Full Court Press (19 page)

“He won’t tell me why.”

“Car...you should let him borrow it. He’s a good driver.”

“I don’t have a problem with it, but I want to know where he’s going.”

Anderson sighed into the phone. “It’s his sister. He didn’t give me details but there’s something going on and he needs to be there. He wouldn’t be asking you if it wasn’t really important.”

Anderson was right. Whatever it was, Beck wouldn’t ask unless he had to. “Okay, well thanks. I’ll give it to him. Are you at your house?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes then.”

“See ya.”

She ended the call and went back to where Beck was waiting.

“What’d he want?” Beck asked.

She unlocked her car and leaned in to grab her backpack, slinging the bag over her shoulder and handing him the keys. “Here.”

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He reached into his pocket and took out his own keys, handing them to her.

“You’re okay to drive it? It’s a stick and a lot higher geared than—”

“I can drive it fine.”

He nodded and put his hand on the door to her Jeep. “I’ll have it back before morning.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m stranded or anything.” She gestured to his car.

He nodded and looked like he wanted to say something but just got into the Jeep instead. She shook her head and got into his car as he drove away.

As she backed out of the parking space, she wished Beck wasn’t so damn stubborn. If he had just told her from the beginning that it was for his sister, she would have given him the keys without question.

Anderson greeted her as she walked in the house. He was doing homework at the kitchen table. “Hey, gorgeous, got the Beemer?”

“Yep, it’s nice.” She sat down beside him. “He seemed stressed.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“Well, since no one has enlightened me on what the heck is going on, I have no idea.”

“Right, sorry, it’s just...it’s really private for him.”

“I noticed. But surely he has other friends who have a four-wheel drive.”

Anderson shrugged. “He tried a couple people but he couldn’t get a hold of them. Besides, you know he doesn’t like asking people for help.”

“Except me?”

“Well, it’s easier with you. He already asked for help on his homework or whatever so it’s not as bad, at least that’s my guess. He’s complicated.”

“So I’m noticing.”

Carmondy sighed and lay her head down on the table. She was so tired all of a sudden.

“Sleepy?” Anderson asked. His hand came up to rest on her shoulders, rubbing soothingly.

She sighed. His magic hands made it almost impossible to stay awake. “Stop,” she whined halfheartedly.

“But you’re so cute when you sleep.”

“Yeah, well, unless you want to be carrying me upstairs, you better stop.”

He didn’t though, just kept massaging her shoulders gently while he finished up his homework with the other hand. Car felt her eyes drift closed and the next thing she remembered was being set on the couch upstairs in the dark. He pulled her shoes off and suddenly his hands were on the button of her jeans, undoing them.

“Hey.” She blinked sleepily but he had already tugged them off, draping them over the arm of the couch.

“What the...?”

Anderson shushed her and pulled the blanket over her. “Sleep tight.”

She felt a warm kiss on her forehead and decided not to fight it as she sank into the welcoming warmth of the couch. Anderson was one weird guy. She’d talk to him about personal space in the morning.

A quiet jingling of keys woke her up several hours later. She opened her eyes a saw a dark figure enter the room and set something on the table near the door before leaving again. It must have been Beck. The clock said the time was 4:32. She got up and walked to Anderson’s window in time to see him get into his BMW. Her Jeep was parked behind Anderson’s Charger and gleamed in the porch light. Had he washed it?

As she curled back up on the couch, she found herself hoping that everything was okay. Even though she didn’t know what was going on, she couldn’t help but wonder why Beck was the one who seemed to be taking care of everything. Why not his parents?

The next day in accounting class, Carmondy tried to talk to Beck about what had happened with his sister, but he shot her down completely. During PE, he didn’t join the rest of them for a game, instead going to an empty basket and shooting free-throws by himself. By the time lunch rolled around, he seemed to have loosened up a little bit, but he didn’t sit down to eat with the rest of them and Carmondy was curious as to why. She followed him to his car, which wasn’t far from hers and watched from a distance as he pulled out his cell phone to make a phone call.

Carmondy ambled across the lot casually, pretending to get something out of her glove box. Just as she slid out of the Jeep, a familiar SUV pulled up and parked right behind it.

