The Dating Debate

by Chris Cannon

  I was glad West had liked my audiobook idea. It made me feel like I was helping a little bit. And from what I’d seen, he needed someone to help him out every once in a while. The image of him sitting alone on the overgrown basketball court burning papers in the barbecue pit was something that would stick in my head forever, filed under Sad and Strange Male Behavior.

  There was probably a whole lot of guy behavior I’d never understand, but maybe I could help West, if he’d let me. I could make a gift box containing graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars and set it out on one of the lawn chairs. That way, when he was out there engaging in his manly, brooding alone time, he’d have the world’s best snack. I had noticed that there were two lawn chairs, which made me wonder if anyone else ever sat out there with him. His dad mustn’t know what he was doing, which was probably the reason he had freaked out when Gidget and I interrupted him.

  By lunchtime, I decided the s’mores plan might be a waste of good chocolate because I wasn’t sure if West would appreciate my actions or be annoyed by them. He seemed to run hot and cold.

  Lisa and I sat at our normal table in the cafeteria. West didn’t join us today. Not that he needed to, because we weren’t dating.

  “Who’s he sitting with?” Lisa asked.

  I glanced over to where West sat. “I think those guys are fraternal twins, Matt and Charlie something?”

  “Their family owns that landscaping business,” Lisa said. “What is it…Peterson…no…Patterson…that’s their last name.”

  “Right. They’re both kind of cute. I could ask West if either of them are seeing anyone.”

  “No thank you. I’m enjoying a drama-free life right now.”

  “You sound like Jason.” Which gave me a funny idea. “Maybe that’s the universe’s plan,” I teased. “To fix you up with my brother.”

  Lisa laughed. “I don’t think so. Your brother flees the room whenever I come over.”

  “He does?” I hadn’t noticed.

  Lisa nodded. “Ever since I walked in when he was peeing, he hasn’t been able to speak to me. I assured him I didn’t see anything, but I think it traumatized him.”

  “Please, up until a few years ago, he used to pee outside on the bushes.”

  “Ewwww.” Lisa wrinkled her nose. “That’s just wrong.”

  “I’m pretty sure my dad taught him to do that. I think it’s a guy thing.” The memory made me equal parts sad and mad. When my dad was home he’d seemed happy, not like a guy who needed another family because we weren’t enough. “I’m going to end up in therapy one day because of him.”

  “Hey,” Lisa broke her Twinkie in half and passed me a piece. “Childhood trauma is what makes you a stronger person. If everyone had the ideal life, my mom wouldn’t have a job.”

  Lisa’s mom was a family counselor. When we’d first moved here, my mom had dragged my brother and me to counseling. I’d scoffed at the idea, but it had ended up being a good thing. One day, Lisa had been there waiting for a ride home. We’d talked and bonded over our love of books.

  “Does your mom ever get tired of listening to other people’s problems?” I asked. It didn’t seem like a fun way to spend your day.

  Lisa shrugged. “Your mom tries to hug everyone or feed them. My mom tries to talk them through their issues. Same thing, different delivery method.”

  …

  When I went to meet West at my Jeep after school, he wasn’t there. Since he liked to be everywhere early, I figured he must have stayed after class to talk to someone. No big deal. It was a sunny fifty degrees, and being outside after being trapped in classrooms all day felt good. I leaned against my bumper, pulled out my phone, clicked on the Kindle app, and lost myself in a story about shape-shifting dragons.

  People shuffled past me, and cars pulled out of the lot. Haze from the gravel dust drifted through the air and landed on my screen. I wiped my phone with my shirt. A thread poked out from the end of my sleeve. I wrapped it around my index finger twice and then tugged, breaking it off.

  “Why did you do that?” West asked.

  I glanced up. He approached with a frown on his face.

  “Why did I do what?”

  “Pull out the thread on your sleeve.” He grabbed my hand and turned it palm up, pointing at the shirt cuff, which looked off kilter. “You pulled the thread and now it’s uneven.”

  West held my hand in a familiar way and didn’t seem to think anything about it. I’d hugged him once before, but this skin-to-skin contact caused butterflies to flit around in my stomach.

  “I guess you’re right,” I said. “But stray threads make me crazy.”

  “It would be a shame to ruin this,” he narrowed his eyes at my shirt. “Are those snitches on your shirt?”

  “Yes. Snitches and brooms. But you only notice if you stare; otherwise, it looks like a pattern.”

  “You’re one of those people who dreams about going to Hogwarts, aren’t you?”

  “Do you mean the real Hogwarts or the amusement park, because the answer to both is yes.”

  “I’m sure your owl was blown off course in a storm.” He released my hand. “Do you mind if we run an errand on the way home? My dad wants me to pick something up from the hardware store.”

  “If I said it wasn’t okay, would you change your plans?” I asked, just to be contrary.

  “Do you have somewhere you need to be?” he asked.

  “No. People say, ‘If that’s okay with you’ all the time. Rarely does anyone say, ‘No, that’s not okay.’ So I was just messing with you because I wanted to see how you’d react. You know, testing the balance of the universe and all that.”

