Ten Year Crush Read online

  Ten Year Crush

  by Toshia Slade

  Dedication

  This is for my sister, Amber, and my best friend, Jenn. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss you each more than words can say. I love you both. Until we meet again.

  COPYRIGHT

  TEN YEAR CRUSH

  Copyright 2014 Toshia Slade

  Cover Design by PixelMischiefDesign.com

  Edited by Carolyn Wells-Lewandowski

  All rights reserved. This work is not allowed for resale or sharing. This book, or any portions thereof, may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotes used in a book review or fan made teaser.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  “Meeting you was fate,

  Being your best friend

  was choice.

  Falling in love with you,

  was completely beyond

  my control.”

  ~Unknown~

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Epilogue

  Play List

  References

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  September 2003

  "Gabby, your friends should be getting here soon. Are you dressed?” Mom calls from downstairs. A rush of excitement runs through me. It's not every day a girl turns eleven.

  "I'll be down in just a minute." I add a little mousse to my naturally wavy hair, blow dry it, and then run my light pink gloss across my lips. And done! Coming down the stairs, the doorbell rings through the house.

  "Got it!" I call out and run to the door. Flinging it open, I stop dead in my tracks. The boy standing in front of me is the cutest one I have laid eyes on. He has dark hair, the deepest blue eyes I have ever seen, medium build, and he's tall. He has to be a few inches taller than my brother, Josh. He’s around 5’ 8", so this guy has to be around 5’ 10". I realize that I'm just standing here staring at him and I feel the telltale heat in my cheeks. I squeak out, "Hi."

  He smiles big showing a dimple in his left cheek. "Hey, I'm Cam, Josh's friend. You must be Gabby. Happy birthday."

  Oh, crap! This is Josh's new friend that just moved here. Looking down I notice he has a bag in his hand. Oh, God and he's staying tonight too. How did I miss that earlier? Maybe because I was mentally drooling and staring at his cute dimple and blue eyes!

  "I think Josh is—" I clear my throat, trying to stop the squeak in my voice. "Um… upstairs in his room playing games. Come on in. I’ll holler for him.”

  I turn on my heel and dart to the bottom of the stairs, leaving Cam to close the door and follow me. I yell up the steps, "Josh, your friend, um, Cam is here.”

  A few seconds later Josh shows up at the top of the steps. Coming down he says, "Hey man, that’s my sister, Gabriella, but everyone calls her Gabby."

  I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and duck my head, trying to hide the blush once again, just as the doorbell rings. Thank god. I turn to get the door so Cam can't see the mortification painting my cheeks.

  I hear Josh say, “I think my mom and dad are in the kitchen. I'll introduce you, then we can head up stairs and play some Xbox."

  I open the door.

  My best friend, Tiffany, squeals and throws her arms around me, squeezing. "Happy birthday, Gabby!" She pulls back and looks at my face. "What's up, buttercup? Something got…"

  She cuts off and I know why. I hear my brother and Cam come into the living room.

  "Oh. My. God. Who is that?" Tiff whispers in my ear.

  “Hey, Tiff, this is my friend, Cam. He just moved here a few months ago. Cam, this is Tiffany, my sister’s best friend and pain in my ass."

  “Heard that, Joshua! Watch your darn mouth and leave the girls alone!" Mom shouts from the kitchen.

  Dad just yells a sharp, “Boy!”

  Tiffany looks at Josh and sticks her tongue out at him. I swear, those two live to torture each other.

  The boys head up stairs and Tiff turns to me, “Holy crap! That boy is hot!"

  I slap my hand over her mouth for fear that the boys will hear her.

  "Will you shut up?" I whisper yell, then quickly look up the stairs and see the boys are already out of sight, so they probably didn't hear.

  Soon after that, everyone shows up and the party starts with girls giggling and eating pizza. We talk about what's going on at school, our crush of the week, and our celebrity loves. Once we’re all done eating we head into the kitchen to throw away our plates.

  "Let’s do presents now," says Tiffany.

  Everyone heads into the living room. I sit on the couch with Tiff on one side and Jessica on the other. I got a Backstreet Boys CD from Tiffany, Christina Aguilera CD from Sam, Backstreet Boys shirt from Jessica, and a sweater and scarf from Alicia. From Mom, Dad, and Josh, a Vera Bradley purse, a few outfits, and... "Concert tickets to ‘N Sync!" I jump up, letting out a squeal, and then bounce up and down. "Thank you, thank you!"

  I wrap my arms around Mom as she says, "Happy birthday, baby. I love you"

  "Thank you, Momma. I love you too."

  Dad wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead "Happy birthday, monkey. I love you."

  "I love you too, Daddy. Thank you so much!"

  I run up and jump into Josh's waiting arms.

  "Happy birthday, Sis. Love ya, brat." He sets me down and ruffles my hair.

  "I love you too, Joshy-Poo. Thanks."

  He groans.

  I love torturing him.

  Mom and Dad disappear into the kitchen as I go to sit back down, but Cam stops me. Oh god. He's touching my arm. Slow warmth spreads over me. Not again. There should be some universal rule as to how many times a person can blush in a single night.

