Rumor Has It

by Cindi Myers

  She shook her head. The whole point now was to get over any lingering obsession she had with Dylan Gates. To get the man out of her system for good.

  She couldn’t hold back a grin. If she had a spectacular time doing so…

  “Somebody had a good weekend, judging by that smile.” Mindy slipped into Taylor’s otherwise empty classroom and perched on the edge of the desk. “I gather the reunion was worth going to?”

  Taylor attempted an indifferent shrug. “It was all right. I left early.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie.

  “Did you see Dylan Gates? Was he as hot as ever? Did you talk to him?” Mindy’s questions came in a breathless rush.

  “Dylan was there. We talked…a little.” She busied herself shuffling through the stack of student papers. She didn’t want to lie to her best friend, but this whole “experiment” with Dylan felt too new and unreal to talk about just yet.

  “Uh-huh. Well, what did he say?” Mindy leaned toward her. “I want to hear all the dirty details, girlfriend, and I intend to harass you until I have them.”

  Taylor glanced up at her friend. “Why are you so interested? I mean, you don’t even know Dylan.”

  “I have no social life of my own, so I have to live vicariously through you.”

  “And whose fault is that? I know a certain handsome principal who’d probably be thrilled to go out with you if he knew how you felt.”

  Mindy sat up straighter. “This morning I volunteered to serve on a task force he’s chairing. I’m going to show him I can be as dedicated and hardworking as he is. Plus, this should give us a chance to get to know each other better.”

  “Chicken!”

  “You’re one to talk. Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to change the subject. Come on. Tell me about Dylan Gates.”

  “The man is twice as gorgeous as he ever was, I’ll tell you that.” Alyson swept into the room, trailing a paper banner painted with the slogan Stuff The Bears! behind her. Dressed in the school colors of blue and gold, Alyson looked like an escapee from cheerleading camp. She smirked at them. “He and Taylor danced one dance together and then they left.” She raised her eyebrows. “Together.”

  Taylor squirmed, fighting the urge to wrap Alyson in that spirit banner like a modern-day mummy. “Dylan and I went outside to talk. It was too hot in the gym.”

  “I’ll say it was hot.” Alyson’s laugh made Taylor cringe. “It didn’t take any time at all for that old flame to heat up, did it?”

  Mindy clapped her hands together. “I knew it! So you two hit it off just like old times, huh?”

  Taylor opened her lesson planner and pretended to study it. “It’s not like you think. Dylan and I are just friends.”

  “Uh-huh. The way you were just friends back in school?” Alyson laughed. “The rest of us should be so lucky to have friends like that.” She draped the banner around her shoulders like a paper shawl. “I do hope you’ll manage to be a little more discreet than you were last time you two got together. After all, as a teacher you have a certain position in the community. You can’t expect to get away with being a wild glamour girl anymore. You owe it to the reputation of the school to act with a little more dignity.”

  “Dignity. Of course.” Somehow, Taylor managed to keep a straight face.

  Alyson threw one trailing end of the banner over her left shoulder. “I’d better get busy hanging the rest of these banners before the pep rally this afternoon.” She stalked from the room, the ends of the paper banner flapping behind her.

  She was scarcely out the door before Mindy collapsed in a fit of laughter. Taylor joined her, both hands clapped over her mouth to try to keep the sound in. “Imagine—the p-perpetual cheerleader l-lecturing you on dignity!” Mindy gasped between giggles.

  “While wrapped in that stupid banner!” Taylor coughed, trying to regain control of herself. The hilarious thing was, Alyson had no idea how ridiculous she looked.

  “She does have a point, though.”

  Taylor looked up to find Mindy’s gaze fixed on the classroom door, her expression sober. “Who? Alyson?”

  Mindy nodded. “Teachers do have a public image to uphold. You blow your nose in this town and the next day everyone is talking about your bad cold. If you want to fool around with someone, you practically have to drive to the next town.”

