Rules of Summer

  “Hey!” Steve waved her to come closer. “Nah, I got this. How was your Fourth?”

  As she neared him she could smell the brand-new balls in their hopper. Fee had mentioned that the Rules got new tennis balls every week. “It was pretty good, actually. I stayed here.”

  “Yeah?” Steve said, still picking up balls with the hopper. His reflective sunglasses made it hard to know if he was onto her.

  “Yeah. I watched the fireworks from the beach right here.” She put her hands on her hips, steeling herself for Steve’s disapproval. “And I made out with Connor Rule.”

  Steve put down the hopper. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “I’m not. Unfortunately.”

  “Rory,” he sighed, and took off his sunglasses. “I thought you were supposed to be smart.” A faint smile curled around his lips.

  “Is it really that bad?” she asked. “I like him. And I think he likes me. But if there’s something you know about him that I don’t—”

  “Come here.” Steve walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a small bottle of Evian from an ice bucket. He twisted off the cap and drank most of it in one long swallow. When he was finished he gestured for her to sit down in one of the patio chairs. “I don’t know anything bad about the guy,” he began, sitting down. “As far as I know, he’s a perfectly good person. It’s just that you’re—”

  “The help, I know,” Rory said.

  “Not just that,” Steve said. “These people live on a different planet than you and me. They may seem perfectly nice, but they can be ruthless about things. And I’ve learned that the hard way.”

  “Why are you sounding so mysterious?” she asked. “I thought you liked the Rules. You told me how down to earth they were. How cool and nice they were.”

  Steve ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Last summer, I had this student,” he said. “A woman. She was married to a much older guy, a guy who had a lot of money but not much else. There wasn’t love there. That was clear. Now, I’d always been professional about my job, never got involved with someone I was teaching. And there’d been times that it could have happened. But I never acted on anything, ever. But there was something about this woman. She was just… amazing,” he said, his eyes looking past Rory’s shoulder. “We had such a good time. She was incredibly unhappy. Her husband was never around. He ignored her. I knew he was seeing other people on the side.” He took another swig of his water.

  “So you fell in love with her.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I did. Just fell absolutely in love with her. We were like kids. We were walking on air. I knew it was only a matter of time until we got caught, but I couldn’t stop myself. It was like I was addicted.” His face darkened with the memory. “And then, the husband saw us kissing one afternoon. We didn’t even notice. He confronted me later in private. And instead of firing me, which I was prepared for, he was thrilled.”

  “Thrilled?” Rory asked.

  “He felt so guilty about all his affairs, he wasn’t even jealous at all. In fact, he offered to up my fee. To keep his wife happy and take care of his conscience.”

  “Ugh,” she said. “That’s disgusting.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said. “Needless to say, I didn’t take him up on his offer. I wanted nothing to do with him ever again. And that made teaching her impossible. See, he’d known exactly what he was doing, offering me that money. He knew that it would end the relationship either way. If I took it, I would just be another pretty-boy tennis player sleeping with someone’s wife like a kept man. And if I didn’t take it, but kept seeing her with him knowing about it, then I’d be keeping a secret from her. Which I couldn’t do. So I ended it. With some bullshit reason. I told her that I was in love with someone else. I could barely keep a straight face, but that’s what I told her. I had no choice. So I broke her heart. And my own.”

  Rory watched Steve linger a moment longer in the memory and then shake himself free of it. “That’s terrible,” she said, “but what exactly does that have to do with me and Connor?”

  “These people can play hardball, Rory,” he said patiently. “Lucy and Larry—they’re nice, outwardly nice—but if you cross them, they can find a way to get rid of you.”

  Just hearing him say those words made her shiver. “And what makes you think that I’d be crossing them?” she asked.

  Steve ran a hand through his hair. “I think any guy would be lucky to have you. But it’s not my opinion that matters here. It’s Mrs. Rule’s. And I think she’s got a pretty good idea of what type of person her son is supposed to be with. And when these people don’t get what they want…” His voice trailed off.

  “So you’re saying to end it,” Rory said.

