Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone #2) (22 page)

My dad frowned. “As long as it’s only a few minutes.”

“And a few is three,” Austin said.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Mom tossed the dish towel to Dad. “Yes, if you can keep it to fifteen minutes. This is family time, remember.”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember,” I said.

Dad threw the dish towel, and it hit me in the shoulder. They all laughed.

“Oh,” I said, “I see how it is. It’s gang-up-on-Lindsey time.”

“Just hurry up and get him over here so he can leave,” Austin said. “I’m so gonna kick your butt in Wii bowling.”

My eyes widened. “Seriously? We don’t have to do that, do we?”

“Well, we hadn’t planned on it, but it sounds kind of fun,” Mom said.

I gave Austin a death glare. He grinned shamelessly. I was so going to kill him.

I left the kitchen and texted Jeremy to come over. Less than ten minutes later, he stood at the front door with a sheepish look on his face. “I was in the neighborhood.”

I smiled. “It’s okay. Just want to warn you that it’s family time.”

He froze. “Um.”

I took him by the elbow. “Don’t worry. They’re only a little scary.” I guided him to our backyard, where Mom was showing Dad and Austin the dying shrubs she wanted to have removed. We did quick introductions and then left everybody else to discuss the state of the shrubbery. It sank in then that they were probably staying outside in the cool air so Jeremy and I could have a couple of minutes alone. Which was totally sweet.

In the kitchen, Jeremy and I looked awkwardly at each other. Shoulders hunched and hands halfway in his pockets, he shifted from foot to foot. Oh. He was going to break up with me. I braced myself for pain at the thought, but none came. There really had never been any emotion between us. “Would you like something to drink?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Come on, let’s sit.” I indicated the barstools at the kitchen island and climbed into one. He didn’t have to climb. He just shifted his hip up and sat. This was good. We didn’t have to face each other this way. “So, what’s up?”

Jeremy let out a long breath, his huge fingers woven together on the counter. “You probably know what I’m about to say, but this thing that we’ve been doing … it isn’t working.”

A huge sense of relief swept over me. He was right. I leaned on my elbows and put my chin on my folded hands. “I know.”

He glanced at me. “I wanted it to. I really did. You’re so gorgeous and fun, but we just never really … ”

“Clicked.”

“Yeah.” He gave me a half smile. “I probably should’ve given it more time, but there’s someone I realized I want to ask out, so I figured we should talk.”

This was truly amazing. I couldn’t remember ever knowing a guy who had the guts to be this direct. Most of them seemed to like to break up through texting—or just disappearing. At least that’s what I’d heard from other girls. Adam had been the only guy to break up with me. But now there was Jeremy. “You didn’t have to come over, you know. You could’ve just called me.”

He shook his head. “I have three brothers. Our mother has drummed into us the right way to break up with somebody for as long as I can remember. If I hadn’t done it in person, she probably would’ve cut me out of the family millions.”

I laughed. Was that a sense of humor I detected? “She sounds awesome.”

He smirked. “I guess.”

We left our seats and headed into the front hall, Jeremy looking over his shoulder toward the back of our house.

“What?” I asked.

“Your brother’s kinda scary.”

I laughed. “Did he glare at you or something?”

“Oh yeah.”

“He likes to try to intimidate any guy I like.”

“He’s good at it.”

I paused before opening the door. It felt really silly to need this, but I asked anyway. “If we
had
clicked, would my brother have driven you away?”

Jeremy grinned, the flirty gleam that had first attracted me shining in his gray eyes. “No freaking way.”

I smiled. “Good.”

He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for being so cool about this.”

I opened the door. “Hey, thanks for having the
cojones
to come over here.”

A laugh burst out of him. “See ya at school.”

“Bye,” I said and watched him stride down the front walk to his car. Nice guy. Too bad it didn’t work out.

I closed the door and turned to see Austin standing there with his arms folded across his chest. “I like the other one better,” he said.

Huh?
“What other one?”

“The one I caught you sleeping with.”