  Taylor shrugged, ignoring the mixture of guilt and apprehension that knotted her stomach. She and Dylan had already talked about this. They were going to be careful. And what did it matter if people thought she was up to something scandalous? She was going away in a few months, anyway.

  “So what did you and Dylan talk about?” Mindy asked.

  “Nothing important.” She manufactured a smile for her friend. “Honest.”

  Mindy shook her head. “I don’t believe you, but I guess when you’re ready to tell me, you will.”

  “I will.”

  “Then I’d better get back to my classroom and try to convince twenty-five freshmen that algebra really is more important than the opposite sex.” She slid off the desk. “Though I tell you, some days I have my doubts.”

  When Taylor was alone again, she picked up her cell phone. Time to see if Dylan was still willing to go through with this, now that he’d had a couple of days to reconsider.

  DYLAN SPENT MONDAY morning moving the last of his books and supplies into his new office, debating whether or not he should call Taylor. She’d said she’d be in touch with him, but he wasn’t a man who liked to wait on other people.

  Still, this whole thing had been her idea, so that meant she was calling the shots—at least for the time being. He’d volunteered to tag along and follow her lead.

  A smile stole across his lips. As if that were any great hardship. Saturday night had been incredible. Better than any of the tortured fantasies that had plagued him as a teenager. He’d spent years kicking himself for never making a move on Taylor, but now he had to concede she’d been worth the wait.

  Which rumor would they turn into reality next time? He opened a carton of law books and began arranging them on the shelves. Outside of the camping trip, he couldn’t remember much of the gossip that had circulated about them ten years ago. Maybe because he was already established in the community or because he was male, it hadn’t affected him as much. He seemed to recall something about a scene in the boys’ locker room shower…and wasn’t something supposed to have happened at the drive-in…?

  “You look awfully serious for a man moving into a new place. Or is that your lawyer face?” Troy Sommers leaned around the doorway. “Thought I’d stop by and make sure everything was going okay.”

  “Great.” Dylan shook Troy’s hand. “I’m almost ready to open for business.”

  Troy looked around the room and nodded. “You’ll have more work than you can handle. Lots of folks around here still remember you from high school.”

  “I don’t know whether to be flattered or worried about that.”

  Troy laughed. “Maybe a little of both.” He winked. “I saw you Saturday night renewing one particular acquaintance from our high school days. Taylor Reed?”

  Dylan cleared his throat and folded in the flaps of the empty box. “It was good to see Taylor again.”

  “Made me want to be a high school student again, just so I could be in her class.” Troy laughed. “Teachers weren’t that hot-looking when we were students, were they?”

  Dylan frowned. “I’m sure Taylor’s an excellent teacher.”

  “Oh, sure. An excellent teacher who’s also a real babe.” Troy clapped him on the back. “I’ve got to hand it to you—you didn’t waste any time picking up where you left off with her.”

  “Taylor and I are just good friends.”

  Apparently, Troy didn’t believe this any more than he had when they’d been in school. “Sure, buddy. And from the looks of things, you’re going to be even better friends very soon.” He chuckled. “Or did you get lucky Saturday night?”

  Had Troy always b
een this annoying? Dylan glared at him. “Did you stop by for something in particular? I’m pretty busy here.”

  Troy took a step back. “Hey, no need to cop a big-city attitude around here. What you do is your business. I was just being friendly.”

  Dylan forced himself to relax. He leaned back against the desk. “Sorry. I guess I’m tired from the move and all.”

  “Sure. I understand. I stopped by to see if you wanted to have lunch at the Rotary meeting. I can introduce you to some of the members. You said you wanted to be involved and this group will give you a good picture of everything that’s going on.”

  He nodded. “Sure. That sounds good.”

  “All right. I’ll stop by here about eleven-thirty and we’ll walk over together. It’s upstairs at the café.” He nodded in the direction of Courthouse Café.

  “Great. I’ll look forward to it.”

