"I can find other things to do. My mom and I are having a spa day later this week and I'm sure we'll do other stuff."
The doorbell rings.
"Cal, can you get that?" I yell.
He doesn't answer. The bell rings again.
"Birdie, I gotta go. Cal's upstairs and someone's at the door. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah. Bye!"
I go and open the door. Luke is standing there, looking even hotter than he did last fall. He's more muscular and his face looks older. It's leaner, more manly, and he has a hint of a beard growing.
"Luke," I say, sounding surprised.
I'm trying to hide it but that breathless thing is happening again. Why does that always happen around him?
"Hey, Taylor. How have you been?"
"Good. I just got home from college."
"Yeah, I heard. Cal told me."
Is that why Luke is here? To see me?
Here I go again, imagining Luke likes me when he clearly does not. Whatever flirting I thought he was doing last fall was obviously not flirting at all. If it was, he would've tried to contact me after that day we played golf.
"So what are you doing here?" I ask.
"I had some time off so I decided to come to Phoenix for the week."
"I mean why are you here at the house? I thought Cal was meeting you somewhere."
"He was, but I was in the area so I thought I'd just come over."
The breeze blows and the scent of his cologne drifts past me. He smells really good. And looks really good. His hair is shorter than I remember but I like it short. It makes it look even darker, which I love. It matches his dark eyes and golden brown tan.
"Taylor," I hear him say. "Can I come in?"
Crap. How long was I standing here not saying anything?
"Oh. Yeah. Come on in." I step aside.
As he walks past me he gives me a smile and his dimples appear. I could look at those dimples all day. They're irresistible. But I must resist! He's Cal's friend. I can't date him.
"So what are you up to this week?" Luke asks as we sit down on the couch. I make sure to keep plenty of distance between us but then he widens his legs and brings his arm up along the back of the couch, making it feel like we're closer.
"I don't really have any plans. I just want to relax this week."
He smiles. "Are you going to make good on our deal?"
"What deal?"
"You're supposed to take me out to the putting green. Give me some pointers. And in return I'll help you with your drives. Would tomorrow work?"
"Tomorrow? Um, no. I mean, let's just forget about it. We were just talking that day. We don't actually have to do it."
Do it? Why did I say that? It sounded dirty. Or maybe it's just me. I glanced down at his body and now I'm thinking about him in ways that I shouldn't.
"I like doing it." He smiles. "Teaching people," he clarifies.
"Yeah. Me too. But I don't want to take up your time. I'm sure you and Cal have plans."
"Not really. We'll probably just golf all week."
"Then maybe I'll go with you guys and we can give each other some pointers."
That'll work. We'll go with Cal. As long as Cal's there nothing will happen. Not that it would if it were just Luke and me. There's nothing between us. We're just friends. Acquaintances.
"I guess that would work," he says. "Although I won't be able to spend much time teaching you anything with Cal there."
"What are you saying about me?" Cal asks as he comes down the stairs.
"Taylor wants some help with her drives so I told her I'd give her some pointers but if we go with you, you won't give us any time. You're always racing to the next hole."
"Why don't you ask me for help?" Cal asks.
"Because you're a horrible teacher," I say. "You're too impatient."
"So is Luke."
"How would you know?" Luke says. "I've never tried to teach you anything."
"I guess you're right. I wouldn't know. But if I were you, I wouldn't try to teach Taylor anything."
I huff. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you can't take criticism. If someone tries to tell you what you're doing wrong, you get pissed."
"That's not true," I tell Luke. "Well, it's kind of true but only if my family is trying to teach me something. It's not true for anyone else. My coach criticizes me all the time and I'm fine with it."
"She's fine with it in front of him," Cal says. "But then she gets home and goes in our gym and kicks the punching bag like she's trying to kill the damn thing."
I feel my face warming up. "I'm just working out. It has nothing to do with what the coach said."
"I don't like criticism either," Luke says. "I react the same way. I hit the gym or go to the driving range and take it out on the ball."
"See?" I say to Cal. "Nobody likes criticism."
Cal sits down across from Luke. "So what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the club."
"I figured we might as well go together." He turns to me. "You want to go with us?"
"To a club? Like a nightclub?"
"Yeah. It's under 21 night."
So Cal wasn't kidding. They really are going to spend their nights trying to find girls. For some reason that annoys me.
"I think I'll just stay here," I say.
"C'mon," Luke says. "It'll be fun."
I look at Cal. "Watching you and Cal find one-night stands? That's not really fun to me."
"One night stands?" Luke says. "What are you talking about?"
"Cal said you guys were going to go out every night and look for girls."
Cal looks at Luke. "The one-night-stand thing is all her. I never said that. She's just making assumptions."
"Luke doesn't live here so if he meets someone it's not like it could go anywhere, which means..." I stop.
What am I doing? I shouldn't be commenting on Luke's dating life. What he does is his business, not mine. I shouldn't even care.
"I'm only going to the club because it's something to do," Luke says. "I'm not looking for girls."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything. It's none of my business." I get up. "I'm going up to my room. You guys have fun."
