Anyone But Her

by Everhart, Allie

  "Birdie?" Alecia looks up from her phone and laughs. "That's really your name?"

  "Yeah, do you have a problem with it?"

  "It's a nickname, right? That can't be your real name."

  "It IS my real name and I find it rude when people make fun of it."

  This night isn't starting out well. I can already tell Birdie and Alecia aren't going to get along.

  "It's an odd name," Alecia says in a defensive tone. "You have to admit it's not normal."

  "A lot of names aren't what some would consider normal but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with them."

  "Birdie, don't start," Cal says.

  "Oh, so your date makes fun of me and I'm just supposed to stand here and say nothing?"

  He sighs. "We're here to celebrate Luke's win so let's just try to have a good time, okay?"

  Cal and Alecia go in the restaurant and the rest of us follow. Once we're seated at our table, Alecia slips her arm around Cal's and scoots her chair closer to his. "Do you know what you're getting?"

  "Not yet." He looks at his menu.

  "Cal." Alecia tilts her head up to him like she wants a kiss.

  He takes his eyes from his menu and gives her a quick peck on the lips. "Have you decided what you want?"

  "No." She pouts. "You pick. I don't feel like making decisions tonight."

  Birdie says something under her breath while pretending to cough.

  "You getting sick?" Cal asks her.

  "Nope." She fakes a smile. "I'm fine."

  "Did you work today?"

  "Yeah, just got off. I ran home and changed quick before coming here."

  At least they're being nice to each other. That's a relief.

  "So you're a golfer?" Alecia asks Luke.

  "Yeah. I won a tournament today."

  "How much did you win?" she asks.

  "Nothing. You can't accept money as an amateur. Only the pros can take prize money."

  She huffs. "That sucks. Then why do you even do it?"

  "Because I love it."

  She picks up her phone and texts someone. "I don't get golf."

  "Then maybe you shouldn't date a golfer," Birdie mutters.

  "You're dating a golfer," Cal points out, "and you don't like golf."

  "I like golf," she says. "I'm just not good at it. But at least I understand the game."

  Alecia looks up from her phone. "You're dating a golfer? Is it one of Cal's friends?"

  "Yeah, it's Luke," Cal says. "Didn't I tell you that?"

  "No, I thought she was here because of your sister." Alecia sets her phone down and points to Birdie. "So you're dating him?" She points to Luke.

  "I think Cal already made that pretty clear," Birdie says, getting annoyed.

  Alecia sits back in her chair, her eyes bouncing between Luke and Birdie. "I don't see it."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Birdie snaps.

  I nudge her and whisper, "Just ignore her."

  "I just don't see you two together. I could see those two together." She points to Luke and me. "But not you and him."

  Cal laughs. "If Luke ever dated my sister, I'd kill him. I don't care how good they look together. "

  "See?" Alecia points to Cal but talks to Birdie. "Even he thinks Luke and Taylor are a better match. They just look right together."

  "Okay, let's change the subject," Cal says. "Birdie is dating Luke. End of story."

  "How long have you dated?" Alecia asks Luke.

  "Let it go," Cal says to her. "We're done talking about it."

  "I'm not. I want to know. How long?"

  "This is our second date," Luke says.

  "That's nothing. You guys aren't a couple. You've just been on a few dates. And you have zero chemistry so you might as well end it tonight."

  "What the hell?" Birdie rises from her seat.

  "Birdie, don't." Cal gets up. "Alecia, can I talk to you a minute? Privately?"

  "Why? To scold me for pointing out the obvious? I can say what I want, Cal, even if people don't like it. I'm just stating the truth."

  He slowly sits back down and forces out a smile. "So, what's everyone ordering?"

  Birdie drops back down in her seat, glaring at Cal from across the table. Now she's really going to hate him. He let his date insult her and even though he attempted to stop it, Alecia wouldn't let him and so he backed down. But that's Cal. He doesn't like uncomfortable situations. He tries to avoid arguments. That's why I'm always surprised when he fights with Birdie. She's one of the few people he fights with. He doesn't even fight with me much now that we're older.

