"I don't need help," I say. "I can carry my clubs."
"I needed an excuse to talk to you. Alone."
"Why? What's going on?"
"I was going to ask you the same question. What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just now. You were acting weird. You couldn't even talk. You just stood there not saying anything."
"I talked. I just didn't have much to say."
"Is it Luke?"
"Luke?" I say it like I have no idea what he's talking about. "What does this have to do with Luke?"
"You tell me." He holds the door open as we go in the dorm. "As soon as you saw him you started acting weird."
"I was just surprised he was here." I hurry to my room and open the door. "I didn't know you were bringing a friend."
"I thought Mom and Dad told you I was."
"Maybe. I don't remember." I get my clubs and give them to Cal to carry. If he's here he might as well be useful.
"Do you not like him?" Cal asks, slinging my golf bag over his shoulder.
I shrug. "He's fine. Kinda quiet."
"He usually talks more. Maybe you make him nervous."
"Why would I make him nervous?" I ask as we leave my room.
"Because you keep staring at him. It's rude to stare, by the way."
We go back outside and head to the parking lot.
"I was staring because he looks like someone I know," I lie. "I couldn't remember who."
"Well, stop staring at him and go back to being normal." He smiles. "Or what you consider to be normal. "
"Shut up, idiot." I punch his shoulder.
He laughs. "So how's college?"
"Good."
"You got a boyfriend yet?"
"No, but when I have one I'm not telling you and Dad."
"Why not?"
"Because you guys will come here and kill him."
"If we don't like him, then yeah, but if he meets our standards, we'll let him live."
"And what exactly are your standards?"
"He has to be good to my sister. Treat you well."
I smile. "Aww, that's sweet."
"And he has to be a good golfer. If he's not, then forget it. You can't go out with him."
"That's not fair. Not everyone golfs, and not many people are good at it."
"Then I guess you won't be dating anyone."
I roll my eyes. This is why I hardly ever date. It's too much trouble. I have to really like a guy to be willing to endure the crap my dad and brother put me through. In high school I had to get my dad's approval before I could go out with a guy, and one time I found out Cal was spying on me during a date! It was horrible. At least here at college I can date without the two of them knowing about it.
We get to the SUV my dad rented and Cal puts my clubs in the back. I take the seat that's behind my dad, leaving the middle seat open. Luke is on the opposite side. He gives me a quick smile, then looks away.
"Move over," Cal says. He's standing next to me with the door open.
I get out. "You can sit in the middle."
"I'm not sitting in the middle. Now hurry up and get in."
"Why can't you take the middle?"
"Because guys don't sit next to each other unless they have to."
"I'm sure you'll survive. We don't have that far to go."
"Just get in the car, Taylor," my dad says. "We're going to miss our tee time."
I reluctantly get back in and scoot over to the middle seat, looking straight ahead. I hear Luke clear his throat and feel him move over a little, away from me. That just proves he wasn't flirting with me. If a guy likes you he doesn't move away from you.
"Give me some space," Cal says as he shuts his door. "Move over."
I groan under my breath and slide over a tiny bit.
"Honey, did you turn on the security system when we left?" my mom asks my dad.
"Yes, dear. You ask me this every time we go out of town and the answer is always yes."
"I was just checking. What about the flowers? Did you ask the neighbor to water?"
"Yes, but if you're worried about it, call and remind her."
The two of them continue to talk. Cal is focused on his phone, texting someone. I keep my eyes on the road, trying not to think about Luke being right next to me.
My dad turns a corner and I feel Luke's leg bump against mine.
"Sorry," he mutters.
"It's fine," I say, but it's actually not because now my heart's beating really fast. We're both wearing shorts so when we bumped legs I felt his skin against mine. I felt the heat of his body. The strength of his muscles.
My dad turns again and this time it's my leg that bumps into Luke's.
"Sorry," I say, giving him a quick smile.
He chuckles. "Don't worry about it." He slides his leg over until our knees touch. "How about this? I'll keep it there for support for when we turn. That way we won't keep bumping into each other."
"Is that really necessary?" I ask, jokingly.
"I'm pretty sure you bruised me on that last one, so yeah."
I laugh. "I didn't know I injured you. Sorry."
"I'll survive, although it might affect my golf game. If I don't play well today, you'll know why." He smiles and my eyes get caught on his dimples.
Damn, he's hot. Why didn't I know he was this hot? He's been friends with Cal forever. I should've looked for photos of him online. Or I should've looked at that magazine he was in. Cal has a copy in his room. He asked if I wanted to see it but I was in a hurry that day and didn't bother to look at it. Now I wish I had so I would've been better prepared for today. I would've done something with my hair and put some makeup on.
I guess it doesn't matter. Luke doesn't care how I look. He's not interested in me that way.
"We're here," my dad says as he parks. "Everyone out. And hurry up. We're late."
"They're not gonna give our time away, Dad," Cal says.
