“No, I’ll get them.” I ambled out of the room and to the kitchen, where I grabbed a stack of paper plates and napkins. Once I had those, I searched the top drawer for a lighter so I could light some candles. That part was Lyncee’s idea. She said they always used candles in the romance movies.
When I got back, Sage was still standing where I’d left him. I set the plates and napkins on the table then walked around the room getting the candles ready. Soon, the tiny flames were dancing, creating shadows on the walls.
“So why are you dressed like Princess Leia?”
Breathe, Grace. “I-I thought she was your most favorite lady in the sci-fi world.”
“She is,” he whispered. “But why are you lighting candles and everything?”
For shit sake, did I have to spell it out for him?
“How about you sit down,” I said in what I hoped was a sexy, husky voice. My palm pressed against his chest. Already, my body quaked. With a slight push, I tried to maneuver him over to the couch. Unfortunately, I pushed too hard and Sage bumped into the table, knocking the candle over onto the plates and napkins. Within seconds, the paper products went up in flames.
“Shit,” I shouted. We had to put it out. No. This wasn’t happening.
Sage grabbed a cup of pop and tossed it on top of the fire. But there wasn’t enough in it to dowse it.
I searched the room for a way to put it out. With no time to get buckets of water, I ripped off my sheet costume and patted at the fire with it, until it was smothered and went out.
At least it hadn’t spread. I prayed it hadn’t damaged the table. The stench of smoke lingered in the air and I waved a hand in front of my face to fan it away from me. Well, this was a disaster.
“Um, Grace,” Sage said.
“W-what?”
“You might want to put some clothes on. I think I just heard a car door shut.” His eyes slid down my almost naked body. He tugged his T-shirt down as if to cover his shorts, his gaze never leaving me.
“Oh crap.” I glanced down at my lacy blue bra and panties. My parents would freak if they found me like this with Sage.
“Hey, we’re home,” Dad hollered. “Why does it smell like smoke in here?”
“Oh God, I’m so dead.”
“Go out the window.” Finally snapping out of it, Sage grabbed my arm, dragging me across the room. “I’ll bring clothes out to you in a second.”
Brilliant. Seduce Sage turned into almost burn the house down. When Lyncee told me to make it hot, I don’t think she meant set a fire on the table. This list should’ve been called “How to Break Me” instead.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lucky for me, the fire hadn’t damaged the table. Thank God. And Sage was able to sneak clothes outside to me so I wouldn’t be killed by my parents. Dad of course wanted to play twenty questions about how the fire started. Being a girl of honor and integrity, I totally lied and said that the house smelled weird so I’d decided to light some scented candles. Sage filled in the rest and told them he’d tripped into the table and tipped it over. It was definitely a waste of twenty dollars for pizza.
So far, Sage and I hadn’t been left alone long enough for him to ask me again, why I’d dressed up for him. Which might’ve been a blessing in disguise because I had no idea how to explain it to him.
Walking along the shoreline, I filled Lyncee in on the big catastrophe.
“It’s kind of cute you know,” she said on the other end of the phone. “You’re the only girl I know who doesn’t get the concept of seducing someone.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“So are you going to do the next list item?”
“I think the list is cursed.”
“No—it’s just a run of bad luck. But hey, even if Sage doesn’t come around, Logan sounds super yummy.”
“He is.” In fact, maybe he should’ve been the one I bought pizza for instead.
I glanced down the beach to see Benji tugging on Allie’s hair. They smiled at one another then I saw Allie take his hand in hers.
At least she might get a happy ending.
“Don’t worry too much, Grace, things will turn out how they’re supposed to. Life’s kind of like that, you know? I mean, look at what happened with my babysitting job. I prayed that I’d survive it and bam—the Coopers fired me.”
“That was because the kids pissed in the house plants and decorated the walls with their own crap on your watch.”
“Whatever, you call it shit on walls, I call it fate.”
I laughed. “You always cheer me up.”
