“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
Don’t be stupid. Now he sounded like Lucas. Well, too late. Leaving was probably the only smart thing I had done all night.
“Let me just tell Kyle we’re leaving and I’ll take you home.”
“Don’t bother. I’m not getting in a car with you.”
“Mel . . .”
“Don’t!”
“Fine. Good luck getting home tonight, then.”
With that he turned his back on me and disappeared into the writhing crowd. Now what was I supposed to do? My head was swimming and my vision was blurry. How much vodka had I had? My stomach churned as I pushed and shoved my way towards the front door. Where was I going? How was I ever going to get home? I didn’t have money for a cab and there was no way I could call my mother. She would kill me on the spot if she knew where I was. I was such an idiot for letting Jason talk me into this. By the time I reached the door tears were already burning streaks down my face and I couldn’t stop them. I panicked. Shoving open the heavy door, I stumbled outside and nearly fell right into the arms of some unsuspecting stranger coming down the street. He gripped my arms to steady me and I looked up into his face. It wasn’t a stranger at all, it was . . . Lucas?
“Lucas? What are you doing here?”
He hesitated for a moment before sighing. “I came to check on you.”
“Me? Why would you do that?” I asked, slurring my words slightly.
The sidewalk seemed to tilt beneath my feet and I stumbled several steps to the side before Lucas steadied me again. Apparently heels and alcohol don’t mix.
“Have you been drinking?” he asked.
“Not on purpose.”
“Not on . . . Are you crying?” he asked, taking a closer look at me.
To my humiliation I could still feel the tears sliding down my face and I tried to wipe them away, but it was too late.
“What happened?” Lucas stiffened. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing, nothing. Please, can you just take me home?”
He just stood there staring at me, never releasing his sturdy grasp on my arm.
“Please?” I begged. “I just want to go home.”
“Alright,” he agreed and led me back down the sidewalk to where his car was parked.
We were halfway home before he spoke again.
“Are you going to tell me what happened back there?”
I debated it, but decided he deserved the truth. He had tried to warn me and in the end he was the one who had come to my rescue when I needed him.
“You were right, the club was a bad idea,” I admitted.
I went on to tell him everything, all of it, from the drugs to the spiked drinks. Lucas never said a word, but I couldn’t help noticing that he was gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. When I finished spewing the nights details at him he mumbled something about ‘breaking the rules’ before flipping on the radio. Classic rock, go figure. A few songs later when he was no longer strangling the life out of his steering wheel, he flipped the music off again.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, just a little sick, I think. I’m just glad you were there. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t run into you . . . literally.”
“Me, too. Why don’t you close your eyes and take a nap. I’ll wake you when we get home. It might make you feel better.”
I never intended to actually fall asleep, but within seconds I was out cold. When I woke again it was after one in the morning. I was in my own bed, still fully dressed minus my high heels, and tucked neatly in under my blanket with the carnival bear in my arms. Lucas must have carried me in when we got home. Unbelievable. Not bothering to change, I rolled over and went back to sleep.
*****
In the morning I was greeted by the enticing scent of bacon. It was enough to lure me out of bed and—after a quick shower—downstairs, despite the pounding in my head. Mom was in the kitchen fighting with a pan spitting grease everywhere.
“Turn the heat down,” I instructed.
“Thank you very much. I would do that if I could get close enough to reach the burner dials.”
“Here,” I tossed her a set of tongs and she used them to flip off the stove.
When the pan had finally stopped splattering hot grease all over, she picked it up and dumped the slightly charred contents onto a plate.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked picking out one of the more well-done slices. I liked my bacon crunchy.
“I haven’t been home much since we moved in here, trying to get the new office all set up and everything, and my conscience was nagging me.”
“So guilt equals bacon? Good to know. I didn’t hear you come in last night,” I said, testing the waters. I still wasn’t sure if she had been home when Lucas had carried me in last night. That would be hard to explain, especially since I still hadn’t gotten around to mentioning Jason to her. Probably a good thing at this point.
“Oh, it was late. Really late, like almost three.”
Guess not. There’s one good thing about having a workaholic mom.
“Why are you even awake right now?”
“Because I have to go out of town for a couple days. Mr. Stein needs me back in the old office. Apparently my replacement is not doing a very good job and he wants me to come back and train her. I’ll only be gone two days, three max, but I leave tomorrow so I had hoped to spend some time with you today. You don’t have plans already do you?”
“No, mom, no plans.” Never again.
“Great because I thought we could go over to the mall and do a little shopping. How does that sound?”
Another benefit of workaholic mom, remorse shopping. Score.
“Sounds good.”
Even if I planned on never leaving the house again, it didn’t mean I had to be a frumpy hermit. The rest of the day was spent perusing the mall and visiting fitting rooms. We even managed to have a family dinner together. Okay, granted it was burgers at the food court, but still pretty good for us. It was a nice treat to have my mom all to myself for a while. A few times I considered telling her everything that had happened since we moved here but I didn’t want to ruin our day. Instead I munched my burger and chatted about the purchases we had made. I was particularly proud of a red sun dress I'd gotten and couldn’t wait for an excuse to wear it.
