Dating Trouble (Grover Beach Team Book 5)

by Katmore, Anna

  “Hey, I really like hanging out with you,” Ethan said next, and I could sense that this was going in the direction of another date. At least I hoped as much. A small stone dropped from my chest.

  “You’re only saying that because you beat me at Mario Kart tonight,” I teased him, not knowing what else to say, since I didn’t want to be the one to ask him out.

  “Yeah, that, and because your feet don’t smell like my other friends’ do,” he joked.

  We both shook with laughter, and I poked him with my elbow. “Thanks for that visual, Ethan. It’s really what a girl wants to hear after a second date.”

  He smirked at me. “Oh, you should hear what I come up with for the third one.”

  Was there going to be a third? The question must have been written in my eyes, because he cleared his throat and stammered, “Want to, er…do something again this weekend? If you’re already bored of video games, we could go to the movies.”

  Truth be told, I had spent way too much time with Nick Frederickson, and he’d spoiled me in an irreparable way. “Are you kidding me? I could never get bored of playing Wii! But a movie sounds good.”

  “Saturday night? We could even do both. Come to my place, and we can play some games before we go out. But no Mario Kart.” He nudged me with his shoulder, a chuckle rolling off his chest. “I don’t want you to get too frustrated to see me again.”

  “That won’t happen.” Even without getting kissed, I enjoyed the time with Ethan a lot more than being the third wheel in Sam and Tony’s relationship—or in any other relationship, for that matter. Ethan would make an awesome boyfriend, but he was a cool friend, too. “Call me about Saturday.” I fumbled with the door until it finally opened. After a deep sigh, I told him good night and climbed out.

  Swallowing hard as I adjusted my dress, I gazed after his car until the red taillights turned around the corner.

  Mom was waiting for me on the couch in the living room. Dad was in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of Scotch. The current silence in the house was deceiving. If Dad was knocking back a drink before bedtime, it was an indicator of two things. One, the fight they’d had in my absence was one ranking quite high on my self-made scale of severity. And two, Mom would have another reason to attack Dad—for getting drunk, even if he wasn’t going to be wasted from only one glass. Anyway, it would drive me out of my bed and next door tonight.

  “Hey, Mom, I’m back,” I said.

  She rose from the couch and came toward me with a smile. Kudos to her for keeping me out of their fights and always having a loving tone for me, even during their loudest arguments. Both of my parents did. That was the reason I could never be mad at either one of them, even if the nightly shouting hurt my eardrums and I’d end up on a therapist’s couch before my twenty-fifth birthday, telling him where my insomnia stemmed from.

  Mom ran her soft hand over my hair. “How was your date?” She was probably as excited to hear whether Ethan had kissed me as Simone was.

  “Quite nice. I’m going to see Ethan again this weekend.” That was the most detail I’d give her. I mean, come on, she’s my mom. You don’t tell all the sickly sweet details about a date to your parents. Especially when those details aren’t as sickly sweet as you’d hoped for in the first place.

  Upstairs in my room, I stripped out of my dress and put on a tank top and flannel bottoms. After brushing my teeth, my bed tempted me, but Simone expected a call and it would be impolite to make her wait. My phone lay on the nightstand, and I picked it up while I crawled under the covers. The screen lit up at a swipe of my thumb. There was a surprise text waiting for me.

  It wasn’t from any of my friends, but I knew the number of the sender. Earlier this afternoon, I’d saved it as Arrogant Dick in my contacts.

  My first thought was to delete the message from Chris unread. No court in the world could convict me for that after how he’d confronted me in detention today. But the image of him singing in their kitchen and holding out a cream-dipped kiwi pressed back into my mind. Curiosity got the better of me so, with a snort and a shake of my head, I opened the message and read: Not like a geek.

  Who in the world was supposed to make sense of that? Was there something missing? Scratching my head, I typed: What? And sent it off.

