A Little Bit Haunted

by Melody Summers

  “Show off.”

  “I was just being polite,” he protested with a grin that made it clear he was only half telling the truth. “Mamma would skin me if I didn’t open the door for a girl.”

  “Mm, hm. I wonder if all the other girls you’ve kissed would tell the same story.”

  “How about we don’t find out?” he suggested, and put an arm around my waist to guide me towards the rolling surf.

  As we neared the water, the soft roar of the crashing waves grew to a rhythmic thunder. This part of the beach was lit only by moonlight, with diamond tipped obsidian waves below and filmy, silver lined clouds gliding across the black sky above. The breeze off the water tugged insistently at my hair and clothes, a wild child demanding attention. I stepped forward and spread my arms and let the wind wrap around me until I almost felt that I should be picked up and carried away.

  Out here the night was fierce and untamed, a murky beast of wind and water that seemed almost capable of reaching out and plucking us from the shore. An endless expanse of bottomless waves stretched before me, dotted here and there in the remote distance with the flickering lights of ships and oil rigs. Nothing human mattered on that scale; I was a speck of dust looking out into a dangerous infinity.

  Walker gripped my hand and nodded towards the roiling surf. “Come on.”

  At the edge of the water he paused to take his shoes off then stepped into the wet sand. As his feet sank into the softness, I saw him sigh. That was all the encouragement I needed. I slipped out of my flip flops and stepped up to let a wave of warm, briny water swirl around my ankles. It felt divine.

  From where we were standing the land curved back behind us so we couldn’t see it at all. There was nothing but sky and waves as far as I could see.

  “Makes you feel small, doesn’t it?” Walker’s voice rose about the tumult of the waves. “No matter who you think you are or what kind of problems you have, this is bigger. And it doesn’t care about us at all.”

  I glanced over at him and saw that he was staring out into the distance as though lost to everything around him. A familiar pang of loneliness chilled my heart, and I dragged my feet out of the sucking sand and turned towards him. Still not trusting this unnamed thing between us, I was hesitant as I put my arms around him and rested my cheek against his chest.

  My fears vanished as his arms enfolded me and we held each other, the two of us alone against the night, clinging to one another for comfort and meaning in a world that seemed to be getting bigger and scarier by the day. When I looked up at him, the wind restless in my hair, his lips were already descending towards mine.

  We kissed under the stars to the music of the waves while our toes sank slowly into the sand, and I knew then without a doubt that I was falling desperately in love with him. This beautiful boy was so much more than I’d ever imagined when I first saw him watching me from next door. He was so different from the gorgeous but callous player I’d dreamed about during those days before I started to know him. For once in my life reality had surpassed my wildest dreams, and now that I held that fantasy in my arms I couldn’t imagine letting go.

  Chapter Eleven

  I spent most of the next two days over at Molly’s house. With little else to do I let her talk me into playing some games with her, and to my surprise I found myself actually enjoying them. I’d played a few games on my phone before, but they were nothing like this. It turned out to be really easy to lose yourself and forget the real world and all the problems that came with it.

  That was a good thing, because I was missing Walker like crazy. Every morning when I woke up there was a Hello, beautiful text waiting for me, and the warm glow I got from knowing that I was the first thing on his mind every day helped keep me going. As hard as he was working on his uncle’s ranch, though, he had no time or energy left for anything more than that, so all I could do was wait for him to finish and come home so we could pick up where we left off that night at the beach.

  Allison and Dannika had bailed on me as well. A group of Dannika’s cousins had showed up at her grandmother’s house and so the whole family was out doing fun things together with no time for texting.

  Saturday morning I woke up early with a smile on my face. All of them were due to come home that day, and I could hardly contain my excitement. I hopped out of bed, got dressed, and then settled in to wait. Every few minutes I checked my phone for messages, even though there was no way I could miss hearing the notification if one came in. I’d run out of patience and was ready for them to get back already.

