Between the Girls (The Basin Lake Series Book 3)

by Stephanie Vercier

  That makes him laugh. “Oh, hey, of course! It’s right here.” He points to the door just off the hall and then waves me into the rest of the apartment while Claire hits the restroom.

  “She’s hot,” he says quietly once we’re in the small living room, a room I feel like I’ve already been in because of our video chats.

  With pride, I smile and nod. “Beyond.”

  “Man, Ty, I’d say she’s worth the shitty break up with Laney, huh?”

  “Uhhh…” I’m a little caught off guard by him bringing her up, and my mind goes right to the immediate aftereffects of our breakup, the night I’d gone in search of Heath Larson, wanting to break his skull.

  He shakes his head. “Stupid thing to say. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “No, it’s okay… it’s just that… well, it’s always going to be weird considering your connection to it all.”

  “I’m a real Judas.” He laughs nervously. “Look, sorry I brought it up. Dumb thing to do. Let’s just forget I said anything, okay?”

  “Hey,” Claire says, coming into the room so quietly that I think Sam startles as much as I do.

  “Welcome to Casa de Samuel,” Sam says, stretching his arm out to showcase his small apartment. “It basically only costs you your first born to live in Seattle.”

  “I don’t have a first born to offer up, so I’m just going to try and get a room in a house.” Claire smiles, and I love that she seems to be comfortable around Sam.

  “You know what? I like you!” Sam says, laughing. “And seriously, your cheapest option will definitely be a room. I’d say to do the dorm thing, but you’ll have to pay it all back eventually unless you’re doing all scholarships?”

  “Some scholarships,” she says, “but lots of loans.”

  “Well, then better to just live like a starving student and get that part over with.”

  Claire looks around the small apartment that Sam has turned into his own version of a man cave. “So how do you afford this place?”

  “Well, I deal drugs of course,” he deadpans.

  I’m about to tell Claire he’s just messing with her because of the sudden, horrified look on her face, but she relaxes within seconds.

  “I know I should tell you that you don’t look like a drug dealer, but you kind of do… but I still don’t believe you.”

  He and I both crack up at that.

  “But seriously,” she says, “what do you have to do to have your own place like this? You’re not like a male stripper or anything, right?”

  Again, he and I can’t help but laugh.

  “I’m not sure Sam can even dance, let alone strip.”

  “How the hell would you know? Maybe I am a stripper.”

  “Are you going to demonstrate for us?” Claire teases.

  “Not unless we all want to be scarred for life! Thank God my folks chip in for my rent, begrudgingly.” He looks at me like I know just what he means. “But I work too, four nights a week as a janitor… well, an environmental technician. I work at one of the local hospitals. I survive on caffeine and usually spend all weekend catching up with my homework and stuff.”

  “Dude, you should have said,” I tell him, worried we’re intruding on his study time.

  He waves me away like I’d just said the most idiotic thing in the world. “Please. It’s usually Sunday night when the homework is done. I mean, you must realize I have some semblance of a social life!”

  “Well, we’re glad you’re free,” Claire says in that pleasant, kind way that I know her future patients will appreciate. “Are you coming with us tonight?”

  “With her friends,” I remind him, even though he’d mentioned there was a party tonight that yet another girl he was interested in had invited him to.

  “Yeah, of course,” he says, offering Claire a giant grin. “If your friends are as beautiful as you are, then I’m totally in.”

  “They aren’t single, man. One of them is married.”

  “Hey, I like married girls,” he says with a lift of his brows.

  “Her husband will be there too, along with the boyfriends of all the other girls,” Claire offers in friendly warning.

  “Sorry, dude,” I tell him, hoping he’s not going to regret spending time with us.

  “That’s okay. I think I can endure one night out not trying to work my magic on anyone.”

  At that, Claire busts out laughing, and I follow.