  West shook his head, but he was smiling while he did it. A smile that made my heart rate kick up a notch.

  “Get in the Jeep, Luna,” he said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  West

  Nina backed out of the parking spot and put the Jeep in drive. We exited the gravel lot and took a right onto the main road. I glanced at her shirt. “How much Harry Potter memorabilia do you own?” I’d read the series multiple times, but stopped short of buying fan merchandise.

  “I don’t know you well enough to share that information,” she said, “because I’m pretty sure you’d mock me.”

  I probably would. “Let’s start with the basics. I’m going to guess you own the hardback books, the paperbacks, and the ebooks.”

  “Of course I do. The hardbacks live on my bookshelf in a place of honor, I carry the paperbacks around with me when I want to read them, and I have them on my phone in case of emergencies.”

  “Interesting logic,” I said. “What qualifies as a Harry Potter ebook emergency?”

  “Being stuck in line or in traffic or in a really boring lecture at school.”

  “You read during class?” I hadn’t thought she’d break the rules like that. It made her more interesting.

  “Yep. I’m a rebel.”

  “A hugging, hippie-chick, bookworm kind of rebel?” I asked.

  “I’m not one for labels, but that works.”

  She grinned at me, and the weight I perpetually carried around on my shoulders seemed to lighten.

  “So what are we buying at the hardware store?” she asked.

  And the weight came crashing back down. “My dad asked me to pick up some storage boxes.”

  “Let me guess, just like the driveway, he likes everything stored in its prescribed spot.”

  The absurdity of her statement made me laugh. Sure my dad liked everything neat and tidy. An impossible feat with years worth of junk mail, old magazines, newspapers, the cardboard tubes left over from paper towels, and God-knew-what-else, filling up our house.

  “Are you okay?” Nina asked as she turned into the hardware store lot and parked. “Because that wasn’t a happy laugh.”

  And this was exactly why I shouldn’t make new friends or, apparently, talk to anyone. The fact that she actually seemed to care and wanted to help had me spilling my
guts. “It’s a constant balancing act at my house. My dad wants everything a certain way, and my mom wants the opposite. I try to make both of them happy, but sometimes it’s impossible.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I nodded, afraid if I opened my mouth I’d confess everything…how my entire life was an elaborate web of lies.

  Nina undid her seat belt and scooted closer. “You need a hug.”

  I didn’t make a smart-ass comment or push her away. Instead, I met her halfway and let her put her arms around me. It was awkward since we were in a Jeep but, by coincidence, our faces lined up perfectly. I stared into her eyes for a moment seeing nothing but concern and kindness. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against hers. She smelled good…sort of sweet, but not flowery. I inhaled. “What is that smell?” I asked.

  “Apple mint shampoo,” she said. “It’s a happy smell.”

  “I like it.” I opened my eyes. “And I think I like you, too.”

  She grinned. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “And I’ve read Harry Potter,” I said, like I was arguing my case.

  She glanced at my mouth. I took that as my cue and leaned in. Time seemed to slow down as she leaned in to meet me halfway.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nina

  Holy crap. West was going to kiss me. I leaned in and––

  Honk honk!

  I jerked away from him and glanced around.

  “I don’t think they were honking at us,” I said, which was probably one of the stupidest statements known to man. Ugh. Why had I said that?

  “We should probably go inside,” he said.

  And the moment was gone. “Right.”

  We headed into the store while I mentally cursed whoever had interrupted what could have been an amazing first kiss. Was West thinking about our missed opportunity too? If he was, he didn’t show it. Walking at an easy pace, like he didn’t have a care or a frustration in the world, he headed to the area with all the organizational and storage items.

  We were halfway down the aisle when I saw the holy grail. It was one of those floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the kind you hook together to make an entire wall devoted to books. I ran my fingertips reverently over the box. “I want one.”

  West looked at the label. “You dream about having an entire room full of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with one of those library ladders, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” I said. “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “If there was an end-of-the-world apocalypse and you had to pick a store to live in, which one would you choose?”

  Interesting question. “My first thought is the library, but they wouldn’t have enough food. So I’m thinking a bookstore with an attached restaurant or cafe.”

  “I’d pick a Sam’s Club. Tons of food and a decent selection of books.” He walked over to a stack of tubs and grabbed four of them, adding the lids to the top box.

  “What is your dad going to do with those? I asked.

  “He’ll organize something, and that will make him feel better.” He shrugged. “I don’t get it, but when he’s happy, my life is easier.”

  I glanced back at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. I didn’t have enough space for something like that in my room, but I could use a smaller one. “I want to look at the bookshelves for a minute.” There was a four-foot shelf that looked far more manageable. Since the box it came in was only a foot wide, it had to be the kind of furniture that needed to be assembled. “This one might work.”

  “Have you ever put furniture like that together?” he asked. “Because there are always pieces left over, and it never looks like the picture on the box.”

  “I helped my mom put our coffee table together, but it was pretty simple. Just the top and the legs.” I tried to move the box so I could see the directions. It didn’t budge. “How can a box this small be so heavy?”

