Who Needs Boys

by Stephanie Rowe

  "Ready?" he asked.

  But as I looked at him standing there with his supplies, I realized he was cute. Not cute like Rand, but cute, like he should be nice and make me smile. I wanted him to smile at me. Just once. Because he meant it.

  He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me. "What?"

  "Nothing." I picked up my supplies and dumped them in the wheelbarrow. "Where to?"

  "Tomatoes."

  Well, that was good at least. I love tomatoes.

  * * *

  I hate tomatoes. I hate those stupid stakes and those little ties and that stupid fertilizer and the murderous hose and everything about a stupid farm.

  I'd been working side by side with Tad for two weeks, and nothing had improved. He was still annoyed to be stuck with me, I wasn't getting the hang of this farming business, and I'd done no more than exchange a few flirting comments with Rand, who seemed to be working on a different part of the farm.

  So basically, my summer had not been the amazing replacement for L.A that it was supposed to have been. It actually kind of sucked.

  At the moment, I was lying on my back staring up at the blue sky, having tripped myself with the hose. Water was currently shooting up the left side of my jeans, turning my resting place into a deep puddle of mud, and I didn't care.

  I was done.

  With any luck, the mud would turn into quicksand and I would slowly sink below the earth and find peace.

  My sun turned to shade as Tad walked over and blocked my rays. He peered down at me, with a furrow in his brow, that I realized was really cute. Oh, man, I did not need to be thinking he was cute!

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Fine. I'm taking a break."

  "In the mud?"

  "I was too clean."

  He laughed and held out his hand. "I'll help you up."

  I frowned. "Why are you being nice?" No doubt, he had some ulterior motive for that offer to haul me out of the mud. No way was I was going to be foolish enough to believe that he actually wanted to pull me out of the mud.

  His smile faded and he let his hand drop. "You really think I'm mean?"

  "To me." The mud was gooshing around me and I realized how stupid I was being. As if lying in mud solved any of my problems.

  "Allie!" Rand appeared next to Tad. "What happened?"

  There was genuine concern on his face, so I smiled. "I had a fight with the hose. I lost."

  "I guess." Without waiting for my consent, Rand grabbed me under the arms and pulled me to my feet. What a guy. Taking charge to rescue me. That's what I needed. "You're a mess," he said, but his eyes were twinkling, and he didn't look too disgusted.

  "Thanks." Nice of him to point that out.

  "No." He brushed the back of his hand over my cheek. "In a cute way."

  "Oh." I felt my cheeks heat up and a huge grin suddenly took over my face. "Okay, then."

  Tad rolled his eyes and made some annoyed noise. I considered sticking my tongue out at him, but decided to rise above it. He then retrieved the hose. "Turn around."

  I eyed the gushing water. "You're going to hose me off?"

  "You want to stay muddy all day?"

  "Well, no, but..." I looked at Rand. Was this normal operating procedure? Rand looked amused, but I couldn't tell if they were making fun of me or if they always hosed off muddy people on a farm. I hated feeling so unsure of myself. I'd never felt so uncertain around boys before. It was all my dad's fault. He'd totally screwed me up.

  At that moment, Natalie walked around the corner carrying a basket of corn. She took a quick assessment of the situation, then dropped the basket and walked over. "You going to hose her off?"

  Tad raised a brow. "Hey, Natalie."

  She nodded. "Get me too. I'm broiling." She stood next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. "Have at it." She gave me a wink and turned us around so our backs were to the boys.

  The cold water knocked the breath out of me, and I saw Natalie's mouth snap open in shock. After a moment, she grinned at me. "Fun, huh?"

  "Fun?" With goosebumps shooting down my spine and mud streaming down my arms, I wasn't sure that "fun" was quite the word I would have selected.

  She leaned closer, bracing herself against the onslaught of water hitting our backs. "You're on a farm," she whispered. "You need to loosen up and have some fun. Show Tad that you're more than a manicure and expensive sandals."

  "I'm not doing this for Tad," I muttered, spitting out a mouthful of water when the stream hit my face. I was pretty sure I heard a couple of male snickers.

