The question was flashing in neon lights in her mind: What would happen to them in San Francisco? Should they stay together? Did she want that? Did he want that? Maddy tried to imagine David hanging out in Morgan’s hot tub with the usual crowd. She shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden step. This summer had been so damn confusing from beginning to end—one thing that hadn’t changed.
She looked at her watch. David would be here any minute. Maddy rehearsed several scenarios in her head. She could clutch him passionately and say, “David, you’re my true love, why did we wait so long to get together? I don’t care what the world says. Let’s defy them all, my darling.” That seemed a little extreme. Then there was the one where she froze into icy perfection and said with decorum, “I wasn’t myself last night. I’m sorry about that. Well, this summer was fun and it was nice getting to know you. Good-bye.” Or maybe, “Want to go to the beach on Saturday with my friends and me?” Or, “You were an awesome kisser, maybe we can have a couple of booty calls this year.”
No. She knew what she had to do. She’d just tell him honestly that they clearly had a connection, but that she’d been thinking about it and didn’t see how it was going to work back in the city. Their lives would never mesh.
David rounded the side of the house. Maddy’s palms immediately started sweating as if someone had turned on a faucet in her hands, and she felt a silly grin spread over her face. His face bore a similarly goofy expression as he approached the porch. They looked at each other. “Hi,” she croaked.
“Hi.” He lowered himself next to her on the step. She could feel the warmth radiating from his body. He smelled wonderful. She resisted the urge to lean in to his shoulder, but he reached out and pulled her against him. She looked at him and he leaned forward and kissed her softly. For a moment, she pressed her lips against his in response, but then her fears came flooding back and she pulled away, shrugging his arm from her shoulder.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. She looked at his open face and quailed a little.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. A lie. “I’m worried.”
“About what?” He reached for her again but she shifted away.
Before she could respond, Morgan’s white Mercedes SUV pulled up the driveway and parked in front of the house. The doors flew open and her friends jumped out. “Hey!” Morgan shouted. “We’re here!”
Automatically, Maddy rose from the porch steps and went toward them. “I can’t believe you guys are actually here,” she said, giving them each a hug. Her words sounded far away, like they were coming from someone else.
“Ohmygod, look at this place!” Morgan shrieked. “It’s so adorable!” She was wearing one of her standard outfits, a tiny miniskirt and white tube top, with platform espadrilles that tied halfway up her legs.
Kirsten was more subdued in a gray polo-shirt dress and flip-flops. She hugged her friend again. “So, it’s actually a vineyard,” she said. “We were sure you’d been lying to us and you were living with Justin Timberlake up here.”
Maddy’s mind was still a fog but luckily the auto-response function took over. “Yeah, I am—how’d you guess? I’m keeping him down by the stream in the tasting room. I missed you girls like crazy!”
“We missed you, too!” Morgan said. “You look awesome—you’re so tan!”
“Thanks. That’s one thing a summer of manual labor will get you.” Suddenly, she remembered David, who was standing patiently by her side. “Girls, remember the, um, guy I told you about?”
“Hey.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m David. You know, the um, guy?”
The girls laughed. “Hi,” they said in unison.
David smiled. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“You too,” they said together. Then they looked at each other and laughed.
“We have to stop that,” Morgan said. “So, where should we eat around here?” she asked as the group headed toward the Mercedes.
David paused and then said, “Actually, we could check out Maddy’s favorite place to eat. It’s not far from here.” He winked at Maddy and took her hand.
Oh no, Maddy thought, her grip tightening on David’s. No, they totally wouldn’t go for—
But David was still talking “…barbecue shack right on the side of the road. The meat is incredible, if you girls don’t mind a picnic table.”
Damn it. Maddy saw Morgan glance at Kirsten hesitantly.
Kirsten shrugged. “Sure,” she said. “Why not?”
“Cool,” David said as they all slid into the sleek leather seats. “You should have seen this girl put away an entire rack of ribs the other day. It was really impressive.”
Morgan glanced back through the seats at Maddy, who offered a sickly smile. “Nice, Mads. I had no idea you were such a carnivore.”
“Heh-heh. Um, yeah, I guess I didn’t know either.” Maybe the barbecue shack would be closed, she thought hopefully. Then they could all find some nice little sandwich place in town. At the back of her mind, she wondered why she was being so uptight. David was right. She did love it. It was just that it would never have occurred to her friends to go someplace like that back home. Actually, it wouldn’t have occurred to her, either.
The cooker was smoking when they pulled up in the parking lot, and the two dogs, which didn’t appear to have moved an inch since their last visit, were still watching the little old guy in the stained apron with eternal hope. Several people, most of whom looked like workers from the nearby vineyards, were waiting in line. Maddy spoke up as they piled out of the car. “David, can you get the food while we stake out the picnic table?” She had to get the girls alone for a second.
David nodded agreeably. “Sure. Ribs for everyone okay?”
“Yeah,” Morgan said. “I barely ate breakfast anyway. We’re starved.”
“Good,” David said as he headed toward the cooker. The girls collapsed at the picnic table. Maddy looked back and forth between her two friends for a few moments.
