Who Needs Boys

by Stephanie Rowe

  We reached a shed behind the main farm stand. Natalie, Blue and Frances were in there arranging flowers, and Rand was moving boxes.

  "We have more flowers," Tad announced.

  Rand was by my side in an instant, taking my wheelbarrow and pushing it the rest of the way. "How are you doing, Allie?"

  I grinned. "Great."

  "You look cute."

  Tad dropped his wheelbarrow with a loud thud. "So, Natalie, want to go camping this weekend?"

  I spun around to see Natalie's eyes widen in surprise, and then they narrowed in thought.

  "Camping with whom?" She made a pretense of picking extra leaves off the flower she was working on, but she wasn't fooling me. She was totally concentrating on Tad, and I could see she was trying to form a plan.

  Well, she could forget it if that plan included me. I'd stuff my bra in public long before I'd crawl along after someone who didn't want me.

  "My family," Tad said. "We're going up to Maine. My parents, a couple of my sisters and maybe some other people. I'm never sure exactly who is going to show up. Probably at least ten people, though."

  She rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead. "I don't know. I've never gone camping before."

  "It'll be fun." Tad glanced at me. "No running water, though."

  I almost stuck my tongue out at him. Like I couldn't survive without running water. Well, I mean, I'd never tried, but I was sure I could do it.

  "Well, I'll go if Allie goes," Natalie said.

  Yikes! What was that?

  Tad shot me a scowl, and I glared back. "I didn't tell her to say that," I said, lest he think I was angling to get him.

  "Hey, that's a good idea." Rand's hand settled on my shoulder and turned me toward him. "I'll go too."

  Now, that certainly changed things. "What about your party?"

  He shrugged. "This will be more fun. Maybe we can go swimming. Make sure you bring your bikini."

  Tad snorted and I felt my cheeks heat up. Rand was certainly making his thoughts about me clear. It was a little embarrassing in front of everyone else.

  "Great. It's a deal." Natalie nodded at Tad. "Allie and I will go."

  "Sweet." Rand gave me a private little smile that made my pedicure curl. "You been camping before?"

  "No." I didn't even glance at Tad, because I knew he'd be shooting me some disdainful look implying how pathetic I was for not being an outdoor nature girl.

  "Don't worry. We're all experts." He nodded at Tad. "We have enough extra supplies for them, don't we? They don't need to bring anything?"

  Tad shrugged. "I guess."

  What was his problem? Why was he so cranky about me coming? I really wasn't that bad. Really.

  Rand touched my arm. "All you need to pack is your personal supplies. Bring warm clothes and rain gear. And stuff for hot days in case we get good weather. We'll leave from work on Friday, so have your bag with you."

  I looked at Natalie. We were really doing this? Going off for the weekend with Rand and Tad? Granted, their parents were going to be there, but camping? Like in the woods? With no running water?

  I mean, Rand was cute and everything, but come on! Wasn't this going a little too far outside my comfort zone for a guy? Totally against my rules. I mean, wouldn't my mom freak about me going off camping with a bunch of people I didn't even know?

  No, she wouldn't. Neither would Dad. I could do whatever I wanted.

  Great.

  "So, you on?" Rand's hand was still on my arm, and he was looking at me. Wasn't that sweet? He wasn't taking Natalie's word as mine. He actually wanted to know how I felt about the whole camping shebang.

  I managed a smile. "Sure. I'll go."

  Rand nodded and flashed me a bone-melting grin. "Good."

  Tad sort of grimaced. "Great." Almost as an afterthought, he looked at Blue and Frances, who were nearly drooling with excitement over the discussion. "You guys want to come too? I'm sure we have enough tents."

  Frances immediately shook her head. "We have boyfriend obligations this weekend. But thanks for the offer."

  Blue nodded her agreement. "I'm not really the camping type. But you guys have fun. We'll look forward to a report."

  Yeah, I'm sure they would. They'd be snuggled with their boyfriends on a couch watching television while I was fighting off rabid bears trying to kill me.

  And to think, before my dad canceled on me, I'd been bummed that I'd miss out on summer in Boston with my friends. Even severe sunburn and a vomiting pregnant woman would have been better than this.