  “So about Taylor Reed—”

  He was saved by the ringing of the telephone. He gave Troy an apologetic look and picked up the receiver. “Dylan Gates speaking.”

  “Oh, hello, Dylan.” Taylor’s voice was breathy. At her first words, his heart beat faster. “I thought maybe your secretary would answer.”

  “I don’t have one yet. Do you know any good candidates?” He waved and mouthed a silent “goodbye” to Troy as the agent backed out of the room.

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask around.”

  “How did you get my number?” he asked. “I just had the phone connected this morning.”

  “Sylvia Piper—she used to be Sylvia Ramos—works in new accounts at the phone company. She gave it to me.” She laughed. “One of the advantages of small-town living.”

  Her laughter sent heat curling through his middle. How was it even a woman’s laughter could be erotic? “I’m glad you called.”

  “You are?” She sounded surprised.

  “Why shouldn’t I be?” He leaned over and shut the door to his office, then lowered his voice. “I had a great time Saturday night.”

  “M-me, too.”

  “So are you ready to do it again?”

  “Are you?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m ready.” Ready to see every gorgeous curve of her body, to smell the sex-and-spice scent of her skin, to hear her moan with passion, to taste her sweetness—to discover what made Taylor Reed want to relive things that had never happened ten years ago. To sort out his own mixed-up feelings for her that he’d carried around all these years. “Do you have a rumor picked out for us to tackle next?”

  “I was thinking…Inspiration Point.”

  The words sent a rush of nostalgia through him. “Is that place still around?”

  She laughed. “It’s still there. Do you want to go there…this evening?”

  Making out in the car at Inspiration Point. He hadn’t done anything like that since…since high school. He grinned. That was the point, wasn’t it? To relive those times and discover what inspiration they offered for the present. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Her voice was a soft purr, sparking desire. Who said high schoolers were the only ones at the mercy of raging hormones? Dylan felt almost as if he’d been transported back ten years, to the days when he’d been an awkward, perpetually horny boy mooning after the girl of his dreams.

  The difference was, this time the girl was right where he wanted her. And he knew exactly what to do with her.

  FOR THE FIFTH TIME in as many minutes, Taylor checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Was her lipstick straight? Did she look all right? She was still wearing the skirt and blouse she’d worn to school this morning. Should she change into something dressier? Or maybe she should go for a more casual look….

  She shook her head and turned away from the mirror. It didn’t matter what she wore tonight. Dylan had seen her naked and liked what he’d seen. Apparently very much…

  The thought sent a shiver of anticipation through her. Knowing she’d see him again tonight had lent a delicious edge to the day. While she lectured her students on the symbolism in Beowulf, she’d pictured Dylan as the monster-slaying hero and herself as the woman waiting to welcome him home. Tonight they’d attempt to create a different kind of fantasy….

  She picked up the blue leather diary from the bar and flipped it open to the spot she’d marked.

  November 26, 1993. All morning, I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing people giggling and whispering behind my back. Finally, after second period social studies, I’d had enough. I slammed my locker shut and asked Ashly Crumley, who was standing two doors down, what was so damn funny. She just blinked at me and got all huffy. “There’s no need to use profanity,” she sniffed, and prissed away.

  If she’d heard what I was thinking about her just then, her ears would have been burning, I tell you!

  Of course, right then, Alyson walked by and smirked. “I heard you and Dylan had a really good time up on Inspiration Point Saturday night,” she said.

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to ask, but I had to, you know? “What did we do up on Inspiration Point?” I asked.

  She laughed. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. It’s all over town how Old Mullet Face Mullins caught you both stark-naked in the back seat of Dylan’s mom and dad’s Crown Victoria.”

  Honestly, where do people come up with these stories? I was home alone—as usual—on Saturday night.

  Just then, the man himself walked by. Dylan, I mean. He sort of glanced at me and mumbled “Hi,” then hurried away. I stared after him, feeling all sick to my stomach. Couldn’t he even come over and talk to me? Would that have killed him?