  "The bet is on with Blue and Frances," Natalie said. "And I hate to lose. So you will do as I say and make Tad realize how great you really are, because you really are amazing."

  "Really?" I stared at her, and my throat tightened up. I could tell she meant it.

  "Of course." She raised her voice. "You guys seem to be having fun." She lowered her voice as they laughed again. "Take the hose and squirt them back."

  "What? No ..."

  She turned us around, and we both got a faceful of water. Rand was holding the hose now, and he was looking thoroughly entertained. Tad was standing next to him, looking unsure. Probably afraid I was going to attack him or something.

  Natalie elbowed me, and I saw that the hose was on the ground next to my foot. It would be so easy to grab it and then yank the nozzle out of Rand's hands before he realized what was going on. I looked at Tad, and felt no inspiration. Then I saw the amusement on Rand's face and I knew that this was no longer about mud.

  Forget Tad. I was in this for Rand.

  So I pretended to tie my shoe—got my head drenched with water in the process—then I grabbed the hose and gave it a hard yank.

  It immediately flew out of Rand's hand. Natalie dove on it and we both aimed it right at the boys. Well, I was aiming for Rand and Natalie was aiming for Tad, so they both got a full frontal dose of water. Rand howled, and I started laughing. He looked so outraged it was hilarious.

  Even Tad was laughing a little bit. Didn't mean I liked him or anything.

  "What's going on out here?" Mr. Novak's shout was enough to make us drop the hose instantly.

  I wiped my soggy hair out of my eyes and pulled my wet shirt away from my body. "I fell in the mud and they were hosing me off."

  Mr. Novak looked at the wet group and I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitching. "Did all of you fall in the mud?"

  Natalie grinned. "Just Allie. The rest of us were screwing around."

  Natalie! I stepped on her foot and glared at her. She was so going to get us busted.

  But Mr. Novak had eyes only for Tad. "You disappoint me."

  The laugher faded from his eyes and he looked annoyed again. Hey! It wasn't my fault. "She was muddy. I was just hosing her off."

  Natalie was still dripping, and Tad and Rand were soaked. I wondered if my makeup had run all over my face. Either I had raccoon eyes, or it was totally gone. Either way, I wasn't exactly a fashionista anymore.

  Mr. Novak lifted a brow. "Save the water fights for after hours, okay? Hosing off is fine. Anything more is not. Got it?"

  We all nodded, and I tensed as I waited for him to fire me. All he needed was an excuse to send me packing.

  "Well, get back to work." Mr. Novak gave us a stern look that was softened a little by the amused gleam I detected in his eyes. "And all of you have to work out back today. You'll scare the customers."

  That's it? I wasn't in serious trouble? I looked at Natalie, who was grinning even as water dripped from her chin. "Well, I feel much better now. No longer in danger of melting," she announced. "Appreciate the hosing, guys."

  She picked up her basket of corn. "See you guys around."

  "Are we still running after work?" Tad asked.

  "Yep." She gave me a wink. "See ya."

  She left me with Rand and Tad. Rand made a face at me. "I can't believe you squirted me."

  Back in my comfort zone. Flirting with a guy. I set my hands on my hips
and tossed my wet hair. "Am I too much for you?"

  He lifted a brow. "Not a chance. Got plans for Friday?"

  Tad narrowed his eyes and turned away to begin rolling up the hose.

  "Maybe. Why?" Never make it easy for a guy. It's the Allie strategy.

  "Want to go to a party?" Rand asked.

  Um, yeah. Of course! Not that I'd say that, naturally. "With you?" I asked, feigning reluctance.

  Tad made a loud crash when he threw the hose against the building.

  "Yeah. Any interest?" Rand asked.

  Amazing. He was asking me out when I was sopping wet with limp hair and no makeup. Probably because my shirt was clinging to my body and because he remembered what I looked like when I cleaned up. He certainly wouldn't be interested if I was just a soppy, makeup-less girl. "I'll have to check my schedule. I'll let you know tomorrow."

  "Allie, we have to get to work. Are you ready?" Tad shoved my gloves into my hand.