“I know. I’m awesome like that.”
“So, do you really think I should finish out my list?”
“Yeah, I do. See it through to the end. Then you’ll know you at least gave it your all.”
The problem was, what if my all wasn’t good enough? Would I be okay with that? In a way, it felt as if I might be setting myself up for failure.
“Miss you,” I said.
“Miss you too. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I got invited to Rori and Michelle’s pool party.”
“Are you going to go?”
“I might swing by. Del and Kenadi said I could hitch a ride with them. If nothing else, we figure we can crash their party.”
I laughed. “You should convince Del to bring Jimbo along, I’m sure he’d love to help. I bet there’d be plenty of lawn ornaments for him to hump.”
“Now that is a fabulous idea. So I was thinking about wearing that cute red dress I bought.”
“That’d be perfect.”
“Ugh, wish you were going with me. Do you know I’ve actually started a calendar to count down the days until you come home?” she said.
“Well don’t wish away my whole summer, I still have some list items to get through.”
“You’ll be fine, Grace. Talk to you soon.”
I hoped she was right. There were only three list items left. If those didn’t work, then I knew that maybe it wasn’t meant to be. And that was something hard to swallow.
***
“All right, guys, everyone load up,” Dad said, swinging his car keys. “We’re gonna go out to eat tonight.”
“Where are we going?” Benji tugged his shoes on.
“It’s a surprise.” Dad’s eyes glittered as he put his pirate booty hat on.
“Then it’s official,” I muttered. “We’re doomed.”
Sage chuckled. “What? You don’t like our parents’ surprises? Where’s your sense of adventure, Grace?”
“I promise you kids are going to have a blast.” Mr. Castle opened the front door and ushered us all out of the house.
“If they’re this excited, then we know we’re in for something horrible.” Allie gripped tight to my arm. “Maybe we should pretend to be sick and stay home tonight. Can you make yourself barf or pretend to faint?”
“I heard that,” Mom said. “If we have to go, then so do you.”
With a groan, I followed everyone out to our vehicles. Dad drove for about forty minutes before he pulled into a large parking lot. We piled out of the cars. My gaze drifted to the sign above the restaurant. It had a giant pirate on the front of it with a mechanical hook that hung down. Captain Hooker’s.
Somehow, I got the feeling I was not going to like this place.
“Is this a strip club?” Allie whispered next to me.
“We’d only be so lucky.” Benji waggled his eyebrows at us.
“You’re such a perv.” I slapped his arm.
Sage joined us, his mouth turned down in a frown. “According to the sign, there are live shows, food, and spirits. Should be fun.”
“You’re being very optimistic,” I said. “You do know who we came with, right?”
He chuckled. “Okay, I take it back. We’re screwed. Maybe we can have Caleb and Rochelle create a diversion, while the four of us get the hell out of here.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go in.” Dad wrapped an arm around Mom’s waist and gu
ided her to the door.
As soon as we opened the front door, pirate music blasted us. An animatronic pirate sat by the entrance, holding his hook out. “Welcome to Captain Hooker’s where we keep a tight ship and are always on the lookout for booty.”
“Should I cover my ass now then?” I said to Sage.
He busted up laughing. “You might want to or they’ll poke you with their swords.”
A hostess dressed like a bar wench glanced up at us. “How many of ye are there?”
“Ten,” Dad said.
“Well before you can walk aboard, everyone must have the proper attire.” She reached into a wooden bucket next to the front desk. “Put these on.”
She handed each of us a black eye patch and a giant foam sword. Oh, dear God. They couldn’t be serious. The woman stood there watching us. Of course, Dad and Mr. Castle were the first to put theirs on.
“Do we have to?” Allie said from beside me.
“Argh, yes you do little lady.”
“Put ’em on kids. You want to eat, don’t you?” Mr. Castle said.
“Not particularly,” I said under my breath.
“Come on, Gracey. Let’s see you in your eye patch.” Sage nudged me with his elbow.
