When she came outside, she saw Colten wasn’t alone. Brittany was standing there right beside him.
“Surprise!” Brittany yelled as Rachael appeared.
“Brittany!” Rachael ran to give her a hug. “Where did you come from?”
“I was sitting in a different section of the bleachers. Colten thought it would be best to surprise you after the game, not during. We didn’t want to mess up your dance performance by distracting you before half-time!”
In that moment Rachael was overwhelmed by how much she had really missed Brittany during the last month and a half.
“You look great! I wasn’t so sure about the pop-star makeup awhile ago, but after an hour or so, I began to think you could pull that off! With your wild blonde hair and all, it was totally you…like a new adventurous you!”
“Yep. Well, don’t get too used to it. It was only for the game.”
“Oh. Like only for special occasions and all. I can see that now. Maybe for your Debutante Ball…now that would be something. Talk about making an entrance!”
Okay, so she still doesn’t get that it’s just stage makeup. LOL.
Still enthusiastic, Brittany added, “I was super scared about coming here to this game and everything. Everything you hear about public school and the gangs and the gang violence. But Colten convinced me I’d survive the night.”
“Oh, Brittany, that stuff happens in big, intercity high schools, not here in Bradenton. This is a relatively small town.” Brittany still seemed a little confused so Rachael changed the subject. “I sure have missed you. Are you staying the whole weekend?”
“No. My parents are coming to get me in the morning. I’m only here for tonight.”
“Wow. That’s really nice of them.”
“Nah. Not really. My mom is going shopping in Naples and is going to grab me on her way down. It was the perfect weekend to come visit.”
“Fantastic. We’re going to a bonfire party tonight with a lot of my friends here. I’d love for you to meet them all.”
“Great!”
As Rachael, Colten, and Brittany made their way out to the lot where Colten’s Jeep was parked, Rachael’s cell beeped.
A new text from Maysie: Party. Jason’s. 151 Lakeview St. C u there.
After running through a drive-thru for some burgers, fries, and drinks, the group was on their way to Jason’s. Rachael was thankful for the GPS on Colten’s phone. In about twenty minutes they had found it. Rachael couldn’t believe the number of vehicles. It looked like every person in school was there. Cars, Jeeps, and trucks lined the road on both sides. They parked and made their way up to Jason’s yard.
From the front yard she could hear loud music playing out back and lots of kids talking, yelling, and having a good time. As they walked behind Jason’s house, Rachael could see the bonfire. Everyone was standing around it and the pool. Some kids were dancing on the pool deck, while others had jumped in and were swimming. Beyond the house and yard there was a dock leading out onto the lake. Even from this distance Rachael could make out a ski boat and jet skis in the dark.
Just then Jason came over to say hi. “Hey, Rachael. Colten, it’s good to see you again.” Then he turned his attention to Brittany. “So who is your friend?”
“This is Brittany, one of my best friends from back home. She came to surprise me.”
“That’s cool. I love surprises,” Jason answered.
Obviously, he was interested in Brittany. Who wouldn’t be? Brittany was very curvy, and the super tight, pale yellow tank she was wearing perfectly complemented her golden blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin.
“Maybe I can take Brittany around and introduce her to everyone,” Jason suggested.
Uh oh. Maysie is not going to like this.
But before Rachael could intervene, Brittany was saying, “Sure. I’d like that, Jason.”
And there they went. Rachael and Colten smiled at each other, then walked hand in hand up to where Maysie, Shannah, Gabe, Clay, Amber, Travis, and Trisha were standing.
Ah. So Trisha had decided to make her move. This should be interesting.
“Hey, Colten,” Travis greeted him, “What’s up, man? Good to see ya.”
“Yep. You too.”
The guys exchanged a handshake.
“So, who is your friend?” Maysie asked.
Great. Here we go. But surprisingly Maysie doesn’t sound annoyed.
