by Tia Siren
“Now boarding business-class, Gate 6, to La Guardia,” an agent’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker.
His eyebrows shot up as his mouth open dropped in surprise. “I know I didn’t have to, Riley. I wanted to. I really wanted to. Please believe me.”
The crowds were well out of earshot, and they were talking quietly, but Riley still felt uncomfortable. She’d said too much already and she knew how dangerous sound bites were, especially when they were taken out of context and splashed all over social media. “Gray, I don’t know what to do here. I really don’t. I mean, I’ve got no idea how much of it was real and how much was just…part of your plan.”
“None of it was a plan. I tried really hard to stay away from you, because I didn’t want to hurt you or make you feel used.”
“Okay, so…” Of course nothing about it was okay, but she had to say something. “I’m still at a loss here, Gray. I’ve got zero idea of what to say or do now.” She checked her watch. “I have to go. I just have to. I’ve got a job to do and my dad to answer to.”
“I know.” He paused and looked at the floor. “Damn, this sucks.”
She agreed, but didn’t know what they could possibly do. Her dream vacation had turned into a twisted nightmare, and now she found herself stuck in it with a hot bartender, in a position neither of them had bargained for, all caught up in the net of responsibilities and family ties.
“Now boarding Zone 1, coach-class.”
That announcement made Riley jerk. More people rushed past her and lined up, impatient and eager for the flight to leave. Riley’s eyes went to the line, then darted back to Gray. “I don’t know what to do,” she repeated.
“Me neither.” He sighed and tried to force a smile. “I guess this is goodbye then.” He blinked and stared at her, as if trying to memorize her face. “I just didn’t want you to go thinking of me as the world’s biggest asshole. I mean, you can think whatever you want but I’m really not that guy. I’m really, really not, Riley.”
“You…” she began then stopped, completely speechless. Weariness, physical and emotional, seemed to hold her tongue and thoughts captive, and she had no idea what more she could say. A moment earlier she was sitting on a toilet, having a moment, ready to give the big fuck-off to her folks and all the plans they already had in place for her life. It seemed equally horrible and apt that the thought had come to her on a toilet, because she felt like all kinds of shit. That was basically a summation of how she figured her life was going to be. Her shoulders moved, toward her ears, then dropped. “I-I think…”
What? What do I think? That this is all a horrible mistake? That I really want to stay, to be with you? That getting on that plane will be the worst possible thing I could ever do, or that not getting on that plane will be?
Torn and confused, she just stood there. She wanted to run away from him, as fast as that jet fuel could carry her, yet her body was stuck here, unable to resist him, unable to walk away from him at all as if someone had Gorilla Glued her to the ugly linoleum.
The agent spoke again: “Last call for boarding Flight 1604 to New York-La Guardia. All passengers must report to the gate and board now. The jet-way will close in two minutes. Again, final call for Flight 1604 to New York-La Guardia...”
“You’d better go,” Gray said, his face full of anguish.
Riley still stood on the spot, hoping he would ask her to stay, but he didn’t. Instead, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts and bit his bottom lip so fiercely that she could see saw his teeth nearly breaking his flesh. She swallowed hard and begged, “Tell me what to do, Gray.”
He shook his head. “I can’t, Riley. You have to do what you think is best.”
What’s best? Hell if I know! Part of her wanted to make her parents proud, to keep playing her role as their well-behaved, responsible daughter. The other part of her wanted to take control of her trust and her life, to do exactly what she wanted and needed to do for herself. But what is that exactly? Gray? Some studio apartment? She really had no idea, and she needed more input from him. “Gray, do you want me at all? I mean, do you want me, or are you just after Riley Teeter and her dad’s bank account?”
“The last thing I want is Riley Teeter. You, on the other hand, I want a whole lot.”
Tears sprang into her eyes.