"You sure you can't come with us?" Luke asks. "It seems wrong to leave you here all alone."
"She'll call up one of her friends," Cal says as he checks his phone. "Taylor, when's Birdie getting back?"
"She doesn't have break until next week. Same for everyone else I know."
"Then you should go out with us," Luke says.
"You might as well," Cal says. "You and Luke both need to get out and meet people. When's the last time you had a date, Taylor? Like two years ago?" He laughs.
I put my hands on my hips. "For your information, I've been going on dates since I started college. Lot of dates. With lots of guys."
Glancing at Luke, I notice he's no longer smiling. He almost looks a little angry, although I'm not sure why he'd be angry.
I focus back on Cal. "I haven't told you about any of my dates because you overreact whenever I go out with someone."
"Because you only go out with assholes," he says, swiping through his phone.
"Is that true?" Luke asks.
"No. Cal's just being an annoying big brother. In his mind every guy I go out with is an asshole. Even guys he's never met before."
"I'm looking out for you," Cal says. "You should thank me for that, not get mad."
"You don't have to look out for me. I'm 19. I'm old enough to look out for myself."
"Not when it comes to guys. You don't get how guys think. How they say whatever shit you want to hear just to get what they want."
"Not every guy's like that," Luke says.
"The ones Taylor dates are," Cal says. "She chooses guys based on who she thinks is hot and those guys tend to be assholes."
"That is so not true!" I say. "I don't go out with a guy only because he's hot."
"Yeah, right." Cal stands up. "Luke, let's go. I need to stop and get gas on the way there." He pats his shorts pocket. "Left my wallet upstairs. I'll be right back." He runs up to his room.
Luke gets up from the couch. "Last chance. You coming with?"
"No. I'm going to stay here and watch a movie."
"But you'll go out with us later this week, right?"
"I don't know. Maybe." I pause. "Why do you keep insisting I go out with you guys? I thought you came here to hang out with Cal."
"Which I'm doing, but I'd also like to hang out with you." His eyes lock on mine. "I like you, Taylor."
My heart skips a beat. He likes me? Like a friend, or more than that?
"Taylor?" he says when I don't respond.
"Oh, um, thanks."
Thanks? What kind of response is that? I'm thanking him for liking me? Why do I keep saying stupid things? It's like my brain stopped working.
"You're welcome." He smiles. "I was kind of hoping you'd say you like me too but I'll take a thank you."
I laugh. "Sorry. That was totally stupid of me to say. I was just surprised you said it so I didn't know how to respond."
"You didn't know I like you?"
I don't answer for fear of saying something stupid again.
"You're Cal's sister," he says. "And since I like Cal it only makes sense I would like his sister. You two are a lot alike."
So he likes me as a friend. Nothing more. I'm just the girl version of Cal.
"Okay, we can go." Cal hurries down the stairs. "See ya, Taylor."
"Yeah. Bye."
"If you change your mind," Luke says to me, "just meet us there. Cal can text you the address."
"Okay. See ya."
When they're gone I call up Birdie and tell her what happened.
"He wants to date you," she says without even the slightest amount of doubt.
"He doesn't want to date me. Didn't you hear what I said? He sees me as a friend. Like Cal. That's it."
"He only said that because you didn't respond when he told you he likes you. He was afraid you were going to reject him so he changed course and decided to go the friend route."
"I guess it's possible but—"
"Why didn't you tell him you liked him back? When a guy tells you he likes you, you can't just sit there and not say anything."
"I didn't know what to say. I was too shocked he told me he liked me."
"Yeah, but you can't say nothing. Silence is an answer. It means you don't feel the same way about him as he feels about you but you're afraid to come out and say it because it'll hurt his feelings."
"But that's not what I meant."
"It doesn't matter. Sometimes silence can say more than words and today, your silence told Luke you're not interested."
"Then maybe that's a good thing because I'm not interested. I can't be. He's Cal's friend."
"Would you stop worrying about that? If you really like Luke, then forget about your brother. Or maybe date Luke but don't tell Cal. See if this attraction you have to Luke could actually go somewhere or if it's just attraction and nothing else. If you find you only like Luke for his looks and nothing else, then it's not worth telling Cal."
"I don't know, Birdie. It might be better to just leave it as is. Let Luke think I only see him as a friend."
"But you don't. You see him as more than that and you've been thinking about him for months now. Go out with him this week and see how it goes."
"I can't go out with Luke without Cal. He'd suspect something's going on."
"Then Cal can go with but find a way to get rid of him so you and Luke have some time alone."
"I'll try but I don't know how that's going to work."
"You'll figure something out."
"I'll let you get back to studying. Thanks for the advice."
"Anytime. Let me know what happens."
"I will. Bye!"
What am I going to do? How can I get Luke alone without Cal getting suspicious?
Maybe I should just forget the whole thing. Maybe Birdie is wrong and Luke really does only see me as a friend. But what if he sees me as more than that?
I have to know. I have to somehow find out. Not knowing is driving me crazy!