  “That’s what I’m saying,” Steve said. “Look, I come in, I help them with their doubles game, they pay me well, and I go on my way. That’s how I’ve lasted seven summers out here. I don’t get involved with them. Or I try not to.”

  In the distance, Rory could see Mrs. Rule heading across the grass toward the tennis court. Her blond ponytail bobbed up and down as if she were a carefree young girl, not the matriarch of an intimidating family.

  “But nothing’s even really happened yet,” she said.

  “I know. That’s why you need to stop it now.”

  “Okay,” she said. Mrs. Rule was getting closer. “Thanks, Steve.”

  She went to the bathroom in the pavilion both to catch her breath and to avoid running into Mrs. Rule. She stood in the darkened bathroom, smelling the cedar-scented candle that was replaced every two weeks. He was right. She would have to end this as soon as possible. But then she remembered the way Connor had kissed her last night, how soft his lips were, how his hand had caressed her cheek over and over, how he’d told her just a few minutes ago that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.

  Maybe she didn’t have to make her mind up right away, she thought. Maybe she could wait a little bit longer.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The other times Rory had pulled into the Georgica driveway, the parking valets had treated her strictly as a chauffeur, but today, for some unknown reason, they actually allowed her to get out of the car. A parking valet pulled open the driver-side door, all smiles under his visor. “Welcome to the Georgica,” he said in a cheery voice.

  Rory grabbed the bag she’d packed with sunblock, her one-piece bathing suit, and her book and handed him the keys. “Did you tell them that I was coming?” she asked Isabel.

  “Uh, no,” she said. “Why would I have done that?”

  “It’s just every other time I’ve been here, it’s like I’ve had the plague.”

  “Maybe it’s what you’re wearing,” Isabel said, and Rory looked down. The cantaloupe-and-ivory batik-print sundress that she’d borrowed from Isabel wasn’t her style at all, but it did make her look a little more Georgica-esque. “That looks pretty good on you,” Isabel said. “I should take you into Calypso sometime.”

  Isabel led the way into the main building. Rory took in the lobby’s horribly dated gold-and-green-patterned wallpaper and formal wooden chairs. It was all such a surprise. She’d expected plush club chairs and white linen-covered sofas—furniture like the Rules had in their house. Not something out of the 1960s.

  “Checking in a guest,” Isabel said to the girl at the front desk. “Rory…” Isabel looked like she was at a loss.

  “McShane,” Rory supplied. “Do you not know my last name?”

  “Whatever,” Isabel said. “McShane,” she repeated to the girl.

  They walked toward the white-and-green-striped umbrellas and the clear blue rectangle of the pool. Isabel felt the gnawing in her belly get worse. Anxiety over Mike had become anxiety about Thayer and Darwin, neither of whom she’d seen since that day when she’d told them about Mike. She’d also ignored all their texts, including the ones they’d sent last night asking where she was during the fireworks. In all the years she’d known Thayer and Darwin, she’d never out-and-out
ignored them for so long. She had a feeling that this wouldn’t go unnoticed—or unpunished.

  “Everyone eats lunch on the patio,” Isabel explained. “You go into the cafeteria and order it, and then bring it to a table.”

  Rory looked at all the tables of people eating from plastic trays. Apparently the Georgica resembled a high school cafeteria in more ways than one. And this is an exclusive club? Rory thought.

  “I usually sit with Thayer and Darwin,” Isabel said. “They must be here already.”

  “Is that them?” Rory said, pointing toward a girl with reddish-gold hair and bony shoulders whom she recognized.

  Isabel looked over. Sitting together were Thayer, Darwin, and nonmember Anna Lucia Kent, who was eagerly casing out the lunch scene that she’d heard so much about. Isabel felt a twinge of jealousy. She’d been replaced. They walked toward the girls. “Hey, guys,” she said to the table. “What’s up?”

  “Hey,” Thayer said, barely looking up from her salad.

  Darwin gave a small wave.

  “Hi, Isabel!” Anna Lucia gushed, oblivious to Thayer’s and Darwin’s lukewarm reactions. “That’s such a pretty cover-up. Is it J. Crew?”