Gray’s hands came out of his pockets and rested on her shoulders. “I’m saying I want you, Riley. I don’t want to be caught up being the boyfriend of a woman whose family writes the script for her life, and I damn sure don’t want to let my family write mine either. I really wish there was some way we could just…be ourselves for a while, see what happens without all that, without them intervening. I know we would have to handle it all at some point, but—”
“But we don’t have to right now,” she finished, then let out the deep breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. There would be time enough to explain that her only job was to take care of her trust. Eventually she would have to leave, but it didn’t have to be right away. Her dad didn’t need to trot her around for any press ops anytime soon, and there was time for a little more exploration and adventure. She wanted to know more about Gray, wanted to know if he was a real possibility. “I wanna stay here for a while… I want to be with you,” she confessed in a shaky voice, as if she hadn’t yet convinced herself. “I don’t want to stay at the resort, though. I just…don’t need that kind of drama in my life right now.”
Gray’s face lit up, and his mouth dropped open into a laugh. He threw his head back to let his happy little gurgle escape. “No, you don’t, and I don’t blame you. There are a lot of other resorts.”
“Boarding for Flight 1604 has closed,” the agent intoned into the mic, sealing her decision.
Riley took a few breaths, stunned at her own daring. “There are a lot of places to stay,” she said with a nod, “but, um… My luggage just headed to New York. I’ll have to call my mom and have them pick it up or something. I need to let them know I’m staying longer, so they don’t send over the National Guard or anything. They get a bit freaked out when things don’t match their stupid calendars. Dad lost his day planner once, and I thought he was going to have a stroke.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t want that.”
Riley took the hand Gray held out toward her, and the same little quivers of excitement she felt every time he touched her ran through her body. Her heart thumped and pounded. She was doing it. She had made a decision of her own, one she knew would distance her from her parents and would likely not meet their approval. She wasn’t sorry, though, no matter how scared she was.
“I’m gonna have to buy some clothes, I guess,” she said. Or not, she thought with a sly grin, as she had no problem wearing next to nothing around him.
His lips canted upward, and his eyes shone. “Yeah.”
Her heart pounded far too quickly at the sight of his adorable expression and at the thought of her own fantasies, and she wondered if she was going to be the one to have a stroke after all.
Gray led Riley out of the airport and into the bright dazzle of sunlight.
Riley dug around in her purse and found her sunglasses. “I really do have to call my mom.”
He nodded. “You wanna do that now?”
Her smile was rueful. “No, not so close to the airport.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He nodded, and they climbed into the vehicle. “You’ve been doing things wrong here, you know,” he said as he started the car.
She lifted her eyebrows above the frame of her shades. “I have?”
He grinned. “Yep. You’ve been acting like a tourist. You can’t really appreciate the place until you see it like a local.”
“I see.” She gave him a sunny grin. “How does one live like a local exactly?”
He smiled back. “Well, for starters, you have to buy your clothes from the stores on the other side of the bridge, this side.”
Amused, she asked, “Is that right?”
&n
bsp; He nodded. “Uh-huh. See, none of us would dare buy any of those corny shirts from the beach side, not even if we live there.”
Her lips quivered as she tried to suppress a laugh. He was speaking in solemn tones, but there was a grin tucked into the corners of his lips. “Oh, I see. Is that because those stores are for tourists?”
“Yes…and ridiculously expensive.” He gave her a long smile.
She wanted to tell him that money was the last thing she had to worry about, but something stopped her. She wanted to be a regular, ordinary person, and she had a feeling Gray was trying to set that mood, to strip away her obvious wealth and all the responsibility that went along with it. They both just wanted to be a normal couple, just a guy and a girl out in the world who didn’t know them as anything else.
They drove through a few seedy neighborhoods, jam-packed with houses that sagged and slumped under the sun and the waving fronds of the tall palms. The baking sun bathed everything in a white-hot glow. After they left the neighborhoods behind, they turned onto a longer two-lane that led past a cluster of small stores and used- tire places. Riley gazed out at them and understood for the first time that there was far more to the place than just the expensive gated resort life.
