'.

  His reply came in a matter of seconds. Better than fries? Now, I'm excited.

  Without replying, a silly grin on her face, she tossed her phone on her bed where it bounced twice on the mattress. A knowing smirk played on Cam’s lips when she looked up.

  She held her stupid grin in check. “It wasn’t a dirty text, Cam.”

  “Well, it sure as hell wasn’t a clean one, either.”

  Melissa pursed her lips together, carefully trying to keep her expression blank. Sure, Cam was her best friend, but there were things like the sharing of fries in the dark and cheesy text messages from a boy who was supposed to be a player that she wanted to keep to herself. She wanted to pull these memories out at night and savor them, like a tailor unspooling thread and making something beautiful.

  “Should we do a test shot?” Her voice came out surprisingly even.

  Seeing that she didn’t want to discuss the dirtiness of Lance’s text message any further, Cam merely shrugged and began recording.

  Melissa stared into the camera in front of her and took a deep, much-needed breath. She knew she was prepared for this, had even swiped on some mascara and had her favorite pink lip gloss all over her lips. Her hair was in an elaborate milkmaid braid, and she wore a pink lace dress that made her skin glow. She knew all of those things, but they were on the surface.

  She loved her ukulele, but until that moment, her skill at playing it had never been tested, never brought out of the confines of this house for public consumption.

  It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

  Lance’s face flashed in her mind, the way he glanced at her when they were getting their food at McDonald’s. He didn’t agree with keeping whatever was going on between them a secret, but he did it for her. She wanted to do something to show him she could be brave, too. Even a little.

  So, after one more deep breath, she picked up her ukulele between her hands and began to strum. The song she was playing wasn’t a popular one. It was a sappy love song by a little-known country singer, and it told the story of a girl and the boy who did things for her that she never imagined anyone could do. It told of how the girl suddenly found herself becoming braver. For him.

  Surprising both herself and Cam, Melissa began to sing. Her voice was shaky at first, growing in confidence with each strum of her hand. She hadn’t realized that she knew the lyrics to the entire song, but the words came to her unbidden. Her eyes closed of their own accord, her voice and ukulele melding together until the end of the song. When she opened her eyes, she found Cam staring at her.

  “You said you wanted to do a test shot,” Cam said. “You didn’t say you were planning on blowing me away.”

  Melissa knew she was good, but a voice inside her—one that sounded suspiciously like her father—needed validation. “Was it really good?”

  “Are you kidding, Mel?” Cam stopped recording and walked over to her. “You were amazing. If Lance isn’t already in love with you, then he will be after seeing your video. Especially after I edit it.”

  She laughed, her arms encircling Cam’s slim waist. “You’re more amazing, Cam. How did I get so lucky?”

  “You won the best friend lottery,” Cam said with a little laugh. She eased back a little, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “And if I’m any judge, you’re about to win the boyfriend lottery, too.”

  “Lance isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “Not yet. Be careful, okay?”

  Her heartbeat stuttered upon hearing the words. Hunter had said the exact same thing. Melissa looked Cam in the eye. “Why do you all say that?”

  “Lance is crazy about you. I can tell,” Cam started. When she looked away before speaking again, it was obvious the next words coming out of her mouth weren’t going to be pleasant, like sour candy on her tongue. “But he’s Lance, you know? Just try to hold your head above water, if you know what I mean.”

  She knew what her best friend was saying. Keep calm and don’t go crazy. Don’t let her heart do all the thinking. But she was seventeen years old and had kissed a boy for the first time.

  She feared it was already too late for that.

  ***

  As his car slowed to a stop in front of the pharmacy where Melissa and Cam had taken shelter after the game, Lance couldn’t help but feel that things were coming full circle. He and Melissa had carefully planned how they were going to meet after weekend detention, and now, he was here. Waiting for her.

  They talked about this in detail the night before. They were going to say goodbye separately after weekend detention ended, so Mr. Chua, the custodian who supervised them, wouldn’t notice a thing.

  Act nonchalant. Wait for each other at the appointed spot. Easy breezy. Except things weren’t so easy.

  He wanted to watch her get into his car inside the school parking lot. He squashed that thought, silenced it before he could wish for more things he couldn’t have.

  The passenger side door swung open and Melissa got inside. She tucked the folds of her pink floral dress under her, carefully settling her purse on her lap. As always, his heart stalled at the sight of her. It was becoming a regular occurrence, but he wasn’t quite used to it yet.

  Her hair wasn’t up in another fancy braid today. It wasn’t held back by a colorful headband, either. It was simply pulled back in a low ponytail with stray strands falling across her face. His fingers itched to tuck them behind her ear.

  He had known this girl since they were seven years old. How could he have never noticed the way her face was the only sun he wanted to revolve around? How he could he have been so blind for so long?

  “Are you okay?” She looked at him through her lashes, a flush spreading across her cheeks.

