Who Needs Boys

by Stephanie Rowe

  He nodded. "Are you smart?" he asked me. "I don't like to lose."

  What kind of question was that? "I'm not an idiot." I wasn't a brainiac like Frances and I didn't study that much, but I wasn't a dumb blonde either.

  I noticed Tad didn't ask Natalie if she was smart. Either he didn't care if she was, or he assumed she was. Either way, I thought it was nice.

  Using the lid of the cooler to keep the dice from flying around, we rolled to see who went first, and the backseat won. So I pulled a card out of the stack and read the title. "Dog breeds."

  Natalie and Tad immediately ducked heads and whispered frantically, no doubt trying to see how many types they knew. I wished it didn't bug me that they seemed to be so cozy together. After a moment, Tad nodded. "We'll take it."

  "Right." I slid the card into the reader so I could see the answers. "Go."

  They managed to name eight of the breeds and got two bonus points from the dice. Good start. Jerks.

  Natalie and Tad gave each other a high five, then Tad pulled a card out of the stack. "Romantic comedy movies."

  "Chick flicks. We'll pass," Rand said.

  "Hey!" I glared at Rand. "I know those."

  Natalie grinned. "Too late. You already passed." She handed it to me to hold, then grinned at Tad. "I know all those."

  He smiled back. "You're obviously the secret weapon on our team." Tad pulled out the next card. "Ancient Roman leaders. You have to take it, since you passed on the last one."

  "Oh, great." I folded my arms across my chest and wrinkled my nose at Rand. "I suppose you know all these?"

  Rand shot me a look. "No, I don't."

  "Well, if you'd taken one second to consult me as your partner, then we could have gotten some points. I know way more romantic comedy movies than Roman leaders." Gee, this was fun. Natalie was getting all warm and cozy with Tad, who was being way nice, and I was stuck with Rand, who had some complex about being the macho man in charge of everything.

  The game didn't improve. Rand continued to play as if he were the only one on our team, while Natalie and Tad worked together, pooling their knowledge. They killed us and they had a great time.

  Me, on the other hand? I almost wished I was at dinner with my mom, her new boyfriend and his daughter.

  Well, maybe that was going a little too far, but I'd definitely rather be digging up carrots than watching a guy who didn't like me be so nice to my friend while his brother treated me like poop. Why wouldn't Tad treat me like he treated Natalie? He was nice. Sure, he was my age and therefore I wasn't interested in him, but everyone could use a friend, right? But I had plenty of friends, and I certainly didn't need him. I just needed to remember that.

  * * *

  By the time we reached the campsite, it was almost eight o'clock. Three other cars were already there, and a bunch of tents were set up. There had to have been at least ten people hanging around playing Frisbee, plus some kids and two dogs. Everyone looked like they were having fun, and I felt my earlier excitement return. "Are you related to all these people?"

  "Yep. Big family."

  "I guess." It was so different from my family. I wasn't sure I was ready for some huge family event. But I wanted to be. I wanted to laugh with them and have fun. I wanted to be a part of them.

  Rand opened my door and held out his hand to help me down. Okay, so, I could totally do this. I could fit in, right? "Give me a sec." I checked my makeup in his rearview mirror, fixed my hair and touched up my lip gloss. By the time I finished, Natalie and Tad were already in the middle of the group, and Rand was pulling bags out of the back.

  Was I supposed to hop down and force my way into the group? There were no other kids our age for me to gravitate to. Just a bunch of adults and some really small kids. If there had been boys, I would have known how to deal with that. But adults?

  Not so much.

  So I avoided all of them and went to help Rand unload, wishing someone would run up to me and invite me to play Frisbee. But no one really seemed to notice, except Rand, who grinned at me. "Looking good, Allie."

  "Thanks." I accepted two sleeping bags and tried not to watch Tad and Natalie laughing.

  "Let's set up over here. Tad and I'll put our tent next to you and Natalie." He dropped his load next to the woods at the edge of the clearing, a little bit away from the other tents. "Look good?"

  "I guess." I eyed the woods. Were there bears in these parts? Was having the tent so close to the forest a good idea?

  Natalie flung her arm around my shoulders, her face flushed and her eyes dancing. "Is this fun or what?"

