Some Loves (Some Hearts#2)

by Jolie, Meg

  I handed him his clothes. “You go change and I’ll meet you back out here. Okay?” He nodded and I pointed a finger at him. “But do not leave the pool area without me.”

  He took his clothes and we each quickly changed. In the meantime I let Aubrey know that I was keeping Tyler overnight. As I’d predicted, she didn’t have a problem with that.

  “We’re good to go,” I told him as we crossed the parking lot. “Aubrey said you could stay as long as I agreed to eat dinner with you guys one night this week.”

  “She likes to make deals,” he said with a grin.

  “At least she makes easy ones,” I said as I ruffled his wet hair. It was still plastered to his head like a helmet.

  “They’re easy for you,” he corrected me with a roll of his eyes.

  I sliced a teasing look at him. “Are you telling me she’s hard on you? What kind of deals does she make?”

  “She always says I have to have my homework done before I can do anything fun,” he grumbled.

  I laughed. “Ty, that’s the same kind of deal Mom used to make with you.”

  “I know,” he grumbled again. “But that doesn’t mean I like it!”

  “Do you have any homework tonight?” I asked suspiciously.

  He shook his head. “No. We had testing all day. Can we have chocolate malts?”

  “Absolutely. That sounds like the perfect way to celebrate having all that testing behind you.”

  “Can I have extra malt mix in mine?”

  I scrunched up my nose at his request. “If you must.”

  “I must,” he decided. “That’s the best part.”

  We reached my car and I opened the door for him. He clambered into the backseat. I watched to be sure that he buckled his seatbelt.

  We weren’t even out of the parking lot when he started peppering me with questions.

  “Are you and Caleb fighting?” Tyler unabashedly demanded.

  A brittle, nervous laugh slipped out. “What? Why would you ask that?” I stole a peek at him in the rearview mirror. He wore a concerned frown. His gaze met mine, waiting for an answer. “We’re not fighting.”

  “Then why don’t you do anything with us anymore?”

  I knew he was more observant than the average child. I took a minute to choose my words carefully, hoping my expression gave nothing away.

  “I know how much fun you have with Caleb—”

  “I like when you come with too,” he interjected.

  “That’s really sweet, Ty. But when I spend time with you, I like to have you all to myself.”

  “Oh.”

  I was met with a few moments of silence. I should’ve known that he wouldn’t let the subject drop so easily.

  “Can’t you just have me all to yourself sometimes? Does it have to be all the time? Don’t you have fun with me and Caleb?”

  “Of course I have fun. But Caleb’s making a special effort to spend time with you. He probably feels the same way. I bet he likes to have you all to himself too.” My fingers gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary. There was no good way to explain this to Tyler. He was far too young to understand. Even if he were older, I wouldn’t want to burden him with it. The kid already had enough to deal with.

  “Caleb wouldn’t care if you came with,” he argued. “We’re going to the rock climbing wall again this weekend. It was really fun last time. I asked him if you could come with. He said yes.”

  “Ty,” I said as I tried to keep my voice calm, “can we just drop this?”

  “But why?”

  I could hardly tell him that my feelings for Caleb were complicated. I liked him as a friend. At one time, I’d felt a lot more. Spending time with him had gotten me into trouble. I just didn’t think it was good to tempt fate.

  “Let’s make a deal,” I said.

  I watched in the mirror as he rolled his eyes. “What?” he asked in a growly voice, but there was a smile on his face.

  “You stop asking, and I’ll think about it.”

  “That means you’ll say no.”

  “That means I’ll think about it,” I firmly repeated. “Now, are you sure you wouldn’t rather have plain old vanilla malts? Or strawberry?”

  “Chocolate,” he said decisively.

  “What? Did you say caramel?” I teased as I held my hand up to my ear.

  “Chocolate!” he repeated. He was getting a little too old for this type of distraction but it seemed to be working so I continued to go with it.

  “Butterscotch?”