  “Calypso,” Isabel said. “This is my friend Rory, Anna. The rest of you met her a few weeks ago.”

  “Hey,” Rory said. She stood behind the fourth chair, not sure whether she should sit down.

  “Hey,” murmured Thayer, who was still absorbed in her salad. Darwin gave another small wave.

  “So, how was the party here last night?” Isabel bravely asked her friends.

  “Amazing,” said Thayer, her eyes lighting up with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. “Tons of cute guys. Weren’t there so many cute guys, D?”

  “Tons,” Darwin agreed. “Like, I’d never seen so many before. Everyone brought their friends from college.”

  “That’s great. Looks like we need another chair,” said Isabel, looking over her shoulder. “Unless… we should just sit somewhere else.”

  Thayer and Darwin exchanged a glance as Anna Lucia tried to smile. “Whatever,” Thayer said coolly, and returned to her lunch.

  Rory looked out at the pool, the beach, the umbrellas, anywhere but right in front of her. The awkwardness was so intense, she had to fight the urge to wander off toward the pool.

  “Then I guess we’ll just find another place to sit,” Isabel said thickly. “Since it’s obvious we’re sort of interrupting you.”

  “See ya later,” Thayer murmured.

  “Yeah, you and your charity case,” Darwin said.

  “You guys are such jerks,” Isabel muttered.

  “Right, we’re the ones being jerks,” Thayer erupted. “You’re the one who’s given us the finger all summer, and we’re the ones being jerks. You’re such a hypocrite.”

  “She’s not a hypocrite,” Rory said.

  Thayer looked surprised to see that Rory could speak. “Excuse me?” she said.

  “Why should she want to hang out with you guys when you’re so judgmental?” Rory said. “She told me what you said about Mike.”

  “What are you, her bridge-and-tunnel bodyguard?” Darwin asked.

  “You know what?” Rory said. “At least she’s breaking out of this ridiculous bubble you’re all in here. Believe it or not, there’s more to life than your beach club and your horses and your stupid Cobb salads.”

  “Rory, let’s go,” Isabel whispered.

  “And you know what else?” Rory went on. “The only thing that makes this place cool is that nobody can get in. And eating on plastic trays? The food court at Rockaway Mall is classier than this.”

  Everything had gone very quiet. Rory noticed that three women at the next table, all with blond hair piled in messy updos and chic sunglasses, were staring at her. As were Thayer and Darwin, except they seemed to be looking at something just behind her. She turned around.

  Mrs. Rule stood right behind them, her blue eyes unusually bright. “Hello, girls,” she said in a forced voice. “Isabel, so nice of you to join us.”

  “Hi,” she said.

  “And, hello, Rory,” she added, in a tone that sent the hairs on Rory’s arms standing on end. “What are you doing here?”

  “We asked Bianca to give her a day off,” Isabel said.

  “Who’s we?” she asked, glaring at Rory.

  “Me and Connor.”

  “Well, I’m glad to see that you’ve already made an impression, Rory,” she said brightly. “And that you’re making some friends.”

  “Why don’t you go order something to eat,” Isabel said to Rory, pulling her mom aside. “Just sign for it under my name.”

  Rory watched them go, feeling icy quiet behind her from Thayer and Darwin. She headed to the cafeteria. Once she was safely inside the fluorescent-lit space, she stood over the stack of trays, too perplexed and in shock to actually pick one up. All she could think about was Mrs. Rule’s face when she’d turned around. Her tight, fake smile and furious eyes.

  “You okay?” someone asked.

  She looked up and saw Connor sidle up beside her. “You look like you’re gonna be sick.”

  She should have been thrilled to see him, but it only made her feel more anxious. “What are you doing here?”

  “I figured if my sister was dragging you here on your one day off, the least I could do was show some solidarity. Here, take a tray. What do you want?”

  “I can’t eat,” she said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

  “Sure, yeah, the cabana.” He put down the tray, and they walked back across the patio. Rory could feel several pairs of eyes boring into her back.

  When they reached the cabana, Connor opened the creaky door, and she stepped into the dark, narrow room that smelled of suntan lotion. He switched on the light, and she blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light.

