by Anne Holster
The next day, Beth and I spent the whole day in the city, visiting various shops, taking in some of the usual tourist sights, and having lunch at a trendy downtown bistro. Our whirlwind weekend together was just about over, and we probably wouldn’t see each other again until we moved back into the dorm in late August.
The next morning, after another typical teary-eyed, girly goodbye, I pulled out of the large circular driveway and headed back home. The drive was uneventful, since there was no traffic on the turnpike at that time of day, and I mentally reviewed each detail of my visit with Beth. Somehow, though, my thoughts kept returning to the text from Tanner.
When I got home, Ryder wanted to hear all about my date with James. “Great,” I told her, “he was really…nice.” She looked at me expectantly, waiting for more information, so I added, “…and cute. He was really cute.”
She surprised me with her next comment. “But was he, like, Tanner-cute?”
“What kind of question is that?” I asked, flustered. “He’s cute, and Tanner’s cute.” And then I added sarcastically, “What can I say, I’m a cute magnet?”
She laughed at my silly statement, but I’ll admit that I didn’t like her bringing up Tanner or his cuteness. It started me wondering about him all over again-- how he was doing on his tour and if it was everything he’d hoped it would be.
I wondered what it was going to be like to see him when school started again. Would it be weird? Would we have any classes together? Did he have a girlfriend? Why was I thinking about him anyway? I should be thinking about James and what a good time we had the other night.
He’d said he would call soon, but I was still surprised when I checked my phone after work on Tuesday and found I had a voice mail from him. When I called him back he wasted no time in inviting me out the following weekend, an invitation I quickly accepted.
He suggested spending the day in New York City, which sounded great to me, so I gave him directions to my house and suggested we take the train in so we wouldn’t have to worry about parking. He agreed and said he’d see me Saturday at noon.
As I got off the phone with him I immediately informed Beth. She was thrilled for me and made me promise to update her with all the details when I got back. The rest of the week crept by at a snail’s pace, considering my anticipation for Saturday and my dread of seeing Ty, who was difficult to avoid each day at camp.
He assumed since our date that we were now an ‘item’ and was constantly trying to get me alone, but thank God that was difficult since the kids kept us on our toes all day.
Saturday finally arrived and, much to my parents’ dismay, they wouldn’t be around to meet James. I hadn’t told them much, just that we had gone out when I was down visiting Beth. Ryder was the only one who met him, and I was sure to get an earful when I returned.
We headed to the train station and were in the city in no time. James really knew his way around, and we had a great time browsing through the SoHo art galleries and poking around at the obscure wares of street vendors in the Village.
Then we headed uptown for lunch at a little outdoor café and got chocolate hazelnut gelato from a stand just outside Central Park. We found an available bench in the park and took a seat, leisurely people-watching as we ate. I was fishing through my purse for a napkin when I noticed that a text had come through on my phone.
I quickly checked it, thinking that it was probably Ryder being her usual nosey self, but that wasn’t the case. It was another short text from Tanner saying simply – ‘hey again.’
I smiled when I saw it and quickly texted back – ‘hey again urself,’ before James even noticed. That evening on the train ride home, James held my hand. I wondered if he was going to try anything when he dropped me off. The moment of truth arrived when we pulled into my driveway.
I asked him if he wanted to come in, but he declined, saying that it was getting late and he should be getting back. And then I knew it was coming…he reached over and gave me a long lingering kiss and it was…nice. Nice?
“I had a great time tonight, Grace,” he said.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Maybe we can do it again,” he suggested.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Okay, I’ll give you a call,” he said, and then we said goodnight and I got out of the car. Once inside, I was able to slip upstairs and into my room without Ryder seeing me. I wasn’t in the mood for playing twenty questions with her, but no sooner had I taken my shoes off than I got a text from Beth, demanding details. How the hell did she even know I was home? The girl was like a bloodhound.
I called her back with all the details, including the lingering kiss goodnight. When she asked me how it was, I told her that it was nice. Nice? There’s that word again that’s not often used when describing a kiss from a hot guy.
She thankfully didn’t think to question my choice of words and, satisfied that things had gone well, she said goodnight.
As I lay in bed, I thought again about the kiss. Nice wasn’t a bad description, was it? But then I thought about the first time I kissed Tanner, and ‘nice’ was definitely not the first word that came to mind. Passion. Fireworks. Electricity. Mind-blowing. Magic. Hot. Sexy – and the list could go on and on. Maybe I hadn’t known James long enough. With Tanner there had been a slow build up to that first kiss, months, in fact, so there was a lot of anticipation. Yeah, that must be it; I hadn’t known James long enough to anticipate it.
