Don’t Follow Me: Diamond In The Rough 4 Read online

  Don’t Follow Me

  Diamond In The Rough 4

  Rebel Hart

  Copyright 2019 © Amore Publishing

  Cover by Robin Harper of Wicked By Design

  Photo: © Regina Wamba

  Models: Alexander Denning and Cherry

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Raelynn

  2. Clinton

  3. Raelynn

  4. Clinton

  5. Raelynn

  6. Clinton

  7. Raelynn

  8. Clinton

  9. Raelynn

  10. Clinton

  11. Raelynn

  12. Clinton

  13. Raelynn

  14. Clinton

  15. Raelynn

  16. Clinton

  17. Raelynn

  18. Clinton

  19. Raelynn

  20. Clinton

  21. Raelynn

  22. Clinton

  23. Raelynn

  24. Clinton

  25. Raelynn

  26. Clinton

  27. Raelynn

  28. Clinton

  29. Raelynn

  30. Clinton

  31. Raelynn

  32. Clinton

  33. Raelynn

  34. Clinton

  35. Raelynn

  36. Clinton

  37. Raelynn

  38. Clinton

  39. Raelynn

  Epilogue

  REBEL HART

  Also by Rebel Hart

  1

  Raelynn

  I breathed in the salted air as I rollerbladed down the boardwalk. Despite our small patch of town being attached to one of the biggest cities in the nation, it still felt like this quaint little place. We had our own stretch of beach. Our own boardwalk. No world-renowned restaurants that drew a crowd or nationwide festivals for people to purchase tickets to. The warmth of the sun on my skin felt wonderful as I swerved around people. Couples eating ice cream cones and people walking their dogs. Children aching to get to the sandy shorelines and college kids coming out of the beach stores with bags full of cheaply-made merchandise.

  This place would always be home to me.

  “Rae!”

  Allison’s voice rose above the crowd and I skated across the boardwalk. The wooden planks rumbled underneath me as I headed for the opening of the small shop. She held out her arms for me and I skated right into them, spinning around as the summer sun beat down against my back.

  Holy shit, we were officially graduated.

  “You’re really getting the hang of those things,” Allison said.

  “I’m just glad Mom bought them for me. No offense, but your bike seat practically rides up my crack.”

  “Why do you think I never rode it myself?”

  I hugged her tighter. “I hate you so much.”

  “Me too, Rae.”

  The two of us laughed as I took her hand. I skated alongside her as she jogged, and we found the last table with an umbrella to shield us from the scalding rays. I’d never known the California sun to be this hot. I usually never ventured out much in the sun during the summer. I stayed in my bedroom, went to work, and occasionally crashed at Allison’s.

  But Clint had gotten me out more during these hot summer days.

  “The boys here yet?” I asked.

  Allison and I sat down before she sighed.

  “I haven’t seen Michael yet, no.”

  I nodded. “And I’m assuming Clint’s coming with him?”

  “Do you ever know the two of them to go anywhere without each other anymore?”

  I paused. “Actually, now that you mention it?”

  She giggled. “I mean, it’s sweet, but… do you ever wonder what in the world they’re doing all the time?”

  I furrowed my brow. “Have you been tanning?”

  “You like it? I’ve been out on the beach a lot with Michael.”

  “It looks really nice on you.”

  “I mean, it’s not like you don’t have one.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I have a nice farmer’s tan going on. I’m not sunbathing in my itty bitty bikinis like you are.”

  She gasped. “I don’t wear itty bitty bikinis!”

  “Says the girl who wears string bikinis.”

  “They aren’t thong bikinis, no. And mine are strapless so I don’t get those lines on my shoulders.”

  “Face it, Allison. You're dangling your body in front of poor Michael and you love it.”

  She grinned. “Maybe just a tad.”

  I laughed. “So do we want to order our ice cream? Or wait for the boys?”

  “You know they’re going to pitch a fit if we don’t let them pay.”

  “What is that, anyway? We’ve got our own money.”

  She snickered. “I think it makes them feel important.”

  “Figured Clint might feel that way when I’m riding his dick.”

  “Rae!”

  I laughed. “Oh, come on. You don’t say so now, but give it a few more weeks with Michael. When we’re all off at college soon. You'll finally give it up and then you’ll be insatiable.”

  “Nope. No, thank you. Waiting until marriage.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, it’s true.”

  I grinned. “Good luck with that.”

  And after a brief pause, Allison spoke.

  “Can you believe we’re going to all be in college in a month?”

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t feel real.”

  “My parents are already helping me pack my things. And I haven’t even found an apartment to live in yet.”

  “So they aren’t making you stay in the dorms on campus like they were?”

