He grinned at my scowl. “Come on,” he said, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “We spend all of our time together anyways. All that’s different is we’ll have to hold hands every now and then….maybe kiss a little when people are watching. No big deal.”
“Right,” I said. “No big deal. But what if…”
“Okay then,” he cut me off with a broad smile. “It’s settled.”
* * *
I woke up to the sound of my friends talking in the kitchen the next morning. Not unexpectedly, I had fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie.
I don’t know why I even bother owning a bed sometimes.
Half asleep, I shamelessly eavesdropped as they rehashed the previous night’s events with hushed voices.
I heard Victoria ask, “What happened? Everyone was talking about you two. And Ryan? Was he really there? Someone said they saw him but I thought he left with his band….”
“Shh,” Adam said. “Eve’s sleeping. Let’s go in the other room.”
I heard enough to know that Adam was giving them the lowdown on Ryan’s extended stay.
“Oh no, poor Eve,” I heard Victoria exclaim before Adam and Mark shushed her. “But what about you and Eve?” she asked. “People were saying that you two were making out or something, which I know isn’t true…”
“Actually,” Adam started. He sounded uncomfortable. I was thoroughly awake by this point and didn’t feel like hearing myself talked about anymore so I joined the others in the kitchen.
“Morning, did we wake you?” Adam said.
I didn’t have a chance to respond before Victoria tackled me with a hug. “Oh, honey, I am so sorry!”
“It’s okay,” I said. “But thanks.”
She gestured towards Adam and me. “Continue,” she ordered.
We took turns relating the rest of the story. I let Adam explain why he thought it would be a wise move to kiss me in front of Ryan and most of the senior class.
“But…everyone’s going to know that it wasn’t for real,” Victoria said. “This could end up making everything way worse for Eve.”
Her lovely face was screwed up in consternation. She was clearly intent on coming up with some sort of solution to save me from further humiliation.
“Adam thought of that,” I said. “He has a plan.”
Victoria and Mark looked from me to Adam and back again.
“What’s the plan?” Mark asked. He sounded wary. Smart man.
Again, I let Adam explain. This was his insane idea, after all.
We both watched Victoria and Mark’s faces carefully. They looked surprised but not nearly as horrified as I would have thought.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Victoria finally said.
“You do?” I asked. I had been sure that Victoria, like me, would have shrunk at the idea of lying to everyone we know.
“I do,” she repeated, this time with more conviction. “I mean, it would be better if you weren’t in this situation at all. But, if you’re going to be stuck seeing Ryan around for the next few days—and you know it’s going to be unavoidable— then I don’t see any other way out of it. Besides,” she added with a little smirk, “I’d like to see his face when he realizes that you moved on. His massive ego is going down. All in all, I’d say it’s a win-win situation.”
Victoria’s verdict in, I turned to Mark. He was the level head around here. He was watching Adam and I carefully but it was impossible to read his thoughts. A small smile tugged at his lips.
“This should be interesting,” he said.
“So it’s settled,” Adam said, cozying up behind me in a decidedly more-than-friendly move. “We’re a couple.”
Our acting skills were called upon sooner than I’d expected. Well, Adam’s were, at least. We had just settled in for another lazy day on the beach the next morning when a long shadow fell over our blanket. I blinked up into the sunlight but it wasn’t until I heard her distinctive voice that I knew it was Ashley.
“Can I have a word?” she said to Adam.
“Uh oh,” I heard Victoria say under her breath.
I didn’t see Adam’s face because he quickly got to his feet and steered Ashley far enough away from the group so we couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“I feel terrible,” I sighed.
“Why?” Victoria asked. She sounded surprised.
“I feel bad for Ashley. Granted, she’s not my favorite of Adam’s girls but she doesn’t deserve this.”
Victoria gave an unladylike snort and even Mark could be heard chuckling from his side of the blanket. I poked my head up to look at them.
“What’s so funny?”
“You don’t have to worry about Ashley. Adam hasn’t been leading her on,” Mark said. “He’s been nothing but honest with her from the start.”
“Yeah, and Mark and I caught her swapping spit with half of the football team after you two took off.”
“Oh,” I said, laying back down. “Then I guess I don’t feel so bad.”
I couldn’t help glancing over every few minutes though to see how the talk was going. From what I could see it was pretty one sided. Ashley was doing all of the talking. When she was done, I saw Adam speak. He looked calm and a little bored. He only spoke a few sentences before Ashley went off in a huff. Adam returned shaking his head.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“Fine,” he said, plopping down next to me. “I apologized, of course, and explained how our love could no longer be denied.”
Victoria and I burst out laughing at his blasé tone.
“And she bought that?” I asked.
“She not only bought it,” he said. “She said she had known all along that you and I were in love and that she should have listened to her instincts.”
“She really said that?” I laughed.
Adam was laughing now, too. “Yeah. See? I told you people would buy it. Who doesn’t love a good romance?”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Ashley was easy. Just wait until you have to fool the people you’ve gone to school with all your lives. That’s the real test.”