  Envy flickered through me. Why couldn't I relax as easily as Natalie? "Yeah. Fun."

  Rand dropped a tent bag in front of us. "Have at it."

  "Have at it?" Natalie frowned at the bag, and I knew she had no more idea than I did how to put it up.

  "Everyone carries their own weight when we go camping." Rand tossed his tent about fifteen feet to the right. "Tad! Come set up!"

  Tad moseyed over and gave me a once-over that made me want to tear off my skirt and throw on sweatpants. "What's up?"

  Natalie answered. "We're putting up the tents, apparently."

  I almost laughed at the dubious look on her face as she stared at the package on the ground. "Maybe you and I should just sleep under the stars. We can probably figure out how to unroll a sleeping bag."

  She nodded slowly, then shook her head. "No, I want to learn. Let's have a contest."

  I raised my eyebrow. "I think the guys might win, given that neither of us has any idea about how to put up a tent."

  "No, we'll pair up with the guys." She looked mighty smug all of a sudden. "Since you and Rand are no match for Tad and me, we'll split up. You and Tad can team up, and I'll work with Rand."

  Yeah, good luck. As if Rand would let her touch the tent. Which gave me an idea... "How about the first one with the tent up wins? And the boys can't touch the tents. They have to tell us what to do." Not that I really wanted to put the tent up myself, but I thought it would be hysterical to take power away from Rand. I knew it would bug him, and for some reason, I was in the mood to annoy him.

  Couldn’t be because he’d refused to even let me open my mouth during the entire Outburst fiasco, could it? Nah.

  Natalie frowned. "I don't know about that. Don't you have to pound stakes and stuff?"

  "You can do it, Natalie." Tad said. "Rand's a good teacher."

  I nearly fell over. Did that mean Tad wasn't going to object to being paired with me?

  "I think Allie and I should try to redeem ourselves," Rand said. "We'll win this time."

  I looked at Rand, standing there looking all hot in his shorts and T-shirt, and I really didn't want to try to work with him. He winked at me, and I wanted to throw the sleeping bag at his head.

  Natalie glanced at me, and I tried to flick my eyes toward Rand and then give her the "I'm going to vomit" grimace.

  She grinned, and marched over to Rand. "Sorry, Rand, but I think Allie wants a chance to win this time, and as her friend, it's my duty to give her that opportunity."

  Rand eyed her. "You think Tad's better than me?"

  "Isn't he?"

  Next to me, Tad grinned. "You tell him, Nat."

  Nat? So they were on a nickname basis already? So adorable.

  Rand didn't look so amused. "My little brother can't beat me."

  Tad's grin faded, and his jaw tightened. Guess he didn't like the little brother tag. I wouldn't either.

  "Then you'll have to prove it, won't you?" Natalie flipped a glance over her shoulder at Tad and me. "Ready?"

  I nodded. "I guess."

  "Go!" She grabbed Rand's hand and dragged him over to their tent. He immediately bent over and grabbed for the bag. Natalie slapped his hand and Tad shouted, "For every infraction of the rules, add three minutes to your time."

  Rand glared at us, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry, little brother. I'll still crush you."

  Tad
shot him a look that wasn't all about brotherly love, then turned to the bag on the ground. He squatted down, grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me down next to him. "Okay, Allie, are you ready?"

  He touched me? Of his own free will? Sweet. "Sure." And suddenly, I was. I felt psyched and ready to go.

  He glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. "Listen, I know you have the hots for Rand, but losing to him won't make him like you more. The best way to get him is to make him lose. Nothing gets his interest more than a challenge."

  I tilted my head. "Are you sure you're not just telling me that because you don't want to lose?"

  He grinned. "Whatever gave you the idea I didn't want to lose?"

  "Oh, maybe the look on your face when he called you 'little brother?'"

  His smile faded. "He's just trying to embarrass me in front of you and Natalie."

  "Don't let him get to you."

  He lifted a brow.

  I shrugged. "Well, so what if you're his little brother? Plenty of hot guys are someone's little brother." I bit my lip. Did I really say that? Imply that Tad was a hot guy?

  His smile returned. "You're not half-bad, Allie Morrison."

