by Anthology
“That they are. Hey, we should let you go. Big plans tonight, right?” Reid winked at me. He couldn’t possibly know I’d lied earlier.
“Right,” I replied. “We need to get ready for our dates.”
After eight years of being my best friend, Stef knew not to question anything I said in front of other people. “Right. So, see you around?” he offered.
Ryan smiled broadly. “Yeah. Hey, if you want to kick the soccer ball around tomorrow, I’m open for that.”
Stef’s tongue darted to lick his bottom lip. “Sounds like fun. Give me your number, and I’ll text you when I’m up.”
The two of them exchanged numbers, and Reid leaned closer to me. “I’m still working on your phone number riddle. You didn’t stump me or make me give up.”
“At some point, you will,” I noted.
“I guess you were right. We don’t know each other very well at all. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know you, Fin. And I’m not convinced that you’re uninterested.”
“Maybe you should learn to read people better,” I said, looking at his cousin, who was animatedly talking to my best friend. If that boy wasn’t gay, I wasn’t desperately ready to jump Reid’s bones.
Wait. Shit.
“Game on, Powell.” Reid gave me the most smoldering look as he said, “Ry, let’s go. These two have plans.” And he left. As I watched him walk away, every fiber of my body wanted to follow him. Especially as that sculpted ass made its way down the beach.
Oh, I was in big trouble.
Stef disappeared around six, and I was left to my own devices. As much as I loved my best friend, there were days and moments when I needed to be with my own thoughts. I might not be shy, but I was fundamentally an introvert, and while Stef would want to discuss and dissect all the Reid information aloud, my brain wanted to debate internally.
What better way to do that than with Taylor’s assistance? Music cranked, I danced around the kitchen as I prepped my dinner. The morning before we’d arrived, Vince had his housekeeper stock the house with some seriously high-quality, organic groceries. Anna did most of the cooking at the inn, so I didn’t often get to play chef unless we had a huge catering job, and that wasn’t quite the same. Taylor + dancing + cooking + the beach? Nirvana.
As the final refrain from “You Belong With Me” echoed against the ceiling along with my voice, I twirled toward the fridge, and I gasped. At the screen door, Reid stood on the other side wearing a huge grin and clapping.
“Never would have pegged you for a Taylor Swift fan.”
“Why? Black girls can’t like Taylor Swift?”
“What? No. I just meant that you’re such a free spirit, I wouldn’t have expected you to like bubblegum pop.”
I flicked the remote to shut off the music. “Taylor is not bubblegum pop. She’s a multitalented wonder.”
His hands rose. “Duly noted.”
“Why are you here?”
“You didn’t get my text? And can I come inside? Talking through the screen door is weird.”
“What text?” I asked as I gestured for him to come in and reached for my phone. Sure enough, I had a waiting message.
I figured out your little riddle. Okay, Kovac helped.
Stef was currently on my shit list. I looked at Reid, who was staring at me with raised brows.
Kovac’s date bailed, and he’s taking Ryan to a Panama City club. He said it’d be okay if I stopped by. If I don’t hear a no, I’ll be there in ten.
Definitely kicking Stef’s ass. Even if his date had bailed, that didn’t give him the right to foist Reid on me. “Damn him,” I muttered. I opened a text to Stef.
You are in so much trouble.
A split second later, he responded.
Suck it up, buttercup. You’ll change your tune. Just don’t let him catch you singing TayTay.
Too late. I didn’t see his text until after he was here.
Whoopsie. Well, at least your voice isn’t shit. What song?
Which one do you think?
The first time I’d ever heard “You Belong With Me,” I had immediately thought of Reid and all my ogling of him during high school. Which, of course, Stef knew. Talk about mortification to have Reid see me singing it. The only thing worse would be randomly kissing him in a bar. Oh, yeah. Already did that. Jesus, I was a mess this week.
Oh, hon, it’s not a big deal. Have fun, m’kay? I’m going to play with Ryan.