What the heck were her parents doing here?

Her mother and father got out of the vehicle. Her dad didn’t look happy.

“Hey, Dad!” She rushed over to give him a hug. He returned it but when he let go, he had a severe look on his face.

She cautiously backed away a step, trying to lean casually against her Jeep. “I haven’t seen you in forever. What are you guys doing here?”

Her dad ignored the comments and tapped his fingers on the hood of his car. “I was in Roslyn yesterday night.”

“Oh, okay, cool. What were you doing there?”

“I was on my way back from the airport, but I saw something very interesting when I was sitting at a stoplight.”

“Uh huh?”

He pointed at her Jeep. “This.”

“Oh, well, I lent it to a friend. All he told me was that he had to go on the pass.”

“You lent it to a friend? A friend who’s a boy?”

She was confused. “Yeah...is that a problem? I used to lend my old car to my friends all the time.”

“Yes, your old car. To friends who were girls. And for short trips in town to the coffee shop or a quick trip home and usually for a good reason. This was a two-hour trip, taken by a strange boy, for some reason that you don’t seem to know!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn’t think, did you? What if he had gotten in an accident and gotten hurt? First of all, he’s not on the insurance, so who knows what kind of lawsuit he could have brought against us. Second of all, I am a business owner, Carmondy. I can’t have some boy crashing my daughter’s Jeep in the middle of the night, two hours from her home!”

Carmondy really didn’t like being yelled at by her dad. He didn’t do it very often so when he did, it really hit her hard. “I-I didn’t know that I wasn’t allowed to—”

“It’s common sense, Carmondy!”

She flinched, unsure what to say. She hadn’t even considered it to be a problem that she lent her Jeep to Beck. As she was searching for words, Beck appeared, coming from behind her car to stand beside her.

“Hello, Mr. Hamilton. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” Beck said politely.

“And you are?”

“Beck Nicholson.” He held out his hand and her father shook it.

“You’re Gregory Nicholson’s son?”

“I am.”

Her father nodded. “I can see the resemblance, though you are taller. I have to say that your father and I aren’t on the best terms. His law firm brought a large lawsuit against my company last year.”

“I’m sure it was nothing personal, just business.”

“Yes, well...I suppose. Anyway, if you’ll excuse us, this is a family matter.”

“Actually, I wanted to come over to apologize. I was the one who borrowed your daughter’s car last night.”

Her dad shot a look at her. “You let Gregory Nicholson’s son take your car on a road trip?”

“How was I supposed to know he had a lawsuit against you? You’re never home and you sure as hell don’t talk about your work when you are!”

“You won’t speak to me in that tone,” her father said harshly.

Carmondy snapped her mouth shut. This was getting ridiculous. She had said she was sorry. She didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to lend it to anyone. What was she supposed to do about it now?

“If I may,” Beck interjected. “If I had known Carmondy wasn’t supposed to lend her Jeep out, I wouldn’t have asked. I’m afraid I pressured her into it.”

“Yes, well, unless you pried the keys from her hand then she is still at fault,” her father said coldly.

Beck was persistent. “Still, I feel responsible. I am helping her with basketball, you see, and I told her that if she didn’t let me borrow her car I wouldn’t help her anymore.”

Carmondy looked at him, wondering why he was lying for her.

Her father sighed. Whether he believed Beck or not, it was obvious that Beck was going to keep insisting on claiming responsibility.

“Well, Carmondy and I will speak about this later. But for now, Carmondy, if your friend here needs to borrow your car, you will drive him yourself or at the very least accompany him, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good, now your mother and I have an appointment—”

Her mom piped up. “Don’t forget, dear, we were going to see if we could meet the young lady Carmondy is staying with. Andie, you said?”

Carmondy gulped. She hadn’t specified boy or girl, had only said Andy. Beck looked down at her, one eyebrow slightly raised.

“Yes, I would like to meet her.” Her father looked at her expectantly.

“Err...yeah...I’ll call...” She took a deep breath as she dialed Anderson’s number. “Hey, Andy, can you come out to the parking lot? My parents would like to meet you...thanks.”

Beck shook his head and leaned beside her against the Jeep. This was going to be interesting. Within a few moments, Anderson came out of the building, accompanied by Kendall.

