The Other Boy

by Hailey Abbott

  “No!” Maddy said, a little more emphatically than she meant to. “I mean, not really. We haven’t hooked up…yet.” She couldn’t help smiling to herself a little. “But we have been hanging out a lot—and Mor, he’s really cool.”

  Morgan sighed. “Well, obviously you’re going to hook up. I’m so jealous. I haven’t made out with anyone since your party, practically. It’s so great to have a fling at the end of the summer. Too bad you have to leave him in a few days!”

  For a minute, Maddy didn’t understand what her friend meant. “Well, I might not have to. He goes to Westside Public. And Mor, I have to tell you—I think this thing between us is more than a fling. I mean…I really like him. I want to keep seeing him once we’re both back in the city.”

  “What?” Morgan said incredulously.

  “I…I think we might try this thing out—being together back home.” Maddy faltered a little. She heard Morgan inhale sharply.

  “Maddy. I love you, and as one of your best friends, I have to tell you when I feel like you’re about to do something stupid. And this is really, really stupid!”

  Maddy didn’t respond.

  “Look, you’ve spent the whole summer mucking out stalls or whatever you’ve been doing, and you and that guy have been all alone up there, so it’s natural something would’ve happened with you guys.”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s been more than that—”

  Morgan let out an annoyed-sounding sigh. “Look, let me lay it out for you. Whatever it’s been, you’re coming back to the city now. You have a whole life here. How do you know a guy you met in Napa would fit in with us? I mean, what would you guys do together?”

  “I don’t really know…,” Maddy said slowly. It was true that Napa wasn’t like the rest of the world—the ordinary rules didn’t really apply. She felt so close to David now, but could they maintain that when they weren’t in Napa? They were from very different worlds. Her head was starting to pound. “Mor, I have the worst headache. I’m going to get off and find some Advil.”

  “Wait! I totally forgot the whole reason I called!”

  Maddy groaned. “You mean it wasn’t to tell me that I was making all the wrong decisions?”

  “No, but I’m glad I did. I’m having a party at Tangerine for my birthday on Wednesday and you have to come. I can’t celebrate without you!”

  “And I can’t let you celebrate without me! But we’re not supposed to get back from Napa until Thursday,” Maddy told her.

  “Beg! Maybe they’ll let you come home early,” Morgan insisted.

  “Maybe,” Maddy said without much hope. “They’ve mellowed out a lot since we left. I’ll have to get them at the right moment.”

  “Well, at least try, okay?”

  “Okay. Bye, babe.”

  “Bye.” Morgan hung up.

  Maddy dropped the phone on the floor and closed her eyes just for a second, the warm afternoon sun streaming from the balcony doors onto her face. David’s image floated in front of her. They were standing in the tasting room again. He had his arms around her, but this time he was kissing her. His lips were warm and delicious. Maddy felt herself relax, the stress of the conversation with Morgan floating away. She and David were walking through the grapevines. She could feel his strong hands on her waist….

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The radio in the kitchen was on when Maddy knocked softly at the porch door of the cottage. She hadn’t been able to decide between the ultra-casual faded jeans and a white gathered eyelet tank top or the more flirty pink jersey sundress. She’d gone with the jeans in the end. David had seen her at her worst; self-consciousness was out the window.

  “Come in,” she heard David call. Sufjan Stevens provided the background music as she opened the screen door. The little kitchen with its neat wood cabinets and long marble countertops smelled like warm chocolate. David, wearing an army green T-shirt and jeans, stood at the counter, mixing something in a bowl, a striped dishtowel flung over his shoulder. He looked incredibly sexy. He glanced up as she entered, his hair falling in his eyes a little, and grinned at her.

  Maddy held out a tub of strawberries. “I thought maybe we could use these.” The little red heart-shaped berries looked gorgeous. “I picked them up at the farm stand.”

