Her panicked tone piqued my interest. “Why not? What’s the date-night game?”
“It’s when I get Taylor ready for her date,” Kimmy said brightly, while Taylor buried her face in a blue tasseled pillow behind her sister’s back.
“Real date?”
“No, Taylor never goes on real dates.” She let out a squeal when Taylor clasped her hand on her mouth.
“I do go on dates!”
“Of course you do,” I replied in a calming tone to placate her. It didn’t work, though. When she turned her irritated face to glare at me, I saved Kimmy from her grasp. “Why don’t you get me ready for a date, Kimmy?”
Taylor shook her head. “Oh no, I don’t think you want to—”
“’Course I do. Kimmy and I are tight like that.” I wrapped an arm around Kimmy’s tiny shoulders. “Besides, it sounds like fun.”
When Kimmy gleefully ran out of the living room to get her “stuff,” Taylor sent me a look that told me I’d regret my offer.
I did.
Minutes later, my face felt tight and heavy with cream and powder. Even though I told Kimmy I wanted a nice and natural look for my date, she aimed for all the bright primary colors in Taylor’s brand-new makeup set. My cheeks were swollen from being stabbed by the makeup brushes’ bristles, and my eyes ached from the eyelash curler. I didn’t know why girls put up with doing this every day.
But it was all worth it as Taylor lay on the floor beside us, weak from her peals of laughter. She would clench her stomach and try to sit up, but one look at me and she’d collapse again.
Her cheeks were wet with tears. She beamed up at me so wide that I could barely see her eyes.
Yeah, it was definitely worth it.
14
{Taylor}
The night wind rustled through my hair as I leaned out the passenger window of Brian’s car and pointed a finger at Carly. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay? We could go to the party with you. We don’t mind.”
“Positive. How am I supposed to start my schmoozing if you guys are hanging around?” She slung her purse over her shoulder and winked at us. Her flowy green skirt swirled around her legs. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I said drily. I still wasn’t sure about leaving Carly behind, but she wanted to join this theater group after graduation, and this party could be her way in. Besides, if there was anyone who could take care of herself, it was Carly.
“Speak for yourself. I’m very offended.” Brian jabbed at the button to roll up the window. “Let’s go, Taylor, before she changes her mind.”
I laughed as Carly jumped back and stuck out her tongue at us before heading back into the theater. Brian pulled the car out of the parking lot and slowed down next to her. “Good luck. You’ll knock them dead.”
“I know. How could anyone resist me?”
Brian snorted and drove off once she got back inside. “Nice to see that she doesn’t need any help in the confidence department.”
“Yeah, but I like to think that she still needed us for moral support.” Without waiting for his answer, I scooted a little closer and held my thumb and index finger an inch apart. “Just a tad. No harm in taking a little bit of the credit.”
“Hell, she’s not here. We could take all the credit.”
I grinned and patted his shoulder. “You’re right. It was all because of us. We’re awesome!”
The car swerved the teeniest bit as Brian snickered into his left fist. “As long as you don’t let it get to your head.”
“Too late. I do regret one thing.” I let out a sigh and patted my stomach. “I shouldn’t have skipped dinner.”
Switching hands on the steering wheel, Brian opened the compartment between our seats and fumbled through the neatly wrapped wires for his cell charger and iPod. “Well, I don’t have anything to feed you, but maybe this would help.” He handed me a pack of spearmint gum.
I accepted the gum with a grin. “Thanks. Do you want one?”
“No, I have my own.” He patted the chest pocket of his green-checkered button-down shirt. “I don’t like spearmint.”
“Oh, right.” I forgot that he liked fruity bubble gum. I hated those with a passion. They were so sweet that I’d always end up swallowing them when I was younger. My mom told me that since gum doesn’t digest, sooner or later it would just build up and fill my entire stomach. Great thing to tell your daughter right before Halloween.
I popped two pieces in my mouth. “Why do you have this spearmint gum if you don’t like it?”
“It’s for you.” He gave me a small grin. The streetlight flickered in his dark eyes. “I always buy some to have around in case you want it.”
I blinked dumbly at him. “Me?”
His grin faded a little, and he looked away. “Well, you and anybody else that wants it. You know what I mean.”
“Oh.” For a split second, I thought he meant specifically me. Which made no sense. Why would he buy something just in case I would want it someday? It was crazy of me to even think that.
Still, something in the air was a little weird. I leaned forward to mess with his CDs in the compartment beneath the stereo. My fingers ran along the plastic covers. They were already perfectly lined up—according to specific genres—and facing the same direction.
In fact, everything in Brian’s car was immaculate. No dust or dirt on the carpet or dashboard. Windows were so squeaky clean that a bird could probably fly right into them. And it still had a new-car smell, even though he had driven this car since he moved to Wilmington. This was exactly how I imagined my car would look if I had one.
Suddenly, I thought of Rudy with her rust and grime and was immediately filled with guilt. Like I was cheating on her for admiring another car.
Maybe I needed to sleep more. I think I was starting to get a little delusional.
“So, did you decide on which college you’re going to yet?” I asked to kill the quiet.