  She shook her head. “No. I finally convinced them to let me have my own place after swearing to them Michael wasn’t moving in.”

  I barked with laughter. “You’re kidding.”

  “Not one bit. They thought I wanted my own place so he could move in.”

  “You’d kill him.”

  “You know how I need my space. And he’d never give it to me to study and all that stuff if we were under one roof.”

  I grinned. “Though, you having your own place might come with some other perks.”

  Her face fell. “Stop it.”

  I held my hands up. “I’m just saying!”

  “I’m not sleeping with Michael anytime soon.”

  “But maybe sometime in the future.”

  She paused. “Did he put you up to this? Did he tell you to try and wear down my walls?”

  I snickered. “You know damn good and well Michael wouldn’t ever have the guts. I know he respects your boundaries. And you do, too.”

  “Then why are you riding me so hard about this?”

  I shrugged. “Because I think you’re stuck in a mindset that’s going to hold you back in college. I mean, if you can’t take control of your sex life as a girl, who’s to say you’ll take control of your education?”

  “What makes you think that not having sex until marriage is something I’ve been relegated to? Why can’t that also be a personal decision I make because my sex life is mine?”

  “Good point. Is it a decision you’ve made?”

  She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

  “Okay, then. Subject dropped.”

  “Thank you.”

  I sighed. “Mom’s having a hard time with it.”

  Allison took my hand. “Still cryi
ng and stuff like that?”

  “I think she’s just having a hard time letting go. And instead of being productive, like your parents are, she’s wallowing in her own self pity at night when she thinks I can’t hear her.”

  “Not going to lie, sometimes it feels like they can’t wait for me to get out of the house.”

  I snickered. “Because you’ve been dreaming about the day you leave for college ever since we started high school. I’m sure they’re happy for you. Proud of you. Same with Michael, especially since he’s going with you to college. The two of you are practically prodigies in your fields. I mean, a full ride, Allison? Come on now.”

  “I didn’t think they’d give it to me, you know.”

  “Oh, I knew from the get-go they would. They’d be stupid not to. Especially with how hard you busted your ass in high school.”

  “Still, I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘prodigies.’”

  I giggled. “You’re both going to Stanford, idiot.”

  She smiled. “That statement kind of seems like an oxymoron.”

  When Allison approached me the day after prom and told me she was applying to Stanford, I couldn't believe it. After getting into what I thought was her dream school, she decided to take a chance for once in her life. She applied, sent in the separate application for their architecture department, and they sent her information on their scholarship programs. With her GPA and her extra curriculars, she was eligible for a slew of their financial aid packages. And after two weeks of trying to convince her to go for the gold, she applied for one of them.

  She applied for one of three full-ride tickets they gave out to incoming freshman students.

  “Do you regret changing colleges?” I asked.

  Allison shook her head. “Not one bit. I never even set my sights on Stanford or anything like that because I figured I wouldn't make it. I mean, usually you have to be related to someone to get into that school. Or from a historical lineage. Or make a massive donation. I didn’t think I’d get in there on grades alone.”

  “Are you excited?”

  “I kind of feel excited and I kind of feel as if I could puke.”

  I giggled. “So, normal. Got it.”

  “I still can’t believe Michael applied, though.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No! No, no, no. I just--well, he had his ticket secured to the University of California. I didn’t think he’d switch over to something so…”

  “Prestigious?”

  “I mean, yeah. Expensive. Hard. You name it.”

  I shrugged. “Michael’s intelligent. And he’s head over heels for you. Of course he’d switch. He’s in love with you.”

  She smiled. “I still can’t believe those words come out of his mouth sometimes.”

  “And at least you won’t be stuck where I’m going.”

  “Oh, come on, Rae. Cal State is an excellent school. Don’t be such a downer.”

  “Says the girl with a full ride to Stanford.”

  Her face fell. “I’m serious, Rae. I’m proud of you. I honestly didn’t think you’d do the college thing, you know. Community college, maybe. But four years?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d do it either. But if I want to do graphic design and things of that nature, all the research I did tells me I need a bachelor’s degree. So why not just start out in the four-year program?”

  “And why not be an hour away from your mother?”

  “I mean, she’s not going for that as much as I thought she would.”

  “Meeting halfway wouldn't be terrible for either of us to have dinner or something.”

  “Yeah, if two and a half hours of driving isn’t considered ‘terrible.’ And if we don't hit traffic.”

  Her smile faltered. “Well, at least you can tell your mom you’ll still see her every other weekend. Or once a month. And you’re close enough to get back quick in case of emergencies.”

  I paused. “Are you trying to make her flood this town with her own tears?”