  The first text came around ten o’clock.

  Walker: Hey, beautiful. Missing you

  Me: Same. You on your way home?

  Walker: Sorry, promised Quinn & the guys I’d go to the beach

  Walker: I promised them before we… Anyway, I forgot

  Walker: You want to come?

  I thought about it. While I knew in general who he hung out with, I didn’t really know any of them. Without my own friends there, it would be kind of awkward. And I wasn’t really certain how they’d feel about me.

  Me: Not sure. Do they know about us?

  Walker: No. Not yet.

  I let my head droop. It wasn’t hard at all to imagine what their reaction would be. To them I’d just be another of Walker’s endless hookup girls, someone to be laughed at and mocked behind her back.

  Me: Why not?

  Walker: Haven’t had a chance, and didn’t quite know what to say

  Was he ashamed of me? He still hadn’t asked me out on a date or anything like we were officially dating. He hadn’t told anyone about me. Was I his dirty little secret? Honesty compelled me to admit that I hadn’t told Dannika and Allison, either. Walker was right. This was kind of hard to figure out.

  Walker: If you came along, it would give me a chance to tell them

  Me: Why don’t you tell them, and I’ll tell D & A when they get back

  Me: We can get that over with and ease into the social thing

  Walker: If that’s what you want

  Walker: I was really hoping to spend the day with you though

  Me: Same. But I need to tell them before I just spring you on them

  Walker: K. Come by tonite?

  Me: I can’t wait

  I started having second thoughts almost immediately, and every five minutes from then on it was a struggle not to tell him I’d changed my mind and to come pick me up. With my friends due back, though, I really needed to come clean to them and beg for forgiveness before they somehow found out on their own.

  I had just finished lunch when my phone dinged again.

  Dannika: HOME!!!!!

  Me: Thought you weren’t supposed to be in until this evening?

  Dannika: Dad wanted to get an early start

  Dannika: COME OVER NOW!!!

  My stomach tightened in nervous anticipation. I started to make up an excuse, but then bit it back. I needed to just do it and get it over with, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

  Me: I’ll see if Mom will drive me

  It took some wheedling mixed with a fair bit of whining, but Mom finally agreed. She grumbled the whole way there, though, and I had no way to tune her out.

  “Allison’s mom said that she’d bring me home,” I said, hoping to mollify her.

  “Fine. I’m glad they’re back. Maybe now you’ll stop stalking that poor guy next door.”

  I gaped at her. “Are you crazy?”

  “No, and I’m not blind, either. This is the Twenty-first Century. Ask him out already. The worst thing that can happen is that he says no.”

  She was so clueless. “I’ll give that some serious thought.”

  “Don’t you want to date boys? That’s what high school is for.”

  Seriously? Knowing that it would just make things worse, I didn’t throw her usual mantra about socialization skills and getting into a good college back in her face.

  “Of course I do, but none of them have shown any interest in me.” Until
now. “And I don’t chase after boys because I’m way too shy for that, and because despite it being the Twenty-first Century girls who chase after boys tend to get a certain reputation.”

  Mom made a disgusted noise. “Suit yourself, but you’re missing out. That boy is really cute.”

  “Mom!” Ugh. Ick! I did not want my mother thinking about Walker that way. Or any other way, for that matter.

  She just shrugged. “I’m allowed to pick out cute boys for my daughter to date. That’s one of the perks of being a mother. Get over it.”

  “Can we not have this discussion? Ever?”

  “One of these days you’ll change your mind.”

  “Yeah. Not going to happen.”

  I barely waited for the car to stop in Dannika’s driveway before I was trying to escape.

  “Have a good time,” Mom called after me.

  I just waved and hurried away before she could embarrass me any more. Thank goodness she hadn’t said any of that in front of my friends. As I knocked on the door, though, I was stunned by an even scarier thought. If Walker and I did keep seeing each other, Mom and Dad would find out sooner or later. I was going to have to get ready for that conversation, too.