Forty-Two

Lindsey

I Muppet-flailed as I looked around for our parents. “Austin,” I said through my teeth. “You make that sound horrible.”

He laughed. “You should see your face.”

“It’s not funny. And Berger’s just a friend.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He widened his eyes like he was so innocent. “Nothing.”

He had meant something, but badgering him never worked. I needed to be subtle. “Berger and I are rehearsing the school play together.”

“Oh. So apparently that includes sleeping together on a Saturday night.”

I tried to punch him in the shoulder, but he dodged it. “Would you stop saying that?”

“Sure. As soon as you stop saying you’re just friends with the guy.”

“I am!”

He lifted his chin. “Right. I snuggle with my friends every chance I get.”

“Gah, why don’t you get it?” I paced away, then back. “He’s a friend, okay? Probably my closest friend right now.”

“And you really like him.”

“Yes! How could he be my best friend if I didn’t like him?”

“And that’s all it is?”

I hesitated. It was, wasn’t it? I just liked Berger as a friend, right? Of course. I shoved away the warm sensation near my heart. I couldn’t look at that. We were just friends. “That’s all it is.”

“Too bad. He seems like a decent guy.”

“How would you know, anyway?”

“We talked a little, after I took you up to your bed.”

I frowned. “You mean you gave him crap.”

Austin grinned. “Of course I gave him crap. That’s my job.”

I ignored that last comment. “Then why do you like him so much?”

“Because he obviously cares about you.”

I wanted to know what he meant by “obviously,” but if I was honest with myself, I didn’t need the answer. I already knew Berger cared about me. Everything he did showed he cared. Even that obnoxious fight a couple of weeks ago showed he cared.

When I didn’t say anything, Austin gestured at the front door. “So what does the big guy think about you being best buds with Berger? Ha! Try saying that three times fast.”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. We just broke up.”

“What?”

I laughed at his expression of surprise, which he quickly turned to a frown.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. We weren’t really serious or anything.”

He put his arm around my shoulders and started walking toward the living room. “See, Piglet, this just shows that you should listen to me in all things. I could tell which guy was better as soon as I met them.”

“You’re so full of it.”

He smirked. “You don’t need to be dating right now anyway.”

I pulled away from him and stopped. “Okay, Mr. I Want to Run Your Life, just get it all off your chest. I stand ready to receive all your dating wisdom.”

“You’re still not completely over Adam.”

It was a statement, no question anywhere in his words. A flat, outright statement, so strong in its simplicity. But the ache that throbbed in my chest at his words meant he was right. And I hated it. “I’m trying to be.”

“I know, but dating isn’t the way to do it.”

“Then what is?”

“You give yourself time. You hang out with friends and get on with your life. And then one day you realize it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

He raised a hand. “We’re not talking about me here.”

My parents’ voices came from the living room, and as much as I wanted to walk away from this conversation, I couldn’t. I fingered the elephant charm on my necklace. “I’ve been doing everything you just said. It’s not working.”

“You just have to keep doing it,” he said, his voice soft.

“It’s already been two months,” I whispered.

“Just keep doing it.”

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I turned away. But Austin twisted me back around. Holding my shoulders, he bent closer. “It sucks. I know. It’s gonna get better, though.”

“I’m just so tired of pretending everything’s okay.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. I wanted to kick myself. Austin and I had fought about this subject before. But this time, he surprised me.

“Then stop.” He didn’t sound frustrated at all, just matter-of-fact.

“I can’t. People expect me to be a certain way, I just can’t—”

“Let them see that you’re human? You underestimate people.”

“In high school?” I let out a scornful laugh.

“Okay, I agree with you there. But what’s the worst that could happen?”

The horror of it filled my mind. “It would be like a shark feeding frenzy. I’d be laughed at, disrespected.”

He stepped back, his gaze knowing. “Why would people do that?”

A spark of guilt lit inside me. I wrapped my arms around myself. “Because people are stupid.”

