Rival Hearts (Rival Love #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

come get me.”
    “Well that’s fine, man, but what am I supposed to tell your uncle when he calls me asking where you are?”
    “Oh, oh, and don’t forget about Derrick, he might need to be in on this too,” Kayla chimes in.
    I smile. It reminds me of something Skylar would say. Which, of course, makes me miss her that much more. I shove more things into my suitcase and zip it up. I grab the guitar case and my suitcase and start walking down the steps. The house is currently empty because my uncle and Erin went to a movie.
    “We’re getting in my truck right now. So we’ll see you in ten, bro.”
    “Awesome. Thanks, man.”
    “Yup.” We hang up as I set my things by the front door.
    When Lance pulls into the drive, I grab all my things and hurry out of the house, locking the doors behind me. I’ll text my uncle later on tonight after I’m in New York and have seen Skylar. Not a second before.
    Once we’re at the airport, I hop out of the truck and grab my things from the back. “Tell her I said hi,” Kayla says from out the open passenger window.
    “Yeah, and that I’m failing again because she’s not here to tutor me,” Lance says.
    Kayla slaps his arm. “You are not.”
    I laugh. “Thanks again. See you guys after the new year.”
    They wave and I set off through the doors. After I get my ticket, check my suitcase, and go through security, I wait at my gate. Just as they’re about to board the plane, my insides grow queasy. What the hell am I going to say to her when I see her? Where am I going to stay? I tried calling the hotel I have a room at in a few days, and the surrounding hotels, for my last-minute change, but all of them are booked for the holidays.
    So … hopefully, I can stay with Skylar. Hopefully. Otherwise, I might have to beg to sleep in her small-ass car for two days. “Boarding sections one, two, and three,” an attendant calls out.
    I move into line, and slowly move forward. The young, dark-skinned woman smiles her cherry-stained lips at each customer, scans their tickets, and sends them on their way down the small ramp leading to the plane. A guy in a business suit is in front of me arguing with someone on a cell. He fumbles over his papers and screams into the phone, “Just hold on a second!”
    He muffles an apology to the woman scanning his ticket, snatches it back, and starts yelling again, “I told you I’m on my way home! You need to quit being on my case about every darn thing that goes wrong. I didn’t want that piece-of-shit death trap you call a house. I told you it would take a lot of work but you insisted! What the hell do you want me to do about it right this minute, Susan? I can’t magically wave a wand and fix it from here. You’ll have to wait until I’m there.”
    “Hello,” the woman says to me, pulling me from the man’s conversation and back to what I’m supposed to be doing.
    “Hey.” I hand over my ticket. She scans it, hands it back, and I’m on my way. F10. I stare at the numbers on the shelves above each seat. F10. That’s my seat number. I find it in the middle of the plane, put my guitar in the above compartment, and take my seat. I take my backpack off and set it under my seat. Normally I’d pull out my laptop and watch a movie or listen to music on my iPod, but I don’t today. I’m just going to think. I look out at the window and let my thoughts take over.
    The guy in the business suit takes a seat next to me and gives me a nod while sighing into his phone. “I love you too, honey. Look, I’ll see you soon. Everything will be okay in a few hours. I’ve got to go, though. The plane is about to take off.”
    He hangs up and I pretend to be interested in the SkyMall magazine.
    “College or coming home for winter break?” the guy asks.
    “Visiting my girlfriend for the holidays.” It’s not a total lie.
    He nods. “You in college?”
    I shake my head. “Next year.”
    “Those were the days.” He sighs as if he’s having a