More Than Each Other (More Than Best Friends Book 2) Read online

  More Than Each Other

  Sally Henson

  Copyright © 2018, 2019 by Sally Henson

  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.

  Edited by: Kelsie Stelting Creative

  Cover design and formatting by Dirt Road Press

  The More Than Best Friends Series is a continuous series and is best enjoyed if read in order.

  Book one: More Than A Kiss

  Book two: More Than Each Other

  Book three: More Than A Secret

  Thank you for purchasing

  More Than Each Other

  Would you like access to updates on new releases, bonus content, and other great stuff from Sally? Find out more when you reach the end of More Than Each Other.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Regan

  2. Regan

  3. Regan

  4. Regan

  5. Lane

  6. Regan

  7. Lane

  8. Regan

  9. Regan

  10. Regan

  11. Regan

  12. Lane

  13. Lane

  14. Regan

  15. Lane

  16. Regan

  17. Regan

  18. Regan

  19. Lane

  20. Regan

  21. Regan

  22. Lane

  23. Lane

  24. Regan

  25. Regan

  26. Regan

  27. Regan

  28. Lane

  29. Regan

  30. Lane

  31. Regan

  32. Lane

  33. Rean

  34. Regan

  35. Regan

  36. Lane

  37. Regan

  38. Regan

  39. Regan

  40. Regan

  41. Regan

  42. Lane

  43. Regan

  44. Regan

  45. Regan

  46. Lane

  47. Regan

  48. Lane

  49. Regan

  50. Regan

  51. Lane

  52. Regan

  53. Lane

  54. Regan

  55. Lane

  56. Regan

  57. Regan

  58. Lane

  59. Regan

  60. Regan

  61. Regan

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  Meet Sally

  Also by Sally Henson

  Thank You

  Prologue

  LANE

  I try to give her a kiss that will last until I see her Friday night. One that makes her miss me like crazy every time she thinks about it. It’s me that’s going crazy already missing her. She has my heart thrumming like the purr of a kitten. I’m already missing her and she’s still feeding me sugary sweet kisses.

  “Miss Stone, would you like to introduce me to your friend?”

  “Uh, oh.” Regan whispers against my lips.

  Who’s this jerk-face?

  She turns toward a guy walking toward us from the sidewalk. My eyes narrow at him.

  Tobi bounces into me, kissing me on the cheek. “Mr. Kellen, this is my boyfriend.” My body flinches away from her.

  Haylee cuts in between Regan and me, wrapping her arms around my waist, pressing the side of her face against my stomach. Yeah, that’s how short she is. “Mr. Kellen, this is my boyfriend, Lane.”

  Regan looks between the three of us, the corner of her mouth tugging down on one side.

  Ah, he must be the new teacher. Oh, crap! He’s the new teacher.

  A smirk comes across Kellen’s face. This dude’s not much older than me. “Well ladies, it’s time to board the bus. Say goodbye to your boyfriend without all the kissing, please, unless you’d like me to give your parents a call.” He looks to me, doing his best to conceal the grin, lifts his chin, and walks away.

  Thank you, Mr. Kellen. He gave us a pass this go-around.

  Tobi and Haylee hug me “See you this weekend?” Tobi asks.

  “Maybe.” I flash her a grin.

  Tobi hooks Haylee around the shoulders, giving me and Regan a minute alone.

  “I guess I better go.” Regan fits her fingers through mine, and we move to the sidewalk, where she joins the girls.

  My body stills as she continues and her fingers slip away. She turns, walking backward a few steps. “Friday.”

  “Friday.” I stuff my hands in my pockets and watch her walk away.

  I swear her eyes blast pixie dust all over me when she glances back at me over her shoulder one last time.

  1

  Regan

  Lane leans his shoulder against the tree beside me. It’s cold today, and I want to nestle myself inside his coat, but I have to leave. The yellow school buses parked nearby are calling me back to high school—back to reality—but I don’t want to leave Lane or his college campus.

  I shift my gaze to his pretty blue eyes. “Thanks, Doctor Love, for dressing my wounds and taking such good care of me.”

  The way he presses his lips together, trying to hide a huge grin, tells me he’s surprised at my words. He smirks and asks, “Are you flirting with me, Miss Stone?”

  A soft giggle percolates in my chest. He knows I am. My fingers grasp his open coat and I tug him a little closer. “These are going to be the longest two days of my life.”

  Lane has that look. The one that tells me he wants to kiss me. Instead of making a move, he says, “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

  Lane’s lips are crying for me to touch them. I should really hold back and wait, but I want him to know I meant what I said. We’ve been keeping our relationship a secret. I don’t want to hide what we are anymore. Holding hands, we could get by with that as friends, but kissing him is definitely more than friends.

