Life in the No-Dating Zone

by Patricia B Tighe

  “Claire?”

  I jerked upward, banging my head against some lethal car part. “Ow!” I struggled to get out, my eyes filling with tears at the stinging on the back of my head. Someone took my elbow and helped me stand.

  “Sorry for surprising you. You okay?”

  Gray. The concern in his voice warmed my racing heart. Stop it, Claire. He’s just being friendly. “I will be.” I rubbed my head, then lifted my tank top strap to dab the tears away before they ruined my mascara.

  Gray made a strangled sound. “Uh—”

  Oops. Was seeing my bra strap rendering him speechless? If so, that was kind of crazy, and it was too dark to read his expression.

  He cleared his throat. “Are you crying?”

  Ah. Not a bra-strap problem, then. Just a guys-are-terrified-of-tears problem. “No. Bumping my head made my eyes water, that’s all.”

  He reached for my head. “Let me see.”

  Uh, no. Gray touching me was the last thing I needed. I stepped back. “That’s okay. It’ll be fine.” I slammed down the trunk lid. “You ready?”

  “Sure.”

  We headed across three front lawns toward Hatch’s house, an uncomfortable silence stretching out between us. It was like there was too much to talk about—the IHOP debacle, why he’d been scowling at me so much during breakfast—that it’d become this thing, this mountain we couldn’t climb over. And I hated the weirdness. I wanted the easy friendship back—the one we had before he touched my lips.

  “So,” Gray said, “you really think she’s going to get drunk?”

  Good, something to distract my thoughts from lip-touching. “Yeah, I mean, none of us really drink, so it’s not like it takes very much to get drunk. And Lindsey’s really upset about Adam. You here as a support is big. She won’t forget that. I’m glad you were able to come.” Great. I was starting to ramble.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  A simple answer, but there was an irritated tone to it. “Uh-oh. Is your mom making you do extra chores or something?”

  “Nah. My brothers and I just have to go out to lunch after church tomorrow with her and her husband. Usually we go straight home.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  He snorted. “You want to take my place?”

  We were close enough to the party lights for me to see him grinning. Something light and airy sprang up in my chest and I laughed. “No, thanks. Besides I’ve got my own after-church lunch to go to. It’s a weekly thing.”

  “I’d rather go to lunch with your family than mine.”

  No, no, no. Don’t say stuff like that. It made me want to invite him to do everything with us. With me. Man, I was hopeless. No matter how hard I fought it, I was thoroughly crushing on him. And it was going to be pretty painful if he actually did date Lindsey. I forced a laugh. “You know not of what you speak.”

  “What, Baby Jack get too wild or something?” he asked, raising his voice to compete with some nearby laughter.

  “Something like that.”

  We’d reached Hatch’s backyard. Muffled rock music filtered through the closed windows of the house—Hatch’s concession to the neighborhood of older people. He never played music outside. People hung out in the backyard anyway—usually the ones who preferred talking to dancing. And it’s where we were headed. Lindsey had figured Austin would be inside and she wanted to avoid getting caught as long as possible.

  We strolled down a sloping lawn bordered by trees dripping with white twinkle lights. Shouts and laughter came from about fifty yards away by the public boat launch. People were probably already swimming.

  I led Gray toward the fire pit on a small patio. Two girls had pulled lawn chairs over but the other ten or so people stood in a circle, talking and staring into the flames coming from the round, metal pit. We joined Lindsey, Rose, and Sam and the circle magically expanded to take us in.

  “Hey, y’all!” Lindsey said over-enthusiastically. “Glad you made it.” She squished us together in a group hug, gave us air kisses reeking of citrusy alcohol, then let us go.

  “You act like you haven’t seen us in weeks,” I said, watching Gray fist-bump Sam.

  She leaned close to my ear. “Thought y’all might be off somewhere in the dark together.”

  “Linds, give it a rest.”

  She giggled—a sure sign the alcohol was taking affect. Lindsey was not a giggler by nature. “Just sayin’. You could do worse, you know.”