  Or I could try to keep the whole thing hidden until I graduated and went away to college. I liked that idea a lot better, even if it wasn’t exactly realistic what with Walker living next door and everything. But that was a problem for another day.

  Today’s problem flung open the door and dragged me inside.

  “What took you so long?” Dannika demanded. “Get in here.”

  “I didn’t know I was on a schedule.”

  I followed her back to the familiar clutter of her room, where half a dozen partially completed craft projects were strewn on her desk and floor. Shoving a pile of clothes aside, I took a seat on her bed next to Allison.

  “I’m glad you’re back,” I told them.

  “We’re glad to be back,” Allison replied.

  “Yeah. It’s fun to get away for a while, but I’ve had enough of roughing it.”

  I’d been to her grandmother’s house. It wasn’t exactly a shotgun shack in the wilderness. “Roughing it?”

  “The cell reception is awful. And I love my grandmother and everything, but she drinks Folgers, Delaney. And there’s not a Starbucks for twenty miles.”

  Dannika was a horrible coffee addict and snob about what she drank. “I’ll notify the UN that your human rights have been violated.”

  Allison snorted a laugh. “You should have heard her when she found out her grandmother doesn’t have Netflix.”

  “Ha, ha,” Dannika grumbled. “You two should consider careers in standup.”

  I turned to Allison. “So what happened with your rodeo cowboy?”

  “He rode off into the sunset with some bleached blonde from UT.”

  “Figures. What about you, Dani? Any luck in the love department?”

  She shook her head. “Nada.”

  Allison snorted again. “She had hot guys drooling over her the whole time we were there, but she blew them all off. Half the time when she was supposed to be having fun with us, I found her off by herself texting Ashton.”

  “Why don’t you just get back together? It’s going to happen eventually anyway.”

  Dannika’s face set into a stubborn frown. “We’re just friends.”

  Allison laughed. “You two being just friends is like Cyndie Jenkins being just a little bit pregnant.”

  “Yeah? Let me know when you manage to get two words out to Seth, and maybe we can double date.”

  Me-ow! “Did you two do this the whole time you were gone?”

  They both spoke at once. “Yes!” Allison said. “No!” Dannika denied.

  Dannika threw up her hands. “Can we just go to the beach now?”

  “The beach?” I asked.

  “Yes. Ashton is going to be there with some friends.”

  My mouth went dry. Ashton hung around with Quinn a lot, and Walker said he was going to the beach with Quinn and some friends. What were the odds that we’d find all of them together if we went to the beach today? Considering my luck, it was practically a sure thing.

  I started to open my mouth and confess everything, but somehow I couldn’t. Maybe it would be better if I waited a little longer and tried to find the right time. And maybe it would be better if I could sweet talk Walker into getting us into the seniors’ Fourth of July beach party. I hear bribery is an excellent way to buy forgiveness.

  “Great. Let’s go to the beach before you two strangle each other,” I said.

  Dannika’s older sister drove us since she was going to meet up with some of her friends there, too. It was a perfect June day, with a balmy wind off of the Gulf that wasn’t too sultry and big, fluffy clouds floating majestically against the deep blue vault of the sky. It was hard to believe that it was the same place of such bleak, wild beauty that I’d experienced a few nights ago with Walker.

  We took our towels and supplies down the beach to set up our little camp closer to the water. There were a couple of big umbrellas for shade, a cooler full of drinks, and a couple of bottles of sunscreen. With that we were all ready for an afternoon relaxing and having fun at the beach. It sounded perfect.

  All except for the part about having to explain about me and Walker to my friends.

  “Hey, isn’t that Walker?” Allison asked.

  My head whipped around so fast I’m surprised I didn’t get whiplash, and I cringed. He was sitting nearby with a group of jocks from the football and baseball teams along with several of the cheerleaders and drill team girls who ran in the same circles as Ashton and Quinn. Wonderful. How was this going to work now? As soon as I started my story, Dannika and Allison would end up staring at Walker and drawing attention to us.