I forgot Cal was sitting next to me. Did he see Luke's leg pressed against mine? He must not have or he would've yelled at him to stop touching his sister. Or maybe he wouldn't care, knowing Luke isn't interested in me.
"On a nice day like today," my dad says as we walk to the clubhouse, "they won't tolerate lateness. They'll give our time to someone else."
"They'll hold it for someone like you," Luke says. "You're a legend. They want to tell people you golfed at their course."
My dad looks at Luke and smiles. "No need to suck up to me. I already like you, kid. I have for years."
We play the first nine holes, then take a short break. Cal and my dad go get some cold drinks while my mom takes off to find a bathroom. That leaves Luke and me waiting with the golf cart.
I'm nervous being alone with him. I'm tempted to look at my phone and pretend he isn't there but I also kind of want to talk to him, except I don't know what to talk about.
"You looked good out there," he says.
He thinks I look good? I look terrible, like I just got out of the shower, braided my hair and left for the day. How could he possibly think I look good?
No, wait. He meant my golf game, not my appearance. Duh. What is wrong with me?
"Thanks!" I look out at the course. "You looked good too."
"I struggle with my short game, just like Cal. I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I'd take any advice you could give me about putting. You're definitely better than I am at it."
"If I help you, then you owe me help on my long game." I smile.
He smiles back. "I'd be happy to. When will I see you again?"
"Um...I don't know. I guess you won't. I hardly ever go to San Diego."
"But I go to Phoenix. They have some great courses there."
"But I'm living here now. I'm only home on breaks."
"Maybe we can work it out where we're there at the same time." He gives me another smile and I swear it's a flirty one.
Am I reading him wrong? The smile on its own wouldn't mean anything b
ut when combined with him touching my leg in the car and his insistence that we get together to golf, I feel like there might be some flirting going on here. Or maybe I'm just making it up in my head because I'm so attracted to him.
"So how do you like college?" he asks.
"I like it. I've made a lot of friends and I love being on the golf team."
"What do you do on the weekends? Besides golf?"
"Mostly hang out with my friends. Go to parties."
"I assume you have a boyfriend," he says casually as he looks out at the course.
"No. I haven't been here long enough to have a boyfriend."
"But I'm sure a lot of guys have asked you out."
Okay, that definitely seemed flirty. Or maybe it was just a comment.
"Why would you think that?" I ask in a completely innocent tone.
He pauses, then looks at me. "You have a beautiful smile. Beautiful eyes. You're fun to be around. And you kick ass at golf."
Is he just being nice because I'm Cal's sister or do his compliments mean something?
"You can't tell me you haven't been asked out at least once," he says.
"I've been asked out. I just wasn't interested. My friends tell me I should go out with as many guys as possible so I can figure out what I like but I already know what I like. I don't need to date a bunch of losers to find out."
"I'm the same way." He smiles. "With girls. I used to not be so picky but now I don't want to bother going on a date unless I think it might go somewhere." He pauses. "So what do you like?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said you know what kind of guy you like. So what is it? What's your criteria?"
"Oh, um, I don't know," I say, not sure what to tell him. Why are we even talking about this?
"They're on their way back," Luke says, pointing to my dad and Cal, who are coming towards us on the other golf cart. Luke turns to me. "So what do you say? Are you willing to share some tips with me?"
"Sure. Next time we're both in Phoenix we'll set something up."
"Hopefully it won't be too long."
He smiles and it's definitely a flirty smile. And he just made a flirty comment and said it in a flirty way.
I'm now positive he's flirting. And I was flirting back!
This isn't good. I can't date my brother's friend. It could never happen.
Chapter Seven
March - Spring Break
Taylor
"Where are you going?" I ask as Cal gets up from the table. "I'm not done with dinner."
"I got a text." He holds up his phone. "I'm gonna call him and see if he can come over."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Luke. He just got into town. He's staying at a hotel in Mesa."
"I thought he was in Dallas this week for that golf seminar."
"He was but he said it wasn't teaching him anything new so he decided to come here instead."
"He's coming here? To the house?"
"I'm not sure. I have to call him and see what's up." He takes off for his room, leaving me alone at the table. My parents are out with their friends tonight so it's just Cal and me. His spring break is the same time as mine so we both have the week off.
A few minutes later Cal comes back downstairs. "I'm going out."
"Where are you going?"
"You sound just like Mom. Why do you care?"
"I don't. It was just a question." I move my broccoli around on my plate. "So um...is Luke going with you?"
"Yeah." Cal takes his plate to the sink.
"How's he been?"
"Luke? I don't know. He seems to be doing okay."
Why isn't he telling me more? Like what Luke's been up to the past few months. If he has a girlfriend. If he's mentioned me at all since he met me. These are all things I need to know!
I haven't been able to stop thinking about Luke since I saw him last fall. I didn't want to bring up Luke's name to Cal with no context around it but now that we're talking about him I have the chance to ask questions and Cal's not giving me any answers!
"You think you'll see him much this week?" I ask.
"Well, yeah. That's why he's here. So we can hang out since I don't have class." He puts his plate in the dishwasher.