  This had all the makings of a really long night. “Yeah, I know.”

  Lindsey finished off her can of hard lemonade. “I need another one of these.”

  “I’ll get it,” Sam said, taking the can from her.

  “I’ll go with you,” Gray said.

  The guys walked off and Rose drifted over to us. When we made eye contact, she held up one finger. We’d agreed she’d count Lindsey’s drinks—halfway through number four was the signal to start herding Lindsey to the car. But I wasn’t sure it would be so easy tonight.

  “Help me, Rose,” Lindsey said.

  “Do what?”

  “Convince Claire to make a move on Gray tonight.”

  I glanced over my shoulder, then exhaled hard. Thank goodness, the guys were still over by the drinks table. “Linds, new subject, please.”

  Rose smiled. “Why don’t you, Claire?”

  “Not you, too.”

  Lindsey glanced back at the guys, then leaned toward Rose. “Claire thinks Gray likes me.”

  “Really?” Rose eyed me. “I thought he liked you.”

  “Oh, come on. Can’t y’all see it? He’s really shy. He’s just hanging around me to get close to Lindsey.”

  “I doubt it,” Rose said.

  Lindsey swung her hand toward Rose. “Thank you. That’s what I keep saying, but she just ignores me.”

  I bit back a sigh. This wasn’t the time or place, if ever, to tell them how I was helping Gray in his Lindsey quest. I’d just have to steer them on to safer topics. From the corner of my eye I could see the guys heading our way. “Have both of y’all forgotten my vow?”

  “Oh, right,” Rose said.

  “Don’t even get me started on that stupidity,” Lindsey said. “You decided that when you were a scared little kid. Get over it already.”

  “I was thirteen,” I said. “And thanks for the support.”

  She scowled, but Sam appeared, holding out her drink. “Oh, fabulous,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said and took up his place next to Rose.

  Gray took a swig from his Coke, then leaned toward me. “She was frowning. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, just one of our long-standing arguments.”

  He raised his eyebrows, but I didn’t elaborate. There was no reason to tell him about my vow. None at all.

  “Lindsey?” a deep voice asked.

  She whirled around. A friend of Austin’s pulled her out of the fire circle and hugged her—a little too long in my opinion. They talked and laughed for a few minutes and then she came back to stand between Gray and Sam.

  That was the way things went for the next hour.

  We’d talk, some random guy would pluck her from us for a few minutes, and she’d come back smiling wider than ever. Twice, the guys tried to get her to go off with them, but one of us always managed to reel her back in.

  And even though she kept drinking, the male attention was probably more important. I could almost hear my father’s voice in my head. Her ego has taken a hit from Adam not coming home and she needs to know she’s still wanted. I’m a therapist’s daughter. What can I say?

  At some point, Sam had slipped behind Rose to hold her against his chest and occasionally rest his chin on her head. This, of course, meant Gray was now the lean-on guy. The more wobbly and giggly Lindsey grew, the more she clutched his forearm or shoulder for support. He talked and laughed at her jokes, looking more comfortable around her than I’d ever seen. He’d sure come a long way in the last wee
k. A hollow sensation started up in my chest. Maybe I could find another ride home. Anything to keep from watching them together.

  Lindsey was well into her fourth drink when the inevitable happened. She lost her balance and fell against Gray, forcing him backward, her can of hard lemonade flying off into the grass. Amazingly, he didn’t fall. They laughed, Lindsey cushioned against his chest, and then she slowly slid her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers.

  Twenty-Five

  Claire

  Lindsey kissed Gray hard. After a jolt of surprise, his stance relaxed and he slid his hands from her shoulders to her back, pressing her close.

  A roaring filled my ears like being inside an airplane taking off. Someone said, “uh-oh.” I think it was Sam, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Pain gushed in my chest almost doubling me over. I had to get out of there. I turned to Rose, who, no surprise, was watching me, her face full of concern. “Bathroom,” I said, though I’m not even sure I said it out loud. I didn’t wait for an answer, just headed for the house, tightening every muscle in my legs so I wouldn’t run.