  CLAIRE

  Sam is nice. He’s what my mother would call a giant flirt, but he’s also respectful. When Tyler goes back out to the Jeep to grab our bags with our change of clothes, Sam tells me about Seattle, the best places to hang out and study off campus and the safest neighborhoods to live in.

  “Have you known Tyler all his life?” I ask, more interested in hearing about him from his friend at the moment than I am about where to get the best spring roll in town.

  “I’d say since grade school. He was my younger brother’s friend actually, but Tyler always looked up to me like I was an older brother or something. He liked that I didn’t… well…hmm… ” He falters, bunching up his lips.

  “You didn’t what?”

  He clears his throat. “Well, you know about his accident, don’t you?”

  I nod.

  “That’s right… he told me that, but I just wanted to be sure. Some of his so-called friends liked to give him a hard time about it, called him names and shit. You know how kids can be total assholes about things? I had to beat a few of them up for him.”

  “You did that?” I’m sure my mouth is hanging open, surprised in the best way possible that Tyler had an ally like Sam when he was a kid.

  He chuckles. “I was glad to. I just took down the worst offenders. But you can’t beat up every kid that’s being a little shit, especially when Ty would brush it off and say it wasn’t a big deal. But I don’t know, if someone had called me zipper dick, I’d have probably lost my shit real fast.”

  “Zipper…?” I don’t say the rest because after getting the first word out I realize what the name refers to. Tyler had told me about all the surgeries, the suturing, the stitching back together, like a zipper. Seeing those scars up close didn’t bother me, didn’t make me any less attracted to him, but I knew he was self conscious about it and that names could hurt.

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” Sam says, looking away, pulling his ball cap off and then putting it back on.

  “It’s okay. Like you said, kids can be assholes.”

  “Who’s an asshole?” Tyler is setting our bags on the couch, having caught the tail end of our conversation.

  “Half the human population,” Sam says with a laugh.

  I’m not sure Tyler buys that though. He’s looking at me, studying me, and it makes me feel like I have the guilt of talking about him behind his back written all over my face.

  Emma, Court, Meg, Jennifer and Angela all look beautiful, and I can tell that Sam agrees, though he’s being awfully quiet considering that all of them, except for Meg, are attached to a guy. I’d met all of the girls at Emma’s wedding last summer after being reintroduced to Emma who was Paige’s best childhood friend when we lived in Seattle, when Dad was still alive.

  “I’m so glad you could make it,” Emma says, having welcomed me, Tyler and Sam into the relatively small apartment she and her husband, John, are sharing while he finishes up law school.

  “Thanks for having us,” I say, still a little amazed that these grownups have welcomed us to their dinner party.

  “We were going to do a restaurant, but I wanted to try my hand at cooking,” Emma says. “Plus, we hardly ever have anyone over here.”

  “It’s really nice,” Tyler says like he’s struggling to have something to say around all these strangers.

  He is right about the apartment—it’s nice. It’s old with hardwood floors and windows that have leaded glass and heavy, old-fashioned curtains. The furniture is big and comfortable looking, filling the space up in the coziest way possible.


  “It’s home,” Emma says with a warm smile. “John—my husband—is just finishing up law school.” She points in the direction of the man I remember as the groom, tall, blond with a light, full beard. He’s incredibly good looking, but not as good looking as Tyler, at least not to me.

  “Hey there,” John says, having caught his wife’s eye and joined us. “Nice to see you, Claire,” he says to me, then introduces himself to Tyler and Sam.

  John pulls them away to meet the other guys, Denny, Stephen and Langston who is Jennifer’s boyfriend. It leaves me with the girls, and I help Emma with a few last minute settings on the table while getting reacquainted, especially with Court who I’m hoping might have a few extra minutes to talk to me about med school later. After a good deal of small talk, we all gather together at the table with enough variation in food to match everyone’s appetites.

  “So, you got into U-Dub, huh?” Court says to me, Emma having situated she and Denny closest to Tyler, Sam and I.