  “Well, well, maybe you’re not a hopeless cook after all,” he teased. He motioned her over to stand next to him and examined the berries while she examined him. She stared at the muscles in his arms as he dumped the berries into a colander and ran water over them. “So, we’re making chocolate mousse cake,” he explained. “Strawberries will go great with that.”

  “That sounds so good….” She laughed, inhaling another strong whiff of warm, rich chocolate.

  “It is—the chef at Mondavi used to tell me that he would serve this when…” He stopped and smiled mischievously. “Let’s just say this was a dish to impress the ladies.”

  She laughed. “I’m impressed.”

  “Come here—I’ll show you how to mix this,” he offered.

  “Okay.” She stood close to him at the counter, watching as he poured a stream of melted chocolate from a small saucepan into a bowl of smooth, shiny batter. His strong arm blended the chocolate in streaks.

  “See, you want to sort of fold it in very gently in kind of an oval shape, instead of mixing around and around.” He glanced at her and smiled. “You want to try?”

  “Sure.” She took the spatula and tried to imitate him.

  “Here, try it like this,” he said after a minute, and she felt his hand close around hers. He moved so that he was standing just behind her.

  “Like this?” she said, though she wasn’t paying the slightest attention to the batter.

  “Mmhm,” he said. He sounded like he wasn’t paying attention to the batter either. She leaned back into him just the slightest bit, still folding the batter, though by this time the chocolate had long since disappeared. She could feel him inhale at her touch, and the muscles in his chest tensed a little.

  Ping-ping-ping! The timer on the stove sounded. He exhaled and stepped away from her over to the stove. “The layers are ready.” The scent of cake filled the kitchen as he pulled a pan out of the oven. Maddy wandered over to the refrigerator and peered at some photos stuck there with magnets. She squinted at one of two tall guys with their arms around each other’s shoulders, standing in the sun at the top of some mountain.

  “Is that you?” she asked.

  He turned around to see what she was looking at. “Yeah. That’s my buddy Jim. We hiked to the top of Bismark Peak in Utah last summer.” Something started bubbling in a copper saucepan on the stove and David quickly bent over to reduce the flame. Maddy eyed his turned back. The temptation was just too great. She plucked a berry out of the colander, took aim, and pitched it at him. It bounced off his head and fell to the floor.

  “Hey!” He whirled around to face her, already laughing. She giggled and threw another one, this time catching him on the chest.

  “Okay, I see how it is,” he said. “Well then, how about this?” Before she could react, he scooped a spoonful of batter, closed one eye, and took aim, catapulting the cake across the room and catching her right in the face.

  She squealed and wiped her eyes. “You jerk!” She darted across the room, scooped up her own glob of batter, and let it fly, splattering his shirt.

  He dove across the kitchen table, trying to catch her, but she slipped away from his grasp and ran to the other side. They faced off, grinning, until he held up his hands. “Truce, okay? I give up.”

  “Okay.” She relaxed and turned away before feeling something soft hit the back of her head. A strawberry fell at her feet. “Ooh! You’re going down!” she yelled. In one quick movement, she grabbed the colander out of the sink and, evading his hands, dumped the entire contents on his head. Strawberries fell pattering at their feet like fat red raindrops and rolled to the far corners of the room.

  Maddy stood, hanging on to the counter, tryi
ng to catch her breath from laughing so hard at the sight of David with the colander still on his head. With dignity, he removed the metal helmet and placed it on the counter. “Do you know you look like a raccoon?” he asked, pointing at the mask of shiny brown batter now beginning to dry on her face.

  “I know,” Maddy gasped, starting to regain control of herself. “Help.”

  “Here,” he said, running a clean dishcloth under the faucet. He took hold of her shoulder with one hand and with the other wiped at her cheeks. Maddy stopped giggling like someone had turned off a switch. David looked down into her face, suddenly serious. She inhaled sharply. He’s going to kiss me, oh my God, he’s going to kiss me. She hoped he couldn’t feel the slight trembling of her shoulders under his hands. From somewhere outside, the song of a killdeer reached her ears. But David’s face filled her field of vision. He leaned down and she closed her eyes. For a brief moment, his hand tightened on her shoulder. Then she felt it drop away. Maddy opened her eyes in surprise.

