“N—no. I could tell from your expression.”
“Oh.” He nods. “Well, yes. It’s a rare point of incompatibility for us.”
“I suppose we are starting fresh, so I’ll try to be understanding of your strange and troubling drink preference.”
“Generous of you.”
I smile to myself as I fill the cups. It’s kind of amazing how much more relaxed I feel. I’m actually enjoying myself. Not bad for a Tuesday night.
I take our drinks to the corner table, and Auden joins me a minute later with the tray of our food.
“I don’t think Julie’s a big fan of me.”
“Unfathomable,” I say, shaking my head with overly dramatic shock.
He laughs, and we both start unwrapping our tasty, greasy, mass-produced Mexican food. After a few moments of eating, Auden puts down his burrito and looks at me with a twinge of embarrassment.
“I have a confession to make.”
“Okay…”
“This was the actual location of our first date.”
My eyebrows raise. “Really?”
He sighs. “I’m afraid so. I figured I owed you an authentic re-creation.”
I glance around me. Taco Town is a little different from the moonlit clearing in the foothills. We’ve traded Vivaldi for soft ’90s hits. And the dated, neon décor and sun-faded pastel flowers on the table are a far cry from lilacs and white candles in hurricane vases.
“This works for me.”
“It’s cheesy and pedestrian,” Auden says, rushing to apologize. “I should have taken you somewhere special.”
I bite back a smile. “So you decided to make a few tweaks? Revisionist history?”
He shrugs. “It was stupid, but you’d actually agreed to see me in spite of the situation and the terms I required.” He looks down at his tray. “I guess I tried a little too hard to impress you.”
“A little too hard?”
He meets my eyes, and I can’t help my laugh from escaping. Auden blinks with surprise.
“What? What’s so funny?”
This only makes me laugh more. “The comparison,” I say, between giggles. “I just…I can’t.”
A smile brightens his face, and he shrugs again, sheepishly. And then we’re both laughing. Full, free laughs. I toss my head back, and a snort escapes. I cup my hand over my mouth in embarrassment, but that only makes us laugh harder.
“I’ll just die now,” I say, trying to catch my breath while still covering my face.
He pulls my arm away. “No. Don’t stop. I love your laugh, Shelby.”
The comment calms me a little. Auden lets go of my arm and sits back in his chair. His gaze is like a warm beam of sunlight. You don’t have to see it to know it’s touching you.
I take a bite of my food, feeling a little self-conscious.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t have our first date in New York,” Auden says, dipping a chip into a little cup of processed nacho cheese. “If you like tacos, there’s a place in Chelsea that would make you weep with joy.”
“There’s Mexican food in New York?”
Auden laughs. “Shelby, there’s everything in New York. Any kind of food you can imagine. Because there are people from every country in the world there.”
“Sounds like an exciting place to be.”
“You have no idea.” He smiles around his straw as he takes a drink. “There was a bit of culture shock moving here. I never knew a place could be as white as Orchardview.”
I can’t help feeling embarrassed. If the uniformity of this town bothers me, I can only imagine how it must look to a person of color or someone like Auden, who’s been surrounded by other races and cultures his whole life.
“It’s pretty bad,” I agree.
“Well, it’s no New York City, but this place has its charms. Some of the local girls are pretty amazing. Well, one in particular.”
I smile down at my food, shaking my head.
“So,” Auden says. “Tell me about practice. Do you think Cam will cut it as Romeo?”
We roll into an easy conversation about theater. I keep starting to explain people to Auden, only to realize that he knows them all well. Apparently, he spent a lot of time at drama practices and the theater group’s social events. It actually makes the conversation much more fun.
We sit in the corner booth, talking about theater and plays and drama kids until long after our food is gone. Even Julie eventually gives up and returns to the back room. But neither of us wants to leave. However, right in the middle of talking about the time he and his friend ditched school to catch a show on Broadway, Auden stops talking. Midsentence. His gaze stretches out the window. He squints, and then his eyes widen.
“What is it?” I ask, turning to see what he’s looking at.
The answer jumps out at me. An all-too-familiar car has parked in Taco Town’s parking lot. And Blake and Mama are on their way in.
Chapter 14
“Run!” Auden shouts, grabbing my hand. He pulls me to my feet and starts to cut across the small dining room.
“Run where?” I say. “There’s only one set of doors.”
His eyes flash to the front counter, and he gets a mischievous grin on his face. “But there’s always an employee door.”
“We can’t just—”
“Jump!”
Like an Olympic hurdler, Auden clears the front counter, and I have no choice but to follow. My legs aren’t quite as long as his, so my jump is more of a flail. But we both make it over the counter without cracking our skulls. Auden scans the kitchen area swiftly and then points with triumph.
“There!”
The door chime fills the air. Mama and Blake are in Taco Town.
“Hurry!”
Still holding my hand, Auden bounds forward—only to be intercepted by an incredulous Julie.
“Hey!”
