Which left us with very little to talk about. And that sometimes frightened me because I was afraid it would be the same when we were together again in nineteen…no, it was eighteen days. What would we talk about? What had we talked about before?
Homework, teachers, school, friends. What else? I racked my brain every night trying to grab on to some topic of conversation. Then it never failed. After I hung up with Nick, Parker would call. And we would talk. For more than an hour. About everything and anything: people we knew, favorite movies, actors he’d met, his family, my family. Why did I never seem to run out of topics with Parker, but I had such a hard time talking with Nick?
Those were my thoughts Tuesday night as I walked back to the dorm. Parker, of course, was walking along beside me. He was telling me about this woman he’d helped get into the first car.
“She has to be eighty, if she’s a day,” he said. “Uses a walker.”
“Aren’t there restrictions against frail people riding the roller coasters?” I asked.
“Hey, we post warnings. Ride at your own risk. She was willing to take the risk. This is the third year that I’ve seen her. She always comes to celebrate her birthday. This year I was ready. Gave her a ‘I survived Magnum Force’ T-shirt.”
“That was nice of you,” I said.
“Hey, gotta admire her, you know? I want to be like that when I’m old. Still searching out the thrills.”
“I’ll ride the carousels,” I said.
“It’s not an either/or option, you know. You can do both.”
He was still trying to convince me to ride with him in the morning. Roller coaster fanatics seemed to have a one-track mind, which I figured made sense, since cars usually ran on one track. The thought made me smile.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
But I just shook my head. My cell phone rang. Of course, I answered.
“Hey!”
Silence.
“Hellooo? Nick?”
“I thought that was you,” he said.
His tone of voice had a really strange undercurrent to it.
“What do you mean you ‘thought’? You called me, so who were you expecting?”
“I’m also watching you.”
My heart slammed against my ribs, while my gaze darted madly around.
“How can you be watching me?”
“I thought about Sarah surprising you with a visit and decided I’d do the same thing.”
I stopped walking. “You’re here?”
“Yeah. So who’s the guy?”
Parker must have sensed my distress because he reached out to touch my face, but I backed up. “Where are you, Nick?”
Then Parker was looking around as well.
“Right behind you.”
I spun around and watched in shock and amazement as Nick stepped out of the shadows.
“Nick, what are you doing here?” I asked into my cell phone, which I realized was totally ridiculous. He was here! Here! We didn’t need a cell phone to communicate.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he said, walking toward me, close enough for me to see that he wasn’t happy. Not happy at all.
I closed my phone. “You did surprise me.”
“Yeah, I can tell.” He was glaring at Parker while people from the park, heading to the dorm, tried to figure out what was going on.
Some people tried to be discreet, but most didn’t care if I knew they were trying to get the scoop. It was pretty obvious something worthy of gossip was going on.
“This is Parker,” I said. “My roommate’s brother.”
“You work together?”
“We work at the park.”
“It’s no big deal,” Parker said. “We were just walking the same way. Look around. Lots of people walking this way.”
I stepped closer to Nick. I’d fantasized about him showing up. It was always one of those romantic moments: running over the sand, straight into each other’s arms. Shouldn’t I hug him or kiss him or something?
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“Drove nonstop.”
“Why?”
“Because I miss you.”
“Oh, Nick.”
Then my arms were around his neck and I was hugging him tightly and he was hugging me. And all the doubts about us that I’d been having melted away.
This was Nick. My boyfriend who had driven nonstop to be with me.
What could be more romantic than that?
Chapter 20
I wanted to kiss Nick. I mean I really, really wanted to kiss him. I hadn’t realized exactly how much I missed him until we were hugging. It just felt so good, so familiar, so the way it should be.
But a crowd of people were still walking to the dorm, and Parker was still standing there looking at us. I felt self-conscious and embarrassed. And relieved and happy and tired. Wound up.
I stepped out of Nick’s embrace. “I can’t believe you’re here. I mean, I’ll be home in a little over two weeks.”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t wait, Megan, but I can only stay a couple of days. Then I have to get back to Hart’s.”
“Where are you staying?” I asked.
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I need my money for gas to get me back home, so I guess I’ll sleep in my car.”
“You’d do that for me?” I asked, feeling guilty for not missing him more, for not being willing to drive home to see him. Of course, not having a car could have factored into that decision as well.
“You can stay at my place,” Parker offered.
Alarms rang in my head. No way did I want them comparing notes. Not that there was really anything to compare. Neither did I want them sizing each other up, which was sorta what they were doing now, looking at each other the way two dogs did before one decided he could take the bone away from the other.
“Who are you again, man?” Nick finally asked.