  My brain says wait until next week to let anyone else know about us, but I can’t stay away from his kiss. So, I make my request, “Kiss me already.”

  Lane glances around. Teens continue to trickle past us to board their school buses. “Here? What if someone sees us?”

  I’m lucky I’m in the science club and was able to come on this trip today. It doesn’t seem right I’m one of the high schoolers and Lane isn’t. We’ve had our ups and downs today with the VIP tour Lane gave me. I saw a whole different life for him here. One that doesn’t include me. But he wants me, and I want him and we’re both over keeping us a secret.

  I push up on my toes. “I don’t care.”

  Lane flashes a brilliant smile before pressing his silky lips to mine. They feel so luxurious and smooth. Warmth flows from our point of contact like liquid gold, covering my skin. This will be our last kiss until after we talk to my dad on Friday. I part my lips at that thought and make this VIP kiss count. One that will last and make him miss me like crazy.

  “Miss Stone, would you like to introduce me to your friend?” my young, new science teacher cuts into my bliss.

  I reign in my kiss and whisper, “Uh, oh,” against Lane's mouth.

  A groan vibrates in his throat as I put some space between us.

  Tobi bounces over toward us knocking into Lane and kissing him on the cheek. “Mr. Kellen, this is my boyfriend.”

  Lane's body flinches when he hears Mr. Kellen’s name. He shoots me a look, proving he didn’t believe me when I said this guy could pass for a freshman in college.

  Haylee cuts in between Lane and me, copy
ing Tobi.

  My hand rubs against my lips remembering how they tingled seconds ago. I should be freaking out about Mr. Kellen catching us kissing but my mind is on overload from today.

  Mr. Kellen says something about getting on the bus but doesn’t make a big deal out of what just happened. Tobi and Haylee say goodbye to Lane and fall in step behind Mr. Kellen and the other students.

  “I guess I better go.” I lace my fingers through Lane’s, and we cross the grass to the sidewalk.

  Lane stops, and I continue toward the doors of the bus, letting my fingers slip through his. I don't like the way it makes me feel, as if I'm falling away from him. I turn around and take a few backward steps. “Friday?” I ask, seeking confirmation when we'll see each other next. It’s the day we're supposed to tell my dad we're dating.

  “Friday.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets and watches me walk away.

  The cold air hits me, alerting my heart of the separation from Lane. I look over my shoulder at him one last time and long for the day when we never have to leave each other again.

  As soon as I climb the steep steps of the bus, Stacy Faniger, gossip extraordinaire, stands in the middle of the aisle, blocking my way. Her smirking face is a punch to the kidneys. All of a sudden, the fear of exposing my secret thing with Lane boils to the surface. She could make my life miserable.

  “Regan, well isn’t this a surprise.” Stacey’s shiny piranha teeth chomp with every movement of her lips. “All these years of pretending you two are only friends. It must be so hard for you, now that he’s away at college.” Her voice mocks concern. The only person Stacey seems to have any real concern about is herself. She lets out an evil giggle and tucks a dark wavy lock behind her ear. “I didn't think Lane would be dumb enough to kiss you, let alone in front of a teacher. He’ll ruin his stark reputation with a slip like that.”

  Is that a threat? Is she threatening Lane?

  She taps her lip with her fingernail. “Hmm. What do you think your dear old dad will say when he hears you blew off your field trip to go make out with a college boy?” Her face lights up as she plans my demise.

  I swallow down the acid creeping up from my stomach and keep my teeth clenched together. If I say anything, she’ll only twist it and find a way to use it against me. I take a step and shuffle by her. My feet are like concrete boots skidding across the walkway between the ugly green seats. The load that was lifted off me by deciding to tell our parents we’re dating is back thanks to the one person who finds pleasure in stirring up crap for my family.

  The stale, sweaty-fart smog hovering in the bus doesn’t help my stomach any. As soon as I get past Stacey, I look out the windows for Lane. He’s still there. My hand grasps the back of each seat, steadying myself as I move past them.

  Tobi scoots out of her seat and lets me in so all three of us are sitting together.

  After I plop down, I lean toward the window and press my palm where Lane can see me. The cold of the pane sends a shiver through my body. Lane raises a hand in a wave.

  I hear Mr. Kellen bounce up the steps and give instructions to the driver, before the vehicle slowly moves in the opposite direction of where I want to be. I keep my eyes connected with Lane through the window until I can’t see him anymore.

  2

  Regan

  Haylee whispers, “What were you thinking? You can't be kissing Lane in front of all these people on a school trip.”

  I grimace and blow a long breath across my lips. “We decided not to keep our dating a secret anymore.”

  “Finally.” Tobi slumps back in her seat.

  “What about Stacey? And Mr. Kellen?” Haylee asks.