  “Maybe the universe is trying to tell you that’s not the bookshelf for you,” West teased.

  “Very funny, but you might be right. I’d rather buy one that doesn’t need to be assembled.”

  “That’s a much better plan.”

  We paid for West’s storage boxes and then I drove him home, which was my home, too, which was weird. “You never told me why our houses share a driveway and a backyard.”

  “Identical twins built the houses, and it was stated in their wills that the houses had to be sold together for the remaining relatives to receive any money from the sale. Otherwise, it would all go to charity. The will also stipulated the buyer, my dad, would pay a reduced price on the property if he promised not to sell whichever house he didn’t live in, but he was allowed to rent it.”

  “So the twins were so close they shared a backyard and a driveway?” That seemed like overkill.

  “They probably didn’t mind, plus I bet it was cheaper than pouring two driveways and it took less fencing.”

  As I pulled into the driveway, I looked at the houses with new eyes. “That’s so weird. I never realized the houses were the same on the outside.” Structurally, the front doors and the windows were in the same place. Mine had cream-colored siding, gray shutters, and a gray front door. West’s was the mirror image with gray siding and cream-colored shutters and front door. It was sort of creepy.

  “I helped my dad paint after the last renters left, so I’ve seen your whole house. They’re the same on the outside, but the insides are completely different.”

  Why did he sound sad about that? The conversation was lagging, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Was a good-bye kiss on the horizon? Stalling for time, I said, “This is totally me being nosy, but why were you late meeting me after school?”

  “I had to check in with Mr. Grant about an extra-credit project for social studies. If we do something good for the community, like have a fundraiser, or help clean up a park, and then write a report about it, we get extra credit.”

  “That’s cool,” I said. “yet slightly manipulative. What’s your project?”

  “I’m thinking about working on the Hilmer building.”

  “The old library they’re trying to keep open?” As if he wasn’t perfect enough, now he was saving libraries. I almost swooned.

  He sat back and gave me an odd look. “I don’t think anyone is trying to keep it open. They’re asking for volunteers to salvage what they can before they turn it into a recycling center.”

  Abort swoon and report to battle stations. “That can’t be right. There’s a group of people trying to raise funds to keep it open until the new library is completed.”

  “I hate to rain on your idealistic parade, but Mr. Grant said the company who bought it has already scheduled the rehab to convert it to a warehouse for a recycling center. It’s a done deal.”

  “They can’t take away the town’s library. I know there are some issues, but the woodwork is beautiful.”

  “Have you been there lately?’ West asked. “The place smells like mildew.”

  Okay, the place did smell a little funny, but I wasn’t about to admit that. Besides, a little funding for repairs and a good cleaning with bleach should take care of any problems. I had to make him see reason. “Haven’t you watched those shows on HGTV where they restore old houses?”

  “Not on my top-ten list of shows to watch,” West said. “Besides, I’m not the one who told them to convert the building to a recycling center; I just volunteered to help for extra credit. And they’re going to build another library.”

  “Yes, but it’s not completed yet. And you’re volunteering to do something anti-book. How can you do that?”

  “Anti-book? That’s ridiculous. It’s not like I’m setting books on fire.”

  “I understand that, but overall you’re wrong. I’d love to stay and argue, but I need to let Gidget outside before she makes a puddle that I will have to clean up. For now, we’ll have to agree to disagree and continue this later.” I climbed out and jogged up to my front door.

  I let myself into the
house and Gidget wiggle-walked up to greet me. “Who’s a good dog?” I reached down and rubbed both of her ears at the same time. She closed her eyes and gave a canine snuffle of joy. And that’s why dogs were so awesome. They were an attitude adjustment in furry form. I set my bag down and hugged her, letting my irritation drift away. She ran to the back door and I let her out.

  What had I expected from West, anyway? It’s not like he and I were destined to be soul mates and agree on all topics. That would probably be boring. West was just a cute guy with great hair and amazing eyes who lived next door. A guy who smelled fabulous and whose smile made my heart beat a little faster. A guy who’d almost kissed me half an hour ago until that stupid car honked at us. He was also a guy who seemed to have inherited his father’s neat-freak tendencies because he liked pointing out when things were dusty, or could possibly harbor mold or mildew. That wasn’t normal teen guy behavior.

  I grabbed my cell and called Lisa to catch her up on the latest not-not-my-boyfriend saga.

  “My first response is, oh my God, he tried to kiss you. My second response is, how could he volunteer to turn that amazing old building into some sort of recycling center?”

  “I know, right? This leaves me only one choice.”

  “Argue with him until he caves?”

  “How well you know me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  West

  I was surprised Nina hadn’t stayed to argue. Then again, my dad wouldn’t be thrilled if Gidget peed on the floor, so it was good that she didn’t always have to have the last word. And this was an argument she would most definitely lose.

  Just because a building housed books didn’t make it sacred, or some sort of shrine to literature. There was no reason to hold on to old things when there were plenty of new libraries and books in the world. Sure, people might have to drive a little farther to check out books, but it’s not like there was a shortage. Besides, the company that purchased the building wanted to turn it into a recycling center. That was a good thing.