The Boyfriend Project

by Rachel Hawthorne

  “I wonder how she keeps her balance,” I mused.

  “Practice, probably.”

  I turned to face him. “Do you find that kind of walk sexy?”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it, but now that you mention it—not really.” He grinned. “So what’d you bring?”

  “A surprise.”

  Most of the workers were taking their break now. Jeremy led me over to our tree. He didn’t have a tree with Jade. We sat in the shade. I opened the basket and handed him a sandwich. He examined it, grinned.

  “Your grandmother’s chicken salad?” he asked.

  “Yeah, except I made it. Something’s missing. I think she may have a secret ingredient that she didn’t write down.”

  He took a huge bite, chewed. “Tastes the same to me.”

  “Thanks.” Nibbling on my sandwich, I didn’t agree with his assessment. I’d eaten way more of my gran’s chicken salad than he had. I swallowed, having difficulty getting the food past the lump in my throat. I opened a Coke, took a long sip. Better. “So, uh, what were you and Jade talking about?”

  “Oh, Scooter Gibson’s having a party tonight at his parents’ lake house. They’re out of town. She wanted to make sure we knew about it.”

  Yeah, I was pretty sure she couldn’t have cared less if I knew about it.

  “I was thinking we’d go,” he said as he finished off his sandwich.

  “We haven’t seen each other much lately,” I pointed out.

  “Which is why I thought we’d go.”

  “But I was thinking just you and I would do something.”

  “We haven’t done anything with anyone else since I started working this job. I’m beginning to feel like an old married person or something.”

  I knew he hadn’t said that to be hurtful. It wasn’t in Jeremy’s nature to be hurtful, but I liked when it was just us.

  “I figured you’d jump at the chance to do something different. You’re the one who said we were getting boring, should shake things up.”

  My quick burst of laughter sounded more like I was choking. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah. Ask Avery and Fletch to go with us.”

  Fletch? Some of the cool kids at school had called Fletcher that, but Jeremy never had before. It seemed odd, and yet, it didn’t.

  “Okay, I’ll text her before I check in for my shift.”

  “You can do it now,” he said, just before starting in on another sandwich.

  “This is our time.”

  “We’re only eating. That way we’ll know if we’re picking them up or not.”

  Our time together was so precious that I wanted to be selfish with it. Still I pulled out my cell phone and sent Avery a quick text about the party. A couple of seconds later, her response came back.

  “She says they’re in.”

  “Cool. Fletch doesn’t drink. He’s designated driver.”

  I stared at Jeremy for a minute. He didn’t drink, either. Well, one beer when we arrived at parties with booze and no parents. He was always completely sober by the time we left, even if I was a bit tipsy. Although maybe he’d never drunk more because he was always the driver.

  He reached into the basket and brought out a foil-wrapped item. Opened it. Grinned. “Brownies!” Leaning over, he brushed a kiss over my cheek. “Thanks.”

  That was the Jeremy I knew, the one who never took anything for granted. I tugged on his shirt. “This is new.”

  “Gets hot out here, and I got to thinking about what you said about a little tan helping win the contest. The tank we got when we were at the beach, I’m saving for the competition.”

  “I like it.” I considered touching his arm, but then I thought about Jade doing the same thing. I didn’t want to be like her.

  Jeremy finished off his brownie. “I need to get back to work.”

  “I’ll see you tonight then.”

  “Yep.” He pushed himself up and sauntered off.

  There was something different—a toughness—about his walk, the way he moved. Stronger, more confident.

  I didn’t know why it made me feel less confident about us.

  Chapter 24

  JEREMY

  When we arrived at the party, Fletch and I left the girls by the pool and went to get drinks. We’d been to a party here before graduation so we were pretty familiar with the setup. The hard liquor was in the kitchen. Beer was in ice coolers near the deck that ran along the back of the house. As we neared, I caught sight of Chase. He was holding Jade in his arms, lifting her up and down like she was a set of barbells and he was doing a workout. People standing around were counting off the reps.