  "Here you go. When Josh said it was your birthday, I couldn’t come without getting you a little something," he says, handing me an envelope. "I didn't know what you liked and my mom figured that you would like this. Happy birthday.”

  Is it me or is Cam blushing a little? Eeeeekkkk! He's even cuter with rosy cheeks and that dimple showing.

  "Thank you, you really didn't have to do that." Now it's my turn to blush. I open the envelope to see just a simple pink birthday card and inside it is a gift card to Bath & Body Works. The card is signed with just Cam. "Oh, I love Bath & Body Works. Thank you so much!"

  Mom and Dad come in carrying plates of cake and ice cream for everyone. When we’re done eat
ing we throw away our trash, grab a drink, and the girls help me grab all of my stuff to carry upstairs. Once in my room I put all my gifts away and we play my new Christina CD, put on spa facemasks, and then paint our nails.

  “Hey, Tiffany, have you been making out with Shrek or something? You have a little something on your face." Josh is peeking his head in my door, laughing. Tiffany picks up my pillow off the bed and throws it, but Josh rushes out of the room.

  "You’re just jealous I wasn't kissing your ugly face!" She shouts. Josh’s deep laughter from down the hall is the only response she gets. "Ugh, your brother is so annoying!"

  I chuckle. Always the same thing.

  “Let’s watch a movie," Alicia says.

  "Which one first? 10 things I Hate About You or Honey?" I ask, and then let everyone fight over which one they want. Honey wins. I put the movie in and we all go to wash off our masks and change into our pajamas.

  Once everyone is ready and back in my bedroom, I shut off the lights, curl up, and press Play. Jessica, Sam, and Alicia are on the floor with every extra blanket in the house. Tiff and I are on my bed with our backs against the wall and legs stretched out across the bed. Soon everyone is up and trying to learn the dances they do in the movie. It doesn’t work out too well with my floor covered in blankets and pillows, plus five girls. We all fall into a fit of giggles and decide to give up before one of us ends up with a black eye or is knocked out by flying limbs. We snuggle back into our spots and begin watching the movie again.

  The movie is almost over when Josh comes walking into my room, followed by Cam. "Hey, you guys wanna watch this with us?" He holds up The Ring.

  Before I can say anything, the girls all say yes, in unison. So much for not wanting to be scared to death.

  Josh switches the movies out, comes over to my bed, and flops in between Tiff and me. "Don't worry, girls, I'll protect you," he says, throwing an arm around each of our shoulders and winks at Tiffany.

  Cam sits down in the desk chair right by my bed, which happens to be beside where I'm currently sitting. As he sits down I smell his soap or cologne; it’s a mixture between a earthy and clean scent and it smells so good. The movie starts and I find myself watching Cam out of the corner of my eye and not paying a bit of attention to the movie.

  The next thing I know Josh grabs my leg, right above my kneecap and yells.

  I scream and jump up, flailing like a fish out of water, and land right in Cam's lap, smacking him in the face with the back of my hand.

  "Ow, shit," says Cam.

  Oh god, kill me now!

  He catches me and keeps me from falling to the floor, and asks, “Are you okay?"

  Josh is laid out on my bed holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

  “Oh my god. I’m so sorry," I realize I’m still being cradled in Cam's arms and quickly jump up. "Josh, I'm going to kill you!"

  I lunge for him and start hitting him in his arms and chest. He quickly flips me over and starts tickling my sides while he pins me down by sitting on my legs. Swinging my arms and bucking I try to get him off me with no luck, laughing so hard my stomach hurts.

  "Josh!" Oh god, I know if he keeps on, I'm going to snort. "Tiffany, help me!" I gasp out around laughter and then it happens.

  I snort like a pig.

  My face flames and everyone in the room starts laughing harder than they were before.

  Josh falls off me and onto the floor, holding his stomach and laughing at me, "Oh, Gabby, you should see how red your face is." Josh just barely gets out around his deep belly laughs.

  I look around the room to see everyone holding their stomachs laughing. I scream at Josh, "I hate you! And you," I say, pointing at Tiffany. "See if I help you next time you need it!"

  With a huff, I flip over and bury my face into my pillow. I can’t believe I just snorted in front of Cam after hitting him in the face and falling in his lap. Can one die of humiliation? I'm well on my way.

  “Boy, are you picking on your sister?" Josh's laughter dies as he catches Dad’s stern face. His face softens as he looks at me, "You okay, monkey?" Dad uses my nickname that came from my obsession with monkeys.

  "I'm fine, Daddy," I grin at him.

  "Alright, boys, I think it's time to head to your own room." My father's voice has the stern tone that means business.

  I hop up off my bed and follow Josh and Cam out into the hall to give Dad a hug and kiss good night. As I'm hugging my dad, I watch Cam’s back as he walks down the hall. Yeah, after tonight he won't ever want anything to do with Josh's little sister that snorts when she laughs. I press a kiss to Dad's cheek. "Night, Daddy."

