Dating: For the Block

by Stephanie Street

  It wasn’t.

  We couldn’t let this happen. Not again. Not for Grayson. Not for me.

  Ignoring Grayson’s perplexed look, I rose to my feet. Dad still held Michelle. I had to do something. I had to get them apart. They still had children to raise. I needed my dad after everything. It was my turn. I was sure Michelle was a great lady, but just like I needed my dad, I was certain Grayson needed his mom.

  Whipping my phone out of my pocket, I used my thumbprint to unlock it.

  Grayson rose to his feet. “What are you doing?”

  Without even a glance in his direction, I hit the button on my favorites contact list that would call my dad and put the phone to my ear. “Whatever it takes,” I replied.

  Watching through the windows, I saw Dad’s expression change. With one arm, he let go of Michelle and dug in his pocket for his phone. Surprise registered on his face and he quickly swiped his finger across the screen.

  “Mia? What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice urgent.

  “Daddy?” I said, infusing as much of my inner child as I could muster. “Where are you? I woke up and you were gone?”

  Dad squirmed in his seat, his eyes lifting to meet Michelle’s full of guilt. “I, uh, I realized we were out of milk and ran to the 24-hour market on the other side of town. I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  The big, fat liar! Dad’s answer strengthened my resolve to break up whatever love fest was going on in the cafe. It was only one battle, but I’d just become fully invested in the war. One parent leaving me high and dry was enough. I wasn’t about to lose my dad, too.

  “Oh. That’s okay. I was just scared.” I was laying it on a little thick. The last time I’d been afraid of being home alone, even after dark, I was ten. It didn’t matter I decided as Dad’s face drained of color and his other arm fell away from Michelle. My plan was working.

  “I’m on my way,” Dad said, moving away from Michelle to slide out of the booth. “I’ll be home-” he shot a glance at Michelle and I realized he must have driven her to the cafe. “Fifteen minutes. I’ll be home in fifteen minutes.”

  I forced my voice as small as I could make it. “Okay, Daddy. Bye.” I disconnected the call, my attention still focused on what was happening inside the cafe. Dad offered Michelle his hand and helped her out of the booth. With a hand at the small of her back, he guided her toward the door.

  “Oh, crap! We gotta get out of here.” The sound of Grayson’s voice pulled me out of my trance.

  My eyes widened as Dad and Michelle opened the door to the cafe and stepped outside. “Ohmigosh. I have to get home.” I shot Grayson a glance. He looked as though he might throw up and suddenly I felt sick. “Let’s go! We have to hurry!”

  Grayson gripped my hand in his. He led us out of the parking lot, ducking behind cars along the way. Thankfully, Dad had parked near the entrance. He’d held the door for Michelle and gotten into his own seat long before Grayson and I made it to the other side of the lot near my truck. Dad backed out of his spot and I held my breath until he turned in the opposite direction from our house.

  Grayson pulled on my hand. “He’s taking her back to the hospital. She must have been on her lunch break.” He watched for a second as the taillights on Dad’s car disappeared down the street. “Come on. We’ve got to get you home.”

  With his hands on my shoulders, Grayson herded me into the front seat of my truck. “Get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He met my eyes. “And we’ll talk about what happened back there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the parking lot.

  “Wait. What about you? I’ll give you a ride home.” The moment of panic I’d felt earlier was nothing compared to what I experienced looking at Grayson standing beside my open door trying to work out how to get him home before my dad got back from taking Michelle to the hospital.

  Grayson shook his head. “No. I can walk. It’s not that far.”

  Frowning, I shifted in my seat to get a better look at him. “No way. It’s cold outside. Hurry up and get in.” Traffic wasn’t as heavy this time of night. Maybe I could make it back in time.

  Grayson stepped back from my door. “It’s okay. It’s only a fifteen minute walk. You need to get going or he’s going to catch you.”