  Lance cleared his throat. He was eighteen years old, but he knew—just knew—that he was never going to feel this way about anyone ever again. It was impossible. Unimaginable.

  “I’m fine.” He restarted the ignition. The car began to move and soon made its way through the congested city streets.

  “Where are we going anyway?” Melissa asked, her eyes on the commercial buildings they passed.

  “I asked you to wear a sundress and flip-flops.” His gaze darted from the road to her and back again. “That should’ve been your first clue.”

  “We’re going to the beach.” He couldn’t see her, but he could almost feel the slow, confident smile spreading across her face. “You’re going to grab every opportunity to show off your six-pack, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged, cocky grin in place. “You know you want to see my abs.”

  “That’s unfair. How come you didn’t ask me to bring a swimsuit?”

  The image of her in a swimsuit, preferably white with little flowers printed all over it, made him lose his concentration for a moment. He pictured her hair cascading over the white straps. Summer heat didn’t even begin to compare.

  “If you put on a swimsuit, I might not be able to control myself,” Lance found himself saying.


  They were at stoplight by that point, the light turning red, so he took the chance to sneak a glance at her. Instead of the blush he expected, he found her looking at him with an odd look on her face. Slowly, she shook her head at him, the slow, easy smile returning. “Does that line usually work for you?”

  “You tell me. I’ve never used it before.”

  The surprised look on her face was worth his honesty. Melissa didn’t say anything. She merely grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers. They drove like that and left the city behind. Oton, a town known for its beaches, soon came in view. He hoped she wasn’t allergic to seafood. This whole day would be a thousand times less romantic if that were the case.

  When the car swerved left and entered a stretch of gravel, Melissa didn’t even shoot a questioning look his way. She trusted him, and it was humbling. He wasn’t sure he’d earned it yet. The sign on the entrance proclaimed the place to be Sunny’s Beach Resort. His car was the only one in the parking lot. Maybe this little escapade wasn’t so crazy after all.

  He jumped out of the car before she could even unbuckle her seatbelt and opened the door for her. When she stepped down, her eyes took in the tiny wooden cottages that lined the beachfront and the main house a few feet away. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, and a brown dog lazily napped on the sand, not caring about the hot morning sun. He hoped she liked what she saw.

  Lance hadn’t been to Sunny’s Beach Resort in a very long time, but it held great memories for him. Being chased down the sand by Julianne. Building sand castles with a blue pail by his side as their father looked on from one of the cottages. It wasn’t the most popular of places, but it was private and being there felt right. Especially with Melissa.

  When her hand slid into his, they began walking to one of the cottages near the beach. Suddenly, having her hand in his wasn’t enough anymore. He slid his hand out of her grasp, placed his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her closer. His lips found their way to her hair, and he simply inhaled. He discovered why she always smelled like lavender. It was her shampoo.

  He wondered if this was too much, too soon, but she slid her arm around his waist. It wasn’t too much, too soon, at all. It was perfect.

  They sat side-by-side on one of the open cottages close to the beach. A waiter in a red Hawaiian shirt soon came out of the house, two menus in hand. He waited with a notepad and pen as they decided what to order. Lance didn’t have to think twice. He ordered old favorites like pork barbecue, the baked oysters his sister loved so much, and rice cooked in Star margarine that never tasted quite right anywhere else.

  “Hungry?” Melissa raised her eyebrows.

  He stared at her. “You have no idea.”

  “Shut. Up.” She’d walked right into that one. They both knew it.

  “Anything else?” The waiter asked, oblivious to the growing heat between them.

  “Just a mango shake, please.”

  Once their food arrived, Lance scraped the contents of several baked oysters out of their shells onto Melissa’s waiting plate. She stared at him the whole time, a little smile playing on her lips. Upon catching her, he placed the spoon he’d been using on his empty plate and caressed her lower lip with his thumb. Because he could. Her lower lip felt soft and warm. He wanted to kiss it for the foreseeable future.

  Her smile grew wider. “I like looking at you.”

  She liked him, he was sure, but she had never said the words out loud. Hearing her say something along those lines made him freeze, like an invisible hand had reached into his watch and placed a finger on the hand counting down the seconds.

  He smiled back. “I like looking at you, too.”

  When they were done eating, Lance stood up and grabbed Melissa’s hand. They walked down to the beach, fingers intertwined. Until now, he couldn’t believe he could reach out and lace his fingers through hers. He flexed his fingers to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It still felt like hitting a three-point shot during the last minute of a basketball game.

  Once they stood close enough to the water to dip their toes in it, Melissa bent down and slipped her feet out of her flip flops. He bent down to grab them with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. She let go of his hand and walked until she was knee-deep in the water, one hand pulling up the hem of her dress so it wouldn’t get wet. The sun shining down on her face, she whirled around to look at him. “You’re not coming?”

  “No.” He shrugged.

  “I thought you were going to show off your abs?” She shaded her face with one hand.

  “I knew it. You’ve been waiting to see them this whole time.”