A small smile played on his lips, but his gaze remained straight ahead. “Would you kill me if I said Columbia?”
“Ha-ha, if you’re going to Columbia, then you better stop the car now so I can beat you up.”
He let out a low whistle under his breath. “Can we wait until we get home first? I don’t really want to have other witnesses around when you’re whooping my ass.”
“Well, it’s no fun to do it in private.”
Brian chuckled, but he didn’t say anything else. And he refused to look at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, and fluttery waves of panic washed over me. “Wait, you’re joking, right?”
“Sort of.” He let out a snort and finally turned to look at me when we reached a red light. His eyes laughed down at me, and his dimple was like a crater in his cheek. “I decided on NYU for journalism. So at least I’ll be nearby.”
“Oh.” Of course he wouldn’t fight me for Columbia. He knew how much it meant to me. “So premed’s definitely out of the picture?”
“Yeah, it would be interesting, and Tulane’s definitely where my parents want me to go, but I doubt I’d be happy.”
This was something that had been troubling him all year, so I was glad that he finally had it figured out. And it was the exact decision that I thought he should make. “That great, Brian. It really is.” I laid my hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “What made you change your mind?”
His eyes glanced down at my hand. “Actually … it’s because of you.”
“Me? How?”
“You know exactly what you want to do. And you worked your ass off to get there. Your passion and determination…” He shook his head. “I guess I just want that, too. To be in love with my job. Even if it means I’ll probably have to spend my life eating canned beans and noodle soup while you’re dining in five-star restaurants with judges and senators.”
Touched that he thought so highly of me, I gave his arm another light squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring you as my date to one or two of the dinners. For old times’ s
ake.”
Brian snickered. “Thanks in advance for the free food.”
“No problem.” I pulled away and looked out the window as he turned onto my street. “So I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then. If I ever get my acceptance letter.”
“You will. They’d be stupid not to take you, and Columbia isn’t for stupid people.” His confident tone reassured me. “Are you glad I’ll be close by?”
“Of course.” At least now that I knew he wasn’t out to take my spot. He let out a snort and I hit his arm. “Seriously, I am. It’d be nice to have someone there with me. That way I won’t be too lonely. You know, when school starts and everyone hates me.”
“Nobody hates you,” Brian cut in with a frown.
“They do when it comes to school stuff. Don’t lie.”
The car grew quiet again as he pulled up in front of my house. Finally, he cut the engine and nodded. “All right, maybe they do sometimes, but not me.”
“I know you don’t. That’s why we’re friends even though you’re the valedictorian and I’m not.” I was only half kidding. A part of me was still burning over not being able to give the speech. It was something I dreamed of doing when I was little. When I first learned what the word valedictorian even meant.
“If you want, I could screw up in my classes for the rest of the year and you could take the spot.”
“Whatever.”
He unbuckled his seat belt and turned in his seat to lean toward me with a little grin. “Seriously, you just say the word.”
Even though I knew he was just kidding, his offer cheered me up. I leaned toward him, mirroring his stance. “The old me may have considered it for a second, but the victory would feel too hollow. Besides, there’s still a chance that I might get it on my own. Fair and square.” Slim, but the chance was still there.
“All right, I won’t make it easy for you, then.”
“I wouldn’t want you to.” With a grin, I leaned back in my seat and reached for my seat belt.
“Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we ever started dating?” Brian suddenly asked. His dark eyes were bright and intense as he gazed at me.
I was too surprised by his question to respond at first. My hand just froze on the belt buckle, like it had forgotten how to unlatch it. Time stood still as Brian’s question ran over and over in my head like an annoying Energizer Bunny.
It was a simple yes-or-no question. And one that I knew the answer to. Yet why couldn’t I just say it? This was a perfect opportunity to find out about his feelings toward me.
Because I wasn’t ready for the answer. Not yet. This wasn’t part of the plan. “What do you mean?”
He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up. “We just seem so compatible. Perfect, even.”
“Well, yeah, but maybe we’re also too perfect together,” I said echoing Evan’s words. “Like evil-scientist kind of perfection.”
Brian laughed. “I don’t really know about that. Can things ever be too perfect? Sometimes perfect just means … perfect. Because that’s how it’s supposed to be. Because that’s how you know it would last.”
Goose bumps ran up and down my arms as he spoke. I shook my head. “Why does it feel like you’re getting all philosophical on me?”
“It’s just something I’ve been wondering about for a while now.”
Before I could respond, he leaned even closer to me, until his face was inches from mine. My breath got caught in my throat, and all I could do was stare at him. With a small grin, he suddenly pressed on the belt buckle to release it and tugged the strap away from my body so it would spring back into place. He didn’t move away, though. He just continued gazing at me.
There are certain moments that you’ve dreamed of and planned for your entire life.
I wouldn’t be lying if I said I’d thought hundreds of times of the moment Brian and I would share our first kiss. When we were in college hanging out. Him doing his journalism while I studied for law school. Hours would pass, and we’d suddenly get quiet and look at each other and just know.
This moment was eerily close to all of them. And with Brian living in New York with me, it seemed like something that was destined to happen.