“My apologies,” Auden says, swerving and pulling me past her. “Tell Mayor Delicioso the food was excellent!”
“Stop!” Julie says, furious.
But we’re already out the door, laughing so hard we can’t breathe.
We don’t stop laughing until we’ve driven far from Taco Town. Auden’s driving my car. I look over at him and shake my head.
“You are trouble,” I say, hitting his arm playfully. “I’ve managed to go seventeen years without seeing the inside of the police station, and I plan to keep it that way.”
“Oh, we’re fine. No damage done. And besides, now Julie will have a fabulous story to tell her coworkers.”
Thinking of the outraged look on her face almost makes me crack up again. Can’t say I blame her, to be honest. But I guess Auden was right. We couldn’t let Mama see us.
“Hey,” I say, sitting up. “What about your car? Won’t Mama recognize it in the parking lot?”
“I walked. My house is close by.”
“Do you live in the Vista Valley subdivision?”
He nods. “The very same.”
“New money,” I scoff.
“Hardly,” Auden says, with a grin. “Though I’d gladly be poor if it meant I got to spend time with my dad.”
“What does he do?”
“He works in oil and gas. Some kind of management job. I don’t know. We don’t really talk.”
I scratch at the fading leather upholstery beneath the door window. “I’m sorry.”
“Ah, it’s okay. We haven’t really gotten along so well since he divorced my mom.”
“And you couldn’t live with her?”
“I wanted to. Believe me. But her job has her traveling all over, and she thought I needed stability.” There’s a touch of pain in his voice. He drives quietly for a moment, his eyes distant. Then he turns a little smile. “Still, it all worked out. If I hadn’t moved in with m
y dad, I wouldn’t have met you. And you’re…” He hesitates.
“I’m what?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me then.”
He draws in a breath. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, Shelby.”
A warmth prickles over my skin, settling deep inside me. On one hand, I don’t know how to react. He seems to feel so strongly for me, and I barely know him. But how can I not melt a little when he talks like that? It’s as if he’s a character out of one of my favorite romantic movies. Dropped right here. In boring, boxed-in Orchardview. And he happens to be in love with me.
“So,” I say, avoiding his gaze and still picking at the chipping faux leather. “How did our first date end? I imagine we didn’t escape through the back room of the Taco Town and drive away like Bonnie and Clyde.”
Auden laughs. “Nope. Not quite. Though I think this is an improvement.”
“More revisionist history?”
He grins and then tilts his head a little. “Actually, we ended with a doorstep scene. A pretty good one, if I recall.”
“No way did I kiss you,” I say, folding my arms. “You’re making that up.”
“I didn’t say we kissed.”
“Well, what happened then?”
He turns on his blinker and makes a swift U-Turn. “Shall I walk you through it? For memory-recovery purposes, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
Auden pulls up to my house and parks the car. “I think we’re safe since we know your parents aren’t home.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What exactly did this doorstep scene entail?”
I’ve started to open my door, but Auden touches my arm. “Wait here, please.”
I comply, and he circles around to open my door for me.
“What a gentleman,” I say. “Are you sure we didn’t kiss?”
Auden laughs. “Alas, no. It was all very chaste and polite. I opened the door for you and held out my hand like this.”
He helps me out of the car, not unlike the prince does in Cinderella. This guy is climbing the charts by the second. When I’m out, he takes my arm and tucks it in his.
“Okay, so then what happened?”
“We walked up to your doorstep. I think you were telling me that you could already sense signs of Taco Town revenge.”
“Glad to hear I kept it classy,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“It was charming. You were charming.”
We arrive at my doorstep. Turning to face him, physically close for the first time tonight, a little flutter passes through my heart. He’s uncomfortably good looking, with his brooding eyes and careless dark hair. I almost can’t believe we dated for that reason alone. He’s definitely out of my league.
“Pleasant and witty banter ensued at the front door,” Auden says.
“Let me guess. I told you I had a lot of fun.”
“Naturally. And I said the same. I brought up a movie that was coming out the following week in a thinly veiled attempt to procure a second date with you.”
“Did I take the bait?”
“You did. And I gave myself a mental high five.”
“And then what happened?”
“Well,” Auden grimaces. “I’m afraid to tell you what I said next.”
“No revisionist history. You promised.”
He sighs. “Okay. I said, ‘I’m passing out free hugs. Want one?’”
I burst out laughing. “No. You didn’t.”
“I did,” he says, hanging his head in shame.
“Please tell me I laughed in your face.”
There’s a glint in his eye. “Sorry, doll, but you were all over it.”
I shake my head. “I must have been having a really good time.”
“We both were.”
A charged silence falls between us. Suddenly, I find myself unable to meet Auden’s eyes. And yet…I want him to keep talking.
“So, we hugged,” I say, in a small voice.
“Yes.”
Another pause. I finally look up at him. The way he watches me sends goose bumps over my skin. He starts to put out his arms but hesitates, fists curled. And then, slowly and gently, as if he were embracing delicate crystal, he draws me into his arms.