  David abruptly turned back to the stove. An awkward silence descended as he stirred something furiously. She was totally confused. Wasn’t he going to kiss her? What happened? Did she have something in her teeth? She stared at David’s back, trying to gauge his feelings from his posture. But his rounded shoulders told her nothing. They had been having such a good time. And he was going to kiss her. Maybe he was nervous. Maybe—she hated to think of it—he was having second thoughts about her. “Um, well, I should get back,” she heard herself saying in a small voice.

  He turned around with the saucepan in one hand. She was flooded with relief when she saw his face—desperate but not angry.

  “Okay,” he said in a croak. He cleared his throat and tried again. “See you later?”

  “Definitely!” She tried to load all of her feelings into that one word. He nodded. They stared at each other for one long minute and then she made herself turn calmly and open the screen door, leaving him in the middle of the kitchen.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Maddy was folding T-shirts into her blue suitcase when there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” Maddy sang out. Mom had said she’d be bringing up the shoe basket from the back hall. But it wasn’t Mom standing in the doorway when she turned around—it was David. She caught her breath. “Hey,” she managed.

  “Hey.” For the first time since she’d known him, he looked awkward, like he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

  “I was just packing—”

  He spoke at the same time. “Do you want to go—” He tried again. “Do you want to go for a drive?”

  Maddy paused. She wasn’t counting on anything after what happened earlier that evening. “Sure.”

  His face lit up. “I’ll wait for you downstairs in the truck, okay?”

  “Okay.” He turned and left.

  Maddy went over to the mirror on the wall and stared at herself. Her eyes were wide and sparkling and her cheeks were pink. All she needed was a little lip gloss. She quickly brushed her hair, letting it hang loose and shiny over her shoulders.

  The cool, deep night surrounded her as she stepped out onto the front porch. The crickets were chirping in the trees, matching the rumble of the idling pickup truck. David sat in the cab, his elbow out the window, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “So, are you kidnapping me?” Maddy teased as she got in.

  “Definitely.”

  “Great.” She settled next to him on the seat as he sped down the gravel driveway. Her hair blew against her face as the wind swept through the open windows. Neither of them said anything, but the silence was peaceful. The radio played softly as the truck’s headlights cut through the darkness. Maddy closed her eyes for a minute and let her head rest on the back of the seat.

  After a little while, David turned off the highway and she could feel the truck bumping down a dirt road. She lifted her head and opened her eyes. “Where are we?” Dark, impenetrable pine forest lined both sides of the narrow dirt track.

  He smiled, his eyes straight ahead, his large, graceful hands resting on the steering wheel. “Just wait. Don’t you recognize it yet?” The woods opened onto a little meadow, lit by the full moon. They were near the lake—their lake.

  “Oh, I love this place,” she said.

  “Me too. We had such a good time that day, I thought we should visit it one more time before we left.” He stopped the engine and reached behind him into the back of the cab, pulling out a basket.

  They walked single file down the path to the sandy beach. The lake lay before them, a moonpath spread on the inky, glittering surface. The water made gentle splashing sounds as it lapped the edge of the dock.

  David led the way onto the sand. As Maddy watched, he opened the basket he had been carrying and spread out a blanket and a container of something. Then he pulled out three little votive candles in glass holders and lit them carefully with a lighter from his pocket. Maddy was floored.

  “This is so beautiful, David,” she said. He smiled, more shyly than usual.

  “Come here,” he said, patting the blanket next to him. She sat, tucking her legs underneath her. He opened the container, revealing the finished chocolate mousse cake. “I thought we could try this.” He cut two pieces and put them on little plates. Maddy broke off a bite with her fingers and put it in her mouth. It was dark and moist. “What do you think?” he asked.