  Once inside, even the heavy bass of the rap music didn’t break the roaring in my ears. It muffled every sound, like when I wore earplugs to a concert. I stumbled through the empty back room and into the heart of the party. A few couples were dancing, but mostly people sat or stood around, talking, laughing, drinking, smoking.

  I wormed my way around the press of bodies, breathing shallowly, trying to lock down the ache in my chest. If I took too deep of a breath, I knew it would come out as a sob. I just couldn’t do that. Not here.

  I was almost to the bathroom hallway, when something made me look across the room. Austin stared at me with a full-on glower. Crap. I couldn’t face him right now. He’d know something was wrong, and if he tried to console me, I’d break down. I knew it.

  I raced down the hall without looking back and whipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. Thank God it was empty. I got the peeing out of the way, washed my hands, and stared into the mirror.

  A stranger looked back at me. This girl couldn’t possibly be me. Her skin looked like she lived at the North Pole and her eyes had practically sunk into her skull.

  I pressed my hands against my cheeks. Stop it. You’re being ridiculous. Yes, it hurts, but you’ll get over it. You knew Gray liked Lindsey from the start. The only thing you could’ve done differently was to back out of helping him as soon as the crush started. But it’s too late now.

  Okay, maybe not completely too late. I could still back out and let Gray and Lindsey work out whatever was happening. I’d just have to wait and see whether Gray was going to end up just as hurt as I was. And then, maybe … But no. What was I thinking? I’d made a vow—I was not going to date. And even though the vow was starting to annoy me, I needed to cling to it.

  It might be the only thing keeping me sane.

  A knock on the door made me jump.

  “C’mon, Claire,” Austin said, “open up. You’ve been hiding long enough.”

  Right. This was it. I needed to face Austin. Maybe he could take me home.

  I pinched color back into my cheeks and looked around for my water bottle. I didn’t have it and didn’t remember bringing it inside with me. Great, just one more thing to make the night perfect. I rubbed my breastbone, then came out of the bathroom.

  Austin leaned against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. “I heard Lindsey was here. I didn’t know she’d roped you into it, too.”

  He’d practically shouted to be heard over the music, which sounded twice as loud as when I first came in the house. My ear roar had apparently gone away. I kept my gaze away from his. “A group of us came to take care of her.”

  “More than she deserves, but I appreciate it. Is she dru—” He shifted closer and spoke into my ear. “Are you okay? You look upset.”

  His light breath, which oddly didn’t smell like alcohol, made me shiver. I wasn’t sure I could speak, though. I waved my hand in the air.

  “C’mon, you can tell me. Wait.” He frowned. “Did one of my friends bother you?”

  I forced out a laugh, which made my throat hurt. “No. I’m fine, really. Just a little tired.”

  He stepped back and gave me a long look. “I don’t believe you. Y’all should go on home. She’s drunk, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Austin!” somebody called.

  He raised a hand but kept his gaze on me. “Could you please take her home?”

  “Okay.”

  “Austin!”

  He smiled. “Thanks, I gotta go.” He took my head in his hands, kissed me on the forehead, and left.

  Okay, so no ride from him. I’d just have to go back and face everybody—a thought that made me want to ninja my way out the front door never to return. But the whole pesky ride thing stopped me. I worked my way through the party to the back room and stared out the sliding glass door. The twinkle lights reflected against the glass, making it look like a fairyland outside. What I needed was a fairy to bonk me with her wand so I could believably act like there was nothing wrong. Because I was truly bad at faking feelings. But maybe if I gave myself a little more time, I could get everything under enough control to convince people I was just tired. If they bothered to ask, that is.

  One side of the room had an alcove with a small flowery couch and a reading lamp. I headed over, turned on the light, and dropped onto the soft cushions. Five minutes should do it. Just enough time to think about something else. Yeah, right. Images of Gray’s hands tightening on Lindsey’s back kept racing through my mind like a nightmare. I had to find something to occupy me.

