Trace + Olivia Series Boxed Set by Micalea Smeltzer

beating my back.
    “Are you okay?” Trace asked, wiping up the mess I had made. Thank God none had gotten on him or I would’ve melted into a puddle of embarrassed goo.
    “Fine,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from all the coughing.
    I glared at Avery and she hid a smile behind her hand.
    Luca seemed oblivious, but I wondered if he was really as aloof as he acted. He was a weird guy. I guess that’s why he was perfect for Avery.
    “You sure you’re okay?” Trace questioned, dropping the soiled napkin where the waitress could grab it.
    “Yeah,” I took a breath and it burned my raw throat. If Avery was sitting across from me, I would kick her so hard in the knees, she wouldn’t be able to walk for days.
    Trace took a sip of his beer, eyeing me. He really needed to stop with the whole staring thing. It was turning me into a nervous wreck.
    “Get any homework done?” He asked, deciding that was a safe topic.
    “No,” I rolled my eyes. Pointing at Avery, I added, “This one dragged me away before I could accomplish anything.”
    “What can I say?” Avery flipped her hair over her shoulder. “That’s what best friends are for.”
    “Failing grades?” I turned to look at her with a raised brow.
    She rolled her eyes, and turned her attention to Luca, who only seemed to grunt in reply to anything she said.
    Trace shook his head and chuckled. “You two are complete opposites.”
    “I know,” I laughed, “but I love her.” I poked Avery’s side, and she glared at me, before resuming her conversation.
    “I know what you mean,” Trace chuckled. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m friends with this weirdo,” he slapped Luca on the back.
    Luca chuckled, “It’s ‘cause I make things interesting.”
    Oh my God, he spoke more than two words!
    “That’s for sure,” Trace laughed. “Your stories about California are the best.”
    Luca took a drink of his beer, gazing out into the restaurant. I guessed he had used up his word quota for the day.
    “Luca was a professional surfer in California,” Trace explained, since Luca had turned into a mute once more.
    “Why’d you quit?” Avery asked.
    Luca huffed a sigh, leveling Trace with his eerie pale blue eyes. Reluctantly, he removed his fedora and pushed his shaggy light brown hair off his forehead showing us a jagged white scar that marred at least an inch of his forehead and disappeared into his hair.
    Avery’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect O. “What happened?”
    Luca glared at Trace and then met Avery’s eyes. “Surfing accident, the scar’s about six inches long. I lost a lot of blood and almost lost my life. After that, I didn’t have the passion for the sport anymore, so I quit,” he shrugged, pulling his hair down to hide the scar once more and replaced his hat.
    “Wow,” Avery gasped.
    I wondered if she was saying wow about his surfing accident, or at the fact that he spoke a whole freakin’ paragraph.
    The waitress came with our food but Avery was too busy staring at Luca to notice.
    I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore them.
    I tried to eat my dinner as quickly as possible. I wanted to go. I felt so incredibly awkward, more awkward than I normally felt. I was able to talk to Trace easily now, but something about having extra company there, scared me. I was afraid I’d say something to Trace, Avery would overhear me, and proceed to tell me that I should talk about something else.
    I really needed to stop being so insecure.
    Trace’s eyes twinkled and his lips quirked with barely contained laughter.
    “What?” I asked, automatically reaching up to touch my face.
    Oh, shit.
    I had BBQ sauce all over my mouth. I pulled my hand away, staring at the stickiness now covering my fingers.
    I bit down on my lip, trying not to cry. This was so embarrassing!
    “Here,” Trace tossed one of the wet wipes at me.
    That only made me want to cry more. I felt like a child.
    I was really beginning to hate that I was so shy. Avery would have