“Her roommate’s brother. Megan’s like my second kid sister. Just watching out for her, like I do Jordan. I’ve got a house up the way with a couch you can use. If you decide you want the couch, get directions from Megan. I’ll leave the door unlocked. See you around.”
Just like that, Parker was walking away.
“See you, Parker. Thanks!” I called after him.
He waved a hand in the air without looking back.
“What were you thanking him for?” Nick asked.
“Offering you a place to sleep, walking me home in the dark.” I shrugged. “Nothing in particular.” Everything in general. “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”
We’d been standing on the sidewalk long enough that there weren’t any people around anymore. He looked like he might be embarrassed or was feeling awkward. Like maybe he just realized he was here, too.
“I missed you, Megan,” he said.
“So you just got in your car—”
“Yep. And drove, after scheduling a few days off. Drove nonstop.”
Territory we’d already covered, but it made me feel special and loved. We weren’t long-distance anymore. We were right in front of each other. I was starting at zero Nick-less days!
I threw my arms around Nick and kissed him. He kissed me back. It felt right. It felt good. He’d driven all the way up from Texas just to see me for a few days. How cool was that?
“Don’t guess I can sleep with you,” Nick said.
We were lying together on one of the lounge chairs that the hotel set out on the sandy beach for the guests.
“I have a roommate and suitemates,” I explained. “I’d be okay with you sleeping in the room, but I’m not sure they would be. Plus there is the whole sneaking-you-in-without-the-floor-monitor-seeing.”
Not that I thought Zoe would chase him out or anything. Guys were parading in and out on our floor all the time. But as far as I knew, none stayed the night. Besides, it would be inconsiderate toward the girls I shared the suite with. They were used to walking around in their underwear.
“I
can’t believe you drove all the way up here without a plan,” I said, surprised that I was actually a little irritated, which made no sense at all.
He was holding me close. “All I could think about was seeing you.” He squeezed me tightly. “God, I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, but gosh, Nick, I’ll be home in eighteen days.”
“I didn’t want to wait.”
I snuggled against him. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Do you work tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yeah. I can get you a pass into the park.”
“What fun would that be, going on all the rides alone?”
“I don’t go to work until the afternoon. We could hang out together until then.”
“That sucks.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nick, if I’d known you were coming I might have been able to switch days off with someone.”
“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if you’d known, and I wanted to surprise you.”
“You certainly did that. And I’m not complaining. I was just explaining that I can’t change my shift at the last minute.”
“I know. When I started driving I wasn’t thinking of anything except seeing you.”
He sounded utterly defeated.
“So where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“Guess I’ll sleep at your friend’s, since he made the offer.”
I still didn’t totally like that idea, but really there was no other alternative. The dorm had a lounge, but I didn’t think the management would appreciate him bunking down on one of the couches there. Besides, he needed more than a place to sleep. He needed a shower.
“What was his name again?” he asked.
“Parker.”
“Parker? And he works in a park? How lame is that?”
“Nick!” I didn’t know why but it felt like he’d insulted me. I felt a strong need to defend Parker. “I like his name.”
“You gotta admit it’s an unusual name. How many Parkers do you know?”
“It doesn’t matter. Besides, he was nice enough to offer to let you use his couch.”
“Whatever. I don’t like the guy, Megan.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“But apparently you do.”
I sat up. “Did you see us do anything suspicious?”
“You were laughing.”
“Oh, what? I can only laugh when I’m with you?”
He sat up and put his arm around me. It took all my willpower not to shrug out of his embrace.
“I’m sorry, Megan. I’m tired from the drive, and I guess a little disappointed that I have to sleep on some guy’s couch.”
I stood. “The dorm has a curfew, so I need to get inside. Guess you can sleep here if you don’t want to go to Parker’s.”
“No, I’ll go stay at his place.”
“Come on, then. I’ll get a piece of paper and draw you a map. It’s easy to find.”
“You’ve been to his place?”
“Sure. They have a party there every Wednesday night. We can go tomorrow.”
“Thought you had to work tomorrow.”
Why did he sound suspicious again?
“A lot of people work tomorrow. The party goes on late into the night so people can go over there when they get off their shift.”
He followed me into the lobby, looking around, nodding with approval, like maybe he’d expected to find me living in the slums. I went to the front desk and asked Mary (Baltimore, MD) for a piece of paper and a pencil. When I finished drawing the map, I walked back to Nick.
“So where’s your room?” he asked.
“Sixth floor. If we have time, I’ll show you tomorrow.”
We were standing there, suddenly awkward. I thought maybe he was expecting me to cave in and invite him to my room.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” I said.
At the door, I offered to go outside with him. “Call me as soon as you get here tomorrow,” I said.
He kissed me goodnight, and I watched him walk to the parking lot to get to his car. As I went back into the dorm, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t more thrilled that he was here, why it felt like an intrusion on my space.
