After Me

by Joyce Scarbrough

  * * *

  I was already sitting at my table when Matt walked into the room sixth period and gave me a dirty look. Because of what Caitlin had said about him and my curiosity about why he and Lew hated each other, I decided to quiz him a little before Lew got there.

  “Sucks about your buddy Scott, huh?”

  He kept walking and took his seat behind me. “He’s not my buddy.”

  I turned around but kept an eye on the door for Lew. “I thought all you jocks were tight. Hanging at the same parties and all.” Was that a slight wince at my mention of the party?

  “Shows you don’t know shit.” He kept his gaze on his hands. “Just shut up.”

  “Hey, I think it’s great that you stood up for Caitlin like you did.”

  His head jerked up and he looked around to see if anybody had overheard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t take her home from—”

  I’d been talking about when he told Scott to shut up in the parking lot, but the way my surprised look had stopped him in mid-sentence made me realize that he must be the mystery guy who’d taken Caitlin home from the party. Before I could process that shocker, Lew walked into the room.

  “Fine, just forget I said anything,” I whispered to Matt before turning around.

  Lew gave me a curious look as he sat down, but since the bell rang and Mr. Forrester began calling roll, I managed to put off any questions. When Matt practically ran out of the room as soon as the period ended, Lew looked at him and said, “What were you talking to him about before class?”

  “Just ragging him about the football crisis,” I said. “He must be in a hurry to go cry about it with the rest of the team.”

  “No, he’s probably a little glad it happened,” he said as we walked to our lockers. “Maybe he’ll get to play quarterback now.”

  I turned to look at him. “How do you know that?”

  He seemed to think about it a second, then he said, “He played quarterback at the school we both went to before. He’s pretty good, but Scott already had the position. They’ve been playing Matt at running back and defensive end.”

  I leaned against the lockers with a hand over my heart. “You’re a football fan?”

  He rolled his eyes and kept walking. “Not anymore, but I used to be.”

  Oh, this was getting good. I hurried to catch up with him.

  “So you and Matt went to the same school and both transferred here? What’s up with that?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, that part’s classified. You don’t have sufficient security clearance.”

  “Oh, really?” I said. “And what would I have to do to get it?”

  He stopped at his locker and began working the dial, but I could see a little smile teasing the corners of his mouth. “I’ll think about it and get back to you. See you tonight.”

  I walked away wondering if I could survive that long. Then I remembered it wasn’t really an issue for me anymore.

  * * *

  Annalee’s mom was at work when we got to her apartment, so we were free to primp our little hearts out with her flat iron and assortment of drugstore makeup. Annalee said her mom had been trying to get her to use them for a long time and knew she wouldn’t mind if we borrowed them.

  When I was done working my magic, Annalee still looked like Annalee, but her mousy hair framed her face softly instead of being pulled back in a careless ponytail, and her hazel eyes and full lips were enhanced just enough to be noticeable. She didn’t say anything at first as she stared at her reflection, then she turned to look at me with a light in her eyes that was all the thanks I needed.

  “I can’t believe the difference,” she said. “I think I might even be able to do it myself since you showed me how. Thank you so much, Gwen.”

  She practiced using the flat iron by straightening my hair, then she watched me put on just enough makeup to take Gwen from high school girl to Hollywood starlet. I usually didn’t bother with makeup, but tonight I was using every weapon in my feminine arsenal to get Lew’s attention. Especially since I had just armed my competition with some ammo of her own.

  On our way to the library, we got plenty of unwanted confirmation for our efforts from the thugs along the route, but this time Annalee didn’t try to stop me from talking smack to them. One guy wearing a wifebeater and a greasy do-rag tried to follow us after I told him off, but a well-placed knee and a shove that sent him sprawling made him suddenly realize there was somewhere else he needed to be.

  We spotted Lew’s Corvette as soon as we got to the library, parked in the same spot by the door where it had been the last time, making me wonder if he paid the security guard to keep an eye on it for him. Probably not a bad idea considering the neighborhood.

  While I returned my books, Annalee checked the new releases, then we went upstairs so she could talk to Mr. Christopher and I could look for Lew. I spotted him with Javier in the same study room they’d been in before, but I decided not to interrupt them. The sooner they got done studying, the sooner we could leave for our date.

  When I got back to the reference desk, Annalee and Mr. Christopher were talking to the homeless woman who’d waved at Annalee the last time we were there. She looked at me suspiciously and started to leave.

  “It’s okay, Hazel,” Annalee said. “This is my friend Gwen. We go to school together.”

  Hazel squinted at me. “Do you work for the MCP?”

  “I don’t work for anybody,” I said. “But what’s the MCP?”

  She sighed with obvious exasperation. “The Mind Control Police. Everybody knows that.”

  Mr. Christopher patted her hand. “Gwen is new in town, Hazel. The MCP doesn’t have a unit where she comes from.”

  She didn’t look convinced by any means. “Where is she from, outer space?”

  I was tempted to tell her I came from the Great Beyond, but since Annalee liked the poor woman, I said, “I come from a little town on the Louisiana bayou where the gators scare off anybody who bothers us.” When she looked like she was considering a change of address, I added, “I left after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the whole town.”

