“I’ve already met her. Not my type.” I popped open my beer.
“You don’t like tall, gorgeous brunettes? And didn’t you say she’s Molly’s friend from law school? So she’s smart too. What’s so wrong with her?” Katie pulled a pint for another customer.
“She’s from Boston.”
“Oh, okay, that clears everything up.” Katie rolled her eyes before walking away.
I looked back over at Becca. Christ, it had gotten worse. Jake Mathews had an arm slung over her shoulder like he owned her. What was it about those Mathews boys that girls went for? I didn’t get it. Whatever. It wasn’t like I cared. Sure, I’d been disappointed when Molly got back together with Ben, but it didn’t matter this time.
Becca spotted me. First she looked surprised, but then her lips curved up into a slight smile, and she waved tentatively. Damn it, why’d she have to smile at me that way? I lifted my beer in recognition but then turned away. That should give her the hint. It’s not as if she needed more attention.
“You really are a loser.” Katie wiped down the bar.
“Shut up.”
“Come on, a girl like that smiles at you in invitation, and you shut her down? Cold.”
“I’m just saving us both time. Besides, it looks like Mathews is doing a good job keeping her company. And if not, Ronny’s next in line.” I leaned forward on my elbows to get a better view.
“She smiled at you.” She tossed her rag at me knowing I’d duck out of the way.
“Mind you own business.” I picked up the towel and threw it down on the bar.
“Fine. But don’t come complaining to me when you regret it.”
“Trust me. Even if I did regret it, which I won’t, you’d be the last one I’d talk to.”
“Good.” She smiled, before walking away to help someone else.
“Hey! You must be Becca! It’s so nice to meet you.” A voice that loud only belonged to one girl. Kelly: best friend to Molly and wife of my partner, Tom.
I watched Kelly pull Becca into an intense hug. I waited to see her face. I figured that kind of hug would throw her off. Instead, she grinned. Go figure. The group pushed a few tables together and sat down. I frowned, missing my view of Becca’s legs more than I wanted to admit.
“Hey, man.” Tom snuck up on me.
“Hey.”
“So, you didn’t mention that your damsel in distress looks like a freaking super model.”
“It didn’t seem relevant.” I focused on my beer.
“Bullshit.” He faked a cough.
“What do you want me to say?”
“That you aren’t suddenly batting for the other team. What’s up?”
“Something is up because I don’t try to lay every girl who comes into this town?” I ignored the insinuation in his comment. I knew Tom wasn’t actually homophobic.
“Are you going to sit here drinking alone, or are you going to join us?” I didn’t need to look over to know he gestured to the table.
“Would that make you happy?”
He shrugged. “Not really, but it would be humorous to see you over there with both Mathews.”
“Fuck you.”
Tom laughed. “So, are you coming?”
“Why not?” I grabbed my half-finished beer, followed him over, and pulled a chair over to the end of the table.
“Hey, Gavin,” Kelly and Molly said at the same time which they apparently thought was hilarious and started laughing.
“Hello.”
Becca turned away from Jake to look at me. Her glance was tentative, as if she was afraid I’d rebuff her again. I guess she had every right to expect it. I didn’t disappoint. She looked down at the table for a second before turning back to Jake. I don’t know why I was being such a jerk to her, other than the fact that her accent reminded me of Dawn’s. I also knew she probably thought we were a bunch of hicks.
“So you decided to grace us with your presence?” Ronny asked. His frustration at Jake for monopolizing Becca’s attention was blatantly obvious.
“Yeah, I didn’t see any better alternative.” I picked at the corner of the label on my beer.
“You know you love us, Gav.” Kelly sounded all sugary sweet.
“You got me there.”
Becca laughed, and I turned toward her. Her laugh was real. It kind of matched her. I was pretty sure she was laughing at my comment, and I liked knowing I’d caused it. Great, I was getting possessive over making her laugh now.
“So what do you think of Clayton Falls so far?” Tom asked her.
She hesitated for a moment. “It’s, uh, different from what I’m used to, but it’s nice.”
“Nice?” Jake asked. “Is that code for ‘get me the hell out of here’?”
She laughed again. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who amused her. “No, it means nice. I say what I mean.”
Molly leaned forward like she was about to let us in on a big secret. “She’s serious about that. Be careful. Don’t ask for her opinion unless you want brutal honesty. I learned that the hard way when I asked her whether I could pull off leggings and Ugg boots.”
Becca sighed. “I don’t see why people ask questions if they don’t want to hear the truth.”
“Maybe they want reassurance, support.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think about filtering them.
“So you’d prefer someone lie to you rather than have them dash your confidence?” She clasped her hands together and leaned forward.
“In some circumstances.” I folded my arms across my chest. I was just itching for an argument.
“In some circumstances? Where do you draw the line?”
“There’s value in making people happy.” I didn’t know what the hell I was saying. It didn’t matter.
She tensed slightly. “Well, do me a favor: spare me the sympathy lies.”
“I wasn’t planning on buttering anything up for you, sweetheart. It wouldn’t be worth the effort.”
Molly reached over and smacked my leg under the table.