“Well?” she whispered after a long pause. “What do you think?”
Kirsten nodded slowly. “Cute.”
“Yeah,” Morgan said. “He’s really cute, Mad.”
Kirsten opened her mouth to add something, but David’s figure loomed over them suddenly, loaded with steaming paper plates of ribs, corn on the cob, and warm biscuits.
“Hey, look at this!” he said, plunking the food down in front of them. “The guy recognized me and jumped me to the front of the line. Plus, he threw in the biscuits for free.” He sat down next to Maddy and pulled over two of the plates.
For a long moment, no one said anything. Maddy imagined that she could see the tension floating around the table like a fog. Then Morgan swallowed a bite of corn and asked, “So, what did you guys do up here for fun all summer?”
Before Maddy could say anything, David answered, “Went biking some, did some cooking, had paint fights. The usual Napa activities.”
Kirsten laughed as if David was making a joke and then stopped, seeing Maddy’s expression. “Oh, you were serious. Sorry. It’s just that I can’t imagine Maddy cooking and having paint fights.”
“Well, we did,” Maddy said, a trifle defensively.
“Sounds awesome,” Morgan said, and laughed. Maddy couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic. Probably sarcastic, she decided glumly.
Everyone ate ribs and made conversation for the next half hour. David and the girls seemed pretty relaxed, but Maddy figured they were all just trying to be polite. After all, they weren’t going to be rude. But Maddy imagined she could hear what Morgan and Kirsten were thinking: How can we get out of here? What does Maddy see in this guy? Has she gone out of her mind thinking she can date him back in the city? They were right, Maddy thought furiously, rising to stuff her plate into the metal trash can. She had briefly gone out of her mind. Now, though, she could see the situation more clearly. The sight of the three people sitting at the picnic table—David’s lanky figure in an old T-shirt and worn je
ans and the two hip, perfectly groomed girls next to him—made her decision for her. It was over.
Maddy marched back to the table. “Are you all ready to go?” she asked. The others looked up in surprise at her firm tone.
“Sure,” David said, getting up quickly. Everyone rose and tossed their trash away, heading toward the car.
“Your stuff’s all back at the house, right, Mad?” Morgan asked, starting the engine.
“Yeah, we have to go back there first,” Maddy said, her eyes on David. He was lounging easily, his arm draped around the back of the seat, looking happy and satisfied after their meal.
Maddy sat stiffly and silently until they pulled up the long gravel drive. She jumped out as soon as Morgan cut the engine. “Wait here for me, girls,” she said. “David will help me get my suitcase inside.” She aimed a significant glance at David, who jumped up.
“Oh, yeah. I’ll just give her a hand…,” he said. They slammed the doors and Maddy led him around to the backyard, where she stopped and turned to face him. She took a deep breath. His forehead was creased with concern. “I guess you’re going to tell me what’s wrong,” he said.
Now that the moment was here, she just wanted to get it over with. “I’m worried about going home.”
“Huh?”
Why were guys so dense? “I’m worried about you and me,” she said.
He looked confused. “What do you mean? I thought we talked about all that last night.”
“We talked about us for like one minute!” Her voice rose involuntarily. David looked at her carefully.
“Why are you getting angry?”
“I’m not angry!” she said angrily. “I’m just thinking about the future, which you don’t seem concerned about.”
He frowned. “I’m not. What’s there to be concerned about? I’m crazy about you and last night was practically the best night of my life. All the rest of it is just details.”
Maddy fought back tears. “Yeah, well, details can be really important! And if you don’t know that, then I think we have a problem!” In the back of her mind, she realized that what she was saying didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but she couldn’t stop herself. “We’re going back to our old lives. Everything’s going to be different.”
He nodded slowly, his face hardening. “Yeah, I see what you’re talking about now. You’re worried I wouldn’t fit into your rich-kid life in the city—like your friends might wonder if I was some hippie you’d picked up by the side of the road in Napa.”
“No!” Now it was her turn to reach for him. “That’s not what I mean,” she pleaded, snuffling a little. “I’m just confused. These last few weeks have been like some dream and now we have to wake up to our other lives. Can’t you see that?” She took his long fingers in hers and held on to them. He stared at their entwined hands for a long moment and then leaned down and kissed her fingers.
Then he released her hand and stared into the vine field. “Look,” he said, choosing his words carefully, “I know what I want. I’m not saying it won’t be hard. It will be hard, but I don’t care. I want you.” Maddy opened her mouth as if to protest, but he held his hand up. “But.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
“But I’m not the only one here. Last time I looked, I think I was only fifty percent of whatever this is. So, I can’t force anything. If we want different things…I guess we’re going to have to say good-bye.” He looked unbearably sad.
Maddy’s head was spinning. He made it sound so easy—like the choices were crystal clear. But in her mind, everything was muddy. “But I don’t want it to end!” she cried.
“It doesn’t have to!” David gazed into her face, but she couldn’t meet his eyes. She stared at the ground and said in a low voice, “You make it sound so easy.”
“Don’t you see that it can be?” he insisted.