“That’s one of my best friends from back home, Brittany. She came to visit me for the night. Her parents are taking her shopping tomorrow in Naples and will be picking her up on their way by.”
“That’s great!” Maysie said a little too enthusiastically.
Rachael and Maysie exchanged a knowing look. Rachael could almost feel the relief washing over Maysie. Don’t worry, girl. She’s not going to be here often enough to steal your man. After all, if someone were interested in Colten like that, she would feel exactly the same way.
Everyone stood chatting for a long time when Colten and Rachael decided it was time to go. Rachael was tired and wanted to get home.
“I’ll go find Brittany. I haven’t seen her in a while,” she whispered in Colten’s ear so no one, especially Maysie, heard her. She and Colten excused themselves and went in search of Brittany. It didn’t take long to find her.
Brittany and Jason were down on the dock, behind the house, at the very end leaning on the rail. While it was dark and difficult to see them clearly, Rachael could have sworn they were kissing when she and Colten first stepped out onto the dock. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps they nearly jumped apart a foot or two.
Brittany, what are you doing? You barely know him. Kissing isn’t a crime or anything, but Maysie would just die! I can never tell her about this.
“Hey guys,” Brittany said, “Jason here was showing me his boat and the lake. Isn’t it beautiful at night with all the stars and everything?”
“It sure is,” Colten answered.
“Hey, Brittany, are you ready to go? Colten and I wanted to head home.”
“Sure.” She turned to Jason. “Thanks for showing me around. It was fun. I’ll see you next time I come to town to visit Rachael.”
Hardly. I’m keeping you as far away from him as I can. Yikes, I don’t need friend problems of any kind. I already have enough problems.
“Thanks, Jason. Fun party,” Rachael said smugly and turned to go home with Colten and Brittany in tow.
It was very quiet on the ride home. Brittany’s lowered head told Rachael she knew Rachael was annoyed at her. But Rachael decided to put the incident behind them immediately. Brittany hadn’t known Jason was the crush of her closest friend here. And Rachael was sure that, when she told Brittany that little fact, Brittany would be sure to not let it happen again. She wouldn’t want to cause Rachael any trouble. She would understand.
When they got home, Colten made the excuse of going inside to carry the bags into their rooms while Rachael asked Brittany to help her check Taffy in the barn.
Upon reaching the barn Brittany squealed, “What is that stank?”
Rachael laughed. “When I first moved here, it really bothered me too, but not anymore. Now I barely notice it.”
“That’s because it has permanently damaged your sinus cavities!” Brittany held her nose and breathed through her mouth.
“No, really. If you think this is bad, you should smell the dairy five miles away. Now that stinks!”
“No thank you.”
Rachael decided now was better than never, so she launched into what she was sure would be an uncomfortable conversation for both of them. “Hey, Britt, it looked like you and Jason got pretty cozy out there on the dock.”
“Yep. I kissed him. He’s single, right?”
“Yes. Technically he’s single, but my closest friend, Maysie, has a huge crush on him. I wouldn’t want her mad at me or anything.”
“It’s not like I’m moving here or anything. I was only having a little fun. Bes
ides, your friend Maysie can just get over it. He isn’t her boyfriend.”
Wow! This is not how I expected this conversation to go!
“No, he’s not, but if it were the other way around and Maysie had come to Palm Beach to visit us, and TJ had come over and hit on Maysie, I would tell her the same exact thing. You have a crush on TJ, and Maysie kissing TJ would make you uncomfortable and therefore put me, as a friend to both of you, in an awkward situation.”
Brittany frowned. “I can see how you feel, but I don’t like TJ anymore. I have my sights set on someone else.”
“Fine. Let’s go inside.”
Now Rachael was angry. This was basic girl code. Every girl knows you don’t go after a friend’s crush, even if it is a friend of a friend!
“Yep. I need a shower after being out here in this smelly barn anyway.”