He’s warm. And so tall. His hug envelops me completely. Every inch of my body tingles with pleasure at the exquisite sensation of being held in Auden’s arms. I sink against his chest and breathe in the cool, clean scent of his cologne.
A flicker of thought shoots through my mind, like a shooting star. Not so much a thought, but a feeling. A familiarity.
Familiarity. Almost as if I remember…
My eyes snap open. I draw in another breath of the cologne. The sensation is there again, though faded. I press my face to his shoulder and inhale. Fast as it had come, the memory is gone.
Auden releases his grip and looks down at me. “Are you smelling my armpits? I don’t stink, do I?”
I laugh, embarrassed. “Not at all. You smell great. Actually…” For some reason, I don’t tell him. I’m not sure if it really was a flicker of memory or just a random feeling of déjà vu. No need to tamper with an otherwise lovely moment.
“You’re wearing my favorite cologne,” I say. “That’s Acqua Di Gio, right?”
Auden turns his face to the sky with a mixture of amusement and frustration.
“What?” And then I close my eyes. “I bought it for you, didn’t I?”
He nods. His smile shifts to an expression of longing, wistfulness. For a long, shimmering moment, Auden and I just gaze at each other.
Auden is the first to look away. “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
“I’m glad I did.”
“Can I see you again? Sometime soon?”
I tuck my hair behind my ear, glancing out at my dark, empty street. “I’m not sure how often I can get away on school nights. You know how Mama is.”
“I understand.”
“But yes,” I say, putting my hand on his arm. “I want to see you again.”
His eyes shine. “Call me. Any hour, day or night.”
The impulse to kiss his cheek runs through me, which startles me a little. I don’t follow through, but the vision of doing so quickens my heartbeat. I bite back a smile.
“Good night, Auden.”
He takes my hand. My breath catches as he slowly brings it to his lips and presses a soft kiss to my skin. “Good night, Shelby.”
I watch him walk away. Halfway down the front walk, he looks over his shoulder at me. Even in the dark cover of night, I can see his smile. I wave a little and go into my house. Closing the front door, I lean my back against it. I bring my hand, the one he kissed, to my chest and close my other hand over it. Fireflies dance inside of me, shimmering, bright and hot. Closing my eyes, I savor this delicious feeling.
Chapter 15
The problem with having the same best friend since third grade is that you know each other too well. Of course, that’s only a problem when you’re trying to keep a huge, heart-fluttery secret. Which happens to be exactly what I’m faced with.
I’ve seen Auden again this week and made plans for another time. I can’t help it. I tell myself that I’m still trying to figure out if his claims of our relationship are true, but when we’re together, I hardly think about it. I just like being with him.
On Wednesday afternoon, Auden picked me up after Romeo and Juliet rehearsals, and we went for a drive up the canyon. In the cooler high elevations, the fall colors were in full bloom. Driving past the kaleidoscope of burning reds, oranges, and bright yellows, the conversation flowed effortlessly. Each new detail I learn about him makes him stand out more and more from the Orchardview crowd. And that makes it more and more convincing that he’s the kind of guy Mama would want me to have nothing
to do with.
Grace, however, is a different story. Parked in the drive-thru restaurant Friday night, waiting for our fries and milkshakes, I pretend to listen to her story about the latest drama on the pom squad, but I’m analyzing her instead. She’s the one person holding me back from fully embracing Auden’s claim. We’ve been best friends for basically our entire lives. How could she keep a secret like this from me?
“Hello? Are you even listening?”
I blink. “What? I mean, yes. Of course I am.”
Grace rolls her eyes. “Lost in Shelbyville again.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ll listen now.”
“You’ve been distracted all week.”
“It’s the play. Trying to memorize my lines.” The lie falls easily enough from my lips, but not without a pang of guilt.
Thankfully, the worker arrives at my car window with our food. We pay her and separate our various late night snacks. A grasshopper shake with spicy fries for me and a strawberry shake with onion rings for Grace. Same order since we were thirteen.
I watch Grace joyfully crunch into an onion ring, and I’m filled with affection for her. I want to share everything with her.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had the urge to ask her outright about Auden. Something always holds me back though. A pulling on the base on my gut. It’s the same feeling that kept me from telling Dr. Stevens what happened during that last therapy session. I need to keep Auden to myself, at least for now.
Nothing’s stopping me from fishing for clues though…
“So,” I say, dipping a french fry into my shake. “Mama thinks I should maybe do one last therapy session in Denver in a few weeks. I’m doing much better though. I’m not sure why she’s so determined.”
Grace pauses for a split second; then she takes another bite of her onion ring and shrugs, trying to appear casual.
I set down my shake. “It seems weird, doesn’t it? After an entire summer in therapy. I mean, I know the panic attacks were bad, but…I’ve almost done as much therapy as Blake did. And he was in a war.”
“So?”
“So, I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t more to the story.”
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