never be » lrh book one

Chapter 15

M A K I N G    A    M O V E

Sam's POV

Later that day, after school, Ashton picks us up in his car and we all go out to the park to study and hang out. Since Ashton has a better education than the rest of us, he helps us study a lot.

We all sit in a circle in the shade of some trees near the edge of the park. It's really hot out, so I tie my hair into a high ponytail. When I look up from my book, I catch Luke staring at me.

"What?" I ask bluntly. His cheeks turn redder than they already are from the heat, and I giggle.

"Nothing, I just zoned out." He shrugs and looks back down at his book. Michael cackles at this exchange and I shoot him a death glare. He holds his hands up in defense. "Luke's checking you out." He mumbles.

"Am not!" Luke says defensively, looking up from his homework. "We all know you like Sam, Michael. No need to make it more obvious." Luke nudges Michael's arm and I giggle a little, becoming embarrassed. None of these guys will ever like me.

"I get it guys, I'm super hot. No need to compete, I think you're all butt ugly." I joke, making sure my sarcasm is very evident as I speak. Ashton let's out a small huff of laughter and Luke chuckles.

"Well, I think you're pretty." Calum says quietly and bashfully. I can feel my whole face turn bright red due to his words and I tuck my hair behind my ear.

"Thank you." I mumble, flipping the page of my textbook. I keep my eyes on the words on the page even though I'm definitely not focussed on them or reading. I genuinely think all four boys around me are hot, and these compliments are really getting to me at this point.

"You're welcome," Calum says quietly, then pauses for a second before speaking again. This time thought, it's not to me, it's to Ashton. "Hey Ash, wanna kick around the football?"

"You have to study, Cal." He responded immediately.

"But I need a break," Calum groaned in response, pleading. I lifted my head from my textbook and stared at them. "Why don't we all just go swimming?" I asked.

"That sounds amazing," Michael responded. "We should go to the public pool."

I noticed Luke was a bit silent during all this, and I wondered why. Ashton seemed to notice too, but didn't mention anything. As we packed up our stuff, Ashton and I departed to start taking things back to the car. This was the perfect opportunity to ask what was wrong with Luke.

"Hey Ashton?" I asked quietly as we walked.

"Yes?" He unlocked the car as we walked and looked over at me.

"What's wrong with Luke?" I asked, slowing down my pace and checking behind me to make sure that Luke wasn't around to hear.

"He likes you," his voice had suddenly turned cold, "and he hates hearing you be complimented by other guys. Especially Michael, Calum, and I." I stopped walking completely, utterly frozen.

"He likes me?" I asked quietly. Ashton stopped walking and was inches away. "Uh, yeah but um, so do I. Uh, I kind of realized I have complete feelings for you and at this point I don't care if I lose you as a friend. I just want you."

My heart was pounding. What the fuck was going on? I don't know how to choose between them. They're both so kind to me. Ashton was the first to admit his own feelings though, so that must mean he wants me more. Besides, I don't even know if I like Luke like that.

"Sam?" Ashton spoke softly. He was closer now, his face centimeters from mine. In the back of my head I prayed Luke wasn't watching because I know it looks like Ashton is going to kiss me.

His fingers laced with mine, and he pulled me even closer. Our torsos were touching, I could feel his breathing. Steady. He wasn't very nervous, so he must know the feeling is mutual. His eyes traveled down my face and stopped on my lips, the quickly moved back up to meet my eyes.

"Can I just kiss you already?" He asked impatiently. My heart nearly exploded. I hadn't thought he was actually going to kiss me. But then, as if it were fate, Michael, Calum, and Luke all came walking up, and ruined the moment. Ashton stepped away from me quickly and I looked at Luke. He didn't look back at me.

When we got into the car, Ashton drove and Michael called shotgun. I sat in the middle of Calum and Luke in the back seat, and since Calum is a space hog, I was nearly sitting on Luke the whole time. Lucky for me, the car ride was short. We stopped at my house first, then Luke's, where all the boys borrowed Luke's swimming trunks.

After those few stops, we finally made it to the pool. It wasn't a very popular place, and there was only a few other people there. Immediately, Calum and Michael were trying to throw each other in. Ashton was napping on a lawn chair while Luke and I sat in the shallow end of the pool talking and watching Michael and Calum play fight.

"What's wrong, Luke?" I was the first to break the silence. He looked over at me, his eyes darting away as soon as our eyes met.

"Were you going to kiss Ashton earlier?" He didn't look at me when he asked. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Michael, who was about to jump in.

"I don't know," I answered, following his gaze.

"What would've happened if I did?" I asked, my eyes moving from Michael to Luke. He was biting his tongue.

"Nothing," he looked very conflicted, "you guys probably would've started dating, I assume." his voice sounds flat and lifeless as he speaks. I reach out and touch his arm.

"Stop being jealous, Luke," I laughed, hoping to loosen him up. "You should make a move before Ashton does." I tell him, because I genuinely want him to.

"Can I make a move now?" He asked, pulling me from the ledge and into the pool. I chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, sure."

Before I could react, Luke pulled me extremely close, my head inches below his. He picked me up and pressed my back against the wall of the pool, and kissed me. Instantly, my hands wrapped around his neck and traveled through his wet hair. It was clear he'd kissed many girls before, but I on the other hand, have only kissed Luke. Yeah, that's right, this is my first kiss. I hear Michael and Calum cheering for Luke, and at that point my mind goes to Ashton. I keep kissing Luke though, because I don't want to stop. My legs are wrapped around his waist and I grip his hair. He's the one to pull away.

"Damn, you're a good kisser," he chuckles, a smile plastered on his face. I return the uncontrollable smile.

"You're not so bad yourself, champ." He sets me down, and then it all goes back to normal conversation. The rest of the day, Ashton stayed away from me though. Until we started dropping everyone off. I was last. The car ride was silent.

"Do you want to spend the night?" I asked, not sure what he wanted to hear exactly.

"I have plans tonight." He responds in a monotone.

"Oh, with who?" I asked in the same tone.

"My brother,"

"Right."

We arrive at my house and he drops me off. He doesn't say bye, or anything else. I can tell he's upset and that breaks my heart. I'm torn in two, and I don't have any idea who I like more or less.