You’re such a pervert.
I was talking about mini-golf, perv. The club doesn’t open until 10. We’re going to mini-golf, then dinner, then the club.
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
It was my usual thing to say because it was a joke—I never did much of anything. Until the other night.
No worries. If I’m kissing anyone tonight, it’ll be the hot piece of ass next to me, not some random stranger. Oh, wait, he wasn’t a stranger. ;)
Just as I was ready to call him and yell, another text came.
Ha! I told him what I said, and he blushed. Have fun. Don’t wait up.
I sighed and set my phone on the counter, then looked at Reid with a fake smile plastered on my face.
“I take it you didn’t see my message before I showed up,” Reid noted. When I shook my head, he backed away. “Sorry. I’ll head home. Have a great night.”
“Wait!” He stopped in his tracks. Aw, shit. What was I doing? Just take a damn chance, Fin. I exhaled. “Was there something you wanted?” If he said something like, You, I was going to kick his gorgeous ass straight down the beach. I’d had enough of that bullshit with Colin, Mr. Suave.
“Ah, well, I was going to ask if you’d like to go with me to dinner somewhere, but it smells amazing in here, so I guess you’re not in need of a meal.”
Before my brain could tell my mouth to be quiet, it said, “You can join me.”
“That’s okay. You probably didn’t make enough. Some other time, maybe.”
“There’s plenty. I can’t promise it’s as great as a restaurant, but you’re welcome to join me.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
My eyes searched his face for any sign of insincerity, but if he was like Colin—all about whatever it took to get into a woman’s pants—I didn’t see it. On the contrary, Reid seemed a little wary, as if he wasn’t sure that I wanted him here after all.
Crossing an X over my heart, I said, “You’re not imposing. I will warn you that it’s all-organic and definitely not heavy on the meat.”
He smiled as he stepped closer again. “You’re not going to feed me tofu, are you?” With a wink, he headed to the sink and washed his hands. “Tell me what I can do to help.”
Laughing, I went back to where the sauce pot on the stove was steeping the rice noodles, and they were ready. As I lifted the lid, I said, “You know, tofu doesn’t taste like much on its own. It absorbs the flavor of whatever you cook with it. I don’t think you’d hate it, but it’s not part of this meal. I made chicken with Thai peanut sauce. If you want to help, I was making an Asian greens salad.” I gestured to where I was prepping the salad at the counter. “I’m not the chef Anna is at the inn, but I do okay.”
Reid assumed the chopping duties, and as he carefully sliced bok choy, he asked, “Is that how you see yourself?”
Adding the noodles to my chicken and peanut sauce concoction, I gently stirred. “As a cook and not a chef? Well, I’m not trained like Anna is. I feel like you should have to work for the title of chef, you know?”
Behind me, he chuckled. “No, I meant as black.”
My eyebrows rose as I joined him at the island with the pot in hand. “Uh, not really, but I assumed everyone at school saw me as the token black girl in our class.”
“Really? Because I never thought much about it. I don’t know anyone else who did, either.”
I couldn’t help it; I snorted. “You wouldn’t think so to hear
Kelsey tell it.”
His brow furrowed. “Kelsey? Really? Even if she saw you as black, I can’t imagine she’d have given you a hard time. She’s always fighting for equality for someone.”
The fake smile reappeared. Of course, he’d defend her. Even if she hadn’t been his high school sweetheart, he’d believe her over me—class president, head cheerleader, valedictorian, an accomplished musician, founder of the Students for Equality group. Oh, and bigoted bully.
“Right.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” His head tilted. I knew he was curious, but I still wasn’t sure I could trust him with this—it had been years, now, but he’d dated Kelsey for a long time. And I still hated him a little for that fact. “Fin, talk to me.” He rubbed my bare shoulder, and a shiver ran through me. Now or never, I guessed.