“I…I think it’s going to be too hard,” she mumbled. Even as she was saying the words, she could feel how discordantly they jangled with the emotions in her heart. But she steeled herself. Better to end it now than have it trail on miserably for months and then end. “I have to go,” she whispered, not daring to look at his face. Without waiting for a response, she whirled around and ran back to the front of the house.
Chapter Thirty
Tears almost blinding her, Maddy grabbed her suitcase off the front porch. Morgan and Kirsten turned toward her as she hurried over to the car. “Mads, we were just saying what a hottie that guy is!” Kirsten exclaimed as she opened the passenger door.
“Yeah,” Morgan agreed enthusiastically. “Totally different look than Brian, of course, but really yummy. And sweet, too.” She turned the ignition and “Promiscuous” blared from the speakers.
Maddy barely heard her friends. All she could think was, This is it. I’m leaving David. Like she was moving through glue, she shoved her bag into the backseat and climbed in.
“He was so sweet to get all our food. It’s obvious he’s crazy about you, Maddy,” Morgan said over her shoulder as she adjusted the sun visor.
“You guys are perfect together!” Kirsten declared. The words reached Maddy’s ears as if through fog. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Maddy asked, leaning forward.
“I said you guys are perfect together,” Kirsten repeated, rummaging in her handbag.
She might as well have been speaking Swahili. “But we’re totally different! Lunch just proved it. Morgan was right. We should just forget it.” Maddy slumped back against the seat and crossed her arms.
Morgan threw the car into park and turned around. She turned the music way down. “Wait, what are you talking about, ‘Lunch just proved it’?”
Maddy stared at her incredulously. “Lunch was a disaster,” she said, speaking very slowly and clearly. “It was the most awkward experience ever.”
Morgan wrinkled up her face. “What are you talking about? Lunch wasn’t awkward at all. It was really fun. He clearly knows how to have a good time.”
“But—but you said it would never work out!” Maddy insisted.
“On the phone! I’d never even met the guy. Besides, aren’t I allowed to be wrong sometimes?”
“I guess,” Maddy said slowly. Morgan faced front again.
“Don’t worry, Mad,” she said, turning the music back up and putting the car into drive. “Let’s just get started on our road trip! Woo-hoo!” She started to turn around in the driveway.
Suddenly, Maddy shouted, “Stop, Morgan!” She unbuckled her seat belt.
“What?” Morgan yelled back.
“Turn the music down! Stop!”
Morgan stepped on the brakes. “What is it?”
“I have to…I can’t…” Maddy looked around wildly. “Open your sunroof!”
“Are you cracked? What are you talking about?”
“Open your sunroof!” Morgan stared at her for a second and then buzzed the roof back. Maddy stood up on the seat, stuck her head and shoulders out the window, and looked toward the house. She couldn’t see the yard. Quickly, she hoisted herself out of the sunroof and onto the top of the car. She stood up carefully, her sundress hem fluttering in the breeze. Now she could see the backyard and the path running through the vines. A dark head was just visible above the grape leaves.
Maddy took a deep breath. “David!” she yelled. He didn’t turn around. “David!” He saw her and stopped walking. She waved her arms. “Come here!” She could see him pause. It felt like a long time. Then he started walking back up the path toward the house again. She crouched down on the car roof and hopped onto the trunk and then to the ground. Somewhere in the background, she was aware that the music had stopped and that Morgan and Kirsten had gotten partially out of the car and were watching her with avid interest. But she couldn’t think about them right now.
She ran around to the side of the house and collided full-on with David. He caught her and staggered but managed to keep his balance. He held her by the shoulders a litt
le away from him. “What is it?” he asked. “Why were you on the car roof?”
“I…” Maddy panted a minute, then got her breath. “I…” Say it! “I was wondering…if you wanted to come back with me to San Francisco? With my friends…? She faltered a minute under his piercing gaze.
“What are you saying?” His hands gripped her shoulders tighter.
She inhaled. “I’m saying I want you to come back to the city with me—I want us to go back together.” Her voice was clear now and the words felt right.
His face lit up like someone had turned on a switch inside him. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. He grinned and then grabbed her, pulling her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her. The sound of Morgan’s horn interrupted them. They broke apart and smiled at each other. Maddy took his hand and they walked together toward the waiting car.
“Oh, no!” Maddy stopped short. “What about all of your stuff? You haven’t packed or told your dad…”
David smiled. “Maddy, I’m a guy. ‘All my stuff ’ barely fills one bag. And my dad was going to drive to the city with me in a few days, anyway. I’ll call him from the road. Now, stop interrupting the spontaneous romance of this moment!” He kissed Maddy softly and squeezed the back of her hand as he pulled her toward her friends.
She opened the door and slid into the backseat again. This time, David slid in next to her. Two amazed faces peered around the middle of the front seats. “Girls,” Maddy said, “is it okay if David comes back to the city with us?”
Morgan turned all the way around and looked right at him and then at Maddy. She studied them both for a long time and then grinned. “Definitely,” she said. Kirsten nodded in agreement.
“Thanks for letting me tag along on your road trip,” David told them.
“No problem,” Morgan replied. “I’m glad you could come.” Maddy gave her a look of thanks.
The Other Boy Page 17