  Alecia looks at me. "How about you? Are you dating someone?"

  "No. Not right now."

  Cal checks his phone and smiles. "You might be."

  "What do you mean?" I ask.

  "I just got a text from Noah. He said he was able to get off work early. He's heading over."

  "Right now?" Luke asks.

  "Yeah. He'll be here in a few minutes."

  "Who's Noah?" Alecia asks.

  "Taylor's date. You've met him. He's on the golf team. Really tall. Dark hair. Always wears too much cologne."

  "Oh, yeah. I like his cologne. I don't think it's too much." She smiles at me. "Noah's hot. You'll like him."

  I feel Luke's leg rub against mine under the table. He's not happy about this. On the drive here he told me to tell Cal to stop setting me up. But I tried and Cal wouldn't listen. I explained to Luke that by agreeing to this blind date, it would erase any suspicions Cal had about me liking Luke. I don't think Cal had any suspicions but he might if I kept insisting I couldn't at least meet this Noah guy.

  A few minutes later, he shows up. He's tall, like Cal said, at least six foot five, and skinny. As he approaches the table I smell his cologne. I wouldn't say it's too much but he could definitely use less.

  Cal stands up to greet him. "Hey, man, glad you could make it."

  "Work was slow so they let me out early."

  "Where do you work?" Birdie asks.

  "At at restaurant in Scottsdale. I wait tables."

  "Noah, this is Taylor," Cal says.

  I hold out my hand. "Hi."

  We do a quick hand shake and he sits down next to me.

  "I've watched some videos of you playing," Noah says. "You're really good."

  "Thanks." I feel everyone staring at us. It's really uncomfortable. "I should introduce you to everyone. This is Luke." I point to him beside me. "And next to him is Birdie. We've been friends forever. And you already know Alecia."

  "I don't think so," he says to her. "Have we met before?"

  "We met at a party," she says. "It was months ago."

  He nods. "Now I remember. It was Chad's party. You and Cal had just started dating."

  "And then we broke up. But now we're back together. Cal missed me." She kisses his cheek. "He couldn't stay away."

  I'm pretty sure I heard a gagging sound from Birdie. I glance at her and she gives me an innocent smile.

  Noah turns toward me but talks to Luke. "I saw the recap of the tournament today. Congratulations."

  "Thanks."

  "You should go pro."

  "I'm thinking about it." He glances at me and I have to bite my tongue so I don't say anything.

  "Hey, Noah," Alecia says. "If you saw those two in the mall," she points to Birdie and Luke, "would you think they're a couple?"

  He looks at them, then back at her. "Um, I don't know. Probably not. Why do you ask?"

  "Because they're dating. I think it's weird. They totally don't go together."

  "Would you give it rest?" Cal says to her, getting angry. "It doesn't matter if you think they go together or not. They're dating so just drop it."

  She sits back in her chair with a pout on her face. I'm surprised Cal stood up to her like that. Normally, he'd just try to talk about something else.

  We order our food, then Noah asks me questions about the golf team I'm on at college. He seems like an okay guy but I h
ave no interest in him. Even if I were single I wouldn't be interested in him. He's not my type and I'm bored with our conversation.

  While he's talking I hear Luke saying something to Birdie. Then I feel his leg rub against mine. I'm suddenly no longer bored, my body and mind coming alive by the feel of Luke touching me. He shouldn't be doing this, which makes it even more of a turn-on. I want to be with him so bad. Even if we could just kiss, I'd take it.

  Our meals arrive and Noah devours his like he hasn't even in weeks. He's literally shoveling food in his mouth, which is a little disgusting, especially when he tries to talk and eat.

  Cal notices and says, "Slow down, man. The food's not going anywhere."

  Noah sets his fork down and laughs. "It's a habit. I'm always in a hurry so I tend to eat fast."

  "Why are you in a hurry?"

  "I just always have a lot going on."

  "Well, if you need to leave after this, it's fine."

  "I'm good. This is all I had planned for tonight."

  Does that mean he wants to go out after this? Just him and me? If he asks, I'll turn him down. He can go hang out with Cal and Alecia. They all know each other. He'll have more fun with them than with me.