  “Yeah, I didn't think about that. Mr. Kellen didn't act like he was upset.” Why did I do that? I can’t believe I did that. Ugh. When Lane’s kiss is involved, I’m having a harder and harder time of saying no to myself.

  Haylee goes on, “He might let it go but you know Stacey will get you in trouble in a heartbeat.”

  I nudge Tobi. “Message Lane that Stacey saw us and she’s going to stir up gossip.” If I had my own stinking cell phone, two days may not seem like such a lifetime. I close my eyes for a few seconds.

  “Lane said not to worry about it. He’ll be home Friday.” Tobi turns in the seat to face me and Haylee, leaning toward us to keep our conversation from being overheard. “So, what happened? Something happened. I can tell. Your hair was so cute under my cap.”

  “Why did you put your hair in a ponytail?” Haylee closes in on me, too.

  I look over Haylee’s head through the foggy window and see that we’re on the ramp to the interstate. Today wasn’t perfect, but leaving him is so hard. These barren farm fields and naked trees send another cold shiver through me. As if I need to be reminded Lane’s not here to keep me warm.

  Haylee leans up and snaps her fingers in my face. “Hello, Regan?” Her eyebrows raise, pushing her hairline further back. Her hair always looks so silky.

  “How do you get your hair so shiny?” I ask. “It’s so pretty and mine is so blah.”

  Tobi pulls on the end of my ponytail. “Hey.”

  I turn to look at her as she warns, “Don’t try changing the subject. What happened?”

  They sit with their expectant faces beaming at me, but I press my forehead against the seat in front of me, deciding what to say. My headache pounds with every bump the driver hits on the road. So, I straighten, careful not to lean back against the seat. “It was a long day, and it’s a long story.”

  Haylee grabs my coat-sleeve and wiggles it back and forth. “Lucky for us, we have nowhere to go for the next hour or so.” Her smile widens as she waits for me to start spilling my guts.

  Tobi bobs her head in agreement. “That’s right, Rey. Start talking.”

  “You know you look like a bobble-head nodding like that?”

  Haylee giggles at my comment and Tobi rolls her eyes.

  I hold my hands out, palms up. “You guys already know everything.”

  Haylee nudges my arm. “What happened after lunch?”

  They’re not going to stop until I tell them what happened. I won’t share everything, not the stuff that should stay between Lane and me.

  The rest of the bus ride home, I fill them in on my humiliation of bouncing like a pinball at the coffee house and hot liquid dumping all over me, how I was an outsider in Lane’s new world. I never thought of myself as insecure, but these past couple months my family’s predictions of Lane finding someone better have been haunting me. And seeing his life there made it worse.

  Haylee’s face is full of pain as if she has her own burns. “Oh, Regan. Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

  I nod. “Yeah. It hurts a little. Lane took good care of me.”

  Tobi’s eyes widen with her smile. “Oh, really?” She stares at me as if I’m hiding something from them.

  Haylee giggles.

  “Geesh.” I roll my eyes. “You guys are nosey. He put some burn cream on me. It was no big deal.”

  Haylee pops her head up and then rejoins the huddle. “Tobi, I think we should play twenty questions.”

  Tobi rubs her hands together as if she’s the mastermind of an evil plot. In this case, she might be. “We should.” She clears her throat. “Regan, where, exactly were you when said burns were being attended to?”

  3

  Regan

  My backpack slides through my fingers and lands on the floor in the corner of the bathroom. We didn’t get back until way after school was out, and the only people here are those of us who went on the trip.

  I drop my coat on top of my pack and pick a stall. The amazing scent of Lane’s cologne dances from his sweater up to my nostrils without my jacket confining it. The good stuff from today has my chest bubbling. A girly squeal threatens to come out of me, but I keep it under control.

  “Regan? You in here?” Tobi calls out my name.

  “Yeah,” I answer and flick the toilet handle with my foot to flush. Twenty question
s with her and Haylee on the bus was unpleasant. I don’t like sharing details about me and Lane. It’s more special to me that way. I was glad when we moved on to the topic of essays.

  Tobi’s feet step into the stall next to mine. “Hey, I already called your mom about coming over to work on our essays.”

  “Great, thanks,” I answer her as I wash up and grab my stuff.

  Haylee slides around the doorway and leans against the cream-colored tile wall. “I’m ready. Ooh nice sweater.” Haylee tilts her chin down, grinning at me. “It’s a little big on you. Don’t you think?”

  Tobi opens the stall door, eyeing me as she heads for the sink. “Is that your brother’s?” She frowns, probably assuming this was my choice of attire this morning.

  “It’s Lane’s.” I shrug.

  I look down at it and can’t resist raising the neckline over my nose and breathing in Lane’s cologne again.

  “Did you just sigh?” Tobi angles toward me and tilts her head. The smirk continues to grow on her face.