“Ouch.” The word sort of slipped out.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” She hit me with a deadly glare. Ben’s arm wrapped protectively around her.
“Don’t worry about it, Mol. It’s my accent he hates. Or wait, that’s just what makes me different from you.”
“What?” Molly looked back and forth between us.
“Isn’t that what you said? I wasn’t what you expected because I wasn’t more like her?”
“You’re not at all like Molly.” What the hell was I doing? It’s not as if I wanted Molly anymore.
Part of me expected her to storm away from the table, but she held her ground. “That’s okay, because you’re nothing like Ben.” The girl could play ball.
“All right, you two sound the way Molly and I usually do.” Jake scowled at me as he referred to his famous disputes with his sister-in-law. From what I understood, they’d been fighting constantly since they were kids.
Ronny got an impish grin. “Are you sure you two didn’t sleep together last night?”
“No,” we both said.
Becca crossed her arms, causing the fabric of her t-shirt to pull tightly across her chest.
Tom laughed, giving me a look to let me know he’d caught me checking her out. I shrugged and took the last swig of my beer. I wanted another, but I wasn’t going to drive drunk.
“So…” Ronny tried to lighten the mood and turned his attention back to Becca. “What are your plans?”
“I start work on Monday. I’m not sure about tomorrow. What am I doing?” She looked at Molly.
“We’re spending the day at the beach. You need some sun.”
Becca smiled. “Sounds good.”
“When are you going? I might join you guys.” Jake grinned.
“We’ll probably do breakfast at Surf Song first, but after that we’ll be there.”
“Okay, cool.”
I listened to their banter for a while bef
ore excusing myself. I purposely avoided looking over at Becca again. She seemed to bring out the worst in me.
I heard Molly comment as I walked away. “What’s up with Gavin? That was so out of character for him.”
I didn’t cast a glance back. I wish I knew.
Chapter Five
Becca
I’d never been in a small town bar before. Sure, I’d spent time in my share of dives and hole in the wall places, but they were still distinctly urban. Gill’s was something else.
Walking in with Molly and Ben was overwhelming to say the least. They knew everyone. I smiled politely, but I felt incredibly out of place. Even though I wasn’t dressed differently, I knew I stood out like a sore thumb.
A guy with dirty blond hair touched my arm gently to get my attention. “Hello, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet.”
“Oh, hey, Ronny. This is my friend, Becca,” Molly answered for me.
I accepted his handshake and returned his warm smile. He was cute and being nice to me. I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to make allies in this town.
“So, rumor has it you’re working for the Morgans this summer.”
“Yeah, they were nice enough to hire me.” I couldn’t believe how small the town really was. Molly wasn’t kidding when she said that everyone knew everyone and each other’s business. I was used to the relative anonymity of a big city, and I wasn’t sure I liked the change.
“Cool, Matt’s a chill guy, and his dad’s great. I think you’ll do well with them.” He smiled at me again. I could tell he was trying hard to put me at ease.
“That’s what everyone’s saying.”
“So what brings you here? I mean, besides the incredible job opportunity.”
I laughed. “I needed a change. It’s been a rough year, and when Molly suggested I come down, I couldn’t resist.”
“Nice. Not the rough year part, but you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Oh damn it. I missed you losing your Gill’s virginity.” Jake put an arm around my shoulder. I’m sure I blushed. That boy had a strange sense of humor.
“Gill’s virginity?”
“Yeah, I mean you only have your first visit once.” He wriggled an eyebrow.
“Oh my god. Jake, you’re so weird.” Molly rolled her eyes.
I laughed. “Well we haven’t been here long, so you didn’t miss much.”
Molly turned toward me. “I’m sorry about him. He’s the opposite of a good wine. He gets worse with age.”
Jake glared at her. “As compared to you who—”
“Don’t even think about it.” Ben cut Jake off. I thought the brothers might fight, but the tension broke when Ben laughed. “Oh, sometimes I can’t stand the love.” Evidently he was used to their bickering.
I took a minute to really look around the bar. The usual paraphernalia lined the walls: neon signs and beer advertisements. It was really just the feel of the place that was foreign. I looked over at the bar and noticed Gavin. I smiled, wondering if his weird reaction to me was only because I caught him in a bad mood. Evidently not. He held up his beer in a quasi-greeting before turning away. I shrugged it off. He wasn’t worth the effort. I thought it was weird that Molly had warned me about Jake’s moodiness, but she always made Gavin out to be a nice guy. Maybe he was only nice to her.
Molly’s childhood best friend, Kelly, came in and immediately pulled me in to a hug. I felt instantly drawn to the bubbly girl. I could tell it wasn’t an act. She really was happy to meet me. I guess we had something big in common—we both loved Molly.
We pushed a few tables together and sat down. I ended up sandwiched between Ronny and Jake. It was a very entertaining spot to occupy. Ronny was a comedian, and Jake was as Molly described him: weird, but in a cute way.