  “That’s him,” I said to Fletch.

  “Who?”

  “Chase. Over there with Jade.”

  “Impressive.”

  I scowled at him. “You’re not supposed to be impressed. You’re supposed to be pissed. He’s such a show-off.”

  We reached the coolers. I opened one, grabbed a beer, twisted the cap, and took a long, slow swallow.

  “We can beat him,” Fletch said.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been doing the crunches until they almost kill me, and I’m starting to see some definition but realistically—look at that guy.”

  “But he’s showing off everything he’s got. We’re more subtle. That’s better. And we’ll have a secret weapon.”

  I finished off the bottle, tossed it into a nearby trash can, and reached for another. “Oh, yeah? Fill me in on that.”

  “This guy who brought his car into the shop is a personal trainer. Totally buff guy. So we got to talking about tricks of the trade and he said if we add just a dash of grape seed oil to our abs, biceps, shoulders, it’ll really make them pop.”

  I felt this wave of appreciation. “You could have kept that to yourself, given yourself an edge.”

  “Probably would have if I was having to watch this guy flirt with Avery. Although it looks like maybe he’s moved on to Jade.”

  The counting came to an end with a round of cheers and applause. Chase bowed, then he and Jade wandered off.

  “Maybe.” I downed more beer.

  “Shouldn’t you take it easy with that?” Fletch asked.

  “You’re designated driver.” I dug my keys out of my jeans pocket and tossed them to him. “I’m in the mood to party, especially now that we have a secret weapon.”

  When the bottle was empty, I did a free throw move to get it into the trash can. I grabbed three more beers. “Let’s get back to the girls.”

  We were halfway there when Jade was suddenly standing in front of me. “Hey, handsome.”

  No one had ever referred to me as handsome. Cute, maybe. But not handsome. I vaguely wondered where Chase was. Then I was struck with this crazy thought that she had abandoned him so she was free to come over to speak with me. I dug the possibility that she might have tossed him aside in favor of me. Served him right for flirting with my girl. More surprising, however, was the realization that Jade didn’t even seem to notice that Fletch was standing beside me. I was used to him getting the attention when we were together. I had to admit that I liked being noticed. I liked it a lot.

  Chapter 25

  KENDALL

  “Can you believe they broke up?”

  Tamara Dailey, who had barely given Avery and me the time of day while we were in high school, was suddenly acting like we were best buds. As soon as the guys had walked off to get us something to drink, Tamara—one of the biggest gossips in high school—had rushed over like she’d just heard Channing Tatum was going to make an appearance at our sides. But her news was more sobering: Amber Montgomery and John Ramirez had called it quits.

  “They’ve been together, like, forever,” Tamara said. “Since freshman year.”

  “He’s going to Stanford, isn’t he?” Avery asked. She knew all the smart people.

  “Yep,” Tamara said. “And Amber is going to the junior college.”

  “It’s hard to have a lo
ng-distance relationship,” I said.

  “But they don’t know that yet. He hasn’t left.”

  “Well, maybe they just decided it was best.”

  “But if they can’t stick it out, what does that mean for the rest of us?” Tamara asked.

  I wasn’t a big fan of spreading tales about other people, so I decided to call out Tamara on her unnecessary dramatics. “I forget. Who are you with?” I asked.

  She jutted out her chin. “No one, but now I don’t know if there is any point in getting together with someone.”

  With that pronouncement, she marched off.

  Avery released a small laugh. “Wow. Talk about sweeping generalizations.”

  “They were together a long time, though.”

  Avery shrugged. “Our world starts to expand after high school. We have new experiences, meet new people. Not everything stays the same.”

  Boy, that was true. Uncomfortable, I shifted from one foot to the other. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come.”

  She furrowed her brow. “Why?”

  Because it was Jade’s idea. “I don’t know. Just one of those things that didn’t stay the same. It’s louder, a little wilder.”