  I smiled and got a warm feeling in my belly. "Back at you."

  He nodded at the bag. "When you're ready."

  I heard Rand curse at Natalie and I smiled more broadly. I was definitely going to owe Natalie after this one.

  But first, I was going to win this contest for the little brother.

  Ten minutes later, after we'd caught Rand for the third time with his hands on tent parts, Tad called for a referee. His dad and another brother came over to watch over each team, but within about five minutes, the rest of the family had decided we were the entertainment for the night.

  Nothing like watching two bumbling city girls trying to put up tents under pressure to generate some serious entertainment for everyone else.

  Tad and Rand's mom set up some lawn chairs and poured lemonade for the kids and handed out beer to the adults.

  I leaned in next to Tad for a confidential whisper. "I can't do this with everyone watching."

  "Sure you can." He pointed to a wooden thing. "That's a stake. We're going to need a hammer to pound it in."

  I picked it up, and heard the kids chanting Natalie's name. "No, seriously, Tad. I have no idea what I'm doing." For a girl who preferred to project total confidence, competence and independence, being on center stage as a bumbling fool wasn't exactly high on my list.

  Tad must have realized I was serious, because he put his arm around me and walked me away from the group for a second. "Allie."

  Wow. I totally liked having his arm draped across my shoulders. It made me feel like everything was going to be okay, like I wasn't alone in this craziness. "What?"

  He turned me toward him and put his hands on my shoulders. "First of all, you might not know about tents, but I do, right?"

  I'd never realized how long and dark his eyelashes were. "Yeah."

  "And Natalie knows no more than you, right?"

  "Definitely. She's clueless."

  He grinned. "And we know Rand's not going to be able to keep his hands off the tent parts, so they'll be incurring penalties constantly."

  I giggled. "That's true. Rand's kind of a control freak."

  Something flickered in his eyes. "You noticed?"

  "Of course I did. I was on his team for Outburst. How could I not notice?"

  He cocked his head, studying me intently. "And it bugs you?"

  I made a face. "Of course. It drove me nuts. Why?"

  "No reason." But he was grinning now, a real smile. Directed toward me. "Okay, so here's the deal. I'm a great teacher, and you're perfectly capable of putting up a tent. We'll work together and it'll be fine."

  I bit my lip. "But I'll look like a dork," I whispered. "In front of your whole family."

  He laughed then, but it was with warmth, not meanness. "Who cares? It's all about fun. We're not up in the woods of Maine for a beauty contest."

  Was that another slam on me because I liked to look good? Should I be offended? I really didn't want to have to be offended. I liked having Tad be nice to me, and I liked feeling good with him.

  Tad rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Allie. You look great, so stop worrying about it. Just have fun. That's what it's about." He grinned. "And it's about beating up on my brother."

  He thought I looked great? Really? I smiled back, totally psyched now. "Does he get cranky when he loses?"

  "Absolutely." Tad squeezed my shoulders. "You ready to have fun and not worry about what anyone else thinks? It's just you and me out there. Okay?"

  Me and him? A team? Having fun?

  A smile crept across my face. "Okay."

  He grinned. "Fantastic." Then he slung his arm around my shoulder and walked me back toward the pile of poles and blue nylon on the ground. And this time, it was he and I who were the tight-knit, cozy team, and it felt awesome.

  "You guys lost precious time," his mom said. She was in the lawn chair closest to us.

  "Strategy discussion," Tad said. "It's always important to have a plan."

  I grinned. He could have said his partner had had a complete breakdown and needed a pep talk, but he hadn't. He'd stuck with me.

  Rand shouted something at Natalie, and Tad nudged me with his shoulder. "So, Ms. Morrison, how about we build this sucker?"

  The crowd started chanting my name, and I grinned. "Let's do it."

  Chapter Seven

  "We're done!" Tad grabbed my hand and held it over my head. "Allie wins!"

  I grinned as the crowd cheered, and laughed as Rand threw down a hammer and glared at us. Natalie was grinning and clapping, and Tad looked very pleased.

  And I felt great. Great! I grinned at Tad. "It's because you're such a great teacher."

  He shrugged, but his eyes were still glowing. "I managed not to incur any penalties. That's a good start."