*****
The following day things went back to normal. Mom left according to schedule and it was back to just me and the empty house. Boring. I still hadn’t heard word one from Jason so calling him was out, even if I did have my cell, which I didn’t. Sooner or later I was going to have to fess up to losing it and get mom to buy me another. Maybe there would be enough guilt stacked up after this trip to pull it off. The only other option was Lucas and he did just happen to be right next door, and I did still owe him a thank you from the other night. Decision made, I crossed the yard and knocked on his door. I had on my new sundress. Leaving the house seemed like a good enough excuse to slip it on. Not like I was trying to impress anyone or anything.
“Hey.” He answered the door wearing a pair of sweatpants—just a pair a sweatpants. Seriously?
“Hey,” I said, shaking myself out of whatever fantasy had begun to take root in my disturbed brain. “I just wanted to thank you for the other night. I appreciate all your help.”
“No problem. You wanna come in or something?”
“Um, sure.”
His house was nice. Dark wood floors and brightly lit rooms made the whole place feel cozy and welcoming. Not at all like our bare bones, stark white, museum style accommodations next door. Almost every surface here was covered by some kind of knick knack or decoration or books. There were hundreds of them all over the place. They must be big readers. All of it added to the homey ambiance and I found myself very comfortable there.
“Are these all yours?” I asked, indicating the small library
scattered around the room.
“Yeah.”
“Like reading?” I teased.
“It’s a hobby. So you and Jason, guess that’s over, huh?”
“Um, I guess. I haven’t talked to him since the club. I still can’t find my stupid phone and it’s not like he’s stopped by to apologize or anything.”
“If he did, apologize I mean, would you forgive him?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t understand what he was thinking spiking my drink like that. Maybe he wasn’t thinking, maybe he was already drunk when he did it and he feels bad about it now.”
“Or maybe he’s a no good jerk who knew exactly what he was doing and tried to take the cheap way out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. I just don’t think you should forgive him so easily. He doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
“I kind of believe everyone deserves a second chance.”
“Some don’t. Not Jason, anyway. He’s bad news, trust me. You shouldn’t hang out with him anymore.”
“Well, it’s not like I know many other people around here.”
“You know me.”
“Right, because you’ve been oh so social.”
“What if I was? Would you stay away from Jason if I hung out more?”
“Maybe.”
“Then let’s do it. Whatever you want just let me know and we’ll do it, alright?”
“You’re serious?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
I considered him for a minute. He was so determined to keep me away from Jason that he was willing to put up with . . . what? Babysitting me?
“I don’t really need a pity friend.”
“Come on, Mel. You should know I’m not that nice. I wouldn’t offer to spend time with you if it wasn’t something I wanted to do.”
That sounded more like Lucas, but I didn’t know what to make of the rest of it. Did he genuinely want to hang out, or was this just some kind of big screw you aimed at Jason? Since I wasn’t exactly eager to see Jason again anytime soon and school didn’t start for another two months, making any other friends sounded unlikely. Two months was a long time to spend holed up alone, especially two summer months. And he just looked so damn good leaning against the counter with his ripped arms folded casually over his bare chest. Mmm. Ri-diculous. So what if I was only being graced with Lucas’ presence as part of his anti-Jason campaign? I’d take what I could get for now.
“Alright, fine. You keep me from being a complete loner all summer and I’ll avoid spending more time with Jason . . . for a while.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” he agreed with a grin.
*****
The next day I was still questioning the brainpower that went into my decision making process. If I was being honest, it may not have all come from my brain, but . . . shirtless? Seriously? How could I be expected to make any rational decisions in those circumstances? Besides, all I had to do was wait for Lucas to renege on his end of the deal and then I’d be free to do as I pleased again. Not that the idea of calling Jason was even slightly tempting at the moment . . . even if I could find that freaking phone.
It wouldn’t take long, of that I was sure. Despite what Lucas had said, I was certain he had about as little interest in spending time with me as I did with him. Even if he had been there to save me when I needed him at the club, and had taken me home and tucked me into bed. He was still Lucas. I was absolutely sure . . . right up until the doorbell rang at noon.
Then again if I was really so certain Lucas would fail, why was I not surprised to find him standing on my front porch? What did surprise me were the two backpacks he had over his shoulder.
“What’s up?” I asked cautiously. “Isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about back to school?”
“It is, but it’s the perfect time to be thinking about hiking. Come on. Get some boots on and let’s go.”
“Hiking?”
“Yes, it’s this pastime where you walk, usually in the woods,” he deadpanned.
“Ha-ha. I know what hiking is, even if I’ve never done it before.”
“You’ve never been hiking?” he asked incredulously.