  Birdie gets up. "I have to use the restroom."

  That's code for she wants to talk.

  "I think I'll go too."

  I stand up and follow her to the restroom. It's the kind that's only for one person. We go in there and lock the door.

  "What is it?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

  "You two have got to stop doing that."

  "Doing what?"

  "Having foreplay under the table!"

  "It's not foreplay. Our legs just touched. It's a small table. How did you even see that?"

  "I didn't, but I can feel it, which means your date probably can too."

  "He probably thinks it's you and Luke, not Luke and me."

  "It doesn't matter. It's too risky. You gotta stop. Get out your phone."

  "Why?"

  "Text Luke and tell him to meet us back here."

  "Why are we meeting him here?"

  "We're not. You are. And not in here. You'll meet him in the hall and go out the back door to the alley."

  "What?"

  "You two need to go make out for a minute or two to get it out of your system or the rest of this dinner is going to be a disaster."

  "It already is a disaster. Noah is boring and Alecia is mean."

  "She's a bitch. I hate her. Why would Cal date a girl like her? She's not even that pretty." Birdie glances at the door as someone tries to open it. "Hurry up. We're running out of time. Text Luke. I'll stay here while you guys do your thing so Cal won't think anything of it. He'll just think we're taking forever." She opens the door and shoves me into the hall.

  I text Luke, Meet me outside the restrooms.

  He doesn't text back. He just shows up.

  "What's going on?"

  "Come with me."

  I take him outside to the alley, then say, "I need to kiss you."

  He smiles. "God, I love you." He freezes. "I mean, not that way but—"

  "Yeah, I know what you meant. Now kiss me!"

  He does, and the kiss is just what I needed. What I've been craving since the last time we kissed, which seems like forever ago.

  My phone dings with a text. I'm sure it's Birdie, telling me to come back inside.

  "We have to go," I say between kisses.

  "Not yet." His arms grip me tighter and we continue to kiss.

  My phone dings again.

  "Luke, we really have to go. Cal will wonder where we are."

  He sighs. "Okay."

  "Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have done this. I just couldn't wait any longer."

  "Me either. I don't know how we're going to make it through the summer." He leans down and talks over my lips. "One more."

  It's a short kiss but still gets me all tingly. I can't sit through dinner like this, all hot and tingly, my mind imagining what it'd be like to be with Luke.

  "Seriously?" Birdie says when we meet her outside the restroom. "I said two minutes, Taylor. That was five. Now we have to deal with Cal."

  "I'll deal with him.

  Back at the table Alecia is hanging on Cal, no longer interested in her meal, which she barely ate.

  "What took you guys so long?" Cal asks.

  "Birdie had a zipper issue," I say. "Her dress wasn't zipped all the way and when I tried to fix it, it got stuck."

  "Then Birdie texted me to come help," Luke says. "Between the three of us, we got it fixed."

  "You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Birdie says, pretending to be angry.

  "Why wasn't your dress zipped before you got here?" Alecia asks in a snotty tone.

  Birdie ignores her and puts her napkin back on her lap.

  "It's a nice dress," Noah says to Birdie. "It looks good on you." He smiles at her from the other end of the table.

  Wait, what just happened? Did Noah just flirt with Birdie?

  "Thank you, Noah," she says with a satisfied smile that's clearly meant to annoy Alecia.

  And it does. She shoots Noah a dirty look and says, "She's on a date. And so are you."

  "I was just saying I like her dress." He picks up his soda.

  Glancing over at Cal, I see him staring at Birdie, who's still grinning from ear to ear. This dinner is getting stranger by the second. And now Luke is back to rubbing his leg against mine.

  So to summarize, Luke and I are flirting under the table, Noah is flirting with Birdie, Alecia is angry she's not the center of attention, and Cal looks angry, probably because his friend is hitting on Luke's girlfriend, who really isn't his girlfriend.

  This is so confusing. And awkward. This night can't end soon enough.