“Do you know how I became friends with Stef?” Reid shook his head. “On my second week at school, Stef found me bawling outside the gym. When I told him that Kelsey had spouted racial slurs I wasn’t used to hearing directed at me and had essentially promised that I wouldn’t have a single friend if I didn’t heed her advice, he said not to worry; we’d stick together. She’d done the same to him when she learned he was gay. Stef knew there was strength in numbers, and from then on, we were joined at the hip. She was careful about her harassment after that unless we were alone, but it still happened all four years.”
His jaw dropped. “I don’t know what to say. That’s so hard to believe.”
Shaking my head, I switched my attention to setting the table. When I reached for the open shelf with the plates, Reid’s hand gripped my shoulder and squeezed.
“I believe you, Fin, but it’s hard to reconcile the girl I know with the one you describe. I do remember how odd it seemed that she wasn’t disappointed when you two declined the invitation to the class party.”
Slowly, I faced him. “I didn’t decline, and neither did Stef. She never invited us.”
“Wow.” He swallowed, and his head wagged back and forth. “I never knew. I just assumed that you guys were too cool for the rest of us lame kids.”
“Neither of us ever thought of anyone like that. All we wanted was to be included, and she took every step possible to ensure it wouldn’t happen whenever she had a chance.”
“But you were both star soccer players. I know you were included in a lot of things over the years.”
“Much to Kelsey’s dismay. She had no way to prevent that. But she still did whatever else she could.”
Reid’s arms flung around me in a hug. “God, Fin, I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what to do, so I patted his back. He stepped away, and a flush crept across his cheeks. It was kind of adorable to see Reid Watson blush. “Sorry.”
For the first time in days, I had my confidence back. “It’s okay—the hug and the fact that you didn’t do anything to prevent what happened. I assumed that you all knew.”
“No. You can’t believe that about me. About any of us.”
“But I did.” I shrugged and returned to dinner prep.
As he joined me at the table, Reid said, “If I had known, I would have put a stop to it.”
“If I thought you’d have believed me then, I might have confessed that night we were studying for our calc final.”
For a moment, the silence between us hung heavy in the air. During that long study session, I’d been sure that he wanted to kiss me, and it’d fueled many fantasies about Reid. The next day, Kelsey had cornered me in the girls’ bathroom, which only reinforced the crazy thoughts in my head.
“I wish you had.” He reached across the table and grasped my hand. Electricity seemed to flow through him.
I yanked my hand away, terrified of what that meant. “Let’s eat and forget the past.”
“Okay.” He served us both, and after a few minutes, he said, “Wow. I’m not sure how good Anna is, but I say you definitely deserve to be called more than a cook.”
Now, it was my turn to don a shade of crimson. “Thanks.”
In a transparent effort to defuse the tension we’d built, he changed the subject. “What do you do for fun at UVM?”
For the next hour, we made small talk about school—what the differences were between The University of Vermont and Williams College, where Reid went to school. Finally, I asked him the question that had burned in my mind since I’d first seen him again.
“Are you still with Kelsey?” If he was pursuing me—and I was pretty sure that was happening—I’d be pissed if he was still dating that wench.
His demeanor changed from nervous to embarrassed. “No, but we both go to Williams, which is sort of miserable, to be honest. She’s everywhere.”
“Right. Your secret is safe with me, Reid.” I winked and made locking motion over my mouth, then tossed the imaginary item over my shoulder.
Reid chuckled. “You’re all right, Fin.”
“Back at you.” Another weighty hush fell between us, and I stood to break it. “I’m going to clean up this mess.”
“Let me help you with that.” After a moment, he asked, “Would you like to take a walk down the beach after?”
“Um, sure,” I said, despite being scared shitless. The angel on my shoulder said to give Reid a chance. She was hot for him and ready to jump his bones. The devil? She wanted to tell him to take a long walk off a short pier. That witch would never trust anyone associated with Kelsey.
We strolled along the shore toward the setting sun, and while the silence should have made me uncomfortable after the past twenty-four hours, it didn’t. The most we spoke was when Reid suggested we head back before the light faded.