  “Chocolate, Emory. I said chocolate.” He giggled and the sound was musical.

  “Oh, chocolate. Chocolate it is, then.”

  ***

  “Aww, man,” Tyler grumbled when the doorbell rang.

  We were nearing the end of a game of Crazy Eights. He, of course, was winning. We were sitting in the middle of the living room floor. Our huge, empty malt glasses were off to the side. Our stomachs were both full. I did not feel like moving.

  “Do you have to get that?” he asked.

  I laughed a little as I got to my feet. We hadn’t finished eating that long ago, so it wasn’t all that late. Yet I had no idea who was at the door. I assumed it must be Riley. She was the only one who ever really dropped in on me.

  Maybe I could con her into playing a game or two. She was usually a good sport when it came to Tyler.

  I placed my cards face down on an end table. “No peeking. I’ll be right back.”

  I hurried across the foyer. I pulled the door open to find Melanie looking at me nervously.

  “Hey, Emory. I’m sorry to just stop in. But I was wondering if we could talk?” she asked.

  “Uh,” I glanced over my shoulder. Tyler had appeared in the hallway behind me. I motioned to him. “I’m kind of busy. I’m hanging out with my little brother tonight.”

  Indecision crossed her face as she glanced at him and then back at me.

  “Please?” she questioned. “I didn’t see you at lunch today. I promise I’ll only take a minute.”

  “I was looking over some notes,” I explained. I had been looking over notes. But we both knew that I’d also been avoiding her.

  I had spent the last few days desperately trying to forget what I’d seen. I hadn’t really been able to. Having Tyler tonight had proved a great distraction. Even so, the unwanted image of Noah holding anther girl close, of his mouth on hers, his hands on her body, constantly invaded my mind.

  Seeing Melanie here, in my house, was not helping,

  It really should’ve come as no surprise that Noah was seeing someone. He was a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him. And stupid to lose him.

  She cleared her throat as she waited for me to make up my mind.

  I stepped back. I wasn’t all that anxious to hear what she had to say. But since she seemed so determined to say it, I decided I might as well get it over with.

  “Tyler,” I said as Melanie stepped inside, “could you go get your pajamas on? And as long as you’re upstairs, you might as well brush your teeth. You should also pick out a couple of bedtime stories. Okay?”

  He looked like he was about to argue.

  I pointed toward the staircase. “If you argue, I won’t read to you.”

  It was a threat that worked every time.

  “Fine,” he mumbled. He lumbered past me and headed up the staircase.

  “Come on in,” I said to Melanie. She followed me into the living room. I sidestepped the mess Ty and I had made on the floor. “It usually takes him a little while to pick out a book. But as soon as he decides, he’ll be right down.” That was my way of telling her that she didn’t have a lot of time.

  “Right, okay,” she said. She sat down on the chair and bit her lip.

  I dropped down on the couch. “You really don’t have to explain anything to me. I mean, if that’s why you’re here. I don’t need an explanation. Noah is obviously free to date anyone he chooses.”

  I forced a smile. It f
elt uncomfortable on my face. He did have every right. That didn’t mean I was okay with it, or that it didn’t hurt.

  “I don’t know how this happened,” Melanie miserably said. “I mean, how could I not have figured it out?”

  “Why would’ve you?” I asked. “We were just getting to know each other last semester when Noah and I broke up. I didn’t like to talk about it.”

  What I wasn’t saying out loud was that I hadn’t talked to her about Noah. Why would I? We were barely friends at the time. It had been hard enough to talk with Riley about it. His name was rarely brought up because I preferred it that way. It also wasn’t as if he was the only Noah on campus. It was a fairly common name. So even if she had heard it once or twice, there was no reason she would’ve made the connection.

  “I’m still sorry,” she said. “I never would’ve asked him out if I’d known. I mean, friends just don’t date friends’ boyfriends. Exes or otherwise.”

  “No,” I said as I felt the first flutter of panic, “you can’t stop seeing him because of me.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I can.”