This is going to be an interesting week.
Chapter Eight
Taylor
I've been able to avoid Luke all week. He's been here at the house a few times but I stayed in my room and waited until he was gone. I haven't seen him since that day we talked in the living room.
My dad's been taking Luke and Cal to different golf courses all week and they spend the whole day there. My dad invited me to go with them but my mom really wanted me to do stuff with her. Plus, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend an entire day golfing with my dad, brother, and Luke.
After golfing the three of them have been going out for dinner and then Luke goes back to his hotel. I'm not sure why Luke isn't staying with us. Is it because I'm here? Did he think it'd be awkward to stay at the house because of me?
I'm still trying to figure out how he feels about me and I'm hoping I'll find out today. It's Saturday, my last day at home before heading back to college, and this morning I'm going golfing with Cal and Luke. My dad is running errands with my mom, and then later, we'll all get together for dinner.
"Hey, Taylor," Luke says as Cal and I meet up with him at the clubhouse. We're playing at a private course today. My dad is a member and got us a tee time. It's very exclusive so it's never very crowded, which is why we picked it. Luke will have time to help me with my swing and I can help him with his putting, although I doubt any of that will happen.
"Hi, Luke."
"I'm gonna take my stuff to the locker room," Cal says, leaving me alone with Luke.
"What have you been up to all week?" Luke asks.
I shrug. "Just hanging out with my mom."
"Why didn't you come golfing with us?"
"My mom had all this mother-daughter stuff planned. I didn't want to tell her no."
"So you're leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I have a morning flight."
"That's too bad. I was hoping we could hang out."
"Why?" I ask, anxiously awaiting the answer. If he tells me we're just friends, this will be a much more relaxing round of golf.
"Because I—"
"Let's get out there," Cal says, heading to the door that leads to the course.
Stupid Cal. He interrupted Luke when I really needed to hear what he was going to say! Now I'll have to wait for another opportunity.
We play the first six holes and Luke treats me like he treats Cal. Like a friend. Nothing more. I act the same.
On the seventh hole, Cal has to use the bathroom. "I'll be right back."
He takes the golf cart because the bathroom is too far away to walk.
"Let's work on your swing while he's gone," Luke says, handing me a club.
Again, he's treating me like a friend. If he liked me as more than that, now would be the time to tell me, while my brother is gone.
"Let's just forget it," I say. "Cal will be back soon."
"We have time. Go ahead and line up your shot."
He stands back and watches as I take a swing.
"Do it again," Luke says.
I adjust my grip on the club, then swing.
Luke moves to stand behind me. "One more time."
I swing the club again. "What do you think? Do I not have enough power behind it?"
"It's not about strength. It's about form." He steps up behind me. "Can I show you?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
I expect him to take my club and demonstrate but instead his arms go around me and his hands wrap around mine as he grasps the club.
Feeling his body this close to mine, I tense up.
"You okay?" he asks, his breath wafting over my ear.
"Yeah. So what do I need to change?"
"You need to relax. You tense your shoulders when you grip the club. That's your first thing to w
ork on. Then you stiffen up again when you swing the club back. It almost looks like you're worried you're going to hit someone so you slow down the motion of the club going back."
"My dad said the same thing. I don't know why I do that. I'm not trying to."
"Here." His hands go to my shoulders. "Grip the club like you normally would." As I grip the club, he says, "Feel that?"
"What?"
He squeezes my shoulders. "Look how tight you are here. I can barely get your muscles to give." He rubs my shoulders. "Focus on relaxing this area while you keep hold of the club."
He wants me to relax? Is he kidding? My heart is racing like crazy having him this close to me, touching me.
"You're not relaxing," he says.
"I'm trying to. It's just not working."
He massages my shoulders, making me want to melt back into his arms. "Does this help?"
I almost moan it feels so good. Not just the massage but the feel of him this close to me. The feel of his hands touching me.
"Let's move on." I straighten up, which causes my shoulders to tense again. "We don't have much time."
"Let me show you what the backswing should feel like."
I've already been over this with my coach many times but I like having Luke's arms around me so I go with it.
His hands wrap around mine, gripping the club. "Okay, just relax and let me take over the swing but pay attention to how it feels."
I'm paying attention alright, but not to how the swing feels. I'm focused on how he feels, his body touching mine as he gets in position to swing the club. He does it so fast I almost miss it.
"Notice the difference?" he asks.
"It was too fast. Can you do it again?"
"Sure." He swings the club and that time I paid attention. His swing was fast but smooth, the club slicing through the air with speed and precision. "You feel the difference?"
"Yeah, I could that time."
He steps back and comes around in front of me. "Focus on relaxing your shoulders. That's step one. Then work on your backswing. Don't be afraid to speed it up. You need that speed to power the ball down the fairway."
I nod. "I'll work on it."
He glances behind me. "Cal's heading back. You'll have to give me a putting lesson some other time."
I smile. "You don't need one. You're a way better golfer than me."
"Only because I practice more. I do this full-time. You have college."
Anyone But Her Page 7