  At that, she ran back toward him, seawater splashing around her with every step. Droplets dampened her dress and turned the light pink fabric dark. She didn’t stop when they were face-to-face.

  Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, the force of the impact making them both collapse on the sand. She was still laughing when he made an ‘oof’ sound, her hands flat on his chest and their legs tangling.

  “Shit, that hurt.” The instinct to cover his mouth after swearing took over when he saw her looking down at him. His brows drew together. “Is it okay if I swear?”

  It was her turn to shrug. “It’s fine.”

  A smile tipped his lips up at the corners. “I bet you don’t even know how to swear.”

  Things were so great between them that he sometimes forgot how competitive she could be. It showed now in the challenging gleam of her eyes. “I do, too.”

  “I bet you can’t even say ‘fuck you.’” An idea began to form in his mind.

  “I can.”

  “Say it then.”

  “Fuck you,” she said, a blush blossoming across her cheeks. The words sounded wrong coming from her lips somehow, like beer poured into a fancy teacup.

  Lance tried to hide his grin. Cupping his ear with one hand, he said, “I didn’t hear you.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Louder.”

  “Fuck you!”

  He couldn’t hold back his grin as he said, “No, thank you.”

  The palms still leaning against his chest turned into fists. She began pounding on his chest, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her. They collapsed into a fit of giggles on the sand as her annoyance at losing turned into amusement. He closed his eyes and merely enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Melissa and Lance were great together. In fact, they were perfect.

  Weren’t they?

  She repeated the words over and over in her head like a mantra. Her phone lay flat on the table, taunting her with its silence. She narrowed her eyes at it and silently willed it to vibrate with a message. A phone call. A notification. Anything. When it refused to cooperate, she sighed, rubbing her face with one hand.

  Melissa didn’t want to be that girl, the one who went crazy if a guy who wasn’t even officially her boyfriend didn’t reaffirm his existence in her life in little more than twenty-four hours. But she was becoming that girl. She couldn’t deny it anymore as anxiety began to twist in her stomach, like a noose tightening around an inmate’s neck.

  God, she was becoming morbid.

  Across the table from her, Cam fiddled with the settings of her camera, the strap wrapped around one hand. They were at their regular table at 7-Eleven. Behind them, a sleepy twenty-something gulped down a steaming bowl of instant noodles. An overly excited group of kids lined up by the counter to get salted caramel ice cream.

  The place wasn’t fancy, but it was where they regrouped and simply processed things. Like Lance and his apparent lack of communication.

  She didn’t want to bring it up with Cam. She didn’t want this whole day to be a Lance-dramafest, but the words slipped out anyway. “Why do you think I haven’t heard from him at all?”

  Cam placed the camera on the table and shrugged. “Maybe he’s busy.”

  “With what?” Melissa’s voice rose in pitch without her permission. When Cam raised her eyeb
rows in question, she told herself to get a grip. “This isn’t me, you know?”

  “What? This slightly obsessed girl?” Cam smiled, reaching for her camera once more. “It happens to the best of us.”

  “It hasn’t happened to you.”

  “I’m too sophisticated for all this high school romance nonsense.”

  Instead of responding with a sarcastic comment, Melissa merely grabbed a handful of potato chips from the open packet between them and chucked it in Cam’s general direction. “Yeah, you look real sophisticated with chips in your hair.”

  “I swear to God, Lance is a horrible influence on you. You weren’t like this before,” Cam muttered as she brushed crumbs off her shirt. “Why don’t you check his profile and see what he’s up to? That way, you can stalk him without him knowing.”

  “Funny.” Melissa jokingly rolled her eyes, but she reached for her phone anyway.

  Setting aside all rational thought, she looked up Lance’s online profile and scrolled through it. The things she saw turned her insides as cold as the cola Slurpee she finished drinking less than a minute ago. His profile was full of posts from girls. Pretty girls. Tons of them.

  Was so glad I ran into you! Text me, okay? XOXO.

  Ohmygod, if I knew you went to Saint Agnes, I would’ve enrolled there a long time ago. ;)

  I’m free this weekend. Just so you know.

  Haven’t heard from you in a while. :( I miss you!

  Melissa hadn’t realized her knuckles had turned white until Cam attempted to pry her phone out of her fingers. She let the phone slip out of her grasp and watched as Cam scrolled through Lance’s profile. Her eyebrows rose higher with every movement of her thumb.

  “If it’s any consolation, he hasn’t replied to any of them,” Cam finally said.

  As if that made things better. Lance could’ve replied via private message, and even if he did, who was she to stop him? They weren’t officially together. She couldn’t even ask if he’d replied, because she didn’t have the right to do so.

  Not yet.

  Maybe not ever.

  She shook the negative thoughts away. He liked her, really liked her. He didn’t even need to say it out loud. It was obvious in the way he sometimes leaned into her and breathed her in, like he couldn’t believe she was real.