  “Yes! Pre-med. I’m so excited. It really helped talking to you guys last summer. I feel like maybe that gave me a leg up when I was writing my essays.”

  “Glad we could help,” Court says, “though Denny might tell you to reconsider your career choices.”

  Denny looks up from the start of his meal, nodding in agreement. “I can usually put my mind to anything and get it done,” he says through a tired voice. “But man, it’s tough to imagine I’ve got years of residency after this. There was a time I’d considered becoming a neurosurgeon, but I might just have to settle for dermatology.”

  “No, I’m going to be the dermatologist,” Court says.

  “We can have two dermatologists in the family,” Denny tells her.

  Tyler and I smile at one another.

  “We’ll get through it.” Court touches his hand with assurance.

  And just then, Tyler touches my hand and lifts his brows.

  “And what about you, Tyler?” Emma asks, leaning in from her place in the middle of the table. “Are you going to college here too?”

  “Uh… not sure,” he says, turning away from me and flushing a little pink. “I’d like to, but I haven’t heard back yet.”

  “Hey, if all else fails, just move in with me, bud. You can get a job in town,” Sam says, patting Tyler on the back.

  “You go to school here?” Meg, the pretty single girl with the jet-black hair asks Sam, everyone at the table seeming to focus in on our corner when she does.

  “That I do,” Sam says with pride. “Sophomore in engineering.”

  Meg smiles. “Oh, to be a sophomore again. I miss college.”

  “You graduate early or something?” Sam’s crooked smile tells me he’s flirting. Meg doesn’t look old, but I know for a fact she’s in her mid twenties like John.

  “Let’s switch seats,” Emma tells Sam, giving he and Meg the chance to chat one another up more easily.

  Without having to be told twice, Sam lifts up his plate and swaps spots with Emma. And as soon as everyone is settled, Sam and Meg start talking up a flirt storm.

  “There. I think that’s better,” Emma says.

  “Much. Maybe it will be a love connection,” I say.

  “It’s possible.” Tyler speaks with a newfound ease. “I think he’s ready to stop his serial dating ways.”

  “I think Meg is too,” Emma quietly offers. “Maybe they’ve met their match?”

  Tyler’s hand is still on mine, and he squeezes. He looks at me with purpose, as if to say he’s met his.

  “We’re kind of outliers,” Court says after taking a drink of wine and looking down the table at her friends. “I mean, every single one of us, except for Meg, are paired up in serious relationships.”

  “And that’s bad?” Denny gets this grin on his face that bucks away the tiredness he’d shown earlier.

  “It isn’t bad at all. It’s just that most people our age don’t really settle down this early, and we’re totally bucking the trend.”

  “It’s a good trend to buck,” Emma muses before taking a sip of ice water.

  “So Claire and I aren’t total freaks then, huh?” Tyler turns to me, lifting his brows, and I love his expression and am tempted to kiss him right here in front of everyone.

  “Not at all,” Denny tells him. “But the hard part is staying together.”

  “Amen to that,” Court piles on admonishingly.

  “But it won’t work if you aren’t here with Claire,” Denny continues, taking bites of food in between doling out advice.

  “I realize it will be tough,” Tyler begins, “but we’ll figure it out.”

  But will we?

  There is the faintest touch of unease in Tyler’s voice, and it makes me wonder if he really believes that or is just trying to convince me, along with himself.

  “No, really, listen to me.” Denny sets his fork down and wipes his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Relationships are hard enough without putting distance between them. You really need—”

  “Honey, come one,” Court says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Stop scaring the poor guy!”

  “He isn’t scaring me,” Tyler assures her, but I swear I see that speck of worry in his eyes.

  “It will be tough.” I rest my hand on Tyler’s back, speaking to him as well as to Court and Tyler. “We probably have some things to figure out.”

  “That really is the best thing.” Emma touches her stomach warmly, simultaneous with a quick glance between she and John before his eyes go back to his friends and Emma’s back to us. “You’re too cute a couple to be miles away from one another.”