  I didn’t have time to argue. If I was going to get back before Dad I had to get moving. “Are you sure?” It was my fault Dad had left so abruptly. If I hadn’t acted as though I was terrified at his absence, we could have left with plenty of time for me to take Grayson back to his apartment and then get home before Dad arrived.

  Grayson nodded and with a push, closed my door. I started the engine and glanced at him again feeling stupid and guilty. It was dark and cold and no matter what Grayson said, it would be at least twenty minutes before he got home. But his apartment was in the whole other direction than Dad’s house from the cafe. There was no way I’d beat Dad home if I took the time to drop Grayson off. Grayson gestured for me to get going with his hand and with an apologetic smile I did just that.

  It was tempting to speed. I wasn’t altogether sure where the hospital was or how long it would take Dad to drop off Michelle and make his way back to the house, but I’d for sure never make it if I got pulled over for driving too fast in the residential area. There would be no explaining that to him without getting in heaps of trouble and losing every ounce of trust Dad had in me.

  With slick palms sliding along the steering wheel, I turned down our street and hurried into the driveway. Dad’s car was nowhere to be seen and I breathed a sigh of relief, cutting the engine and the lights at the same time. I’d just hopped down from the high seat when glowing headlights turned down the street from the other end. With my heart in my throat, I dashed into the house through the side door of the garage. Just as I made it to the door leading inside the house, the electric door began to rise.

  Praying desperately that the noise from his car would mask the sound of my feet stomping up the stairs to my bedroom, I raced toward my bed, diving into the covers with my shoes still on my feet. Lying quietly, I worked to control my labored breathing. I sounded like I’d just run a marathon not a hundred feet from the garage to my bed. Soon, I heard Dad’s steps on the stairs and my muscles tensed so much they ached.

  Closing my eyes, I waited.

  The door squeaked open and a sliver of light landed on my face. Keeping my breaths slow and even, I pretended to sleep. I felt the shift in the air of my room as Dad walked over to my bed, his familiar scent enveloping me. For several long seconds, he stood in my room beside my bed and I wondered what he saw, what he was thinking.

  His hand touched my forehead, warm and comforting for a moment and I heard him sigh before turning to leave, closing the door firmly behind him.

  13

  Grayson

  Mia had lost her freaking mind, but I wasn’t far behind. When I called her after seeing my mom’s avatar at the cafe on this app she’d made me download so she could see where I was at all times, I had no idea what we would find. I wasn’t entirely sure Coach Tillman would be with Mom, but I was betting on it. I figured if I was right, it would be a good idea for both of us to be there as witnesses. Then maybe we’d finally be on the same page.

  I didn’t know how right I was.

  I also completely underestimated my fake girlfriend. There was something completely heartbreaking about the way she’d both looked and sounded when she made the call to her dad interrupting the moment he’d been having with my mom. Ugh. None of these were fun thoughts to have, but something was going on with Mia.

  Not only had she lied to him when she called, saying she was home and afraid, but I could tell she’d intentionally turned up the fear in her voice. Once she’d disconnected the call and met my gaze with her own shocked one, I realized she’d surprised herself and that there was more going on in the pretty little head of hers than I imagined.

  For the next week, things were smooth sailing. Mia was a compliant and attentive girlfrien
d. She held my hand in the hall, sat beside me at lunch, and hadn’t kicked my shin under the table in days. In fact, the only disappointment was the lack of opportunity to kiss her again. I wasn’t kidding about never wanting to take advantage of situations and taking advantage of this one seemed an extremely dangerous prospect. The problem was I liked Mia. I liked her a lot. And rather than pursue her like a normal guy, we were locked into this type of business relationship that prevented us from acknowledging real feelings. At least, it was keeping me from doing that. Besides, we were faking our affection for each other. How did I even know I was getting the real Mia when we were together or just a version of her created for the sake of the charade we were putting on? Truth was, I didn’t.