  Even after all that, I guess it’s pretty pathetic that I would have gone out with him last Saturday if he’d asked me. I must be insane!

  She shut the book. She’d been crazy, all right. As crazy as any other lovesick teenager. And as Mindy had made her realize, she’d carried a little of that craziness over into her adult life. Why hadn’t she seen before how silly it was to be still mooning over Dylan after all these years? Good thing this opportunity had come up to get over him once and for all.

  The doorbell rang and she jumped, her heart speeding up. She smoothed a hand over her hair and straightened her skirt, then went to open the door.

  For a moment she felt an eerie sense of déjà vu, as she stared at the man who stood on her doorstep dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—the uniform of their high school days. Only the shoulders filling out the shirt were broader now, the thighs beneath the jeans more muscular, the man himself more confident and comfortable in his own skin than that teenager had ever been. He smiled, a look of warmth and welcome. “Hi. You ready?”

  Oh, yeah. She was ready, all right. She collected her purse and followed him outside to a red crew-cab pickup truck. “What do you think about grabbing a bite to eat first?” he asked as he opened the passenger door for her.

  “That sounds good.” She slid across the seat and fastened her seat belt.

  “You’re more familiar with the town now than I am.” He started the engine. “Where should we go?”

  “Where would we have gone in high school?”

  He laughed. “Danny’s Drive-in, I guess. That was the big hangout.”

  She nodded. “Then let’s go there.”

  “You mean, it’s still around?”

  “And it’s still the hangout. Some things never change.”

  They drove the few short blocks to Danny’s. The orange-and-blue neon sign had faded over the years, but the same metal awning stretched out from the squat white building. Modern speakers and lighted menus had replaced the hand-painted signs and drive-in movie relics of their senior year. Dylan steered the truck into an empty bay and rolled down the driver’s-side window to study the menu. “They didn’t have veggie burgers or chicken wraps when I was here last.”

  She laughed. “Even Danny has had to make a few changes to keep up with the times.”

  He leaned out to press the speaker butt
on. “What will you have?”

  “I think I’ll try that veggie burger. And a cherry limeade.”

  He placed their order, then leaned back in the seat and sighed. “I never would have thought this place would have survived the fast-food invasion.” He glanced at her. “I had a lot of good times here when I was a kid. I must have eaten hundreds of Danny burgers.”

  “When I moved here, I couldn’t believe a place like this still existed.” She unfastened her seat belt and turned toward him. “It was one of the few things I actually liked about my new home.”

  He made a face. “I guess there wasn’t much to like for you, was there?”

  “Oh, I was a snob, I’ll admit it.” She shook her head. “As far as I was concerned, this hick place couldn’t compete with the glamour of L.A.”

  “But you see it differently now?”

  She nodded. “I do. Maybe it’s growing older or just growing up.” She smoothed her hand along the seat. “I guess I’ve come to appreciate that sense of…I don’t know…belonging…that a small town can give to some people.”

  “Some people…but not you.”

  She shifted. How could she explain to this man, who wanted nothing more than to settle down forever in his old hometown, that she hadn’t found what she was looking for yet? “I guess maybe I’m not really cut out for small-town life. And this opportunity at Oxford was too good to pass up. I mean, it’s not like I have any real ties here to hold me back.”

  “Sure.” He nodded, his expression guarded. “I’m sure you’ll love it over there. Little Cedar Creek, Texas, will seem pretty pale next to ancient Oxford.”

  She hadn’t mean to insult him, or the town, but that was apparently the way he was taking it. She started to protest, but they were interrupted by the arrival of the car hop with their order.

  Patrice Miller, dressed in cropped jeans and a red Danny’s T-shirt, hooked the tray onto the edge of the window. “Hey, Ms. Reed.” She smiled shyly, showing a row of braces. “How are you?” She glanced at Dylan, a question in her eyes.

  “Patrice, this is Dylan Gates. Dylan, this is Patrice Miller, one of my students.”