About a quarter mile before we arrived at Vince’s, Reid’s pinky latched onto mine, and I took the initiative to thread the rest of our digits together. His smile wasn’t lost on me. I’d never seen anything sweeter.
At the path up to Vince’s, I headed toward the house, and Reid pulled me back. “Let’s watch the sunset from the sand.”
Nodding, I offered a shy smile of my own. My silly high school girl heart leaped at the idea of watching a beach sunset with the guy of my dreams. And, let’s face it, even when I hated him for being with evil Kelsey, I still wanted Reid Watson like no one else.
He eased onto the sand and tugged me so that I sat beside him, somehow sensing that I’d be more comfortable. Even though my hormones liked the idea of being close to him, my brain shouted, Remember, this could be like Inception, that DiCaprio movie where he’s never sure what’s a dream. You’ve always wanted this kind of thing with Reid. Maybe this is just your dream world, Fin.
“Mountains or beach?” The question interrupted my disbelieving thoughts.
“Ah, well, you can’t go wrong with the beach, but I love the mountains in Vermont.”
“Do you ski?”
“Yeah. You?”
“My whole life. It’s the only thing my parents love as much as medicine. I like skiing, but I always feel like I hit the reset button when we come here.”
“You don’t think they love you more than medicine?”
He laughed, but it sounded hollow. “Maybe. As much as they ever could. It’s tough living with surgeons. Which is why I’m not going to med school. I don’t want to be a doctor.”
“Really? What are you going to do, then?” I think Reid’s superlative in the yearbook said, Most Likely to Follow in His Parents’ Footsteps. Or it should have because everyone assumed he would. Especially Kelsey.
“I’ve been accepted to grad school for computer science.”
“I bet Kelsey would be disappointed,” I joked.
“Why would you say that?” He seemed a little pale.
“She always wanted to be married to Dr. Watson. Stef and I laughed about that sometimes. We wondered if she got the reference. But her opinion doesn’t matter, right?”
“Right.” Was his smile forced? “Don’t mention it to Kovac or Ryan, okay? I haven’t said anything to anyone
else.”
“Are your parents okay with this?”
“They don’t have a choice. I’ve already set things in motion. It’s been my plan since freshman year. They thought I was getting a dual major so that I could apply computers to my career in medicine, but I want to write medical software.”
“Wow. You’re ambitious. My plans sound pedestrian by comparison.”
“I doubt anything you do could be average, Fin. But what will you do when you graduate?”
My insides liquified with his words, and I fumbled with mine. “Um, I’ll have a degree in business, so I’ll use that to help my parents improve how they run the inn. Neither of them worked in hospitality or had business degrees, so they’ve always flown by the seat of their pants.”
“Your dad is an artist, right? And your mom teaches piano?”
Shocked that he knew anything about my family, I said, “Yes. Mom hasn’t taught music since they first opened the inn, but Dad’s work is all over the house and in a few local galleries.”
“Does that mean you’re not following in their footsteps, either?”
For a moment, I paused. “Ah, not quite.”
He bumped my shoulder. “Come on, Fin, don’t you know by now that you can trust me with your secrets?”
My tongue ran over my teeth. “Fine. I’m a writer.”
“Weren’t you part of the school paper?”
Had he really paid that much attention to me? “Yes, but I wasn’t part of the clique, so I didn’t get to write articles.”
“Except that one time you wrote about the performance artist at UVM.”
“Have you secretly been stalking me, Reid?” I joked to distract him from my erratic heart. He couldn’t possibly have noticed this much about me.
“I call it being observant. Why? Does it make you want me more?”
Suddenly uncomfortable, I stood abruptly. “I should go.”
Reid grabbed my hand. “Wait. Fin. Please don’t run away again. I know I’m coming on strong, but I’ve had a crush on you since we met, and when you kissed me, it brought all those feelings back.”