  Mr. Christopher put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Did you see the new arrivals, Hazel? There’s one by Barbara Kingsolver I think you’ll really like.”

  Her whole attitude changed, as if she had morphed into another person before our eyes. She smiled at Mr. Christopher and took his arm. “Oh, I love the way she writes, and I always learn something new from her books.” She paused to giggle. “And her sex scenes are smoking hot.”

  Mr. Christopher threw us an uncomfortable look as they walked away.

  “I hope he’s safe with her,” I said. “You think I need to follow them in case he needs Zombie Girl’s protection?”

  Annalee laughed. “She’s harmless as long as she doesn’t think you’re in the MCP. Get her talking about books and she forgets her paranoia for a little while. Did you find Lew?”

  “Stalking me again, huh?” His voice made Annalee and me both turn around a little too quickly.

  “Conceited much, Triple C?” I tried to sound scornful. “We’re just hungry. And broke.”

  He laughed, then his eyebrows went up in surprise. “Wow, Annalee. If you do your hair like that for the next chess tournament, you’re gonna wreak havoc on your opponent’s concentration.”

  She blushed—no surprise there—but when she looked up at Lew through the long eyelashes I had so recently enhanced for her, I almost gasped.

  Annalee didn’t just have a crush on Lew. She loved him.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Javier said he had somewhere to be and left the library in a hurry. Good thing, because there was no way the four of us could’ve fit into Lew’s Corvette. Annalee and I barely squeezed into the passenger side together on the ride to the Medianoche Mezzanine. Since she was shorter than me, she was the logical choice to sit on the console next to Lew—right next to Lew. Yeah, I’m talking squeezed up against him. But
I guess it was actually for the best, seeing as how he spent the entire drive talking to her about chess. They definitely shouldn’t have had a problem hearing each other.

  I kept hoping the intricacies of chess strategy would miraculously become clear to me, but no such luck. Maybe Flo and her crew considered it an exercise for me in learning to deal with jealousy and inferiority because I definitely felt like a clueless third wheel. So much for granting my wish as a reward for my good deeds.

  By the time we arrived at the restaurant, I was practically sulking. But the funny thing was, I wasn’t mad at Annalee at all. In fact, mixed in with my jealousy and hurt feelings, I actually felt proud of her for the way she was coming out of her shell because of Lew’s attention.

  After we got our sandwiches and snagged one of the tables outside the restaurant, Lew and Annalee finally noticed that I wasn’t saying much.

  “Sorry, Gwen,” he said as he sat on one side of the table. Beside Annalee, of course. “All this chess talk must be boring you to death.”

  Annalee flushed. “I’m sorry too. We’ll shut up now and talk about whatever you want to talk about.”

  Great, now they pitied me. A little sprinkle of humiliation added to my emotional gumbo.

  “Don’t sweat it,” I said. “I’m more interested in talking to this sandwich right now anyway.” I pretended to savor a bite. “God, it’s so good.”

  Lew smiled. “I knew you’d like it. Not too spicy?”

  “No, just right,” I said. Maybe a touch too much wood pulp and a little heavy on the corrugation.

  Annalee took a bite of her own sandwich and rolled her eyes with ecstasy. “That’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. I can’t believe I’ve lived in Miami all my life and never had one of these.”

  “Javi used to beg his mom to make them for us when we were kids,” Lew said.

  “You think he’ll pass his test tomorrow?” Annalee asked.

  Lew shrugged. “He should be okay if he can get through the math part. We’ve been working on that the most.”

  “He sure took off in a hurry from the library,” I said. “Hot date?”

  “More than one probably.” He laughed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I gave him a midnight curfew so he wouldn’t fall asleep during the exam, but he’ll be doing good if he makes it home before three.”

  I’d actually felt a little slighted when Javier left us at the library without so much as a glance in my direction, especially after the way Lew had made such a big deal over Annalee’s appearance. I probably should’ve taken it as an omen to my night of invisibility.

  For the next hour, I tried not to let them see me pout while they made token attempts every now and then to include me in their conversation, which only made me feel more pathetic. When Lew finally said we needed to leave, I couldn’t wait to get away.

  “Why don’t you take me home first?” I suggested as we walked to the car.

  “Annalee’s house is closer,” he said. “We’ll drop her off and then head to the Grove.”

  She did a fair job of hiding her disappointment. “Oh, do you live in Coconut Grove too?”

  He nodded as he opened the passenger door for us. “My dad wanted to stay on the water when we moved from Fisher Island last year.”

  From the look on Annalee’s face, I could tell Fisher Island must be a pretty big deal around there. I was more interested in why they had moved and would’ve asked him about it if I hadn’t been stuck in my sinkhole of self pity. At least he hadn’t jumped at the chance to get rid of me so he could be alone with Annalee the way I’d expected. That small consolation allowed me to peek over the edge of my hole as we drove to Annalee’s apartment, but I slid back into the muck when he parked and got out with her.

  “Be right back, Gwen,” he said, taking Annalee’s backpack from her when I let her out.