Relieved that I had solved the mystery, I was now more determined than ever to experience that passion once again. I saw James twice the following week, and both times there was kissing involved, and both times it was really…nice. I had a bit of a devilish thought, though, after the last time I saw him. I was thinking that maybe we should, you know…kick it up a notch. No way, it was too soon. That would be crazy – wouldn’t it? But if we did, it’d definitely raise it up a few bars on the passion scale. I mean, I was sure it would be great…right? It would have to be…wouldn’t it? Just a little something to think about…
I’d gotten a few more short texts from Tanner, which I answered with simple short responses, but I didn’t really know what to make of them so I decided not to make anything of them. I was having dinner with James on Sunday evening. He had to drop some paperwork off at his father’s office in the City and had asked if I would meet him on his way home.
Chili’s was right on the highway not far from my house, so I figured it would be the easiest place. I got there a little early, so I waited in the parking lot for him. As I waited, I thought more about my idea of kicking it up a notch and the fact that my parents wouldn’t be home until much later that night. Just a little something to think about…
Chapter 58
Tanner
The summer tour was out of control, and in a good way. Each show we did was better than the next, and the crowds seemed to get bigger at each venue we played as word spread about us.
We’d done a show the night before at that club in Suffern, New York where Scott had gotten hauled off by the cops. We ended up staying in the same motel again, and it made me think about Grace. On a whim about a month ago, I’d texted her and was surprised when I got a response, so after that I would text her every so often, mostly when I was alone and after trying, unsuccessfully, to get her out of my mind.
It was tough being so close to where she lived and not being able to see her. For a while, I’d been tossing around the idea of giving her a call and asking her to come to the outdoor concert we were doing next week. It was going to be a blast. It was actually a class reunion for a high school in the area, but it was for anyone who had graduated the school between 1975 and 1985 so it was going to be packed, and we were going to be playing all of our best stuff.
It was bring-your-own-liquor, too, so no age restrictions to get in. The reunion was going on all day, so people could hang out at the lake, then stay for t
he concert at night. This one was going to be a big payday for us.
Since we were free tonight, Scott had arranged for us to meet up with two girls he had met at last night’s show. I wasn’t really into it, but I agreed, since I didn’t have anything else to do. The girls picked him up at the motel, but I told him I’d meet them there since I wasn’t ready yet, and I wanted to have my own ride home anyway. I didn’t want to risk getting stranded.
I took a shower, then hopped in his truck and started on my way. I looked at the directions and it seemed to be fairly close, so I took my time on the drive over. Once I got to the highway I only had to drive about half a mile or so before I saw the sign for Chili’s.
Chilis?! Jeez, I hadn’t been there in a while. I pulled into a spot near the front entrance and walked in, looking around for Scott. He was right where he’d said he’d be—at the bar--but I could tell right away that something was up. As soon as he saw me he jumped off his stool and dragged me to the other end of the bar. His eyes were all wide.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Okay, don’t turn around,” he began, which of course made me automatically turn around.
“I said don’t turn around, idiot.”
I let out an exasperated breath and said, “Scott, please, enough with the drama. Who are we hiding from?” I thought that we were avoiding one of the many girls he’d dissed recently.
“Okay, I tried to call and warn you, but you didn’t pick up,” he said.
“Maybe because I was in the shower. Now, what’s the problem?”
“Okay,” he began, “don’t look now, but someone is over there canoodling with some tool.”
“Canoodling?! What? Are you like a reporter for the Enquirer or something?” I said laughing. “And who’s the someone doing the offensive canoodling?”
He hesitated a moment before leaning toward me and whispering, “Grace.”
“Grace!” I said as my head instantly spun around.
“Don’t!” he hissed. “She might see you. She’s not in the bar, she’s at one of the booths. You can see her if you look across the top of the liquor bottles. Okay, now turn around slowly…slowly.”
I did as told, and if I angled myself just right, I was able to see her clear as day right there in front of me. It was like all these months of being away from her just vanished into thin air, and I was right back where I was that day back in May when she left my apartment for the last time.
My eyes slowly glided to the left of her, and it felt as if someone had taken a knife and stabbed me right in the gut. The ‘tool’ was sitting right next to her with his arm around her, but he didn’t look like a tool at all. He was a well-dressed, clean shaven respectable looking guy – exactly who I’d picture her to be with.
About a thousand and one thoughts swirled through my head at lightning speed, the first and foremost, of course, being the inevitable: Was she sleeping with him? After all this time, the thought of her with anyone else still made me nauseous. Yet I couldn’t take my eyes off them, wondering how it was between them, if it was anything close to what we’d had.
It was impossible, at least I thought it was. Just then Grace laughed at something he’d said, and my heart sank. How long had it been since I’d seen her laugh? Since right before you fucked up, dickhead.
Just then, I had an idea, which I quickly whispered to Scott. He grinned, and a minute later, he was talking to their waitress, telling her he thought “Mr. Tool” had left his headlights on. A minute after that, the waitress went over to their table. From what I could see, he politely excused himself and headed out to the parking lot.
I quickly took my phone out of my pocket and texted her – hey, been thinking about u; whats up? –and then I watched and waited. Her reaction when she read the text would hopefully tell me what I needed to know.
