by Kelly Oram
In the collision I took a hard plastic sandal to the mouth and about four cups of diet coke to the front of my shirt. After regaining my bearings, I reached up and felt my lip. It was bleeding where the sandal had popped it open. “Oh, that is it!” I yelled.
Dave offered me a hand up and as soon as I was on my feet I slugged Vince with everything I had in me. I hit him so hard he flew back into the guy behind him. My knuckles screamed in protest, but it was worth it because blood poured from Vince’s face like a waterfall. “Now we’re even,” I said and went off to find some ice for my hand.
On my way to the icebox I peeled off my soda-soaked tank top. I hated parading around in a swimsuit, but the shirt wasn’t just drenched with dark stains, it was sticky. Wet is one thing, but sticky is gross. Plus I needed the shirt.
I was trying, one handed, to tie the corners of the tank top around a huge mound of ice cubes when someone came up behind me and said, “Need some help with that?”
I smiled shyly at the guy who seemed to be my new admirer and let him take over. He picked up my hand and examined my knuckles for a minute. “That’s going to hurt for a couple of days,” he said and gently placed the ice on top of my hand.
He led me onto the deck of Rachel’s lake house and made someone move so that I could sit on one of the sofas. “I’m Travis,” he said as he sat down next to me.
“Ellie.”
“So I’ve heard.” Travis chuckled. He looked out at the group of guys still standing on the beach. The game wasn’t going anymore. “You’re the main topic of conversation right now. I think you broke that guy’s nose.”
I shrugged. “He had it coming.”
Travis laughed again and then said, “So how come I’ve never seen you at any parties before?”
“Parties aren’t really my thing.”
“That’s too bad. You sure know how to liven them up.”
I smiled a little at that but didn’t know what to say. After a moment Travis broke the silence again. “You want to go for a swim? I’ve already been in, the water’s really nice.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Water’s really not my thing.”
“How about the Jet Skis then? I’m a pretty decent driver. I could take you for a ride without dumping you in the lake.”
I hate to admit it, but I chickened out at his offer. Not that I’m a total coward, but I couldn’t believe what was happening. This guy was asking me to hang out with him. It was almost like he was asking me out on a date. I was excited, but the idea of having to be on the same Jet Ski with him, holding on to him and everything... “Thanks,” I said. “But I think I just need to take it easy for a while and maybe find some Motrin for my hand.”
“Oh, well, that works too. I’m sure they’ve got something in the house and then we can find a nice quiet place to get to know each other better.”
Travis jumped up and offered me a hand. He pulled me to my feet and didn’t let go of my fingers as he led me toward the back door. When we got there, Seth was leaning casually against the frame, blocking our entrance. “Going somewhere?” he asked us.
“What’s it to you, dude?” Travis asked, immediately taking the defensive.
I wasn’t about to let Seth start a fight with this guy, which appeared to be what he was trying to do. So instead of telling Seth to get lost, I explained myself. “I’m just getting some painkillers.”
“You mean like these?” Seth asked, pulling a small bottle of Motrin from his pocket.
“Do you always carry Motrin with you?” I asked, taking the bottle from him.
“Since I started hanging out with you,” he said. “Never know when you’re going to need it. That is the kind you use, right?”
“How did you know I—”
“And to wash them down,” he continued, handing me a can of Dr. Pepper. “I know that’s your favorite.”
I hated that Seth mysteriously knew so much about me, but I’d promised myself I wouldn’t let him get to me. I took the can and sighed. “Thank you, Seth.”
I smiled up at Travis, who was staring at Seth in a—let’s just say less than friendly manner. I squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Looks like he saved us a trip,” I said, tugging him back toward the swing.
Travis stopped me before I could sit. He glared at Seth, who was still leaning against the back door watching us, and said, “It’s getting a little crowded out here. Why don’t we go for a walk up the shore?”
I gulped. A romantic walk up the lakeshore with a guy I’d just met? “Um…”
“It’s almost dark,” Seth pointed out, inviting himself into our conversation.
Travis wheeled on Seth. “What’s your problem, bro?”
Travis was bigger than Seth, but Seth never flinched. “My problem is, she came here with me. I’m not about to let her go wandering off in the dark with another guy.”
Travis turned his anger on me. “You came here with a date? Were you planning to mention this?”
It was easy for me to match his anger. Neither of these guys owned me. “I came here with my sister!” I snapped and turned to walk away.
Travis grabbed hold of my wrist. “Where are you going?”
“Let go of her,” Seth said, eyes blazing in the fading light. But his warning was unnecessary because I’d already wrenched my arm free.
“I’m going,” I said, glaring at each of them in turn, “to find some people to hang out with who aren’t acting like tools!”
Someone started a bonfire and I plopped myself down in front of it. The sun had gone down, and since I couldn’t put my tank top back on I was starting to get chilly. I was still so angry that when I felt a hand come down on my shoulder I nearly knocked my sister’s block off before I realized it was her. “Sorry,” I mumbled, but Angela was far too excited about something to care.
“I can’t believe that just happened!” she exclaimed.
“What happened?”
“I totally get it now.”