  There was a low bookshelf filled with paperbacks, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. I pulled out my phone and opened the calendar app. Let’s see, how many times was I scheduled to babysit this week? I needed to figure out when I could go shopping for school supplies and stuff. Maybe a new outfit or pair of jeans would cheer me up.

  Okay, so I had the Peterson kids scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week, and then the Carters on Wednesday morning. So, other than helping with Baby Jack, I had plenty of time to shop. I set my glasses on top of my head and rubbed my temples. Man, I couldn’t wait to be home and in bed with a book.

  “Tired?” a deep voice said.

  I twitched. Just a bit. Some blurry guy plopped onto the couch next to me and stretched long legs out in front of him. Just when I was trying to have some alone time.

  “A little,” I said, and purposely stared down at my phone. Maybe he’d get the hint and go away.

  “Sean Hatcher,” he said, holding out a hand.

  Fabulous. A talker. I slid my glasses back onto my face and took his hand, which was warm and gentle. At least he didn’t try to squeeze my fingers together. “Claire Gardner.”

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Gardner.” He grinned as he released my hand with a caress.

  Okay, I may not be the most savvy girl where boys are concerned, but this one was definitely flirting. He had chocolaty brown eyes and short, straight dark hair. Maybe he was just what I needed—the perfect distraction. “Hatcher? You related to Hatch?”

  “He’s my older brother.”

  Hmm. If Hatch was twenty-three or so, this guy was probably nineteen or twenty. “So, do you call him Hatch, too?”

  “Yup. He’s been going by Hatch since middle school. Even our parents call him Hatch. Besides, if I called him Doug, he’d probably knock me down.”

  “Yeah, everyone hates being called Doug.”

  For half a second he looked surprised, but then he laughed. “Very true. So … you here with Austin?”

  “Austin? No, why?”

  “Saw y’all talking in there.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “You looked really … close.”

  I almost blushed, but it just wasn’t that embarrassing. I totally didn’t mind being mistaken for Austin’s date. “We are close, but not like that. I’m best friends
with his sister.” Who was probably still making out with a guy I had a crush on.

  “Uh-oh, there it is again,” he said.

  “What?”

  “That look on your face. The one you had when I came in. Kinda like you’re trying to gear yourself up for something.”

  Huh. He read people pretty well. “It’s nothing. I’m just in a weird mood.”

  “Problem?”

  There was no way I was telling this guy anything personal. “Not really. I just have a lot to do this week.”

  “You’re thinking about work? It’s a party. You shouldn’t be thinking about work.”

  The earnest B.S. in his voice made me smile. “What should I be thinking about, then?”

  His brows drew together. “Hmm. I’m not sure, but maybe … ”

  And before it sunk in that he was really taking this flirting stuff seriously, he pressed his warm lips against mine.

  Twenty-Six

  Gray

  She tasted like lemonade. And alcohol. But that didn’t matter. I was kissing Lindsey Taylor. Me, Mr. Ordinary. And I didn’t want to stop. She was warm and soft and everything I’d ever fantasized about. And she pressed against me like she never wanted to let go, her hands digging into my shoulders.

  I held on with everything I had, because even though we were both involved in the kiss, she was clearly the one in charge. I would never have tried to kiss her. I mean, she was popular, fun Lindsey Taylor. She already had a boyfriend. She was extroverted. I was intr— Wait! What was I doing? She was dating Adam Castro! I don’t kiss girls who have boyfriends.

  And almost as if she’d read my mind, she gasped, waited two seconds, then dove back into my mouth. I loosened my hold on her back. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t keep doing this. Yes, you can, my body screamed. She started it. Let her finish it!

  But she was drunk. Guilt burned in my gut. What a stand-up guy you are, Gray. Take advantage of the drunk girl, why don’t you?

  I took her face in my hands to gently push away. Tears wet her cheeks. That guilty burn turned into a fire. Talk about feeling like a jerk.