  So, I kept telling myself to keep it professional, which was easy when she wasn’t anywhere nearby. When she was close, however, I had a really hard time listening to my own advice. Like now.

  We had a game. There were only two home games left and it was two hours before tip-off for the one tonight. As per tradition, we’d met up at our favorite burger joint. In the past, it had just been us guys, but slowly over the last year different girlfriends had trickled into the group. That’s how I ended up sandwiched between Piper and Mia in a large half-circle booth. Noah, Tierney, and Drew were also at the table.

  “I think we need to have a game,” Piper said, popping a French fry from Drew’s meal basket into her mouth.

  “What kind of game?” Tierney asked, glancing up from her phone. Even here she couldn’t stay away from her books.

  “A basketball game, of course,” Piper answered.

  Drew tugged on her ponytail. “Really? We don’t play enough basketball.” His eyes danced and I got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about basketball played with our respective teams. I knew Piper and Drew were both wickedly good basketball players. It made sense they spent some time on the court playing one-on-one. However, the look in Drew’s eyes and the blush staining Piper’s cheeks said they didn’t spend all of that time actually playing ball.

  Ugh.

  I’d never look at the neighborhood court the same again.

  Mia’s hand landed on my thigh and squeezed. We’d become extremely comfortable around each other physically. We might not kiss, but there was no end to the small touches we shared throughout the day. Most were for the benefit of our friends and the fake relationship we wanted them to believe was real, but some were a means of silent communication that always made it seem like this was more real than anything else.

  Her hand on my thigh was a sign of anxiety. Reaching down, I covered her hand with mine to let her know I was right there and I wasn’t going anywhere. But what could possibly be causing her to feel uneasy?

  “You can never play too much basketball,” Piper shot back at Drew her tone full of double meaning.

  Drew leaned forward, kissing her on the lips. It was a quick kiss that might have lasted longer if Noah hadn’t tossed a fry at them.

  “Do you guys ever stop?” Noah asked, shaking his head.

  Drew replied, never taking his eyes from Piper. “Nope.”

  Noah rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. And he was one to talk. No one missed the way he kept Tierney tucked close to his side. Drew and Piper weren’t the only one’s in love.

  “I’m serious, though. We’ve all been so busy there hasn’t been any time to hang out. Let’s plan a big group date.” Piper bounced in her seat and clapped her hands. “That would be so fun. We can bring snacks and play basketball. We can even plan other games. It’ll be the six of us and anybody else that can find a date can come, too.”

  Tierney was warming up to the idea. “Okay, but where will we do it?”

  It was the middle of February, so the neighborhood court was out. “Mateo’s church?” I suggested. We played there a lot when the weather was too cold for outside games.

  “I don’t know. The last time we played he was pretty uptight about it.” Drew shot Noah and I a look. It hadn’t been that bad, but I knew what Drew was getting at. Mateo always wanted everyone on their best behavior when we played at the church. A group date might put him into an anxiety induced coma. If such a thing existed.

  “What about the school?” Piper asked looking straight at Mia. “Do you think your dad would let us in?”

  “Um,” Mia hedged.

  I pulled her tighter against my side. Piper sure put her on the spot, but it wasn’t a bad idea. Coach knew us and he knew if we screwed anything up the consequences wouldn’t be worth it.

  I shrugged one shoulder. “We can ask. That could be fun and we haven’t done anything like that before.” Mostly because none of had girlfriends before.

  “When would we do it?” Noah asked, his brow pinched as he thought.

  “We only have Friday games next week,” Piper said. “We could do it Saturday night.”

  “That actually sounds like a lot of fun,” Tierney added.

  “Okay. Gray, you and Mia ask Coach and if he says it’s okay we’ll tell the others. But let’s plan to do something next Saturday, anyway. It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything fun.”

  “Hey,” Drew protested.

  Piper rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  We sat around the table and teased each other for another half hour before we had to all be back at the high school to get ready for the game. When it was time to go, I helped Mia into the driver’s seat of her truck. She’d followed me home after school to drop off my car to Mom so she could get to work for her shift later.