  I wasn’t going to lie to her or myself. I wasn’t happy about her dating Noah. But the alternative suddenly felt worse.

  “You can’t. Please,” I said, misery edged into my tone as well. “He’s already given up his spot at Hudson because of me, lost his spot on the baseball team because of me. I cannot be responsible for this too.”

  Melanie let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, honey, I don’t think he’s going to care all that much. You’ve heard me talk about him.” I nodded because I had. As far as I could remember, she’d only ever referred to him as Cute Chem Guy. If she’d ever called him by name, it would’ve stood out. “So you know,” she continued, “that I’ve always felt like he’s standoffish, not all that interested. I mean, I’ve been flirting with him for months.” She blushed and hung her head. “It’s like it barely registered with him. He was always friendly enough, but he never really flirted back.”

  I waited in silence though I thought I probably knew where she was going with this.

  “Now I know why,” she said with a shrug.

  I shook my head. “You don’t know anything. He is so over me.”

  “I don’t think so. And really, who wants to date a guy that’s hung up on someone else?” Her forced smile turned into a frown as her gaze dropped to the ground. “Not me.”

  I blew out a sigh. I had done it again. I’d inadvertently interfered in Noah’s life. “Melanie, I think you’re making a mistake. He agreed to go out with you once. You should just see where things go. You do like him, don’t you?”

  “You know I do,” she said quietly. “Now I feel so stupid. All those times I blabbed on and on about him at lunch.” She squeezed her eyes shut and threw her hands over her face. When she spoke next, the words were muffled by her fingers. “I made such a fool of myself.”

  “No you didn’t,” I assured her. “He’s an easy guy to like. He’s smart, cute, funny, athletic, he’s really great to his grandma. I mean, really, there’s nothing to dislike about him.”

  She nodded as her hands fell from her face. “I was going to ask you if you still have feelings for him. I don’t think I need to.”

  “You know what? My feelings have nothing to do with this. Noah made it clear that we’re over. So regardless of how I feel—”

  “So you do still love him.”

  It wasn’t really a question but I still floundered for a response. I did, I just felt uncomfortable saying it, given the present circumstance.

  She nodded again, this time slowly, as if I’d answered her. “You know, it would be one thing if you just had a crush on him. Like I do. But you don’t. You love him, Emory. You have a history with him. I can’t and I won’t try to compete with that. For your sake, because you’re my friend and it just feels wrong. But for mine too. I won’t chase after a guy that I don’t think is interested.”

  “You don’t know for a fact that he’s not,” I pointed out. “You won’t know that unless you ask him out again.”

  I mentally shook my head at myself. What was I doing? Was I really trying to get her to date Noah? It was a crazy notion, yet it felt like the right thing to do.

  “Tell you what,” Melanie said, “I’ll wait to see if he calls me. If he does, I’ll think about seeing him again. But I really don’t think he’ll call. It’s not fair to ask me to call him. Not under the circumstances. Is that fair?”

  “Yes,” I said. “That’s fair.”

  “Are you making more deals?” Tyler asked as he appeared in the doorway. He was wearing his pajamas and his hair was standing on end. He had a stack of books tucked under his arm.

  “Guess I am,” I said with a smile. He walked over to me and climbed onto the couch next to me. He smelled like mint toothpaste.

  “I’ll let myself out,” Melanie said. She rose from the chair. “See you tomorrow at lunch?”

  “Sure,” I replied.

  Moments later the front door clicked shut.

  “I couldn’t decide on two,” Tyler said as he handed me the first book. “Do you think we’ll have time to read them all?”

  I made a face at the stack that now rested on the couch. Reaching over, I tickled his ribs and he shrieked.

  “Oh, I suppose. For you, I can read them all.”

  Chapter SIX

  “Emory! I’m so glad you could make it,” my aunt Aubrey said as she opened the door.