  Chapter Twenty

  Luke

  Noah insisted on taking Taylor home, which pissed me off. But she's his date, not mine, so I had to pretend to be okay with it. This whole night has been strange. Pretending to be Birdie's date while Taylor is on a date with someone else? I hated it, except for the part where Taylor texted me for a secret make-out session in the alley. That was hot. I'll be thinking about that later tonight when I'm in bed all alone, wishing she were with me.

  A text pops up on my phone from Taylor. I'm home.

  How was it? Did he ask you out again?

  He didn't have a chance. I told him I wasn't interested.

  Was he mad?

  No. He didn't seem that interested in me either.

  That's impossible. You're amazing.

  You're sweet. I think he might've liked Birdie. I think he was flirting with her.

  Really? I guess I missed that.

  What are you doing now?

  Nothing. I'll probably just go to sleep.

  Me too. I'm tired.

  I was hoping she'd say she'd sneak over to the guest house to see me but that'd be too risky with her parents home. I'm really getting tired of this. I want to be with her and stop sneaking around and lying and having to hide how we feel about each other.

  Goodnight, Luke, she texts.

  Goodnight. I miss you. I wish you could be beside me tonight.

  Looking at the main house I see her light turn off. I strip down to my boxer briefs and get in bed, still thinking about Taylor and me in the alley. It sucks that we have to go to some dark, dirty alley just to kiss. Will we ever get to be together without having to sneak around?

  A few hours later I wake up when I hear a noise. It sounds like someone's trying to open the door. Shit, is someone trying to break in?

  "Who is it?" I yell.

  "It's me." I hear Taylor's voice and relax. "You need to be quiet," she whispers as she gently shuts the door.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "I came to see you." She crawls up on the bed and sneaks under the covers. "You said you missed me."

  A huge smile crosses my face. "I did." I pull her body to mine and kiss her. "Please tell me this isn't a dream." />
  "It's not." She runs her hand down my bare chest and my already hard cock stiffens even more.

  "Taylor, I love having you here but having you in my bed is..." How do I finish that thought without sounding like a jerk who can't control himself? I'm trying to, I really am, but I've wanted her for so long and now she's here in my arms, in my bed, and I want her.

  "I say we let whatever's going to happen happen." She sits up and slips off her tank top, then lowers back down beside me, pressing her warm body against mine. Then she whispers in my ear, "I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about you here in bed and..." Her words stop as she slowly moves, positioning herself on top of me. I feel her warm breath by my ear as she presses into my crotch. Holy freakin' shit, I've never been this turned on in my life.

  "I want you," I groan as I cup her ass and hold her against me, letting her feel how much I want her.

  "Then take me," she says in a teasing tone.

  I bring her mouth to mine and kiss her. Not soft, start-up kisses. We're well beyond that. These are deep, sexy, I-want-you-now kisses. My hands tug at her pajama shorts and she lifts up so I can yank them off. And then all I feel is skin. Her soft, warm, beautiful skin. I flip her onto her back, my hands moving over her curves as my mouth teases her in places that make her breath catch, make her moan, make her beg for more.

  My boxer briefs are still on because it's the only way I can hold myself back. If they were off I'd be inside her right now. I'm trying to slow down because I don't know when we'll be able to do this again. Maybe not for weeks, or months. So I'm taking my time, savoring her body, pleasuring her.

  "Luke," she moans, breathing heavy. She's gripping my hair like she's about to yank it out. I keep going, my tongue and fingers doing double duty.

  "Oh God." She arches back as she comes, and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I love that I made her feel that way. Not Noah. Not some other guy. But me. I want to be it for her. I don't want her with anyone else. I want her to be mine.

  I rip my boxer briefs off and grab one of the condoms I hid in the nightstand just in case. I quickly put it on, then position myself between her legs and look down at her beautiful face. I want to tell her I love her. I want to so badly, but I can't. It's too soon.

  There's enough moonlight coming through the windows that I can see her eyes, looking at me as though she wants to say something. Does she love me too? Does she want to say it as much as I do but she's scared it's too soon? I don't want to assume that in case it isn't true, but I'm feeling something from her with the look she's giving me, and it feels like love.