I don’t know whether he moved or I did, but next thing I knew, the inches between us shrank down until they were barely one. I was unable to look at him anymore without getting cross-eyed, and my eyelids fluttered closed, despite my uncomfortable, churning stomach.
Tap. Tap. Tap. We both jumped apart when someone rapped on the passenger window.
It was Evan.
My heart slammed in my chest as I leaped out of the car. I stumbled on the grass but managed to catch myself in time. Or rather Evan did. He immediately let go of my arms and shoved his hands in his pockets. His expression was blank as he gazed down at me. The churning in my stomach multiplied, and I had to look away.
“Uh, hi, Evan.” The greeting came out as a high-pitched squeak. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Hi.” Great, now I sounded like a forty-year-old trucker who smoked. Was my throat always this dry?
Brian also got out of the car and slowly came around until he stood on my other side.
Evan glanced over at Brian for a second, and his forehead scrunched up like he was deep in thought. I felt like I should say something, but I didn’t know what.
Suddenly, within a blink of an eye, his face softened and a bright smile crossed his face. Even though it was so wide, it didn’t reach his eyes. They were still dark and stormy. “Fancy meeting you guys here.”
Brian shrugged. “Not really, since this is Taylor’s house. Have you been waiting long?”
“A bit.”
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought Evan was jealous, but there was no logical reason for him to be. That would be crazy. Brian and I hadn’t done anything. And it wasn’t like Evan and I were in a real relationship. He even joked about Brian and me getting together a bunch of times.
Then why did I feel so guilty?
After what seemed like hours—although it was barely a minute—Evan took another few steps toward me until I was within arms’ distance. He didn’t touch me, though. “It was nice of you to drive her home, Brian.”
Brian took a few steps closer to me, too. “Of course I would. Taylor knows that she can count on me for anything. I’m always here when she needs me.”
“Yeah, you are the good guy.” Evan’s tone was so mocking that he made the word good sound like an insult.
“Well, someone’s gotta be.”
Evan’s eyes narrowed, but his smile never wavered. It was kind of creepy and amazing at the same time. “It’s great that Taylor has such a good friend like you around.”
My head whipped back and forth as they talked. “It really is. Why don’t we—”
“Yeah, you know what they say. Friends last a lifetime.” Brian cut in like I hadn’t even said anything. “And I’m going to be around for a while.”
“I’ll bet.”
They were both staring each other down over my head. In fact, I don’t even think they realized I was still between them anymore. It was like some sort of power struggle that I didn’t understand. And one that I had absolutely no desire to be a part of.
Thank god we were interrupted by loud barking. Oreo was a blur of black and white that shot toward us before skidding to a stop a few feet away. His pink tongue hung out of the side of his mouth, and his tail wagged back and forth like a windshield wiper.
Having already met my dog a few times whenever I brought him to the park, Brian squatted down and stretched out his hand toward Oreo. “Come here, boy.”
At the same time, Evan smacked his hand against the side of his jeans. “Come over here.”
Oreo’s head whipped back and forth between the two guys before he let out a whimper and just flopped on the grass. He curled up into a little ball, and his head turned to the side. And he refused to look at any of us anymore.
I kind
of wanted to do the same.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved confrontation as much as the next lawyer—or would-be lawyer—but only when I got to be on one of the arguing sides. I used to be the captain of the debate team before everyone quit and the club was cut. (Despite what the majority of the student body thought, it was not my fault. If anything, it was everyone else’s fault for not coming to the daily meetings like I asked.)
But that didn’t mean I wanted to take sides between Evan and Brian.
Deciding to put Oreo and me out of our misery, I swooped down and scooped him up in my arms. He let out a sharp yelp at the sudden movement, but I just held him close to my chest and backed away from the two surprised guys. “Uh, I still have to study for that … test I have tomorrow. Don’t want to be unprepared or anything. I’ll—I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
Before either of them could respond, I raced back into the house without a second glance. Slamming the door behind me, I rose onto my tiptoes and peeked out of the long windowpane at the top of the door. Brian and Evan had both turned away from the house and were walking back to their cars. And within minutes, they were gone. Each drove off in the opposite direction.
Oreo let out a loud bark to get my attention. And I swear, I could see pointed accusation in his eyes.
“What? I’m not being a chicken. I just—well, you didn’t pick, either.” He cocked his head to the left and just kept staring at me. Great, now I was arguing with a dog. “Oh, shut up.”
My brows wrinkled together in frustration, and I slid down the door. Oreo wiggled closer until his head was tucked beneath my arm so he could snuggle against my body.
15
-Evan-
With a towel wrapped around my neck, I grabbed my keys and got ready for the beach. I hadn’t planned to go today. The rumbling clouds outside should have been enough for me to get back into bed. But I needed to do something. Anything to get my mind off Taylor and that stupid-ass idiot.
Okay, so Brian wasn’t actually an idiot. If anything, he was too damn smart. And he could be nice. Sometimes. But that didn’t make him any less of a stupid ass. I mean, what kind of guy goes after another person’s girlfriend? Or sort-of girlfriend. Or—
The Way to Game the Walk of Shame Page 14