  "You want to back out?" Tad was studying me, and there was a hint of hope in his eyes.

  Fat chance of that. As if I'd ever admit to Tad I was worried about roughing it in the woods. I could handle sleeping in the great outdoors—as long as there were no bears!—and I was going to prove it. "No."

  He eyed me, and I eyed him back. "Fine."

  "Fine."

  Rand set his hand on Tad's shoulder. "Hey, little brother, chill out. I'll keep her occupied so she doesn't cramp your style."

  Tad shrugged Rand's hand off, grabbed his wheelbarrow and left, pausing in the doorway to bark at me. "Coming?"

  "Wouldn't miss out on a chance to spend more quality time with you." My sarcasm was lost on Tad, though, as he was already gone. I glowered at the door briefly before turning to smile sweetly at Rand. Then I picked up my wheelbarrow and went to find Tad.

  Yes, I was really looking forward to this weekend. Not. How did I get myself into these situations?

  * * *

  My mom came into my room Thursday night when I was packing. Her highlighted hair was perfectly curled to accent her cheekbones, and she had on a cute little workout outfit. Black stretch pants, a sports bra and new Nikes. I had to admit, she looked awesome. "Hi, Allie."

  It was the first time I'd seen her in three days. "What are you doing home?" I didn't ask it to be mean. I was honestly surprised to see her.

  "Jack had plans with his daughter tonight."

  "Who's Jack?" I picked up a pair of ugly gray wool socks. Fashion or comfort? I decided to throw them in the duffel bag. I didn't have to show them to anyone, but I didn't want to freeze to death up there. Maine. The woods. At night. In a tent. Um… how exactly had I managed to agree to that?

  My mom sat on my bed, right on top of my cute tops. "Jack is the man I've been seeing."

  "Only one? What happened to all the others?" I tugged my clothes out from under her bum and set them in the duffel. Three short-sleeved shirts. Was that enough? Maybe more. What if I got dirty?

  She handed me my jeans. "There's been only one guy for a while. I think you should meet him."

  "Really?" For a moment, I was curious. What kind of guy could get my mom to settle down? She liked being single as much as I did.

  "He wants us all to go to dinner on Friday night. He'll bring his daughter and then you and I will join them."

  "His daughter?" My stomach instantly congealed into a lump. So that's where my mom had been lately? Hanging out with Jack and his daughter? Instead of her own daughter, she was being a mom to someone else's kid? Wow. That was a blow. I kept my voice level as I tucked a couple of sweatshirts in the bag. "You know his daughter well?"

  "Oh, yes. She's darling. You'll love her. She's going into tenth grade like you. She's a very talented athlete. In fact, she plays varsity softball."

  I put a pair of boots in my bag, trying not to let my mom see how much my hands were shaking. "You've gone to watch her play?" I could barely keep my voice from squeaking, I was so upset. I couldn't believe it. It was one thing to lose her to guys, because I understood that. But to lose her to someone else's daughter? My chest started to hurt and I couldn't breathe.

  "Several times. She's really good." My mom handed me my bathing suit, lifting her eyebrow at the skimpy nature of it. "You wear this in public?"

  "Yep." I snatched it from her and shoved it into my bag. "How else am I going to get boys to look at my breasts?"

&n
bsp; The shock factor worked, and my mom looked startled. "Is that what your goal is? To have boys look at your breasts?"

  "Yep." I shoved a couple of bras into my bag, then retrieved a beach towel from under my sink. "Isn't that what you taught me? Live for boys gawking at my body? I mean, what else is there in life besides divorcing your husband and then hooking up with as many men as possible? Oh, I mean, other than playing softball. Apparently, there is that, and I missed the boat. How could I have been so silly not to have realized how important softball was? I mean—"

  "Allie!" my mom snapped. "Enough of that."

  I slammed the towel into my bag. "Forget it. You've lost the right to be my mother. Dropping into my room once a week to judge my clothes, tell me about your boyfriend and his awesome daughter doesn't satisfy the minimum requirements of being a mom."

  "Allie Morrison, you will not talk to me that way." She was on her feet now, and her cheeks were red.