Maybe because I hadn’t planned for his arrival. My countdown was ruined. I would be home soon anyway, so why come up?
Because he missed me, and I missed him.
So why was I sorta wishing that he wasn’t here? And why did it make me so sad not to be more excited to see him?
Chapter 21
The next day was the longest day of my life. It had as many hours in it as the day that had come before, but they moved along at an excruciatingly slow pace. That morning Nick had joined me for breakfast at the dorm cafeteria. They allowed guests and the food was cheap, and since Nick was seriously short on cash, it seemed to be the ideal place to eat. Then I’d gotten him a free guest pass to the park, and we’d spent the morning just walking around, hanging out on a few of the tamer rides.
That afternoon, he’d laughed hysterically when I’d come out of the costume shop. Which had sort of hurt. I mean, I knew my costume was embarrassing, but it wasn’t that bad.
The strangest part of the day was having Nick join me during my breaks instead of Parker. It wasn’t so much that it was odd having Nick with me as it was weird not to have Parker with me. When had I started to look so forward to spending time with Parker? Why wasn’t I doing cartwheels because Nick was here?
Maybe because he was being…difficult. That was the word.
We were at Parker’s house for the weekly party, standing on the back porch, desperately searching for conversation. Anytime someone stopped by and talked to me, I’d introduce the person to Nick and he would act totally bored. I knew it was hard to feel comfortable when you didn’t know people, but at least there was music and free food and drinks and the people were nice.
“I can’t believe Mr. Hart hired her,” Nick said.
“Who?” I asked.
He gave me an impatient look. “Haven’t you been listening? I’ve been talking about Tess for the past couple of minutes.”
“I was listening.” Sorta. “Maybe you should tell him that you don’t like working with her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like working with her. She just has this attitude problem. Thinks she knows everything.”
I had a vague memory of hearing this before. Why wasn’t I enthralled with our conversations lately? Why couldn’t I remember anything that we talked about?
“How old is she?” I asked.
“Our age.”
“Do I know her?”
“Probably not. Her family just moved to town.”
“She’ll go to school with us in the fall?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe she’s just uncomfortable being in a new place. I can relate. It’s hard not knowing anyone.”
Nick looked around. “No kidding. I can’t believe you know all these people.”
“Not all of them. Just most of them. Even if I don’t know them, we have the theme park in common. Can always find something to talk about.”
“When I decided to drive up here, I thought I’d have more time with you.”
“You’re with me now.”
“Yeah, and a hundred other people.”
“You want to go somewhere else?”
“Where would we go?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Why was it so uncomfortable? He was my boyfriend. Shouldn’t we feel at ease, regardless of where we were or what we were doing?
“Walk down to the lake with me?” he asked.
“Sure.”
The music and the din of people talking got fainter the closer we got to the lake. Surprisingly the night seemed warmer than it had since I’d arrived here. We were really heading into summer. Nick was holding my hand, and I tried to be glad that he was with me, not to feel like I had to entertain him. Usually I visited with people at the party and had a much better time.
What had we always talked about?
When we got to the edge of the water, he dropped my hand and stepped away from me.
“I don’t get it, Megan,” he said.
I stared at his shadowy silhouette. “Get what?”
“Get what you think is so great about being here.” He turned around and faced me. “Don’t you miss me?”
“Of course I do, Nick. I can’t believe you’d even have to ask.”
“Then come back home with me.”
I stared at him. “Nick, I made a commitment to work here for the summer.”
“And what are they going to do if you quit? Arrest you? Be mad at you? So what? You’re working in a freaking gift shop. Anybody can do that.”
And anyone could wait tables. And it wasn’t like Hart’s was the only restaurant in town or the only place he could work.
“I like being here, Nick. I like the people I’ve met. They’re all so different and so interesting. I’ve made new friends—”
“And forgotten about the old ones?”
I shook my head. We’d had a similar discussion before I’d left home. Had he really just come here to hash it all out again?
“Of course I haven’t forgotten about the old ones. I know it’s difficult with us being apart—”
“It’s impossible! I’m alone, Megan. I’ve got no girlfriend to go to movies with or talk to—”
“We talk on the phone.”
“Big deal. I can’t kiss the phone. This long-distance relationship thing just isn’t working for me, Megan. If you don’t come back with me, then…”
His voice trailed off, like he was choking up. I wondered if tears were burning his throat like they were burning mine. “Then what?” I rasped.
“Then I want to break up. I want to be free to date other people.”
“Nick, I’ll be home in seventeen days, and then it’s just six more weeks.”
I reached for him and he stepped back. “I can’t do this anymore, Megan. Wondering about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.”
“What are you talking about? I’m working at a theme park—”
Thrill Ride Page 13