  Once I’d settled into the passenger seat, I reached for my backpack, debating my next move. I was being dumb, I knew it, but still I was nervous. This thing between us might not be real, but the feelings stirring I my gut were and had been. Whatever. All I could do was try and if Mia turned me down, well, that was her right.

  Reaching into the depths of my bag, I wrapped my fingers around the slick material of my away game jersey and pulled it free. I’d made sure to wash it the night before. I even put it through two cycles to make sure it smelled fresh. Hopefully a day spent in my bag hadn’t done it too much harm. At least I’d put it in my school bag and not my gym bag.

  “Mia,” I stopped to clear my throat. She’d just turned the key in the ignition but hadn’t shifted into reverse yet. She faced me once I said her name. “I, uh, well, I was thinking you might want to wear this to the game tonight?” I lifted the jersey so she could see.

  Mia blinked. “Oh.” Her eyes met mine. I had no idea how to interpret the look in them.

  “You don’t have to,” I rushed to reassure her, my own face suddenly burning. “I just thought-”

  “For appearances,” she stated bringing me up short.

  Right.

  “For appearances,” I repeated. She was right. I’d thought of it yesterday. We only had a couple of home games left and all the other guys let their girlfriends or girls they liked wear their jerseys on game day. I’d meant to give it to her earlier, but hadn’t been able to work up the courage. Things were easier between us, but it was complicated. Especially with my ever developing feelings. I wanted Mia to wear my jersey. Not just for appearances, but because it was starting to feel like she really was my girl.

  I watched as a series of emotions flitted across her face.

  Uncertainty.

  Vulnerability.

  And what was that?

  Longing?

  Finally, a look of determination settled on her features and she reached for the jersey.

  “Sure,” she said, her voice more steady than my conflicted feelings.

  “Good.” I nodded. “Great.” I was an idiot.

  Mia folded the shirt and set it in her lap. “Should we get going?”

  “Yeah. Thanks for driving.” I felt like an even bigger idiot that I didn’t have my own car and had to rely on her, but there was nothing I could do about that.

  She shrugged, shifting her truck into reverse and backing out of the parking spot. The drive
to the school was made in silence. I desperately didn’t want it to be awkward, but it totally was. Mia’s fingers shifted on the steering wheel over and over, the sound of her skin rubbing against the faux leather making me agitated. It was a relief when she parked and turned the vehicle off.

  Neither of us moved for probably ten seconds and then we both decided to speak at the same time.

  “Mia-”

  “Grayson-”

  It would have been funny if it hadn’t been so awkward.

  “You go first,” I said. My mom had taught me to be a gentleman.

  “No, you.” Mia’s cheeks were red again. Or maybe they’d never stopped being red.

  I shook my head. I didn’t really know what I was going to say, I just felt like I needed to say something.

  “It’s nothing.” I reached for the handle on my door and would have gotten out, but her hand on my arm kept me still. Turning back, I faced her in the small space between us in the front of the truck. The cab wasn’t very big.

  “I was just going to say,” she began, her eyes downcast. “I was just going to say ‘good luck’.” She cleared her throat and met my eyes. “In the game. I know I tease you, but you’re really good.”

  Wow.

  I hadn’t been expecting that. Her words spread over me like a spring rain, nurturing my tentative feelings for her until they bloomed just a little bit more.

  “Thanks, Mia. That means a lot.”

  We sat there again, quiet, the only communication between us happening with our eyes. I wondered what she read in mine, because if they were conveying my true emotions at all, they were telling her I wanted to kiss her. A lot. And if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a part of her that wanted that, too.

  Reaching out, I pushed a lock of her hair back from her face. But I couldn’t stop there and since she hadn’t moved away, I let my fingers secure her hair behind her ear, trailing along the outer edge of it until they reached her jaw.