  Great. The hostility was back in Tad's voice. I shot Rand an apologetic glance, and then I left him standing there. It was good to keep Rand on a string, even if it did mean I was once again alone with Tad.

  I fell in beside Tad, my feet making these loud squishing noises with each step. He said nothing, and neither did I.

  I couldn't think of a single thing to say. Since when did I get tongue-tied around boys? I never cared what I said. If they liked me, great. If they didn't, who needed them? Plenty of others around.

  So why was Tad different?

  It couldn't be the bet. I wasn't even going to participate in it.

  He stopped in the middle of another field. "Carrots again."

  Carrots. I hated carrots. Not that it mattered. I dropped to my knees and began digging.

  Tad didn't move to the next row. Instead, he worked beside me. We filled crate after crate together. After a while, he cleared his throat. "Are you mad about the hose?"

  I eyed him. Was he hoping I'd be mad? Would that be a sign that he'd successfully messed with me? Or was he feeling bad? He was concentrating on the carrots, though, so I couldn't see his face. Forced to answer without knowing his motivation, I decided to go with the truth. "I'm not mad. I thought it was kind of funny actually. At least it was when you guys got wet. Rand looked so mad, it was hilarious."

  He manhandled a bunch of carrots out of the dirt. "You like Rand?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. You like Natalie?"

  He looked up quickly. "You mean, like her?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Is that what she thinks?"

  "No. She thinks you're just friends. I think you like her." Discussing his liking of Natalie wasn't top on my list of conversation topics, but at least he was communicating with me. It was a start.

  He glanced at me. "She's nice. Fun."

  "I can be fun." I yanked at a carrot and threw it in the crate. And I did notice that he didn't confirm or deny whether he liked her.

  After a few more minutes of silence, I sat back on my heels and rested my muddy gloves on my thighs. These jeans were so toast. "Can I ask you something?"

  He didn't look up. "Sure."

  "Why don't you like me?" At his sharp look, I added, "Not like as in like like, just like."

  He was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer. But finally he said, "I'm here to work. When I saw you the first day, you looked like you'd be afraid of hard work and avoid it. I figured you'd slow me down and complain all day."

  "And now?"

  He grinned. "You do slow me down."

  "And the complaining?"

  "Not as bad as I thought."

  I nodded and felt better. I even caught myself smiling a little bit while I dug out the next bunch carrots. Who knew? Maybe I was learning to like carrots. Yeah… that must be it.

  * * *

  My friends and I went to my house for pizza after work. Blue's mom had offered to cook us dinner but we were too hungry to survive on her food. The organic vegetarian stuff was hard to take sometimes. Plus Colin and Theo liked to hang out at my house where there were no parents around. It cramped their style to be hanging around Blue's parents, especially Theo, who was Blue's brother.

  We hadn't even started eating when Natalie brought up that sordid topic. "So, what are the terms of the wager? You can't keep avoiding the topic forever, Allie."

  Colin looked interested. "What's the wager?"

  Oh, no. We couldn't tell the boys that there was a guy who hated me! "Natalie—"

  "There's this guy at work named Tad who doesn't like Allie. Blue and Frances said you two claimed there are guys who are immune to her charms, and they think Tad is one of them. I disagree. So we have a wager about whether she'll win him over by the end of the summer."

  I shoved a piece of cheese pizza in my mouth and ignored everyone.

  "So, is it true?" Natalie asked Colin and Theo. "You two don't have the hots for Allie?"

  Theo rolled his eyes. "What are you trying to do, get us in trouble? Either we insult our girlfriends' best friend or we say we like someone other than our girlfriends? No way."

  Colin nodded his agreement. "Dangerous topic. I'm staying out of it." He shot Blue a look that suggested he wasn't too high on the subject, which made me think that he really had said that about me in the first place and didn't want me to know.

  Not that I was interested in Colin, but had he really told Blue that there was nothing appealing about me? Nothing too warm and fuzzy about that.

  The pizza suddenly tasted like cardboard, and I set it down.

  "So, what's the wager?" Natalie repeated. "We need some high stakes."

  Blue grinned. "The losers have to stuff their bras on the first day of school for the whole day."