"What are you guys going to do?"
"What do we always do?"
"Golf."
"And at night we'll go out and find girls," he says, drying his hands on a dishtowel.
"Girls?" I drop my fork on my plate.
His brows rise. "You got a problem with that?"
"No! I'm just surprised."
"About what?"
"Why would you go out looking for girls? I thought you were seeing someone."
"Who? Mara?"
"Yeah. Mom told me about her. She said she's nice."
"She is, but it didn't work out. We broke up a few weeks ago."
"Oh. What about Luke?"
"What about him?"
"Isn't he dating someone?"
"He hasn't dated anyone for months. I'm started to think he took a vow of celibacy. That's why I'm making him go out with me. He needs to find someone, even if it's only for a night."
"You're trying to find him a one-night stand? Maybe he doesn't want that. Did you even ask him?"
"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure I don't have to. Sex with no commitment? Most guys are on board with that. "
I shake my head. "You're disgusting."
"Hey, I didn't say I'd do it. Luke probably wouldn't either. I was just making a comment. Don't take everything so seriously."
"Neither one of you should be having one-night stands. You'll get a disease."
"Thanks, Mom." He rolls his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Just get out of here." I wave him away.
He goes up to his room. When I hear his door shut I call Birdie, who doesn't have spring break until next week. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Studying. Why? What's up?"
"Nothing. My parents are out and Cal's going out and I have nothing to do. I've only been home one day and I'm already bored."
"So go to a movie."
"By myself?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"I don't like going to movies by myself."
"So find someone to go with."
"Like who? Everyone we know is still at college. Why can't colleges make spring break the same for everyone?"
"Cal knows a ton of people. See if he can set you up with someone."
"Like a guy?"
"Uh...yeah. You need to get out there and date. You've hardly dated anyone since you got to college."
"I've been on dates," I say defensively.
"Yeah, like two."
"More like four, or maybe five, depending on how you define a date."
"See if Cal can fix you up with someone. At least it'd get you out of the house."
"Cal's not going to set me up with anyone. He doesn't think any guy is good enough. You know how protective he is."
"And yet he can date whoever he wants."
"I know, right? Total double standard."
"So what's he doing tonight? Going out with that Mara chick?"
"No, he broke up with her. I can't believe you remember her name. I don't even remember telling you about her."
"I have a good memory. Anyway, is he going out with some other girl tonight?"
"No. His friend, Luke, just got into town and they're going out."
"You should go with them."
"Tag along with my brother and his friend? Yeah, I don't think so."
"Is Luke the guy who showed up at parents' weekend?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"How long will he be in town?"
"I think he's here all week."
"All week?" She laughs. "This should be interesting."
"What do you mean?"
"You have a crush on that guy. Big time."
"I do not!"
"Oh, please. After parents' weekend he was all you could talk about."
&nb
sp; "That is such a lie! I hardly even mentioned him!"
"Are you kidding? Every time we talked it was Luke this, Luke that. I even teased you about it. You denied it, just like you're doing now, but it was obvious you liked him, and obviously still do."
"Just because I talked about him doesn't mean I like him. He's Cal's friend. I wouldn't date Cal's friend. Even if I actually did like Luke, he's off limits."
"Why? Because Cal would get mad? Who cares if he gets mad? He's your brother. You two fight all the time anyway."
"This is different. Cal wouldn't speak to me if I dated Luke. And he'd never forgive Luke. Their friendship would be over."
"You're being overdramatic. If you went out with Luke, Cal would be mad but he'd get over it, especially if Luke made you happy. I know you and Cal don't always get along but Cal really does want you to be happy. He loves his baby sister."
"And I love my big brother which is why I wouldn't date his friend. I don't want to cause problems between him and Luke."
"That doesn't mean you can't hang out with them this week. Wasn't Luke supposed to help you with your golf game?"
"Yeah, and I'm supposed to help him, but honestly, he's a way better golfer than me. He doesn't need my help."
"Taylor, he was asking you out. It isn't about the golf."
"He wasn't asking me out. It was just one of those things people say, like when you run into someone you haven't seen forever and say you'll get together for lunch sometime but you both know it'll never happen. It's the same with Luke and me. Neither one of us actually meant what we said. We were just making small talk while we waited for Cal and my dad to get back."
"So you feel nothing for Luke? Not even attraction?"
"Of course I'm attracted to him. You saw his pictures online. He's hot. Any girl would be attracted to him. But that doesn't mean I want to date him. I see him as a friend. Not even that. He's more of an acquaintance."
"If you and Luke are just casual acquaintances there's no reason for you to not hang out with him this week."
"He's here to spend time with Cal, not me."
"Yeah, but the three of you could go out and do stuff. You could at least go golfing with them."
"Why are you pushing me to hang out with them?"
"Because I'm not there and neither is anyone else we know. So unless you want to be bored all week your only option is to hang out with your brother and Luke."
Anyone But Her Page 6