  “Seems the same to me.”

  “What seems the same?” Fletcher asked as he handed us each a beer.

  “Scooter’s party. It doesn’t seem as though it’s changed much since we were here just before graduation,” Avery said.

  He grinned. “You got plastered that night.”

  “I did not. Well, maybe a little.”

  Fletcher had given her a ride home, and that was the start of them getting together.

  “Where’s Jeremy?” I asked.

  “He got waylaid.” Fletcher jerked his head back over his shoulder.

  I followed the direction of his motion. Jeremy was standing at the edge of the pool talking with Jade and her usual partner in crime, Melody Long.

  “What’s he doing with them?” Avery asked.

  “Jade has the hots for him,” I answered.

  “Really?”

  I glared at her. “Why do you find that so odd? He’s the complete package.”

  “Well, yeah, I know, I just always thought Jade went with guys who looked dangerous.”

  Had she not taken a good look at Jeremy tonight? Probably not. Her focus was completely on Fletcher. While mine was on Jeremy. He was wearing a gray T-shirt tucked into jeans that hadn’t been pressed. Both were a snug fit that didn’t leave any doubt that his body was firming up as he worked on the construction crew. He hadn’t shaved. His hair looked as though he’d just run his fingers through it—or someone had. I didn’t want to consider that it looked a little more mussed than it had when he picked me up. Surely it was because the breeze was ruffling it. He wouldn’t let another girl—

  I shook my head. He wouldn’t.

  “I’ll be back,” Fletcher said, and he wandered off to talk with a couple of guys. I wondered if he thought I needed a few private moments with Avery.

  “Is everything okay with you guys?” she asked.

  “Yes.” But I didn’t sound sure enough to convince a jury. I’d gone with Jeremy once to watch his dad in action in the courtroom, and Jeremy had snuck over to my side to narrate everything the lawyers and judge did. I missed those moments we shared. I capitulated. “Not really. I think I’m losing him.”

  She looked at me as though I’d just announced that I’d spotted a spaceship landing. “Why would you think that?”

  “He doesn’t text me anymore.”

  She gave me a blank look. I realized Fletcher would not be the texting sort, so she probably didn’t know what I was referring to. I’d convinced myself the lack of texts was because he was so busy at the construction site that he didn’t have time, and then I was with him on his breaks. . . .

  “Jeremy used to text me during the day—just quick little messages so I’d know he was thinking of me. He hasn’t done that since we were at the beach. And now look at him with them.”

  Her brow furrowed. “They’re just talking.”

  It was more than that. Jade and Melody were in his personal space and he was standing his ground, letting them in. They were in bathing suits, all that bare skin just inches from him, and he wasn’t uncomfortable with it. If he was, he would have backed up.

  Because Avery was my best friend, because I trusted her, I knew I could tell her the truth, and she wouldn’t judge me. Or if she did, she’d do it kindly. “I’ve been asking him to change.”

  She blinked. “To change what?”

  In my head, it all sounded so stupid now. “His clothes, his hair, his . . . I don’t know. He’s always so nice. He never seems to get attention.”

  “Is that what this gun show thing is all about?”

  “Sorta. I guess. Yes. He was a geek. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a geek. I thought I wanted him to not be so geekish. But now I’m wishing I had my geek back.”

  As I watched him flex his muscles, I realized that it might be too late for that. Both Jade and Melody pinched and prodded his arms like they were trying to decide if he was fruit ripe for plucking. I downed half my beer before handing it off to Avery. “I’ll be back.”

  I marched toward them, sidestepping a couple of weaving guys, darting out of the way when someone in the pool splashed water at me. I finally reached them and came to a stop. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Jeremy said, smiling brightly, a little too brightly. “I was just telling them about the gun show.”

  I didn’t see the point. Jade already knew about it.

  “Looked like maybe you were demonstrating the gun show,” I said. “Why would they donate to the shelter if they’ve already seen it?”