  I couldn't help but laugh, but Natalie looked horrified. "No way."

  Yeah, I guess the stakes would be higher at her coed school than my all-girls school. Still, it would be hysterical at either place.

  "Afraid you'll lose, Nat?" Blue said.

  Natalie sat up. "Of course not."

  Frances squirmed in her chair. "I'm not so sure about this stuffed bra thing. Can't we do something less public?"

  "Plus, Allie's laughing at the idea. If she doesn't care, then she's not going to be inspired to win," Natalie said.

  "Give me a break. The glory of getting the guy will be enough for her," Blue said.

  "Oh, really?" I sat up. "Have you ever seen me go after a guy after he's shown no interest? Ever? Have I ever spent one minute on a guy who didn't return the interest?"

  "You don't spend more than one minute even on guys who do return the interest," Frances said.

  She had a point. "Besides, I'm not going after Tad," I said. "Rand already asked me to a party this weekend."

  Theo held up his hand. "Wait a sec. Rand and Tad? Their last name wouldn't be Novak, would it?"

  Something clunked in my gut, and I looked at Theo. "The owner of the farm stand is named Mr. Novak. Sam Novak. But I don't know Tad and Rand's last names." I looked at my friends, who all shrugged.

  "It's gotta be the same ones," Theo muttered.

  "Same who?" Theo went to the public school in town, so he knew lots of guys that I didn’t, courtesy of my incarceration at an all-girl’s school.

  "The Novaks. There's a Rand Novak who plays lacrosse for Medfield. And I think his younger brother is a runner. Tad, right?" Theo rubbed his chin. "Rand's really good. Can't stand the guy. Got in my way every time we played them."

  Tad and Rand were brothers? Seriously?

  "What about Sam Novak?" Frances asked. "Do you know him?"

  Theo looked thoughtful. "I think he might be Rand's brother too. There are a bunch of kids in that family, with a big age range. Could be an uncle or something, I guess. How old is he?"

  "He graduated from college three years ago," I said. I'd made a point of finding out about Mr. Novak when he showed up on the first day of Latin class. He was hot and young and I'd needed the scoop.

  "Could be a brother, then,"
Theo said. "I think Tad's the youngest."

  No way. This was crazy!

  Natalie looked thrilled. "Well, given that Rand has the hots for Allie and Mr. Novak wants to fire both of us, it makes things even more interesting if they're all related. Throw in some brotherly competition, and who knows what will happen? I say this bet is on, only we'll make it that the losers have to stuff their bras at the first school dance of the year. That way everyone has to do it around boys."

  There was a general murmur of assent for the terms, but I was too busy digesting the new information.

  Rand, Tad and Mr. Novak. All brothers.

  I wasn't sure where that left me.

  Not sure at all.

  Chapter Five

  We'd been cutting flowers for three hours before I drummed up the nerve to ask Tad whether Rand and Mr. Novak were his brothers. He'd been halfway decent all morning, though he had rolled his eyes at my tube top.

  I refused to dress like a dirt heap just to impress him. I liked looking good. In fact, it was the only thing I could do to try to make people like me, so if I stopped taking care with my appearance, then what? I'd just be another loser with parents who didn't care and no boyfriend or talents whatsoever.

  So I painted my nails to match my shirt, curled my hair, put on my makeup and went to work cutting flowers. Until I couldn't stand it anymore. "Are you and Rand brothers?"

  His shoulders tensed and he nodded.

  I waited for him to say something else, but he didn't.

  "Is Sam your brother too?"

  Another nod.

  "So, you're the youngest?"

  He looked at me. "Why do you care?"

  Yeesh. Nice hostility. Someone had a little baggage about his family. "Just making conversation."

  "Fine." He dropped a handful of flowers in the bucket. "You ready to take this back?"

  "Sure." I didn't know what I'd said to make him mad, but the truce of the morning was definitely gone.

  I followed him across the field with my trusty wheelbarrow. I'd tied red ribbons on the handles to make it cheerier, seeing as how I got the same one every day. I wasn't going to be afraid to admit I liked pretty things no matter how much it aggravated Tad.