With a sigh, I fastened the stupid costume piece. “How do I look?”
“Ridiculous.” Sage laughed. “What about me?”
“Ridiculous,” I said.
“Very good, then I guess we can eat now.”
The hostess led us to a table shaped like a rowboat with barrel seats. Netting and sails decorated the ceiling, while ship lantern chandeliers hung above each table. From here, we got a good view of the stage, lucky for us the curtains were closed. Maybe that meant there’d be no pirate show tonight.
“Your pirate server Wade will be right with you. Look through the menus you scurvy dogs and be ready to order when he comes by.” The woman handed us all menus that were on paper that looked like treasure maps.
As I scanned the food selection, I grimaced. “Do I want to know what’s on a Scurvy Burger?”
Sage peeked at me over his menu. “Probably not. But it has to be better than the Tentacles of the Sea.”
“Mom, this says they have Octopus Burgers. Do they really use octopus in them?” Caleb asked.
“No, honey. It’s regular hamburger with onions and fries on it.” She rubbed his hair.
“Argh, mateys. I be Wade. I’ll be you’re bloody server tonight.” The man slapped a decanter of ice water down on the table. His black pirate hat sat atop long black hair. He had an anchor tattoo on one arm and crossbones on the other. A fake parrot sat perched on his shoulder. His billowy white shirt was opened to reveal a dark patch of hair.
Geez, it was like someone had pasted a carpet on him. I wondered how sanitary it was to have that rug near our food? I poured a cup of ice water.
“Can I start you off with an appetizer? Maybe Eye of the Kraken or Curdled Cow Teats.”
I choked on my water. Sage patted my back. “Easy there, tiger.”
“We’re so not gonna survive this place are we?”
“Chances are no. I can request that we be allowed to walk the plank now.”
“Please do.”
Dad, of course, said we’d take one of each. Apparently, Eye of the Kraken was deep fried meatballs, and Curdled Cow Teats were mozzarella sticks.
When Wade came back, he took our orders. I decided on the Parrot Burger, which ended up being a turkey burger. Or so they said.
He then set Sage’s food in front of him.
Sage leaned over and whispered, “You know, if you ask Wade nice, I bet he’d show you his crabs.”
“Don’t make me cut you.” I held up my foam sword.
“Kids, look right here and smile.” Mrs. Castle stood at the end of the table with her phone to take our picture.
“Great, now this dinner will be immortalized. We’ll have to see it in our photo books for the rest of our lives.” I grimaced.
We’d just started to eat when music from Pirates of the Caribbean blasted through the speakers on the stage. The curtains swung open to reveal what looked like the deck of a big pirate ship, with you guessed it, pirates dancing and singing.
A man with blacked out teeth, a fake peg leg, and captain’s garb came up to the microphone. “Welcome, to Captain Hooker’s live show. Tonight, we’re searching for a volunteer to help us out on stage. Do we have any brave mateys out there?”
Dad leapt out of his seat and waved his hand.
“Lor, sit down,” Mom said.
“No, it’ll be fun.”
“How about that man, back there with the Hawaiian shirt?” The captain pointed at Dad.
Oh shit. This ought to be good. And by good, I meant embarrassing. Excited, Dad ran up to the stage.
“What’s your name, matey?”
“Lor Evers.”
“Lor? That sounds like a pirate name to me. Why don’t you come back stage with us so we can get you a new outfit.”
He followed him behind the curtain, while the other pirates broke out in a medley of drinking songs.
“Now might be a great time to go hide in the bathroom,” I said to Sage.
“What, you don’t want to see your dad’s stage debut?”
“Not really.”
The lights dimmed, then the colored stage lights came on. There in the center of the platform stood my dad, in a grass skirt and coconut bra, along with a fake blond wig.
“Now doesn’t Lor look real purty?” the captain asked.
Everyone in the crowd hooted and hollered.