Both girls walked in silence to the house. When they came in, Aunt Margaret showed Brittany to the bathroom and bedroom where she’d be sleeping. Rachael’s mom was still over in Palm Beach visiting Rachael’s father.
“Let’s take a walk,” Rachael suggested to Colten.
They went out to the barn and talked in private there. Rachael told Colten about the conversation she’d had with Brittany and how badly it had gone.
“I feel horrible for having brought her. I thought it would be a nice surprise.” Colten sounded very down.
“No, it was a great surprise. You aren’t responsible for her bad attitude in any way. I thought once she knew that Jason was Maysie’s crush she would see things differently. I even used an analogy about Brittany’s crush on TJ. She didn’t see the relevance and said she liked someone new.”
“That’s only because TJ is now dating Ellery. Neither of them wanted to tell you, but they’ve had a falling out over it.”
“Oh, I feel badly now. No wonder she got so angry. She’s hurt and upset over boy trouble herself. I’ll have to talk to her in the morning to patch things up.”
“Good. Her mother will be here before ten o’clock. You’ll need to get her up early. Is she an early riser usually?”
“No. But she will be here.” Rachael grinned.
Then Colten smiled. “Rooster?”
“Yes. Rooster. I haven’t decided to fry him up yet, but that day may be coming.”
“If Brittany weren’t a vegetarian, she may have done it for you in the morning.”
She flashed her biggest smile at him. “That rooster’s luck never seems to run out.”
They headed inside, and she walked him to the guest bedroom door.
“Welcome back, Colten. It’s good to see you again,” Aunt Margaret yelled from behind her closed bedroom door.
Both Rachael and Colten laughed. “Thanks, Aunt Margaret,” he called back. “It’s good to see you too. Good night.”
Rachael closed her door. It took awhile to clear her mind. She kept thinking about Brittany and Jason on the dock. She wasn’t the kissing or make-out police or anything. She had certainly kissed Colten more than once, but that was different—they were dating.
Brittany didn’t even know Jason. Not really. They’d never even met before tonight. Not at school. Not at the Club.
Wow, one thing’s for certain. I owe Travis a huge apology. He had known Jason for years and was certainly aware that Jason was very friendly with girls, even girls he barely knew. Travis didn’t judge him for it, but he didn’t want him dating his sister.
Travis also knew his sister better than anyone else, and when he had said Jason wasn’t her type, he had been absolutely right! Maysie was a good, sweet girl. It wasn’t that Brittany wasn’t. Rachael refused to judge her friend. It wasn’t even any of her business. But Maysie would never be the “meet me once and then take me to a dark location and kiss me” type of girl. If that was what Jason liked, then Maysie very simply was not his type at all.
Something like that might not bother Brittany, but it would absolutely freak Maysie out! Rachael decided to discourage Maysie from pursuing Jason as best as she could without mentioning what had happened.
She glanced at her picture frame and touched Colten’s face.
Things are not as bad as they seem.
After mulling these things over until the wee hours of the morning, Rachael finally resolved to get some sleep. She was relieved at the promise of Brittany going home first thing in the morning and having no further plans to visit anytime soon.
15
AFTER COLTEN LEFT ON SUNDAY, Rachael went out to the barn to spend some time with Taffy and ole’ lonesome George. She was mumbling to herself about Brittany when she heard a noise.
It was Travis. Rachael had no idea what prompted his visit this morning, and he offered no explanation.
He simply asked, “Need some help?”
“Sure. That would be great.”
Travis set to work, shoveling one of the two other stalls Rachael never cleaned. Since Paint’s death, no horse had used it, but when Rachael walked over and looked inside she could see it was in serious need of cleaning. Rachael grabbed the wheelbarrow and her pitchfork and joined Travis in it.
“This is a mess.” Rachael was embarrassed she hadn’t noticed it earlier.
“Well, when Paint died last spring, I think it was a painful reminder to your aunt. This was his stall. Maybe if we get it cleaned up, she’ll want another horse in time.”