  He kisses my forehead. "Night, monkey. Hope you had a good birthday."

  I beam up at him. "It was great!"

  "Good. Now you girls get some sleep."

  I head back into my room to see Alicia, Jessica, and Sam all curled up on the blankets, and Tiff in my bed, all of them giggling.

  "I can't believe you fell into Cam's lap, and then you snorted." Sam giggles louder.

  “And you hit him in the face," adds Jessica

  "Ugh. Most embarrassing moment of my LIFE!" I say, flopping head first into my bed and hiding under the covers. I fall asleep and dream of being wrapped up in big strong arms, black hair, and blue eyes. Dream of him kissing me while telling me that he loves me, and holding me tighter, like he never wants to let me go.

  Chapter One

  *Gabby*

  Coming out of my last class for the day, my phone rings. Digging in my bag, I try to find it before it goes to voice mail. I close my hand around it and pull it out to see that it's my brother, Josh, calling. I click the little green phone and accept the call, but I have a feeling I already know what he wants.

  "Happy birthday, brat," Josh says through the phone. "Me and Cam wanna take you out tonight for your big twenty-first! I already sent Tiff a text and she's game. We'll pick you guys up at seven. Be ready, we’re having dinner before too."

  I should have known Cam would be involved. He and Josh have been best friends for ten years and do everything together. They share a house and even own a construction company, building houses together. They started the business fresh out of college. Now, both at the age of twenty-five, they’re doing really well for themselves. I should be used to it now, but no, each time I look into Cam’s blue eyes and he flashes that dimple I melt a little more, fall harder.

  "Wow, you have it all planned out, dontcha?" I shoot back at him.

  "Hey, don't get bitchy with me! I thought you would like to go out for your birthday. Look, if you don’t want to go, that's fine. I just thought it would be fun." His frustrated sigh comes through the phone.

  Now I feel like a bitch. It's not that I don’t want to go; I don’t want to watch the women hanging on Cam all night. Yea, still haven’t kicked that crush. Ten years and going strong. He sees me as a little sister; his best friend’s little sister, the girl who snorts when she laughs too hard. I look at him and see the dark hair, mesmerizing deep blue eyes, his sexy dimple, and all of this comes in a six-foot two, nothing-but-muscle package. The normal pain grips my heart when thinking about Cam and the girls that get what I want; him.

  A sigh escapes my lips. "No, I'm sorry, Josh. I had a shitty start to my day. I woke up late and my professor was an ass 'cause I disrupted class by coming in late.” Which isn’t a lie; it’s just not the whole truth. "I'll be ready by seven; pick us up."

  "Alright, see ya then."

  "Love you."

  "Love you too, brat."

  I click the phone off and continue the walk to my car. I hope tonight goes well, but I have a feeling it's going to be a night I'll never forget and my heart is going to break a little more. Doubt settles in the pit of my stomach.

  Pulling up to the townhouse Tiffany and I share, I cut the car off and gather all my books and stuff from the day. We got the place together after living in dorms our freshman year, deciding that we wanted a townhouse instead of going back to a dor
m sophomore year. It helps that Tiff's uncle owns them so we pay half the rent of what it would cost anyone else.

  As soon as I come in the door, Tiff yells from upstairs so she's probably in her room.

  "The Birthday Girl is home! Josh texted and we’re going out!" She ends on a squeal.

  Of course, she’s always ready for a party.

  "Yeah, he called. We have about an hour and a half before they get here," I yell back, going up the steps. I drop my books on my desk, and then head into Tiff's room. "I'm going to jump in the shower, then get dressed."

  Tiffany is standing in the doorway of her closet in her bra and panties with her hands on her hip, chewing her bottom lip. The girl can never decide what she wants to wear, but has a closet full of clothes.

  "Before you get started..." Tiffany walks over to her bed and gets down on the floor. She reaches under and comes back out with a present wrapped in hot pink paper and lime green ribbon. "Here, bestie, happy birthday. I love you the mostest."

  She hands me the gift and squeezes me while kissing my cheek, not bothered one bit that she's half-naked. I guess that's what you get when you've been best friends for fifteen years.

  "Open it already!"

  I sit down on her bed and rip into the wrapping. Inside is a pair of cut off blue-jean shorts, a green silk halter-top, and a hot pink sash that says 21 & Fabulous in black lettering.

  "I think it will look really hot with your black cowboy boots. Wear your hair down and your natural wave, total hotness."

  I shake my head. She's too much sometimes, but I don't know what I would do without her. "Thank you so much, bestie. I love you." Carrying the box with my gift over, I give Tiff a hug and a loud wet kiss on the cheek. "You're the best! I'm going to go jump in the shower so I have time to get ready before the guys get here. Have you figured out what you’re going to wear?"

  "Ugh, no, it's this blue-jean skirt with this top or these jeans with this top," she says, coming out of her closet, laying the clothes out, and placing the outfits together. The skirt is paired with a black halter-top, a low v-cut, and ties with a thin string around the neck. The other, dark skinny jeans paired with a violet strapless top.