  I turned to get back in the car, but I made the mistake of glancing at Annalee first. The look of happiness mixed with guilt on her face reminded me of how much this had to mean to her.

  “Hey, tonight was fun,” I said. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  Her relieved smile made me glad I’d hidden my feelings, especially when she hugged me.

  “Thanks for everything, Gwen.”

  I watched them walk to the front of the apartment, Lew’s hand casually on her back as they disappeared into the shadows of the porch. At least there was no porch light so I couldn’t torture myself further by watching him kiss her goodnight. I thought about getting out of the car and running away before he came back, but I didn’t want to have to explain it to him later.

  At least this made me want to get back to my search for BOSSMAN so I could leave as soon as possible. In fact, I intended to spend all night online looking for him as soon as I got home. Maybe this date was a message from Flo that I needed to focus on my assignment and stop playing stupid romance games.

  When Lew got back in the car, I discovered that my lack of anger at Annalee didn’t extend to him as well, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t as if he’d led me on or done anything to suggest we were anything more than friends. But that didn’t keep me from wanting to zomjitsu chop him upside his neatly-groomed head.

  “I wanted to make sure she got inside safely,” he said as he started the car. “She said her mom should be home from work soon.”

  I stared straight ahead. “Great.”

  He didn’t seem to notice my snippiness. “Mind if we make a little detour before I take you home?”

  “Detour to where?” I said, still not looking at him.

  “You’ll see when we get there. Don’t worry, it’s not far from your house.”

  I turned to see if his face gave any hint as to what he had in mind, but he only looked back at me expectantly.

  “Fine. Whatever.” My gaze returned to the street in front of us. “But I can’t be out too late.”

  He kept asking me trivial questions about school as we drove, but all he got were one-word replies. By the time we reached Coconut Grove, he had to have noticed that I was pissed about something. When he didn’t ask me what was wrong, I figured it meant he didn’t care. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t either. No such luck.

  “Okay, where are we going?” I said when he turned east on Grand Avenue.

  “To my house.” He gave me a smile as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

  The momentary hope that flooded my zombie heart disappeared just as quickly when something horrible occurred to me: what if he was taking me there because he thought I was easy? Gwen was supposed to have been a hooker, after all. Maybe he’d only been nice to me because he wanted to—

  “You promised me a book discussion, remember?” he said, yanking me back to reality.

  “Oh, right.” I was relieved but still confused. “We could’ve talked about it earlier though. I’m sure Annalee’s read Gatsby too.”

  “I know, but you were a good sport all night about all the chess talk, so I wanted to save this for you and me.” He looked at me and smiled again. “And there’s somewhere special I want to show you too.”

  “Oh,” was all I could manage while I flailed helplessly in the emotional tide that washed over me—excitement that he wanted to be alone with me, guilt over the way I’d doubted him earlier, and nervous speculation about how the night would end.

  He turned down a driveway leading to the gated entrance of an estate on Bayshore Drive that made Scott’s place look like low-income housing. My home with Vanessa and David had been nothing to sneeze at, but we’d been living in squalor compared to the Stanton estate. The stories about Lew’s family hadn’t been exaggerated. He was straight-up loaded.

  He opened the gate with a remote mounted above the car’s rearview mirror, then he drove down a circular driveway with a lighted fountain in the middle. We parked on the far side next to a brick walkway lined with palm trees.

  “Let’s go,” he said with a wink that made me ridiculousl
y happy.

  Despite my wobbly legs, I managed to get out of the car and go around to where he was waiting for me at the top of the walkway, which I could now see led down to a private beach.

  “This way.” He inclined his head toward the opening. “Careful on the steps at the end. The sand makes them slippery sometimes.”

  I didn’t trust my voice any more than I did my legs, so I nodded and followed him silently down the path. When we reached the steps, he led the way to a wooden boardwalk that curved around the beach toward a boathouse. He stopped just past it where the boardwalk branched off into a pier stretching out onto Biscayne Bay.

  “I know it looks narrow,” he said, “but there’s plenty of room for two people to walk on it. I can hold your hand if it’ll make you feel safer.”

  Safer was definitely not what it would make me feel, but I nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

  Because I spent the next few minutes marveling over the electric current passing from his hand to mine, I didn’t notice until we were halfway down the pier that there was a covered deck at the end. When we reached it, he stopped and let go of my hand to flip a switch mounted on one of the roof supports. A light came on at the corner of the deck and revealed a wooden swing swaying gently in the breeze blowing in off the bay.

  “This is where I come when I want to be by myself and get away from my family’s craziness,” he said. “Sometimes I stay out here all night.”

  I was once again speechless. Not only was I afraid I might squeal like a fangirl because he’d brought me to his sanctuary, the main reason I couldn’t speak was because I recognized Peacock Park off to my right about a quarter mile away. The light Lew had just turned on was the one I’d seen the night before. The one that had reminded me of Gatsby and Daisy.

  Maybe Flo had granted my wish after all.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  We sat beside each other in the swing with our shoulders touching. I considered telling him that swings made me even more nervous than narrow piers so he would hold my hand again, but I didn’t think he’d fall for it.