“Maybe you’re right.” It was really thoughtful of Travis. Rachael decided now was a good time to bring up the Jason-Brittany thing. “Travis?”
He looked up when she said his name.
Rachael stood, still holding her pitchfork. “Does Maysie know about Brittany and Jason and the other night? The thing at the party?”
“What thing at the party?”
Great. I had to go and open my big mouth, and Travis didn’t even know. But there was no going back now. “Oh, I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?”
“It’s not a big deal…really.”
His eyes held hers. “Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Well, my friend Brittany kind of kissed Jason. And I’m a little bothered by it because I’m afraid it will hurt Maysie’s feelings and cause problems between her and Brittany. And they’re both really good friends of mine.”
“No way! Really? Brittany and Jason kissed? Wow. That’s a shocker.” Travis grinned.
“You butthead. You knew! You made me go through all that explaining, and you already knew?” Now Rachael was ticked off.
“Don’t be mad at me, Rach. I didn’t know if you knew. I didn’t want to be the one to open a can of worms—or spill the beans—so to speak.” Travis looked sincere.
“No secrets between us, remember?” She really had him there.
“You are absolutely right. No secrets between us, but be careful what you ask me. You may not really want to know the answer.”
What does he mean by that? “So tell me what you know.”
“This is what I know. Jason really likes Brittany. He thinks she is fun, pretty, and he described her as really friendly.”
“What does ‘really friendly’ mean?” Rachael didn’t know if she liked the sound of that.
“He’s a seventeen-year-old guy, Rachael. It means exactly what you think it means.”
“Well, he’s a liar!” Rachael exclaimed.
Holding up his hands, Travis stated, “Don’t kill the messenger! I’m only being honest with you.”
“Sorry. But Brittany is not a bad girl. She only kissed him,” Rachael emphasized.
“Yes. On the first night she met him and within the first hour—in the dark—on a dock. Do I need to go on?”
“No. But what about Jason? Does he always kiss and tell? That doesn’t make him a gentleman.”
“A good guy friend, yes, but a gentleman, no. That’s why I never wanted my sister dating him. He’s not a bad guy. He just isn’t serious boyfriend material.”
“At least we agree there. After Friday night I don’t want him to
date Maysie, either. I think he is a little too advanced for her.”
“Are you actually admitting I was right about Jason and Maysie not being right for each other?”
“Pretty much,” Rachael said with a smile. “And I’m sorry I fought you on that point before.” “One more question,” she prodded.
“Yes,” Travis said patiently.
“Does Maysie know about Brittany and Jason?”
“Yes.”
“How is she?”
“She thinks he is a good friend, but not exactly the right kind of guy for her.”
“Hmm. I was right after all.”
“About what?”
“She is a smart girl.”
“Yes, she is. Now how about we get a little work done?”
Travis shoveled crap for another thirty minutes and then walked over to the stall door. He propped his shovel there and took off his shirt.
“I think I’ll go in and get us some iced tea or lemonade,” Rachael said as she quickly turned and walked inside. She told herself she was hot from the heat—it was well into the nineties today—and the physical nature of the work they were doing. But if she was absolutely honest with herself, it was Travis. She found him attractive.
Was that a crime? She didn’t have any plans to do anything about it. She found Colten attractive too. Obviously. But she felt guilty about finding Travis attractive. And now she had to go back outside and face him, with his tanned, firm chest, rippling biceps, and six-pack abs!
This is not helping! Future note to self: All future guy friends need to be really unattractive. Warts, dip, short, and a little chunky couldn’t hurt. Maybe balding.
And no, Dad. The answer is no. A girl cannot be friends with a hot guy and not develop some sort of feelings for him. It’s impossible. Especially if that guy is Travis Baxter!
No. Maybe it is just me. Maybe I have some sort of abnormal teenage hormone levels. Maybe that’s making me think I think he is attractive, when really I don’t.
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