  “Oh, we’ll donate,” Melody said. “Don’t you worry about that.” She clucked and winked at Jeremy. “Catch you later.”

  They walked off.

  “What did she mean by that?” I asked.

  Jeremy shook his head. “I’m not really sure. I didn’t catch most of what they were saying.” He placed a bottle to his lips, tipped his head back, and gulped several times. Then he gave me a speculative once-over. “Are you jealous?”

  “I just don’t like to see girls pawing at you.”

  “They weren’t pawing.”

  Not technically maybe.

  He slung his arm around my shoulders, staggered into me a little. “I don’t remember these parties being so much fun.”

  I was glad one of us was having a good time. No, I wasn’t. I didn’t want him having fun with other girls. He never gave other girls the time of day. What was going on?

  “You need another drink,” he said.

  “No, I’m good.”

  He tilted his head like an inquisitive dog. “You don’t seem good.”

  “Maybe we should go.”

  “We just got here. Come on.” With his arm around my shoulders, he led me toward the house.

  I slipped my arm around his waist, slid my hand into his back jeans pocket. It was silly for me to let Jade and Melody upset me. This was a chance to spend time with Jeremy. That’s all I wanted. To be with him.

  Very few lights were on inside the house, but I could see shadows moving in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a wonderful view of the lake.

  We went up the stairs to the deck. People were lounging around. Some were kissing. I thought one guy was sleeping or maybe he was passed out. It didn’t matter. None of these people mattered. Only Jeremy did.

  He slid the door open and we walked into the kitchen. A blender was whirring. A guy we knew from high school was standing near it.

  “Hey, Marc, we’ll have one of those,” Jeremy said as he tossed his beer bottle into a trash can before reaching down to a cooler and grabbing another bottle.

  “How many have you had?” I asked, because it wasn’t like Jeremy to throw orders around. Normally he would ask if we could have something. He was always extremely polite.

  “Not keeping coun
t,” Jeremy said.

  “Shouldn’t you be?”

  “I’m not driving. Just here to have fun.”

  Only this wasn’t fun. It was like being with someone I didn’t know. Just then he smiled at me, placed the flat of his palm on the small of my back, and gave me a sweet, but quick, kiss. This was Jeremy. I realized I was just feeling insecure because of the attention he’d given Jade and Melody. They were the flirts. Not Jeremy.

  Marc poured the pink mixture into a plastic cup and handed it to me.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  The last time we were at a party here, I hadn’t come into the house because it was make-out central. I figured we’d leave after we got our drinks, but Jeremy put his arm around my shoulders again and guided me through a darkened dining room into a huge dimly lit living room. Music was thrumming. Candles were burning, providing the only light.

  As my eyes adjusted, I saw shadows writhing on the sofas and chairs. Some people were sprawled over huge pillows. The temperature of the room was stifling. It was like all the air had been sucked out of it.

  Rising up on my toes, I spoke loudly into Jeremy’s ear. “Why are we here?”

  “Thought you wanted to explore things. Not be boring.”

  “Not this, not like this.”

  “Why not? I’m getting mixed messages, Kendall. You want something different, but when I offer it you don’t want it.”

  “This isn’t different. It’s more like awkward.”

  “I’m not feeling awkward.” I watched as he gulped down the beer, then set the bottle in the middle of a potted fern.

  “Jeremy, are you drunk?”

  “No.” He said it fast and harsh, like he was offended. “I’m having a good time. We can make out by the pool.”

  I didn’t think I’d be up for that, either, but I didn’t say anything because I just wanted to get out of the house. Taking my hand, he led me back the way we’d come. In the kitchen, he snatched another beer.

  He staggered down the steps, nearly missed the last one, and laughed. He slung his arm around me. “Do you think I’m handsome?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “I think you’re pretty. We should tell each other things like that.” He gave me a goofy grin. “I’m going to win the gun show. I have a secret weapon.”