  “Thanks for inviting me,” I said as I stepped inside. The aroma of lasagna filled the house. My stomach growled. Living on my own, I mostly lived off canned soup, sandwiches and salads. I also ate a ridiculous amount of cereal for dinner because it seemed like too much trouble to just cook for myself.

  “Ron is out in the garage puttering with something but he’ll be in shortly,” Aubrey said. I followed her into the kitchen. “Riley, of course, is running late.”

  “And Ty?” I asked as I looked around. He was the real reason I was here. While I did appreciate the dinner invite, it was my little brother that I really wanted to see.

  She glanced up at me from the salad she’d started to assemble. “Oh, he should be along shortly. Caleb stopped by. I guess he’s looking at puppies?”

  I nodded, only vaguely aware of this. I hadn’t talked to Caleb much, or really at all, the last several months. Now that Ty was living with our aunt and uncle, Caleb picked him up and dropped him off here. My stomach twisted around at the thought of Caleb. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to see him tonight or not.

  “Puppies, huh?” I asked. I didn’t want my mind to get too tangled up in the mess that was Caleb Jackson.

  “That’s what they told me,” she said as she chopped up a pepper. “A friend of Caleb’s mentioned she’d have a litter of pups ready to go in a month or so. She invited Caleb over to take a look now. Of course Tyler jumped at the chance to see the puppies.”

  I smiled at that.

  “Can I help with anything?” I asked as I glanced around. The table was already impeccably set. The salad looked nearly completed. A basket of breadsticks rested on the counter.

  Aubrey took a quick look around. “No, but thank you. I think I have everything. Well, everything but the dinner guests.” She cocked her head to the side. “I think I just heard a car pull up. Would you mind getting the door?”

  “Sure.” I left the kitchen, anxious to see my brother. When I pulled the front door open, I realized that Riley had arrived as well.

  She and Caleb were at the end of the sidewalk. They were attentively listening to Tyler’s animated discussion about something. His face was full of expression as his hands flitted around in the air.

  Most likely, he was excitedly discussing the puppy visit.

  I stood on the top step, watching with a smile on my face. I loved to see my little brother so excited.

  He finally caught sight of me and an even bigger smile appeared. “Emory!” he cried as he hurried toward me. He still h
ad a slight limp from the accident. It would be awhile before he was completely back to normal.

  “Ty!” I said back, equally happy to see him. I bounced down the steps to meet him. I reached out and picked him off his feet in a big hug. I quickly put him down. He was finally reaching the age where too much public affection bothered him.

  “Guess where we were!” His big green eyes sparkled in excitement as he grinned up at me.

  I put my hands on my hips and plastered on a curious face. “Where?”

  “We were looking at puppies! There are seven of them! They belong to Caleb’s friend but Caleb might get one. We went to look because he can have his pick of the litter. I helped him pick one out, just in case. He’s not sure yet. But he’ll probably get one. They’re Black Labs!” he continued to spout. “One of them is a lot bigger than the rest. I think Caleb should get that one. I used to think he should name a dog Buster but if he gets the one I picked out, I think he should name him Brutus instead. He looks like a Brutus! Doesn’t he Caleb?”

  I lifted my gaze from Ty. I hadn’t realized that Riley and Caleb were now right next to us.

  “He does. He definitely does look like a Brutus,” Caleb somberly agreed.

  “You should see him,” Tyler said. “He’s really cute. I got to hold him. I got to hold all of them. But he’s my favorite and I got to hold him the most. Are you going to get him?” he asked as he turned back to Caleb.

  Caleb laughed good-naturedly as he put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “What did I tell you?”

  Tyler’s expression evened out. “You said you had to think about it. Are you still thinking?”

  “Tyler,” I chided, “stop pestering Caleb. I’m sure you’ll be the first to know when he decides.”

  “Definitely,” Caleb agreed.

  “I invited Caleb to stay for dinner,” Riley announced.

  I felt surprise flash across my face before I could control it. I forced a smile and looked at Caleb. “I’m sure Ty would love that.”