I saw her reach into her purse and pull out her phone. Then I held in a breath as I watched her read it to herself. As if on cue, I saw her eyes light up and a warm smile spread across her face. Then she looked over her shoulder before quickly texting back – just finishing dinner. how bout u? –
I texted back – me n scott in nj. I saw her eyes go wide when she read it, but she couldn’t respond because the guy had come back. Then something weird happened. She said something to the guy, and then she got up and walked to what I assumed was the bathroom. I waited a minute and then my phone went off again – where in nj r u?
Just then Scott came over. “Uh, will you be joining us, or are you not done torturing yourself yet?”
“In a minute,” I told him as I started to back away from him. “I’ll be right back.” Then I headed towards the bathroom as I texted – the bathroom at Chilis – and I hit send just as I approached the bathroom door.
Soon after, the bathroom door slowly began to open and there stood a very surprised Grace with eyes wide and a look of utter bewilderment on her face. We just stared at each other, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to scoop her into my arms and carry her right out the door.
“Tanner!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? How are you? How’s the tour going?” She slowed down. “It’s… it’s been so long.”
“It has been a while,” I said, “too long. You look great, Grace.”
She smiled, but kept looking toward the restaurant. “Tanner, I wish I could stay and catch up, but I’m…” and then she looked around again and whispered, “. . . I’m sort of here with someone.”
I looked around, imitating her, and then whispered back, “I know…I’m sort of here with someone, too.”
She laughed, quickly covering her mouth. “I have to get going. Give me a call, and we can catch up.”
“Sounds good,” I said, and then she scooted back to her table.
I stood there shocked for a minute, thinking to myself, What just happened? I didn’t know what I had expected to happen when I came over here, but it definitely wasn’t this. I waited by the bathroom until I was sure she was gone, knowing that Scott was probably getting ready to send a search party after me.
“What happened?” he asked when I finally got back.
“I’ll tell you later,” I told him, and then I looked over at the girls. There was just no way I wanted to stay here with them tonight. I gave Scott a lame excuse about being tired, apologized to the girls, then walked out the door. But I’d no sooner started the truck when the door opened and Scott was climbing into the passenger seat.
“What the fuck, man?” he said. “What just happened in there?”
I didn’t say anything for a minute, and then I finally admitted that I’d spoken to Grace.
“Oh, man, please tell me we’re not gonna start this again,” he whined.
“Okay, then, I won’t tell you,” I said, and we drove the rest of the way in silence.
Not another word was spoken until the morning when we were deciding on what to get for breakfast. The diner was the closest place, and I was relieved when we walked in and saw Cole and the rest of the guys at a large table in the middle. We joined them, ensuring that the topic wouldn’t be brought up again.
Later that afternoon, I slipped out of the motel room to call Grace. She answered right away and was just as friendly as she’d been the night before. For nearly an hour, we talked non-stop about the tour, the band and what she’d been doing all summer. Finally, unable to take it any longer, I brought up the six-hundred-pound gorilla in the room. “So…the guy you were with…is he like your boyfriend or something…?”
She answered my question with a question. “So…the girls I saw Scott with when I left…was one of them like your girlfriend?”
“Touché” I said, “but, no, neither one of them was my girlfriend, nor do I have a girlfriend at the moment.”
“Oh, well, the guy I was with isn’t actually my boyfriend, but we have gone out a few times.”
“Oh,” was all I said, hoping the relief didn’t show in my voice. “So listen, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come to one of our shows. The outdoor concert’s next week and you don’t have to be twenty-one to get in…you could even bring your sister if you wanted.”
“Oh, I’m sure Ryder would love that,” she said, “but I’m…I’m not really sure if I’ll be around.”
“Oh, okay, no pressure,” I said, realizing that she was playing it safe, “but in case you do decide to come, it’s next Saturday at…um…I think it’s called Willow Lake. Once you get off Route 287, it’s maybe just a few miles down Route 23 South. We go on at dusk.”
“Okay, so next Saturday, Willow Lake at dusk…okay, I’ll think about going if I’m around…like I said, I know Ryder would love it.”
“Okay,” I said, “so…maybe I’ll see you next week then.”
“Yeah, maybe. Okay…I should…I should really get going,” she said.
I didn’t want to hang up, but I didn’t want to seem pathetic either, so I just said, “Okay, then, take care.”
“Okay, you too, bye.” And then she hung up.
I stood there with the phone in my hand and actually felt pretty good that she might actually show up. If she did, that would be awesome, but if she didn’t…if she didn’t, I was going to have to consider this whole thing to be officially dead in the water.
Chapter 59
Grace
After I hung up the phone with Tanner, I wondered, Am I actually considering going next week? And to be totally honest, I was. I knew I had plans next Saturday with James, but seeing Tanner at Chili’s the other night had stirred up a lot of feelings in me that I thought were long dead.
Not that I was considering, even for a minute, getting back with him, but maybe…maybe I wouldn’t mind just hanging out with him for a few hours. Seeing him had really caught me off-guard. If someone had told me the most exciting thing of the summer would happen at Chili’s, I would have said they were nuts.