“What are you babbling about? And why are you talking to me? We’re in public.”
“Ellie, Seth likes you!”
Yeah, likes to torment me.
“I mean, I knew something was up this afternoon when he was all flirty, and now it makes so much sense. He was trying to make you jealous! And it totally worked, because you came tonight.”
“I came tonight because Seth is a psychopath and I didn’t trust him alone with you.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “It’s okay to admit that you like him.”
I glared at her, but she dismissed it. “Really,” she said. “I’m excited for you. I’ve always wanted a sister.”
I frowned. “You’ve always had a sister.”
“You know what I mean,” Angela said, waving me off again. “A real sister. One who dresses like a girl and crushes on boys.”
“I’m not crushing—”
“I’m so proud of you, Ellie. You came to your first party tonight and even though you bloodied some guy—which, just so you know, isn’t very cool—you weren’t the total social reject I thought you’d be. You even had two guys fighting over you. Hot guys!”
“Angela.”
“That was brilliant of you, going off with that guy. I thought Seth was going to kill someone, that’s how jealous he was.”
“He probably just wanted to kill someone,” I pointed out, but Angela wasn’t listening to me.
“And then walking away from them both like you did? They’re probably going crazy over it. Now we just have to figure out which one you want to go for.”
“Angela.”
“I’d go for Seth if I were you. Body builders like that other guy usually care more about working out than they do about their girlfriends.”
“Angela.”
“But still, he’s a hottie, and if you really like him…”
“Angela!” I finally broke through to her.
“What?”
“I don’t want either of them.”
“You need a boyfriend, Ell
ie. We can’t waste this miraculous opportunity. You might not ever get another chance.”
“Angela, I’m telling you, Seth is crazy.”
“Well, yeah,” Angela agreed, frowning. “Him having a crush on you does make one question his mental capacity. But, hey, a freak for a freak. It’s perfect! We just need to come up with a plan. I’ll bet we could make him your boyfriend by the end of the night.”
“Angela. I’ll speak slowly so you can understand. I don’t want Seth for a boyfriend. The guy is unhinged.”
“Hmm.” Angela said, thinking way too hard on the matter. “So you want the other guy?”
I sighed. Angela is as crazy as Seth in her own way.
“Who was he anyway?” she asked me.
“Who?”
“The guy you were with.”
“I don’t know. Some senior, I assume. This is your party. Your friends. Don’t you know who he is?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. What’s his name?”
“Travis,” I said.
“Travis what?”
“I don’t know, just Travis.”
“You didn’t ask him his last name?”
I rolled my eyes. “Seth picked a fight before I could ask him anything.”
“And you don’t think that’s romantic?” Angela asked with a dreamy sigh. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for Seth?”
I glared at her.
“All right, fine. Travis it is. I’m going to see if I can find out more about him. You stay here and keep being sociable. If you can flirt with anyone else, even better.”
I let out a huge breath of relief when she finally left, but I knew she’d be back. Somehow I’d unleashed a monster.
Dave and a couple other guys were sitting on the other side of the fire. I thought of Angela’s request to be sociable, but decided to stay put. I chose instead to chug the rest of the Dr. Pepper Seth had given me and relish the fact that I was alone.
I only got to enjoy about ten minutes of peace before I felt someone lurking behind me. “Go away,” I warned.
“Ellie.” Seth ignored my request and sat down right beside me. “I know you’re mad, but you don’t understand. Do you have any idea what that guy was trying to do?”
“Talk to me?” I snapped.
“Ellie,” he said again. His voice was a whisper so soft it made my heart flutter. I looked up without thinking and met his eyes. Big mistake. He managed to trap me in some sort of spell, and when he reached up to brush the backs of his fingers down my face I let him. My eyes flittered shut at his touch. “You’re so innocent.”
I shivered, and I don’t think it was from being cold.
“You need me.”
My eyes snapped open, his words clearing the fog in my brain. “Did you not happen to see what I did to Kowalski?” I asked. “I’m not helpless.”
Seth pulled his hand back. “I never doubted your ability to throw a punch,” he said with a laugh. “I’m sure you can more than hold your own on a court. But guys like your friend from earlier? They’re playing a whole different kind of game. One you don’t have the slightest clue how to play.”
I had to turn my face away from Seth even though in the darkness he couldn’t have seen my blush.
“Trust me,” Seth went on. “Your boy, Travis? He was a pro. He would have taken you on that walk, gotten you alone, and you wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it. If you think I scared you earlier—”
“Stop,” I said, still unable to look at him. “Just stop. I get it.” And I did. I hated how much sense he was making. “I may be innocent, but I’m not stupid. I’ll figure it out.”
“I could help you.”
“I don’t want your help.”
“Don’t be mad.”
“Go away.”
I turned my body even further from him and we sat in silence until a slight breeze picked up and I shivered again. I felt Seth’s hand come down lightly on my shoulder. He brushed his fingers down the length of my arm, feeling the goose bumps on my skin. “You’re cold,” he said.
I shrugged away from his touch. “I’m fine.”
Seth handed me something. After looking down at it I turned to face him. He’d taken off the button up he’d been wearing and was now in nothing but the white tank top he’d had under it.