  Good! Let her get upset! "I can't go meet Jack and his precious daughter because I'm going away this weekend," I snapped. "Camping."

  "Where? With whom?"

  "If you were a part of my life, you'd know the answer to that." I zipped up my bag. "Ask Natalie's mom. She's met them." Natalie's mom had made a point of introducing herself to Mr. Novak, Tad and Rand on her carpool day this week. Apparently, Mr. Novak had satisfied her, because she'd given Natalie permission to go. After, of course, she'd talked to their mom on the phone.

  "Natalie's mom?" My mom looked confused. "What does she know?"

  "A lot more than you." I slung my bag over my shoulder. "I'm going to sleep at Blue's tonight." I hadn't planned to sleep over at Blue's, but I wasn't in the mood to be home. Besides, if I stuck around, my mom might decide to play mom and try to ban me from going camping.

  As much as I didn't want to hang around wild animals and dirt and a boy who didn't like me, it was suddenly looking extremely appealing. Let's see. Go camping or go to dinner with my mom and her new boyfriend and his wonderful daughter who had won over my mom’s heart?

  Gee. Such a tough decision.

  "Allie, you aren't going out tonight," my mom said. "You're going to stay here and talk to me."

  I looked at her. Did she really care? Did she actually want me around? Or was it an ego thing? Did she not want to have to admit to Jack that she had no relationship with her own daughter anymore? "Why do you want me to stay?"

  She frowned. "Because you can't walk out on me like this."

  So, it was the ego. Good to know. Silly of me to think it might be because she actually wanted me around.

  "If you go out tonight, I won't let you go camping," she warned.

  "Really?" How could she stop me? It would require her to stay home and keep an eye on me, and we both knew that wasn't going to happen.

  My mom hesitated. "Stay here tonight, Allie. Catch me up on your life."

  "You're my mom. You're supposed to be caught up."

  "That's what I want. Stay and talk."

  "You want me to talk? Fine. I'll talk." I threw my bag to the floor. "Do you have any idea how upset I was when Dad cancelled on me? I needed you, and you were off with someone else's kid instead of your own. That's when I needed to talk, and you were not here."

  My mom had the decency to look embarrassed. "Oh, Allie. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you say anything?"

  "How could I? I never see you." I picked up my bag again and blinked back my stupid tears. "I'm going over to Blue's house. I'm leaving for camping straight from work, so I'll see you Sunday night. If you're around."

  I wanted her to stop me when I walked out. I wanted her to grab me by the arm and order me to my room. To shout that she loved me and she was my mother and nothing was going to change that.

  But she didn't.

  She let me go.

  Probably figured she could go see Jack and his stupid daughter since I wasn't going to be around.

  * * *

  When I got to Blue's house, she was out on a date with Colin, and Theo was out with Frances.

  So I played Xbox with her nine-year-old sister Marissa, ate health food with her parents for dinner, and then went to sleep in their guest room.

  Great night. If Tad could see me now, he'd really think I was pathetic.

  * * *

  The next day after work, Rand threw my bags in the back of his pickup, along with his duffel, Tad's huge backpack, Natalie's gym bag, and a bunch of camping equipment. And you know what? Despite the thought of bugs creeping into my sleeping bag and bats dive-bombing my head at night, I was kind of excited to go.

  Who cared if Tad didn't like me? Rand did, and that was kind of fun.

  "Shotgun," Natalie yelled, elbowing me out of the way as she dove into the front seat. Seeing as how Rand was the only one with a driver's license, that meant Tad and I would be in the backseat together.

  Except Rand caught her arm. "Why don't you sit in back with Tad?"

  Yes, that's right. I didn't want to be snuggled down with an Allie-hater.

  Natalie fluttered her eyelashes. "I get carsick in the backseat. Trust me, you don't want me riding back there."

  Total liar. She didn't get carsick. "Natalie. Get in the back."

  She glared at me. "You want me to lose, don't you?"

  "No, I just don't care about the stupid bet." And I wasn't about to sit in the back of the truck with Tad for four hours. Rand was my man, and I was giving him my full attention.