When they reached the two cars, her mom smiled broadly at Kendall. “Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, dear. I’d like to thank you for taking my daughter in—”

“Mom, that’s not Andy,” Carmondy cut her off.

“Oh?”

“No umm...that’s Andy.” She pointed to Anderson.

Her mother and father frowned at Anderson, looking very confused.

He shot Carmondy a look before smiling brightly. “Hello! My name’s Anderson Davies.” He held his hand out but neither of them took it so he pulled it back awkwardly.

Her dad looked dumbstruck. “You’ve been staying with a boy all this time?”

“Yes?”

Her mother turned white while her father turned red. They both blinked at Anderson for a few moments while he backed up a pace, looking worried.

“Uh...Car? You didn’t tell them?”

“I told them I was staying with my friend...Andy.”

Her parents were still dumbstruck, like the world was dissolving around them.

“Mom, Dad, me and Anderson aren’t...involved in any way. We’re just friends. He’s on the basketball team.”

Anderson nodded. “Yeah, and umm, I am totally dedicated to my girlfriend. She’s over a lot too.” He reached behind him and pulled Kendall to his side. He kissed her on the cheek. “Right, dear?”

Kendall was thrown for only a moment before playing along. “Oh...yes, Andy and I have been dating for a year and half now.” She petted Anderson’s chest and leaned her head against his shoulder quaintly.

Her father seemed to have recovered, putting his business skills to use and feigning composure. “Carmondy, you are to come home every night from now on.”

“What! That’s not even possible.”

“You’ll make it possible, and this isn’t a discussion.”

“I can’t spend four or five hours on the road each day. When would I do homework?”

Her father didn’t look happy. “You have a home. You don’t need to be spending time at a stranger’s house.”

“He’s not a stranger, he’s my friend! Why do you care, anyway? You’re never home.”

Her father jabbed a finger at her. “That is the last time you will speak to me in that manner. I work hard, Carmondy, and you know that I am required to be away from home. I explained this to you a long time ago.”

Carmondy took a deep breath. “Okay, fine, you want me to drive two hours each way? It’s your Jeep, your choice.”

“If I could interject again,” Beck said, keeping with his uncommon politeness. “This is your first winter here, Mr. Hamilton. We aren’t very far into it as of yet and even now, the pass is bad. In the thick of winter, which accounts for half of December and most of January, the pass gets closed down on a regular basis for all sorts of things like accidents and avalanche control.”

Carmondy’s father didn’t look happy about this boy standing up for her daughter. “You are not staying at this boy’s house another night, Carmondy.”

“Her reputation will be ruined!” her mother exclaimed.

“I don’t give a damn about her reputation. I care about what she actually does.” He shot Anderson a disgusted look.

“Can’t you find a nice girl to stay with?” her mother asked.

“Mom, I can’t just go around asking people to stay at their houses. It’s not polite.”

“Well, you didn’t have a problem with this boy.” She gestured toward Anderson.

“Actually, I offered,” he said. “It was the first night she got stuck here and there were no hotel rooms soo...yeah. My couch is really comfortable, actually.”

“You’ve been sleeping on a couch?” Her father looked appalled. “He didn’t even offer you the guest bedroom?”

“Uh, we don’t have a guest bedroom.”

Her mother looked at him like she suddenly realized he was low-class or something. “Your home doesn’t have a guest bedroom?”

“Mom! Would you stop? Anderson’s my friend and you’re being rude.”

“What about you, young lady?” Her mother pointed to Kendall. “You have a home, right?”

“Mom!” Car exclaimed, horrified.

“Err, yeah, I have a home and I would totally offer for Car to come stay with me but I have five brothers and sisters and it’s crowded...very crowded. I just don’t think she’d want to stay there.”

“I’m fine where I’m at,” Car insisted.

Her father sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Carmondy, I’ll be finding you an apartment today. You are eighteen, so they will allow you to stay in it alone. I will call you before your practice is over to get you the information and leave the keys in your Jeep. You will not spend another night at this boy’s house.” He motioned to Anderson. “And I will be asking the apartment manager to keep tabs on you to ensure that you are staying in the building.”