No, the real test would come when I saw Ryan again. I had managed to not overthink his reappearance too much the night before but he was the first thing on my mind that morning. I could no longer ignore the old emotions that seeing him had brought back. It was impossible for me to believe that Ryan would fall for this little scam. Ryan, who knew me so well, better than anyone….wouldn’t he be able to see the truth about how I felt? And, more importantly…what exactly was the truth about how I felt?
Chapter Eleven
A little later in the afternoon, Mark and Adam went in the house to grab us some soft drinks and Victoria leapt on the opportunity for girl talk.
“So?” she asked. “How are you holding up with Ryan being back on the scene?”
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
She wasn’t about to let it go that easily. “Come on,” she urged. “You’ve got to be feeling something. Ryan’s back! The Ryan who I’ve heard you mope about for months and months on end. The Ryan who broke your heart and walked all over the broken pieces. The Ryan who…”
“Okay, okay,” I snapped, holding up my hands in surrender. “I get the point. Ryan hurt me and now he’s back. I am well aware of the situation here.”
“Okay, so how are you dealing with it?” Victoria adopted a look that I swear she stole from Oprah.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I’m just dealing, I guess.”
“But do you still have feelings for him? Do you still... love him?”
That was the question of the day, the question I really didn’t want to answer. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I don’t want to have feelings for him. And I thought I was over it, you know? But seeing him again….” I shook my head, unable to come up with the right words.
“It brought it all back?” Victoria said.
“Yes. No,” I buried my head in my hands. “Oh,
I don’t know.”
Victoria patted my back consolingly. “You’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “I just never thought that I’d see him again. Not like that at least. Not out of the blue at a party at the Jersey Shore.”
Victoria was nodding encouragingly. “Did you want to see him again?”
“No!” I paused and bit my lip. “Well, maybe. But only to figure out what I’m feeling. I just want to see…”
“If you’re still in love?” Victoria finished.
I hated to even think of that word. “Yeah, I guess. Not that I would get back together with him,” I quickly added. “I know I can’t trust him or rely on him or anything. It’s just…”
“You want to see if the spark is still there,” she finished. “That’s completely natural.”
“It is?” I was doubtful but Victoria nodded with confidence. I figured I’d take her word for it since she was the expert. The girl had read every self-help pop-psychology book in the market.
“Totally,” she enthused. “And who knows? Maybe things would be different this time around. Maybe he’ll stick around for a while or maybe….oh crap.”
“What?” I looked at her in confusion to find that she wasn’t looking at me but at something over my shoulder.
I turned around to see Lindsay heading straight toward us with her friends in tow.
I turned to Victoria in a panic. “I can’t lie. You know I can’t lie... this is going to be a disaster.”
Victoria gave me a warning look. “Pull it together,” she said under her breath. “Act natural.”
She didn’t have time to say more because by then they were within hearing distance and she was sitting up with a big, friendly grin plastered on her face.
Act natural, I repeated to myself. Easier said than done.
I followed Victoria’s lead and sat up and tried to imitate her easygoing smile. It was difficult to pull off while Lindsay, was eyeing me with narrowed eyes. I wondered if word had spread about the kiss between me and Adam.
“Hey guys,” Victoria said as they approached. “Wow, that swimsuit is hot, April!” The conversation quickly turned to clothes and shopping, a topic which I was never expected to participate in.
I was just starting to relax when Lindsay turned to me with a dangerous look in her eyes.
“So... where’s Adam?” she asked. “I would have thought he’d be here with you.”
It was hard to tell if she was gloating or fuming. It occurred to me that maybe she didn’t even know—was it better to be proven right about something that you wanted to be wrong or to be wrong about something that you were sure was right?
I was on the verge of feeling a glimmer of pity for the queen of nasty when she ruined it.
“Don’t tell me he’s done with you already?” her eyes were wide with mock sympathy. She glanced at her friends with a smug smile. Clearly I was the butt of an inside joke. “Looks like Evie drove another one away.”
“Gosh, it’s sure good to see you feeling better today.” I flashed her a winning smile. “You sure were a hit at the party last night.”
Lindsay’s face flushed in embarrassment, as I knew it would. Chances were, Lindsay didn’t remember much about her behavior the night before and my little jab would set off a frenzy of paranoia in that pretty little head of hers.
April stepped in to save her friend from an awkward silence. “So are you guys going to the show tomorrow night?”
“What show?” Victoria asked.
“Ryan’s show,” Lindsay said, having fully recovered from the momentary embarrassment.
I felt my throat go dry at the mere mention of his name. Good God, what had become of me? I swear on all that is holy, I was a completely sane and rational human being up until Ryan came into my life.
“Ryan’s band is playing?” Victoria asked.
April nodded vigorously. “Lindsay’s dad knows the guy who owns a club downtown and he got Ryan’s band a slot in the lineup.”
Ooof course she did. How thoughtful.
Lindsay wasn’t even trying to hide her gloat.