“I promised Lor I’d let him say something before he performed. Any last words?”
“I’d like to give a shout out to my family and friends. Hello Castles and Evers.” He pointed at our table.
Allie and I ducked. Dear God, was there no end to the humiliation? Just then, ukulele music tinkled through the restaurant and my dad started to hula dance.
And that would be a big fat no.
“I’m ready to walk that plank now. Maybe into an ocean filled with sharks,” I said to Sage.
“Is your dad wearing lipstick?” He quirked an eyebrow.
I covered my face, not wanting to see anymore. Yep, this was definitely an Evers and Castle reunion. Summer at its finest or rather mortification at its finest.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Step #8: Make him a playlist
“So you guys are still coming to my birthday party on Saturday, right?” Lila asked from where she laid on her beach towel next to Allie.
“Of course,” I said. Although, I could think of about a billion other things I’d rather be doing. Like going to the dentist, or getting bit by a venomous snake, or hell even drinking my own vomit.
“Good. Everyone will be there. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to snag my first kiss from Sage.”
Oh. My. Gosh. They hadn’t kissed yet. But why? Sage definitely had plenty of chances to do so.
When Lila left, I went upstairs to make a playlist for Sage. I put the song we first danced to on it, along with songs from various soundtracks. Pretty much any song that had any connection to me and Sage went onto the CD.
When I finished burning it, I put it in a case, along with a hand written list of all the music on it. I went downstairs, where I found him sitting in the dining room with our parents.
“Hey, you’re just in time. Sage needs a partner for our card game,” Dad said.
“Okay, I’m in. Um, Sage, I made you a CD.” I handed it to him.
He raised his eyes until they met mine. “Cool. Do you guys mind if I put it on?” he asked our parents.
“No, go ahead,” Mom said.
I plopped down across from Sage’s chair and picked up my hand of cards. Music sprang to life, filtering out the speakers. Sage once more took his spot. Under the table, my foot accidentally bumped his. He shot me a startled glanced.
“Sorry,” I said.
“It’s fine.”
A s
econd later, his foot tapped mine.
“Sorry,” he said with a grin.
“You did that on purpose.”
He held up his hands. “I swear it wasn’t.”
“Right.”
The first track on the CD was the song we’d danced to, the same one I’d played at our bonfire last week. We stared at one another. My throat thickened. What was going through his mind? I sucked in a deep breath, hoping he didn’t notice how bad my hands shook.
We placed our bid and began playing the card game. I tried hard to focus on the cards and not notice the way his eyes twinkled when we won a book of cards. Or the way his lip twitched when he was about to smile. The way the small spattering of freckles on his nose was more prominent since he’d been in the sun. Nope. I wouldn’t notice any of these things.
The way his laugh made my insides dance and warmth spread through me like an out of control blaze.
By the fourth or fifth song, my dad turned to me. “Is there anything besides love songs on this CD?”
I dropped my gaze to the table, feeling the blush creep up the back of my neck. “Ah, there are other songs on here too. We just haven’t gotten to them yet.”
Sometimes my dad needed to learn when to shut his pie hole. Geez, it was like he was captain of the Clueless Club.
“I think we need something more upbeat,” he said.
I peeked at Sage, who raised an eyebrow at me and shrugged. “It’s fine, I like it,” he said.
“Yeah, just leave it, Lor.” Mom looked between me and Sage. Did she know what I was up to? She gave me a wink.
Oh hell. She knew. But how much?
After several hands of cards, I decided to quit. I went out onto the deck and Sage followed me.
“I really liked the playlist by the way.” He leaned against the railing beside me.
“I hope you’re not just saying that. If you don’t like it, I can make you a different one.” My fingers traced the grains of wood on the deck.
I watched Sage for a moment, the way the wind messed up his dark hair. He was adorable. Not wanting him to find me staring again, I turned my attention back toward the beach. Moonlight sparkled off the lake like strobes reflecting on a disco ball.
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