  “So, what happened?” he asked.

  “Thayer and Darwin were being mean to Isabel, so I stood up for her. And said some possibly rude things. And your mom overheard.”

  Connor smiled. “What’d you say?” he asked.

  “I said that the food court at the Rockaway Mall was classier than this place.”

  He burst into laughter.

  “It’s not funny,” she protested.

  “Yeah, it is,” he said. “It’s hilarious. That’s what I like about you. You say what you think.” He walked up to her and put his arms around her.

  “Connor…” She forced herself to step out of his arms. “Look. Last night was really fun, and I had a blast, but it can’t happen again.”

  A cloud seemed to pass over his face. “Why not?”

  “Because it can’t.”

  He still looked bewildered. “I don’t get it.”

  “Well, for one thing, what are we supposed to do now? Sneak around for the rest of the summer?”

  “No, we’ll tell my family. We’ll tell them right now if you want.”

  “And then what? You think they’re gonna be happy?”

  He hesitated for just a second. “Who cares what they think? I don’t.”

  “Well, I do,” Rory said. “Your mom already has her doubts about me. I can’t imagine what she’d think if she knew that I was dating you. It would just be too weird. And I don’t think I could handle it.”

  Connor’s smile left his face. “So that’s it? We’re just not going to do this? We’re not gonna at least try it out?”

  “Let’s just think of it as a really fun night and leave it at that. And I’m not looking for a boyfriend right now. Not this summer.” It was a lie, but it slipped out of her mouth so easily that she almost believed it.

  “Fine,” he said. His voice sounded small. “If that’s what you want.”

  “That’s what I want,” she said. “So… are we friends?”

  He looked down at the ground and shook his head, as if he was completely bewildered. “Whatever, Rory.” He walked out, and the door clanged shut on its hinges.

  She stood in the pool
of light, trying to absorb what had just happened. She knew that she was supposed to feel relieved, safe, and certain that she’d done the right thing. But she only felt lost. And the musty, coconut suntan-lotion smell in here was making her dizzy.

  Isabel struggled to keep up with her mom as she walked up the winding path to the tennis courts. “She was just sticking up for me,” she argued. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “She bawled them out,” her mom said. Her tennis skirt swung to the left and right as her tan legs carried her up the hill.

  “It wasn’t that bad. It’s not like she cursed anyone out.”

  “Why is she even here?” her mother said over her shoulder. “If she’s going to have a day off, that should come from me, not you and Connor.”

  “What’s the difference? It’s not like she has anything that important to do.”

  Her mom turned around. “Yes, she does. She’s here to work. That was the agreement.”

  “Oh, come on,” Isabel groaned. “It’s not like she’s from some Third World country.”

  “Exactly,” her mother said, wiping her hairline with the back of her hand. “She has a mother. She has somewhere to live. She didn’t need to stay with us. But I said she could, in exchange for a little help. And now, not only is she at our club, but she’s insulting everyone here.”

  “She didn’t insult anyone—”

  “And why do you care so much about her all of a sudden?” her mom countered. “You couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with her.”

  “Because she’s cool. Because she’s my friend. She’s a better friend than Thayer and Darwin are ever gonna be.”

  “That’s wonderful, but she doesn’t belong here if she’s going to embarrass us,” her mom said. “And if you’ve been egging her on, Isabel—if she’s gotten this from you—”

  “I haven’t egged her on. Why do you talk to me like I’m contagious or something?”

  Her mom turned back up the path. The bright sun on her white tennis dress made Isabel squint, even with her sunglasses on.

  “Why are you always walking away from me?”

  And then Isabel saw a man step out from behind the tennis courts. It was Mr. Knox. He was dressed for golf, not tennis, and his handsome face was pink from the sun. From the relief that swept over his face, he looked like he’d been waiting behind the tennis courts in the no-man’s-land between the club and the dunes for quite a while. But Isabel couldn’t figure out why, when the golf course was on the other side of the patio. Then her mother whirled around. “Isabel,” she snapped. “We’ll talk about this at home. All right?”