  Tad's mom stood up. "I think the losers have to clean up after dinner. Anyone disagree?"

  Only Rand and Natalie protested, but they were vastly outnumbered by the swarm of Novaks.

  A grill was unloaded from the back of one of the trucks and fired up. Hot dogs and hamburgers appeared, along with fruit salad, chips and corn on the cob. "How are you going to cook the corn?" I asked, not entirely sure how an ear of corn and a grill were supposed to get along.

  Rand grabbed the bag of corn. "We get it wet first. Come on." He took my hand and started walking away from camp with me.

  Tad was talking to Natalie, but I saw him stop talking and watch us walk away. I couldn't read his face, but he wasn't grinning.

  And suddenly I felt stupid walking off with Rand. I wanted to stay with everyone else. "Um, Rand, maybe I should stay and help."

  "We'll be back in five minutes," he said. "Besides, I haven't had a minute alone with you yet."

  Yeah, I'd noticed. And it hadn't bothered me a bit.

  Then I frowned. What was wrong with me? I was on this camping trip to be with Rand, wasn't I? He was seventeen, hot and thought I was cute. What else did I want in a guy? Nothing. It was all about Rand. So I smiled at him. "Well, let's go, then."

  He grinned back and led the way down a path to the edge of the lake. "We have to soak the corn so it doesn't catch fire on the grill. Then it gets grilled the way any burger would."

  "Really?" I kicked off my sandals and waded into the water. "It's so warm." The water was so clear I could see every grain of sand on the bottom of the lake. I didn't even know that a lake could be so clean. I'd always thought they were murky and greenish, but not this one. I scooped up some in my hands and tasted it. Total purity. "Wow."

  "Want to go swimming?" he asked, giving me a suggestive look.

  I stood up and folded my arms across my chest. "I don't have a suit on."

  "So? Who needs a suit?"

  Skinny-dipping? No way! "Rand!"

  He shrugged and toed off his sneakers. "Why not? We do
it all the time when we go camping."

  Yeah, well, I wasn't in the mood to be stripping in front of him. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen."

  He waded in after me and caught my hands. "Have I told you how cute you look in that outfit? It's the first time I've seen someone wear a skirt camping, but you carry it off." He trailed his hand over my thigh. "You have great legs."

  I shoved his hand away. "Thanks."

  He put his hand back on my thigh and cupped my chin with his other hand. "I've been wanting to kiss you all night."

  This was what I wanted, wasn't it? I mean, I kissed guys all the time. Lots of guys. So what was my problem? Since when did I not want to kiss a guy? It made no sense at all. Rand was perfect for me. Cute, old and going away to school in the fall, so I wouldn't have to get serious with him. Then I frowned. Or maybe he wasn't. I'd assumed he was Theo's age, but he could be going into his senior year. "Are you starting college in the fall?"

  He rubbed his thumb over my lower lip. "Let's not talk about the fall. We're here tonight; that's what matters."

  That was a philosophy I generally subscribed to. Boys were for entertainment. Interchangeable objects that I could exchange and not notice the difference. No long-term baggage. A fun night here or there, but nothing to actually rely on or get too attached to.

  Rand was all of that.

  So I was going to kiss him, like I kissed everyone else.

  I put my hands on his chest and lifted my face to his. "I want to know whether you're going to college in the fall." No, I didn't! What was my problem? Who cared if he was leaving? I mean, I wanted him to leave, right?

  He tangled his fingers in my hair. "Allie, it doesn't matter where I'm going to be in the fall, does it? You know we'll both be with other people by then."

  I frowned. That was true, and that was good… so why didn't it feel right?

  "Or am I wrong?" He dropped his hand, as if he suddenly thought I might have cooties. "I thought you were the type to have fun and move on?" It was clear from his expression that if I wasn't that type, he was so out of there. He wanted to date me and then take off, with no regrets, just like I'd wanted.

  All of a sudden, I thought of my dad. Having fun and moving on. From my mom. From me. From our family. Leaving me behind without a second thought. It sucked, and I was tired of it. Not that I wanted a huge commitment, but today, the thought of having another guy get up close and personal, and then walk away from me ... I didn't want it.