  While waiting for his explanation, I keyed in a quick update about tonight for Simone, but also added Sam and Lisa to the receiver line. As soon as that text had gone out, my phone started to ring. My first thought was that one of the girls had been really quick to read my text and wanted to talk about it, but checking the display, it said that a certain Arrogant Dick had dialed my number.

  What in the world— “Chris, why are you calling me?” I groaned into the phone. But I’d probably run right into that one when I decided to respond to his text.

  “To wish you a pleasant night and to answer your question,” Chris replied with a chuckle.

  An irritated sigh escaped me. “Does your brother know that you’re talking to me?”

  “No. He just came in…too soon after he drove you home, if you ask me.” He added with a tease in his voice, “Does that mean he, once again, didn’t kiss you?”

  Teeth clenched, I snarled, “None of your business.”

  “Come on, it’s a simple yes or no question.” An amused laugh drifted through the line. “I’ll sleep a lot better if I know the answer.”

  What did I care if he slept well? “Why don’t you ask him yourself if you want to know so badly?”

  “Okay… Since you told me to…” There was a pause and the sound of a door opening which added ten extra degrees to my blood. He wasn’t really going to— “Hey, Ethan!” Chris called out, cutting my thought short. “Did you kiss Susan tonight?”

  “No. Why?” The answer came from far away. My heart sank with Ethan’s flat voice. Then a door banged shut somewhere in Chris’s house.

  “Ethan said no,” he rubbed it in, as if I hadn’t heard the news myself. “I wonder why he didn’t.” His voice had adopted a thoughtful edge that was one hundred percent fake. “Could it be that he’s just not interested?”

  Much as his suggestion stung, I was wondering it myself. But it was too early to give up hope just yet. Third time’s a charm, the saying chanted in my mind as I said to Chris, “FYI, he asked me on another date.”

  “Aw, playing video games again? Is that really your idea of a successful date?”

  “We’re going to the movies.” And might play some video games before that, but I didn’t mention it. “Your idea of a successful date is probably coming out of your room with bed hair and a messy shirt.”

  Chris waited a second. There was an unmistakable smirk in his tone when he purred in my ear, “I knew you noticed that.” His voice became even lower and a quantum more seductive. “Did it bother you?”

  “Why the hell would it?”

  “Because, for one,” Chris didn’t hesitate a beat to explain, “I look exactly like my brother and, from what I can tell, you’re totally into him. Means you’re totally into me, too. And two, only one out of us seems to be dying to snatch a kiss from you these days.”

  His explanation, or whatever the heck that was, sent my thoughts into complete chaos. It was silent enough to hear a pin drop in my room.

  “You stopped breathing, Sue.” There was, for once, not the slightest edge of teasing in his tone. Rather astonishment. But that faded away quickly and a chuckle carried through the line. “I guess that means you agree with me on both points.”

  Did I? The likeness of the twins was striking and not something one could overlook. Since I thought Ethan was the cutest boy in the world, it would make sense to assume I thought the same about Chris. Except that Chris was lacking charm, manners, courtesy, and my fabulous taste in music. Although his singing “Stay” had stroked a sense of admiration awake in me.

  “Chris, tell me one thing,” I whispered, not at all sure if I really wanted an answer. “You had the most beautiful girl in your room this afternoon.
Why do you want to kiss me?”

  “Because Lauren, like most other girls, is an easy catch.” After telling me this in the most nonchalant way, he made a dramatic pause. “You, on the other hand, challenged me today—and in front of my friends, too.”

  “So you want me because you can’t have me?”

  “Who says I can’t have you?”

  “I do.”

  “Oh, okay. So yes, then I definitely want you.”

  His logic made me laugh, but there was more frustration than humor ringing in it. “You need to understand that I could never kiss a guy without having true feelings for him…which I don’t have for you, Chris.”

  “Really?” His voice went up like he was scrunching up his face. “I’ve kissed more than twenty girls the past few months, and it was lots of fun. But not one of them made me feel anything. Well, other than—”

  “Stop it!” I shouted, squeezing my eyes shut. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Okay, okay,” he laughed. “Anyway, there’s another reason why I want you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You looked way hot in that dress today. Definitely not like a geek, which should answer your question to begin with.” I thought he couldn’t sound any more seductive than that, but a moment later, he proved me wrong, as his voice dropped another notch and picked up a layer of heat. “If I’d been the one driving you home tonight, I would have kissed you. And you would have liked it.”