“Southern Cali is more about the beaches than the woods.”
“We'd better remedy this situation immediately. You do have boots don’t you?”
“Do cowboy boots count?”
“Um, no.”
“Alright, hold on. I think my mom may have a pair that’ll fit me.”
I raced upstairs and dug through her closet. Towards the back I found a pair of serious all-purpose type boots that I think she used when she worked in a museum warehouse for a few weeks doing some kind of inventory. Outside Lucas handed me one of the packs and tugged the other up higher on his shoulders. What kind of walk in the woods requires supplies? Lucas hitched the straps on my pack, until it settled snuggly against my back.
“It’s not too heavy, is it? I can take a few more supplies in mine if . . .”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road.”
We made our way down the street until we hit the dead end, continuing into the woods from there. A small, dirt path carved its way around trees and through the brush. At least it looked well-trodden, like there may actually be some other people out there somewhere, besides just the two of us. You know, just in case. Not that I didn’t trust Lucas, but my brain just didn’t fire on all cylinders when he was around.
“So where are we headed anyway?”
“Nowhere in particular. I just thought you could use some fresh air and exercise. This is definitely a better way to spend a gorgeous day than at the mall or in some club.”
I had to agree, but I didn’t have to agree out loud. Like he needed the ego boost.
“So we’re just gonna walk?”
“That’s the idea.”
He hefted his bag again and headed deeper into the woods. I rushed to keep up with him at first, but after a few minutes we settled into a pace that worked for both of us. For a while we walked in companionable silence. I focused on where I was stepping and just how scenic the woods really were. I hadn’t actually spent much time, or any time really, in the woods before. They were peaceful. The gentle wind blowing through the leaves and rays of sun dancing through the thick canopy were all excellent distractions for what was next to me. Not that I failed entirely to notice the way Lucas’ shirt clung to his sweaty torso, or the way he was breathing just a little heavier than normal, or every single time his arm brushed against mine when the trail narrowed. I was enchanted, not dead.
“Hungry?” Lucas inquired after we'd been at it for I didn’t know how long.
We seemed to be chewing up the miles with no particular destination in mind and I had absolutely no idea which direction was home, but it felt sort of freeing.
“Starved,” I realized as I said it.
“Let’s take a break. There’s a good spot just ahead.”
I continued after him for a bit longer until we broke into a clearing. If I thought the trail up until this point was beautiful, this spot was absolutely stunning. The sun beat down on the long grass and a small stream trickled through. Someone must have positioned a wide log across the stream where it cut through the path. It wasn’t exactly like you couldn’t wade through it without getting your knees wet, but who wants to hike in soggy boots? Lucas dropped his pack and opened it. I watched as he pulled out a blanket and spread it in the sunlight. Next he produced a couple of water bottles and handed me one.
“Here. Make sure you drink enough. You don’t want to get dehydrated out here. I have more if you need it.”
I cracked my bottle and dropped my pack beside his. He settled down on the blanket and I joined him.
“The food is in your pack,” he explained.
I unzipped the bag and peeked inside. There were sandwiches and several small Tupperware containers. I pulled them out and arranged them in fr
ont of us. The containers held cherry tomatoes, grapes, melon slices, and potato salad.
“Did you make all of this?”
“Just the salad and sandwiches. Oh, and I cut the melon I guess. The grapes and tomatoes sort of came that way.”
Smart alec, but still impressive.
“Well, it looks good.”
“Who cares how it looks? Let's see how it tastes,” he said, pulling out a couple paper plates and some plastic ware from his bag.
Everything tasted as good as it looked and I told him so, ego be damned. I was reaching for one of those yummy tomatoes when I felt the light brush of Lucas’ hand against my cheek. Taken by surprise, I glanced up to find him staring at me, studying me like I confused him. When he caught me looking he stiffened and pulled away.
“Sorry. Your hair . . . it was . . . about to go in the food,” he explained and strangely enough I found myself a little disappointed.
“Oh . . . thanks,” I muttered, awkwardly.
Lucas looked like he wanted to say something more, but then decided against it and only nodded.
“So tell me something,” he said, stretching out on the blanket. Apparently we were staying a while.
“What?” I asked, stretching out my sore legs beside him.
“Anything. Something about you that I don’t already know.”
“Hmm, I’m not that interesting. What do you want to know?”
“Let’s see. I already know you moved here from California because of your mom’s job . . . at the museum right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, something else.”
I thought long and hard about what he could possibly be looking for but came up blank. Instead I offered him a little known fact about myself. I’m honestly not sure why.
“I had a boyfriend back in Cali.”
“Oh, really? What was his name?”
“Marcus.”
“What happened with Marcus? Are you guys still . . . ?”
“No. He broke it off when I told him I was moving. Apparently I wasn’t going to be able to ‘provide what he needed’ long distance. Whatever the heck that means.”
“Sounds like a class-A jerk,” Lucas observed.