  "What bet?" Rand asked.

  "Yeah, what bet?" Tad echoed.

  Um...

  "I'll get in back." Natalie pulled open the backdoor of the extended cab and slipped into the small, backseat of the pickup. "Come on, Tad."

  Tad flashed me a look, but he climbed in.

  Good. Let them be all cozy. I wasn't interested in some up close and personal time with Tad. In fact, I wasn't all that interested in close and cozy with anyone. I liked my space, which is why I was boyfriend-less. My choice, not because of a lack of suitors.

  Rand would be good for a fling and a keep-it-casual ego boost, which is what I needed.

  Mr. Hot opened my door for me and held out his hand. "Your chariot awaits."

  Total hunk. I put my hand in his and let him assist me into the truck. After all, once we'd finished working I'd changed into a fun little skirt that didn't work too well for climbing into pickup trucks.

  He settled me, and then tucked my legs in. "You look cute."

  I grinned. "Thanks."

  "She looks like she's going to a party, not camping," Tad said.

  My good feeling immediately faded and I threw a glare back at him. "Why can't you be nice?"

  He looked surprised. "I'm nice."

  "How is that nice?"

  Rand shut my door and walked around the front of the truck.

  "I just said you looked like you were going to a party. I wasn't disagreeing that you looked cute."

  I blinked. "So…you think I look cute?" I was so surprised that I actually blurted out the question.

  Tad opened his mouth to respond, then Rand pulled open the driver's door and got in. "Everyone all set?"

  Tad shut his mouth and leaned back in the seat. What had he been about to say? Would he have said he thought I was cute? Or would it have been some other insult?

  And why did I care anyway?

  I pondered that thought for the first hour of the ride. Well, I pondered it for part of the hour. The rest of the time I was listening to Tad and Natalie whisper in the back and feeling very, very lonely.

  Chapter Six

  "Anyone want to play a game?" Natalie spoke loud enough that it was apparent that those of us in the front seat were invited to respond. It was about time she remembered she was there with me. Wasn't she supposed to be working on Tad for me? What if she decided she liked him? Since he obviously liked her, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they'd become a couple.

  That would leave me as the only one of the four of us without a boyfriend.
/>   Which was how I wanted it. I didn't want a boyfriend. Why would I want to get tangled up with any one guy? It gave them too much power over me. My dad had made it quite evident that it was no good to depend too heavily on one guy. Independence and no commitment was the only way to go.

  That was why Rand was perfect for me. He had the aura of a player, yet he still thought I was cute. Casual but fun. Exactly what I wanted.

  "Sure, we'll play," Rand said.

  We will? I wasn't so sure about that. I kind of wanted to be crabby for a little longer.

  "Allie and I will be a team," Rand added.

  We will? I didn't hear myself agree to that one. I mean, yes, great that he wanted to be partners with me, but shouldn't he have at least given me that silent eyebrow raise to see if I was okay with it?

  "You want to partner up?" Tad asked Natalie. See? That was how it was supposed to be. Consultation before a decision was made. None of this making decisions for me.

  Natalie agreed despite me sending her mental vibes to the contrary.

  I turned around in my seat, annoyed to see that Natalie and Tad were actually touching shoulders. Granted, they had no choice because the seat was already small, plus there were camping supplies on the seat next to Tad, but still.

  It almost made me wish I'd let Natalie feign the carsickness. "What are we playing?"

  "Outburst. I brought it for the ride." Natalie handed me a scorecard. "Everyone know how to play?"

  "We don't." Rand again. What, were he and I the same person or something? Or maybe he'd decided I'd lost the ability to speak and think on my own. Either way, it was getting a little irritating.

  Yeah, okay, so I was definitely cranky girl right now. Why? Everything was going fine. I should be enjoying this, right? I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

  "Actually, I know how to play." I turned to Rand. "Each card has a topic, and then we have to guess what ten items are listed under that topic. Like, the topic might be 'colors' and then we'd list all the colors we could think of and hope we get all ten. And then we roll dice for bonus points. Plus you get three passes. If you pass, you have to do the next card no matter what, and the other team gets the one we passed on. Got it?"