“I don’t need your shirt.”
He thrust it at me again, rolling his eyes. “Just take it.”
I didn’t want to take it, but I really was kind of cold, and I was really, really tired of feeling naked. The sleeves engulfed my hands and I had to push them back in order to fasten the buttons, but I was grateful to be covered.
I was about to say thank you when Seth let out a deep breath. “Ellie, Ellie, Ellie.” He sighed, shaking his head slowly. “What am I going to do with you?”
“What?” I asked, drawing my knees up to my chest self-consciously.
“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just…” He reached up to fix my collar. His hands lingered longer than necessary. I pulled back a little and he smiled. “As much as I could kill that guy Travis, I really can’t blame him. The sight of you wearing my shirt makes me want to take you for a long walk up a deserted beach myself.”
I jumped to my feet, ripped the shirt over my head and threw it at Seth. I hoped I kicked up sand in his face as I stalked off.
“Angela!” I shrieked.
Angela wasn’t standing far away. “Oh my gosh, Ellie, I saw you talking with Seth. You should have seen the two of you! I don’t care what you say, you guys are meant to be!”
Rachel and Brooke beside her were nodding vigorously. “You are so lucky,” Brooke said. “He is so gorgeous.”
“And he gave you his shirt?” Rachel squealed. “So romantic!”
All I said was, “I’m ready to go.”
Angela frowned. “We still have half an hour before we have to go. I thought you were having a good time.”
“Now!”
My head was pounding when I woke up the next morning. Probably because after the party I dreamt all night long. Some of the dreams were nightmares, but some of them… well… let’s just say I remembered what Seth’s lips felt like against my neck and how his fingers could raise goose bumps on my skin a little too well.
The nightmares were comforting because they were so straightforward, but the good dreams confused me. I didn’t know what to think of Seth, but one thing was certain: there was no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks that I was going to spend the day alone with him. My car was just going to have to wait.
I went downstairs to try and explain the bad news to my mom, but I stopped in the hall when I heard her and Angela talking about me. “I don’t get it,” Angela said. “They were just talking and Seth was being so sweet. Then all the sudden Ellie freaked out and made us leave. She didn’t say a single word the whole way home.”
“Well Ang, sweetheart,”—I could hear the sympathy in Mom’s voice as well as a sense of astonishment—”she was probably just scared.”
Thank you! I was so relieved that someone else understood how creepy Seth is. But then mom said, “Ellie’s not used to boys the way you are.”
“All she ever hangs out with is boys!”
“But none of them has ever paid her that kind of attention before. The J’s, they’re good kids, but they treat Ellie like one of them. Could you see any of them asking her on a date, or trying to kiss her?”
Angela snorted. “Ew.”
I couldn’t believe my mom and my sister were having this conversation about me, but at least Angela and I were on the same page with that thought. Going out with the J’s? Ew, ew, and ew!
Mom continued, “So if Seth really likes Ellie, can’t you understand how she might be very confused right now? Puberty is a very difficult thing. Not everyone adapts to it as naturally as you did.”
“Gross, mom, I can’t believe you just said the word puberty.”
“Well, what else am I supposed to call it?”
> “Um, nothing. We are so done with this conversation. And you know what? Maybe you shouldn’t say anything to Ellie. I’ll help her with Seth.”
Hearing a chair scoot back from the table, I started to creep back up the stairs, but I still heard my mom’s stern reply. “Angela?”
“What?”
“You leave your sister alone.”
“But Mom, you didn’t see her. She needs help.”
“Stay out of it!” Mom said again. “I’m sure she’ll ask for your advice when she’s ready for it.”
Ha! And monkeys might fly out of my butt, too.
I waited in my room until I heard Angela turn the shower on in the bathroom and then went downstairs to face my mom. Thankfully she didn’t say anything when I walked in the kitchen. She just sipped her coffee while I grabbed a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. When she finally did speak she didn’t breathe a word about the party.
“So, any idea what kind of car you want?”
“I doubt I’ll have many options with only four thousand dollars to work with,” I said, finding the perfect segue into cancelling my plans for the day without bringing up Seth. “Maybe I should just wait until the end of the summer when I’ve saved a little more.”
“You’d be surprised, Ellie. Remember Genevieve from the hotel? Her husband Frank runs the Livonia Ford dealership and he said he had a few great deals right now. I told him how hard you’ve been saving and he’s excited for you to come down today.”
Crap! Not that I’m not grateful for my mom’s attempt to get me a deal despite our family’s lack of motor vehicle connections—Mom doesn’t work for a car company either, as helpful as that would be right now. She’s the front desk manager for the Dearborn Marriott Hotel—but how was I supposed to get out of going now?
“Hey Mom? If you know this guy, why don’t you go with me today?”
My mom studied me then in a way I’d never seen her look at me before. It took her a long time to reply. “Oh, honey,” she said, sighing. “That is going to take all day and I’ve got a whole list of things I need to get done.”
“But I’m just a kid. Don’t you think I should have an adult with me for something like buying a car?”
“You’re paying cash, so you won’t need me to sign any papers and you know more about cars than I do.”