I looked up as Gavin and Kelly’s husband, Tom, sat down at the table. I tentatively glanced at Gavin again, but he didn’t even bother to acknowledge me this time. What a jerk. But then again, maybe he thought I was flirting, and he just wasn’t interested. I couldn’t deny the guy was nice on the eyes. Tall, tan, and athletic, he was pretty much physical perfection. He even managed to make a one or two day old beard look sexy. I ignored him and turned back toward Jake.
Tom asked me how I was enjoying Clayton Falls, and I told him the truth: I liked it, but it was different. Somehow that ended up getting me in a weird pseudo fight with Gavin. I don’t really understand how it happened, but it was obvious neither one of us was going to give in. I was actually glad when Ronny broke the tension by making a crude comment implying we’d hooked up. As if.
“Ignore him,” Jake whispered reassuringly in my ear. I nodded and let myself get excited about a day at the beach.
Gavin left pretty soon after, and the tension went with him.
“What’s up with Gavin? That was so out of character for him,” Molly asked as soon as he left.
Tom looked behind him, probably checking to make sure Gavin was out of earshot. “I don’t know. He’s been acting funny since last night. He practically tore a kid apart today when we pulled him over.”
I spoke up. “I think I upset him somehow.”
“Don’t think that. You have nothing to do with it,” Ronny said emphatically.
“Was he really giving you a hard time about your accent?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah. Then I made the mistake of telling him he had one too. That didn’t go over so well.”
Tom laughed. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“Really, don’t let him put you off. The people here are actually really nice.” Kelly smiled.
“You all can stop reassuring me. I’m really not that worried about what one person thinks of me.” Of course, I was confused by it.
“All right, I just want you to feel at home here.” Molly reached across the table to squeeze my hand.
“I know, and I do. I mean how could I not feel at home in my amazing new digs?”
“See, I told you you’d like the pool house.” Ben nudged Molly. I got the vibe that she hadn’t been too keen on the idea, and he was talking to her as much as me.
“You’re living in their pool house?” Ronny set down his empty beer.
Jake tipped his chair back. “Yeah, the ‘rents used it as an excuse to kick me out.”
“It’s about time,” Ben ribbed.
I decided to jump back in. “I can understand your reluctance to leave. I mean, living rent free has its perks.”
“Exactly. Finally someone’s on my side.”
“She never said she was on your side,” Molly teased.
“She didn’t have to. By the way, Becca, do you want a ride home? I realized after I left that I once again forgot those books.”
“Sure, it doesn’t make sense for Molly and Ben to go so out of their way.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Molly said quickly.
“You ready to go? I want to surf in the morning, so I’m going to turn in early.”
“Sure.” I was definitely ready to head home. It had been a weird night. I started to say my goodbyes.
“Hey, Becca, can I talk to you for a second?” Ronny asked.
“Sure…”
“Cool.” He walked a little way from the table, and I followed. I noticed Jake watch us with an amused expression.
“I know this might seem a little forward, but I’d love to take you out sometime.”
“Oh, yeah? Thanks.” Ack, thanks? I never knew what to say in that kind of situation.
“So is that a yes?” he asked hopefully.
I thought about it for a moment. He was cute and seemed nice, but I knew nothing about him. On the other hand, offending him might make things weird for Molly. I wished he hadn’t cornered me. “What did you have in mind?”
“Maybe dinner one night this week?”
“Here in town?”
He gave me a funny look. “Sure, unless you want to go into Wilmington. I’m game for either. It’s the company I’m afte
r.”
“Well, I don’t know what my hours are going to be with work.”
“Okay. I can tell this is making you nervous. How about coffee?”
I relaxed a little. Coffee sounded more casual. “Okay.”
“Great. Can I get your number?” I gave it to him and let him program his into my phone.
“You ready?” Jake joined us.
“Yup,” I said quickly. I wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen next.
“Good night. I’ll call you.” Ronny smiled before walking back to the table.
Jake and I walked out to the lot. He stopped in front of a jeep with the top down. “Ronny didn’t waste much time, did he?”
“No. I didn’t see it coming.” I pulled an elastic off my wrist to tie up my hair so it wouldn’t blow all over the place.
“What did you agree to?” He started the engine and pulled out of the lot.
“Coffee one night this week.”
“Good call. That way, if the conversation is boring, you don’t have to suffer through a whole meal.”
“It sounds like you know from experience.”
“I do. I actually have a coffee date of my own on Thursday.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s the lucky girl?”
“A junior at UNC-Wilmington I met at one of Ben’s shows.”
“Oh, well you’ll have to let me know how it goes.”
“Same to you. If Ronny gets out of line, you just tell me, okay?”
I smiled. It was nice to have someone worried about me. “I will.”
We pulled into his parent’s driveway, but he didn’t move to get out. “Don’t you need to come in and get your books?”
“Oh, I’ll just get those next time.”
“You never planned to get them, did you?” I crossed my arms and tried to bite back a smile.
“Nope. But I could tell you’d had enough.”
I smiled. “Thanks. That was really cool.”
“I try. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
As I got ready for bed, I thought about how I’d managed to make a friend, line up a date, and earn myself an enemy. Not bad for a little over twenty-four hours in a new town.
Chapter Six
Becca
Veer (Clayton Falls) Page 3