The two-lane merged onto a highway cluttered with chain stores and fancy condos. Gray went past them, turned down a little side street, then pulled into the parking lot of a run-down building, painted in coral and blue.
Riley gave the place a suspicious glance. “What is this?”
“Prepare to eat the best seafood lunch you’ve ever had.”
Riley wasn’t so sure; it looked more like the kind of place where she’d catch the worst case of food poisoning she’d ever had. Still, she trusted Gray and knew he knew the area, so she decided to just go with it. It was obvious Gray ate there and liked it, and he wasn’t dead yet.
When Gray swung the door open, Riley’s nose reflexively scrunched up in disapproval. The whole place reeked of fried onions and old bay spice, fish, and butter. Gray herded her toward a small greasy table, and Riley sat down gingerly in one of the rickety chairs, struggling to look enthused.
Gray chuckled. “It’s good, I swear.”
“I believe you…I think,” she said, reminding herself that he was alive and well.
Gray waved down a sour-faced waitress and asked for two sodas, then passed Riley a menu from behind a napkin holder. The menus were slick with grease, and she grimaced slightly as she perused the offerings. She finally settled on a shrimp po’boy, potato salad, and coleslaw, simply because it was the one meal she was sure she could believably pretend to be eating, just by pushing things around on her plate.
After their orders were placed, Gray reached across the table and took her hand in his. His fingers were warm and firm as he leaned across the table and grinned. “Riley, I can’t believe you’re here! I thought I’d lost you. Forever.” He blushed slightly and the color darkened his cheeks nicely. He smiled sheepishly. “I’m so glad you decided to stay. I do think you’d better call your mom and dad soon, though, just so they know you weren’t kidnapped or in a plane crash or, uh…whatever,” he said, casting a glance around the place.
Riley followed his gaze. The restaurant was dismayingly, even frighteningly empty, which didn’t reassure her about the quality of the food at all. She giggled. “You going to take me into the forest after this? Some Blair Witch kind of project?”
He chuckled. “The last thing we need is your face plastered all over the news and on the back of milk cartons.” He rolled his eyes mockingly. “My dad will definitely have a coronary then.”
“True. Mine, too.” She fished her purse off the back of the chair. “I’ll just step outside and make the call. I’ll be right back.”
It was the last thing Riley wanted to do, but she knew that not five seconds after that plane landed without her on it, all hell would break loose and New York City would never be the same. She found a slightly shady spot and scanned her surroundings to make sure nobody was within earshot before dialing her mother.
Clare Teeter answered the phone immediately. “Riley, dear, I just heard from Jen, Megan’s mother. She said Megan and Lorna left that resort days ago to go to Miami, and you stayed behind to take a commercial flight. Explain yourself please, young lady.” She didn’t bother asking if Riley was okay and just immediately demanded an explanation, and that roiled the dread within Riley.
Instantly the call was awful, but she had to tell the truth, or at least a feasible, watered-down version of it. “I sent my flight info yesterday.”
“Yes, I know, but that still does not explain—”
“Mom, I, uh… I missed my flight,” she fibbed.
“What?! How can you be so irresponsible, Riley?”
“I’m not, Mom. I just—”
“I’ll send the plane, and someone will collect your luggage at the airport,” Clare cut in, her voice decisive and crisp, with no room for argument in it.
“No, Mom.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“No to the plane, but yes, please send someone to grab my bags from the airport. We wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands,” Riley said, knowing full well that her mother might leave her things there out of spite and sheer malice, unless it came down to protecting her reputation and covering their collective Teeter asses.
“Are you on another flight?”
“No,” Riley said, tightening her grip on the phone. Her dread spiked higher, so high that she felt slightly dizzy.
“Then where are you?”
“I’m still here. I’ve decided to stay on for a few more days.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Riley cleared her throat. “I’m okay, Mom. I’m just not ready to come home yet. I-I’ve got some thinking to do.”