  “Maybe take your friend up on his offer,” Denny tells Tyler, “you know, to move in with him? Get a job and maybe start at a community college or something.”

  “That’s what I did,” Emma says. “And now I’ve got my own little business. Sold two-dozen bags online last month and more than that at the farmer’s market.”

  “She’s our little eco-warrior,” Court says proudly.

  “Makes her bags out of mushrooms,” Denny adds in.

  “Really?” Tyler eases at having the conversation veer away from he and I.

  “It’s leather made from mushrooms,” Emma says. “It’s an innovative process, and I can see everything being made that way in twenty years.”

  “A real pioneer,” Denny says with an admiring glance at Emma.

  It goes on like that through three courses of delicious food that John mostly serves, coming over to kiss his wife on her forehead at least four times during the meal. It’s easy to see how in love they are, how in love everyone in this room seems to be with their significant other. The laws of averages say that in five or ten years, half the couples in this room won’t be together, but I’m at least sure that John and Emma will be—it feels so wrong to think otherwise. And I’ve got to have faith Tyler and I will enjoy the same destiny.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Emma says after dinner, after half of her friends have left and I’m stacking dishes to wash.

  “I don’t mind. Once Sam and Tyler and John started talking about sports, I had to get out of there.”

  She laughs. “Yeah, John is obsessed with baseball. I can’t tell you how many times we go see the Mariners each year, but it makes him happy, and he does plenty to make me happy, so…”

  She touches her stomach again, and I’d noted that while everyone of age had been drinking alcohol during dinner, Emma had only sipped on water.

  “Are you starting your family?” I ask as I fill her sink with water in a kitchen that I think still has all of its original old cabinetry, not as sleek as what you’d see in something new, but it has character, and I love that about it.

  Her eyes expand in surprise, and, in a quiet voice, she asks, “How did you know?”

  I shrug. “You touched your stomach a few times, and you weren’t drinking.”

  “You’re more observant than the rest of my friends. Then again, they probably don’t want to belie
ve we’re going to ruin all the fun by having kids so soon.”

  “Have you told Paige?” I ask, expecting that she and Evan won’t start building a family until her career is in place.

  “Yes.” She laughs. “Since she’s so far away, she’s the only person I’ve told. I’m only two months along, so John still has time to graduate law school and get a decent job and get us into something bigger than this place, even if we do love it.”

  “I’m happy for you, Emma. I think you’ll make a great mom.”

  “You will too, someday,” she tells me, emphasizing that last word. “Do you think Tyler is the one?”

  I hadn’t expected to be asked something like that, and yet the answer is easy. “I really do, but it’s hard not knowing where he’ll be in the fall.”

  “Well, he seems incredibly taken with you. I’ve seen that same look half a million times from my husband, so he definitely loves you. And don’t listen to what we said out there. Relationships can survive separations.”

  “I know, you’re right. And I know he loves me, but he actually had a pretty rough time growing up, and I get the feeling he doesn’t fully trust in me, like there’s a part of him that isn’t sure he and I will actually make it.”

  She sighs. “I’ve been there too. John and I had some hardships, even before we met each other, and you know your sister did too. Sometimes the most amazing love stories begin with turmoil and uncertainty because you have to be willing to climb past those roadblocks to be with one another.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” I say, even if I don’t like the idea of turmoil at the beginning of a relationship. But Tyler and I have already pushed through some challenges, and we’re still together. If we have to go through more before everything is said and done, then Emma’s words and the fact that she and John are still together, that Paige and Evan are still together, offers me hope that we can make it through.

  TYLER

  “So, that Meg chick is pretty hot, don’t you think?” Sam says from the backseat of my Jeep as we’re heading back to his place.

  I know better than to use the word “hot” about another girl while in the presence of my girlfriend, so I settle on, “Yeah, I think you guys would make a good pair.”