  Chills ran down my back and arms like a melting scoop of ice cream. Not unpleasant, but awkward, anyway.

  “Sleep tight, sweetness,” he breathed and hung up.

  My mouth snapped open as I lowered my hand and dropped the phone into my lap. I knew he was saying these things for only one reason…and I was not going to be taken in by them. He might have caught me in a weak moment when he fed me the kiwi, but if he thought I was going to fall for him because of such a trivial thing, he was in for a surprise. My hair wasn’t black, I wasn’t called Lauren—and most of all, I wasn’t a random chick waiting for him to pick me up at a corner and enjoy for an evening, maybe two.

  Gorgeous? By God, he was. I couldn’t deny that when I was head over heels for his twin brother. But it took more than good looks to be really attractive, and Chris needed to clear his ego before it swallowed him whole in a bubble of delusions.

  Damn, why hadn’t I thought of that comeback when he was still on the phone? “Super, Susan, just super,” I muttered and slapped my brow. Finally, I scooted lower under the covers and turned off the light.

  But sleep? I wish.

  As I had predicted, my parents took stuff out on each other again so loud one might have thought they were giving a rock concert. A bit before midnight, I was so fed up with their noise that I grabbed my phone, which served as my alarm clock, and sneaked out of the house. Grandpa kept a spare key under the potted plant on the windowsill so I didn’t have to wake him when I went over for refuge and crashed on the couch.

  He was up long before me in the morning and kissed me on the forehead when I said my mandatory thanks and returned to my own rackety home. Mom looked sheepish when she saw me coming in. Dad had already left for work.

  “When are you ever going to stop that shit?” I wanted to yell at her as I grabbed a donut from the plate on the counter. But instead, I broke off a bite and shoved it in my mouth. There was no point in discussing it. Some things never changed.

  Avoiding talking with my mother at all, I got dressed, packed my stuff, and beat it to school.

  On the up side, it was Friday and the first day this week that Ethan sat with the soccer team at lunch. I was sure Ryan had invited him over, but it was also obvious that Lisa was the puppet master. She beamed like a streetlamp at midnight as we walked to the table and squeezed my arm a little too tight.

  I didn’t complain about her matchmaking ambitions this time. In fact, being near Ethan for the entire lunch hour was the highlight of my day, even if we didn’t talk much because Alex engaged him in a discussion for most of the time. It didn’t matter, I got a kick out of staring at him just as well.

  When the break was over and we all had to go to our afternoon classes, Ethan promised to call me tomorrow to make plans for the evening.

  And he kept his promise.

  Saturday afternoon, my phone went off, ripping me out of the last chapter of another Outlander book. This unknown number belonged to Ethan, and right after our chat, I saved him in my phone as Charlie Brown. He’d suggested we meet in his room as soon as I was done reading, which made me fly over the final pages twice as fast. Ten minutes later, I tossed the book away and got ready to go out.

  Since the red dress had gotten me nowhere with him on Thursday, but had only given Chris some funky ideas, I decided to roll with more comfortable clothes today. Jeans and a white blouse over a strappy blue top. On the way downstairs, I had a merry whistle on my lips, for once not making the success of this date dependent on a kiss.

  Since my father was the first one I ran into downstairs, I asked him, “Could you drive me over to Ethan’s house, please?”

  He folded the newspaper he was reading and rose from the table, fetching his keys. I liked Mom’s car a lot better than Dad’s, and as always when I climbed into the black Toyota, I pinched my nose, trying not to gag. Four months post purchase, this vehicle still bore the typical new car smell that I just couldn’t seem to get used to. Rolling down the window, fresh air slapped me in the face and gave me a chance to refill my lungs before I turned blue.