“Yeah, you guys should come. I know Ryan would love to see some of his old buddies,” she said.
“We’d love to come,” I surprised myself by saying.
I surprised Victoria, too, if her wide-eyed look was anything to go by.
I was increasingly aware of Lindsay’s eyes studying me. I knew she would be dying to know what was going on between me and Adam. Clearly she’d heard about our kiss on the beach. But would she believe it? I resisted the urge to squirm under her watchful glare.
Lindsay was sure to figure out the truth about me and Adam and it would be a matter of time before she used the opportunity to humiliate me in front of Ryan and the rest of the known world.
“Hey, ladies.” Victoria and I hadn’t seen Adam and Mark coming back from the house, their arms filled with soda cans and bags of chips. Adam sat beside me and unloaded his goodies on the blanket. “What’s going on?”
And just like that, like it was the most natural thing in the world, Adam wrapped a tanned and muscular arm around my waist so I was leaning against his bare chest. I played along as best I could, trying to look as comfortable and natural with this newfound closeness as Adam did.
It wasn’t as hard as I would have imagined.
I watched Lindsay’s reactions carefully and she reacted exactly as I would have expected. Her nostrils flared and her eyes turned into narrowed slits of barely suppressed fury.
“So what’s up?” Adam asked when no one responded.
April broke the silence and explained yet again about Ryan’s band’s show the following night.
“Sounds great,” Adam said. “We’ll definitely be there. So do you guys want to join us?” He gestured to an empty space on the beach blanket.
Luckily, Lindsay seemed just as eager as I was for this little rendezvous to come to an end.
“Come on, guys,” she said, leading her herd in the direction of the boardwalk.
“See you guys tonight!” April called back to us.
The second they were out of sight I pulled out of Adam’s arms and gave his arm a little slap.
“Ow,” he complained.
“What were you thinking inviting them to hang out with us all day?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes and lay down on the blanket. “I knew Lindsay would never go for it,” he said. “Did you see her face when I put my arm around you?”
“He has a point,” Victoria said. “What I want to know is why did you say yes to his show tomorrow night? Both of you!”
She was laughing as she said it but Adam and I turned to each other with wry faces. What had we gotten ourselves into?
Chapter Twelve
“Ladies! Your chariot awaits!”
“We’re coming, we’re coming,” I shouted back to Adam. This was his third attempt to hurry us along and his lines were getting cornier and cornier.
He and Mark had been waiting somewhat patiently for me and Victoria—ok, just Victoria—to get ready for a night out.
When Victoria finally hung her purse over her shoulder, the signal that meant her extensive prepping was over, I bounded down the stairs.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Adam ran to catch up with me as I raced across the yard in the direction of the boardwalk.
He grabbed me by the waist to slow me down and came to a panting halt beside me. “Easy tiger, we’ve got all night,” he laughed.
I linked my arm through his, pulling him along to match my pace. “What should we eat first?” I asked. “Hot dog? Nachos? Oooh... or ice cream?”
Adam shook his head in mock disappointment. “Haven’t I taught you anything, young lady? We must have a plan. This isn’t some rinky-dink, fly-by-night operation.”
“Yes, sir,” I said with a salute.
“I mean do you really want a repeat of the summer after eighth grade?” Adam gave me annoyingly
condescending look.
I rolled my eyes. “Do we really need to relive that horror?”
A burger, milkshake, fries and nachos followed by six consecutives rides on a roller coaster that goes forwards, backwards and upside down—let’s just say the results were not pretty.
“All right, game plan time,” I said.
By the time Mark and Victoria caught up with us at pizza stand, Adam and I had mapped out the perfect night.
Mini-golf closed early so that was the first stop. It was surreal to see half our class making their way through the ludicrously large windmills and pirate boats that dotted the kiddie course where I’d spent a good portion of my youth. Talk about worlds colliding.
Things were getting heated. Mark and I were neck and neck, with Adam close behind. Victoria was more interested in chatting with friends from school than in the competition at hand.
Despite the dreaded seventeenth hole with its nearly impossible shot, I’m happy to say I won the game. I was mid-celebratory dance and halfway out the door when Adam and I were put to the test once again.
Tyler and Madison, two girls from our class, walked out with us and joined our little group as we headed down the boardwalk toward the rides.
I was only partially paying attention to the conversation when Tyler saddled up beside me. “So, when did this happen?” She looked pointedly at Adam who was a few feet behind us.
“Um... what do you mean?” I hedged.
Meanwhile my brain was going a million miles an hour. We hadn’t come up with a story! Why hadn’t we come up with a story?
“Don’t play coy with us,” Madison said, coming up alongside her friend. “Everybody saw you two at the party. It’s all anyone is talking about.”
Well, crap.
“What are they saying?”
“That it’s about time,” Tyler laughed. “I called it years ago that you two would end up together in the end.”
“You did?” I asked. I didn’t even have to fake the surprise in my tone.
Madison rolled her eyes. “Oh please. We all saw this coming from a mile away.”
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