“Right.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I tried to leave, but he caught my arm.

“Come on, Lindsey.”

“Because there are some people I haven’t been very nice to,” I bit out. “There. Happy now?”

“Not really. Everybody’s a dick at some time or other. But that doesn’t mean you have to fake everything, that you can’t show who you really are.”

“You’re wrong.” I headed toward the living room.

“People probably know you’re pretending anyway,” he said.

That stopped me. Was that true? Had I been hiding my feelings for no reason?

Austin came up beside me. “Don’t worry so much about what people think. Okay?”

How could I not? If I didn’t keep up my
everything’s great
persona, no one would want to be around me.

Mom appeared in the living room entry. Thank goodness. “Come on, you two. We have the Wii all ready to go.”

Austin chuckled. “Hooray.”

“And while we play,” Mom continued, “we can talk about the trip to Colorado for Spring Break.”

Spring Break. That was the least of my worries. I had to get away for a few minutes. There was no way I could jump back into happy family mode after that conversation. “I need a drink of water,” I said. “Be there in a sec.” I hurried to the kitchen. Austin was wrong. High school was not the place to be real. Was it?

Forty-Three

Berger

I slid out of bed, careful not to bash my shin on the pool table like I’d done fifty times since Nana had moved in. I was probably going to have a permanent bruise. But it was a new day, a Saturday in fact, and it was time to take Operation Lindsey to the next level.

Three weeks in and things were looking good. She and the Football Dude had called it quits last weekend, and so far she hadn’t shown any interest in anyone else. She’d spent the short week after President’s Day being such a demanding director in theater that even Mike and Parker had scowled at her.

Which was fine with me. I’d rather she be griping at people than searching for her replacement Adam. If I had my way, she’d stop searching altogether. Not that I had any control over it, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

I’d already arranged things with Lindsey’s mom, so hopefully Lindsey wouldn’t freak out when I launched my plan at her. It was a basic one. Get Lindsey to have fun. And since she hadn’t gone back to the grocery store—her normal Saturday morning chore I’d been told—since she saw Adam there, I wanted to get her out of the house.

So with that in mind, I had a quick shower and breakfast, then texted her.

Berger: Hey! Want to come over and play?

Lindsey: Ha! Already going to hang with the girls this afternoon

Berger: I mean this morning

Lindsey: Seriously? Not up yet

Berger: It’s 10:00! Get moving.

Lindsey: Ha ha

Berger: I’ll be there in half an hour

Lindsey: What? No! I haven’t even showered!!!

Berger: Then do it. Or just be dirty. Doesn’t matter.

Lindsey: You don’t know how long it takes a girl to get ready.

Berger: I have a sister. Better get started. I’m walking out the door.

She didn’t text back. That was good, right? I bought a couple of bagels on my way to her house in case she didn’t have time to eat. Hopefully that would give her enough time to get ready.

But of course it didn’t.

Mrs. Taylor, wearing a tennis outfit and sun visor, smiled at me at the front door. “She’s still upstairs. Come on in.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Taylor. You playing tennis today?” I followed her into the kitchen.

“Yes. The high is supposed to be sixty degrees. Can you believe it?”

“Yes I can, actually.”

She laughed. “I can’t wait to get onto the court. But first, can I get you anything? Coffee? Cereal?”

“No, thanks, I’ve eaten.” I held up the paper sack. “But I brought Lindsey breakfast if she wants.”

“Bagels?” She pursed her lips. “She’s pretty particular about bagels.”

I smiled. “Blueberry?”

“Yes.”

“Light cream cheese?”

Mrs. Taylor nodded. “Okay, I’m impressed. I’ll let her know you’re here.” She left the room in a wave of some powdery perfume I hadn’t noticed when I first got there. I sat on one of the barstools while I waited. I sure hoped this would work. That Lindsey would actually enjoy what I had planned. The odds were about fifty-fifty. Ha. What was I thinking? Probably more like a hundred to one against her liking it. Oh well. At least I’d be getting her out of the house.