  “It’s amazing, but I can’t imagine that’s because of me,” she said.

  “Well, you added a little extra spice.” For a moment, they smiled at each other and then David looked away across the lake. He frowned, started to say something, and then stopped.

  Maddy scooted a little closer to him on the blanket. “David?” she asked softly.

  He looked back at her and took a deep breath. “I’ve got something to tell you and I’m going to have to get it out before I lose my nerve.”

  Maddy wondered if he could hear her heart pounding.

  “I don’t know about you, but for me, this summer has been one of the craziest, most confusing…and best two months of my life.” Maddy nodded, and David, seeming to take that as a sign of encouragement, went on, his voice a little steadier. “And you are the reason for that.” Maddy drew in a breath and watched his face. He was looking back across the water, his arms looped around his knees. His fingers were twined so tightly together the knuckles were white. “I know it’ll be hard going back to the city. I mean, all of our friends will be around and everything, and we’ll be back at school….”

  “It won’t!” Maddy spoke for the first time since he had started talking. David looked down at her. “We could still see each other. I’ve had such a good time with you.” She faltered and dropped her eyes to her lap. When she looked up, he was smiling.

  “Maddy-Mae.” The sound of his voice saying her name sent a shiver up her back. “I was so excited to meet you at the beginning of the summer. But then I messed it all up that first night. I thought you were totally superficial, but I was completely wrong. And then I pushed you too fast after your birthday. I should have realized you’d need time to sort things out. I was so mad at myself for screwing things up with you.” He started fiddling with one edge of the blanket. From across the lake, a loon’s lonely cry echoed. A soft night wind ruffled their hair. Maddy placed her hand over David’s.

  “You want to hear something funny?” she said. “After our fight in the orchard, I was so mad at myself for screwing things up with you.” He looked up in surprise. Their eyes met and neither spoke for a long, excited moment.

  “We’ve been having such a great time lately,” David said. “Then, in the kitchen, I wanted to tell you how I felt, but I chickened out. I’ve been hoping—” He stopped and looked down at the blanket. “I can’t think about anything but you.”

  This is the moment, she thought. “I have something to tell you, too. When we were in the kitchen?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I really wanted you to kiss me.”


  David let out his breath audibly and grinned. “Really?” He sounded hopeful and disbelieving at the same time.

  “Yeah.”

  He looked into her eyes and lifted her chin. She took a deep breath as he tilted his head toward her and pressed his lips to hers softly. He drew his head back and looked at her face. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

  “Me too,” Maddy whispered. She leaned toward him and turned so that she could put her arms around his shoulders. His arms wrapped around her waist and they kissed again, more deeply this time. His lips were hot and insistent. She opened her mouth and lost herself in their kiss, sending jumps and shivers all through her body.

  Slowly, still kissing, they slid down so that they were lying on the blanket, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip, their legs entwined. David kissed Maddy’s neck and she closed her eyes and let her head fall back onto the blanket. He pulled her tighter against him and they lay holding each other under the stars, listening to the lapping of the water, not saying much—but then again, not much needed to be said.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Maddy inhaled a deep breath of the crisp Napa air as she stepped out onto the front porch. Inside, her parents were frantically packing for their departure tomorrow, but she was leaving today. Morgan had apparently called the elder Sinclaires last night and convinced them to let her and Kirsten drive up and get Maddy. They were going to get lunch and then head down to the city for Morgan’s party. Maddy was excited to see them, but it was a low-grade excitement. Mostly, she was consumed with thoughts of David. She was all tangled up this morning. Last night everything had seemed so easy. Now Morgan’s words from their phone conversation were intruding on Maddy’s happiness.

  She sat down on the top porch step with her head on her knees. She had a whole other life back in the city, one that didn’t include David. And in truth, he really was different than anyone else she knew. Funny and goofy and smart, but different. The realization that she was a little different now too after this summer invaded her thoughts. But I like my life at home, Maddy argued with herself. I don’t want things to change.