  “Ashton is there, too,” Allison added for Dannika’s benefit. “Why don’t you go talk to him?”

  Dannika feigned disinterest. “I’ve talked to him already today. I came here to spend time with you two.”

  “Come on. I’ll bet Delaney will go with you. She’s probably dying to talk to Walker.”

  I blushed. If only she knew.

  Allison refused to let it go. “You knew he was going to be here. That’s why you had your sister drop us off here.”

  “I knew he was going to be at the beach, but I had no idea he was going to be here.”

  “You are such a liar!”

  A rich male voice cut through their argument. “Delaney?”

  All three of our heads swiveled at once. A stocky young man about our age stood between us and the water, his sandy blonde hair riffled by the wind. A pair of warm brown eyes smiled down at me in a look of mingled surprise and pleasure. It took me a minute to place him, but then it clicked—Matt Blanton, the first boy I’d ever kissed.

  He’d grown up a bit since middle school, and was seriously cute. Not Walker Dean cute, but nice enough to get both Dannika and Allison to sit up and take notice.

  “It is you,” he said, a slow grin breaking out on his face. “I haven’t seen you since we moved to Corpus. And now I’m really wishing we’d never left.”

  My friends shared an evil laugh. Oh, I was going to get teased mercilessly about this later. As if to prove my point, Allison hopped up from her spot next to me and sat down beside Dannika.

  “Have a seat,” she said. “It sounds like you two have some catching up to do.”

  Matt lowered himself to the beach towel she had vacated and gave me a look of clear interest that would have sent butterflies screaming through my stomach a couple of weeks ago—before Walker.

  “So what have you been up to for the last three years? Besides getting hot,” he added with a teasing grin.

  That was enough to make me blush. I wasn’t interested, but I’d really liked him before his family’s move to Corpus had ended our relationship. We’d never fought or broken up, and if it hadn’t been for Walker I’d have been thrilled to see him again. But even though h
e wasn’t Walker, he was a nice guy and we had a good time reminiscing about middle school and our old relationship. If nothing else, it turned out to be a great way to take my mind off of trying to figure out how to explain Walker to my friends.

  He didn’t take my mind off of Walker, though. Even while I was laughing with Matt, I was stealing glances at Walker whenever I could. I still didn’t think he’d noticed us, though.

  “Well, I need to get moving,” Matt said.

  “Aw, don’t go,” Allison told him while she batted her eyes meaningfully at me.

  “I’ve got to go pick up my friend. I just stopped by to see if the beach and stuff were still like I remembered them.”

  “Were they?” Dannika purred.

  Matt grinned at me. “The beach hasn’t changed, but some things sure have. It really was great seeing you again, Delaney.” He started to get up but hesitated. “Since we’re driving now and Corpus isn’t that far, maybe we could go out sometime?”

  Inwardly I cringed. I’d been afraid he was going to say that. “I’m really sorry, but I’m seeing someone right now.”

  His face fell a bit, but only for a second before he brightened back up. “I should have guessed. Well, he’s a lucky guy. If it doesn’t work out, give me a call.” He bent over and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. “You know Quinn, right? He has my number.”

  As he walked away, I found Dannika and Allison staring at me like I’d grown a second head.

  “What is wrong with you?” Allison demanded.

  “What?”

  “He was cute, he was funny, and he was totally into you. Why did you shoot him down?”

  A fist clenched in my stomach. This was it. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid it any longer. I was going to have to come clean with them about Walker. My eyes automatically cut over to where the boy of my dreams was sitting with Quinn and Ashton.

  And London.

  The cheerleader was on her knees behind him, slowly and sensuously massaging sunscreen onto his bare shoulders. As I watched, she bent down with a laugh and whispered something to him, her lips brushing against his ear.