  She roared with laughter. “It’ll work out, Rae. Come on.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I know.”

  Allison released my hand and I leaned back in the wooden booth. As I gazed out over the water to the left of us, I felt uncertainty bloom in my stomach. It made me feel sick. My appetite for ice cream was gone. The more I talked about school, the more fearful I was of it. The more I heard my mother cry, the more I felt as if I was making a wrong decision.

  I sighed. “How am I going to get through with you and Michael six hours away?”

  Allison smiled weakly. “We can make things work. We can do this, okay? Weekends together. Parties at Stanford you can come to. When we all come home for holidays and stuff. We’ll see one another more than you think.”

  But, is that enough? “Yeah. Sure.”

  “Rae.”

  I waved my hand in the air. “It’s fine. Really.”

  “It’s not fine. Something’s on your mind.”

  “I’m just worried. It’s nothing. I’ll sleep it off.”

  “Talk to me, Rae.”

  I groaned. “It’s just all easier said than done, you know? I mean, sure, the beginning of the semester might be easy enough. But, what happens once classes ramp up? What happens when you get bogged down with reading? And schoolwork? I mean, think about all the times I’ve come over and interrupted you doing homework, Allison.”

  She looked at me, but she didn’t speak.

  “Think about all the times I’ve had to track you and Michael down in order to spend time with you.”

  “Rae, it’s not--”

  I shook my head. “I’m not trying to be a downer. But I am trying to be a realist. This is a massive change. And everyone’s acting like things will be hunky dory.”

  “I mean, do you want me to tell you that we’ll never see one another and eventually drift apart? Is that going to make you feel any better?”

  I snickered. “I don’t know. Is that what’s going to happen?”

  I searched Allison’s eyes for a signal. Or a sign. Anything to tell me my paranoia wasn’t grounded in anything real. But all she did was shrug. A shrug. My best friend of years and years, and she didn’t even know if we’d be able to preserve our friendship. I slumped back into my chair and stared back out over the ocean. I didn’t know where the boys were, and I didn’t care. I was losing my best friend. My life. Leaving it all behind for a school I wasn’t even sure I wanted to attend. The last semester of our senior year changed so much. Allison and Michael grew even closer. Clint and I spent every waking moment together. He was talking about his future plans with starlight growing in his eyes. He practically bubbled over the brim with excitement!

  And then there was me. Dreading every second. Counting down the days until doomsday. Still not sure about the decisions I’d made with my life. Every plan I laid out before myself had been obliterated when Allison got into Stanford. No apartment-sharing for us. Because fuck-only-knew I’d never make it into a school like that with my mediocre grades. And there weren’t any community colleges around Stanford that had a graphics design associate’s.

  So there went the shared apartment.

  Now I had all this money saved up and nothing to do with it. If I got a place of my own, I’d eat through it in three months before I’d be broke. I was two weeks away from my last day on a job I’d had for years. I was three weeks away from packing up my things and moving into a dorm room that would house another stranger under its roof with me. Instead of Allison, in our apartment, like we had always planned.

  Life had already changed quickly around us. And I knew it wouldn't stop.

  Which meant there wasn’t a damn thing any of us could do to stop it.

  2

  Clinton

  “This fucking traffic. Come on!”

  Michael honked the horn in his SUV as we sat in standstill traffic. The girls had been at the boardwalk by themselves for damn near forty
minutes, and we couldn't get there to save our lives. Despite the windows being rolled down and the classic rock station turned up, I shifted in my seat. My eyes darted around. My pulse ticked up.

  I wanted this to be a stress-free day for Rae.

  And it was turning into anything but that.

  “What the hell is all this traffic about?” Michael asked.

  I shrugged. “Who the fuck knows?”

  “I mean, wouldn't they have cleared it by now if it was an accident? Do you see any orange cones for construction?”

  “We’ll get there when we get there. Not much we can do unless we want to pull over and walk.”

  He snickered. “Had we done that before, we’d already be there by now.”

  “Well, in a few weeks you guys won’t be here to experience any of it.”

  Mike put his car in park. Never a good sign when sitting in traffic. But, I knew exactly what I had said to trigger his response. I felt him turn to me, but I refused to meet his stare. Because I wasn’t ready for the question about to fly out of his face.

  “Clint?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, Mike.”

  “Clint. Look at me.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “You going to man up and have this conversation? Or am I going to have to pull it out of you?”

  I snickered. “I’d like to see you try.”

  And when I rolled my eyes over to his, he grinned.

  “Gotcha.”

  My face fell. “You’re a fucking child.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, well. I’m a manchild who’s worried about my best friend.”