“Thinking? About what exactly?” Clare asked, sounding alarmed and insulted all at once, as if the mere notion of her daughter having a mind of her own was some sort of unfathomable impossibility.
In spite of the old adage, Riley knew the truth would not necessarily set her free…especially the truth about being with Gray. If she told her mother what was really going on, her parents would do their best to see to it that she could not take control of her trust. They would ultimately fail on that mission, but in the meantime they could tie it up in red tape and a bevy of attorneys and paperwork for years to come. Riley was no longer willing to play those kinds of games, nor would she allow them to hold their power over her head. She wasn’t sure whether that had changed when she left the airport or the moment she walked away from the resort with Gray and shook off the landlords, but it felt good either way.
“Please, Mother.” She decided to try the ‘I’m an adult now’ kind of tone. “I just graduated, and I’ve never been on my own in any way. I need to breathe and take a moment. Enjoy the break. Till now I’ve always been surrounded by everyone, and other people have made all the decisions for me. I just want a few days to do that for myself before I come home, okay?” she asked, then held her breath as she awaited the answer.
“Have you lost your mind?” Clare said, her voice dripping with disappointment and disbelief. “You are needed here. We have a party to attend tomorrow evening, and you’re supposed to be in attendance. Also, Luke Moore is back from Europe and is very much looking forward to seeing you.”
Luke, Riley thought with an audible sigh. He was the one, the guy her parents would have gladly sold their souls to see her marry. Heck, if their souls wouldn’t seal that deal, they’d be willing to sell me into that marriage even if it isn’t what I want, she thought bitterly, knowing every bit of it was true.
She glanced back through the window of the seafood place and saw Gray fumbling with a sugar packet. “Give Luke my apologies, Mom, and please don’t fight me on this. I’m only asking for a few more days. Not once in my life have I asked you for anything before this trip. I’ve been under pressure for years, and I need a break. I’ll be home in a few days, and everythin
g will be fine.” Or not… Of course, she decided against uttering the last two words, even though she had serious doubts that things would ever be all right between her and her parents again.
“I’ll give you three days,” Clare said through clenched teeth. “I mean it, Riley. Three days. You were fortunate enough to be born into a nice position in life, but that requires you to be present and responsible and I will not allow you to act otherwise.”
Never mind that I’m 22, a college graduate, and a human being not a damn marionette with no emotions or wants or needs of my own, Riley seethed silently. “Yes, Mother. I’ll see you then. Goodbye,” she said, with no conviction in her voice whatsoever.
When she hung up she noticed that her hands were shaking, and little rainbows were dancing in the corners of her vision. She didn’t enjoy her mother speaking to her in that tone, but her mother never failed to sound bossy and condescending; her terms of endearment always sounded like terms of enslavement. It seemed nothing Riley ever did was what they wanted, expected, or demanded of her, as it was impossible to please them, and she knew it would always be that way. She would never measure up to their impossible expectations, and all she was doing by trying was wasting her time. Their vicarious lives were costing her a real, valid one, and she was ready to put an end to that. Hopefully she’d made the right decision in staying.
That thought of never measuring up to her parents depressed her so much that it took everything she had to walk back into the restaurant. Is this even worth it? she wondered. She wanted to think it was, but honestly she barely knew Gray, and the whole thing might just turn out to be some summer fling that would cost her everything she’d ever gained.
Chapter 16
Riley’s face said it all. She was upset.
Gray watched her slide back into her chair and hook her purse across the back of it without a word. He tried to gauge her mood and conjure up the right words to say, but nothing came to mind. He was grateful when their food arrived as a temporary distraction, for in the few moments that it took the grouchy waitress to set the heaping plates of steaming seafood fare down in front of them, he managed to gather himself and ask, “You okay?” He was sure the answer was no, and her wan smile didn’t assure him at all.