  After I gave my dad clear directions where to take me, he said, “So who is this guy? Ethan.” He was trying to sound casual, as if he hoped this question didn’t bear the stamp of a worried father.

  Major fail, Dad!

  “He’s a guy from my school and soccer team. We went out a couple of times.”

  “The guy from Thursday, right? Your mom told me about him.”

  “Really?” I teased. “With all that fighting, there was a moment when she could squeeze that in?”

  I didn’t mean it in an accusing way. Heck, if I could joke about this with one person in the world, it was my dad. But he heaved a deep sigh anyway. “It’s not easy for you right now, huh?”

  I shrugged. “What kid likes listening to their parents’ endless arguments?”

  After a short pause at a crossing, Dad patted my knee. “We’re trying to find a way to deal with it. It will get better. I promise.”

  Deal with it how? With Scotch and more arguments? “Come on, Dad. You know it won’t get any better. She’ll always find reasons to attack you. She just never got over Grams.”

  “We talked about seeing a marriage counselor this morning.”

  Did they? Or did he? I couldn’t imagine my mother doing anything like that. Not when she wouldn’t accept the true problem and reason for their fights, even after two years. “That sounds like a good idea,” is what I said out loud.

  A moment later, Dad pulled up to the curb in front of Ethan’s house. Thank God, because talking about my parents’ issues was starting to depress me. We both looked out through my window, silently regarding the cozy-looking bungalow. No fights in there. Was he thinking the same?

  Suddenly, my Dad surprised me when he chuckled. “I’ve got the feeling I should get out with you and introduce myself to this boy.”

  “Dad!” I rolled my eyes.

  “What? Isn’t that what considerate fathers do?”

  “It’s what fathers do when they want to embarrass their daughters and brand them as dorks for life. Please, don’t be that guy.”

  Laughing, my dad reached behind my neck, pulled me forward, and placed a kiss on top of my head. “Have fun, sweetheart. Curfew is midnight.”

  I nodded and cast him a smile. “Bye, Dad.”

  While he reversed in the broad, empty street, I jogged up the two steps to Ethan’s door and rang the bell. One of the twins opened it, striking me with his smooth appearance. Washed out jeans and a white polo shirt, hair i
n a cute mess; this could be either of them. Not even the warm and welcoming smile was enough to assure me I was facing the right one.

  “Hi, Susan,” he said.

  I took my time, just staring.

  He folded his arms over his chest and regarded me with delight. “You’re trying to figure out who I am, aren’t you?”

  “Nope, I just got the answer,” I replied and shoved past Chris. “Is Ethan in his room?”

  “Yes.” He closed the door and ran after me, successfully holding me up in the hallway. “How did you figure it out?”

  “Simple.” I reached to his collar and picked up the massive silver chains around his neck that I had seen on him the other day, when I entered the wrong room. I wound them around my finger until they were almost choking him. “Your I rule chains gave you away.” With a smug smile, I dropped them and flicked him on the forehead.

  Chris frowned at the soft attack but wouldn’t step aside to let me pass. “Hey, that’s rude.”

  “What? The flick or calling your chains what they are?” I laughed and flicked him a second time.

  “Both,” Chris snarled. He grabbed my arm and spun me around so fast that I had no chance to realize what was going on until my back was flush against his chest. His arms built a firm cage around my torso. “And if you do that one more time,” he growled into my ear, “I’ll give you a hickey the size of Ohio…right here.” As he dipped his head a little lower, his breath feathered against my neck an instant before he touched that very spot with his lips.

  Little electric fire bolts zipped through my body, starting right where his mouth was. I could feel the shivers way down to my toes. A gasp escaped me, so full of shock that I couldn’t savor the traitorous feeling of excitement trying to take over. Writhing in his hold, I landed a weak jab to his chest with my elbow. “Go away, Chris! You’re disgusting!”

  He chuckled, but the iron cage around me eased, and he let me slip away. For a moment, I used the wall for support, struggling very hard to catch my breath after that sensual assault. “Never…do that again!”