Next to Me (7 page)

She didn’t have to get dressed since they hadn’t gotten undressed, so she sat up and rearranged her skirt.

“That was amazing, Whitney.” Walter was all smiles, and she was just ready to go to bed.

“Should we go get some sleep?” Whitney was eager to see what his bedroom looked like and get to know him a little bit better. She felt like you could really tell a lot about someone from where they liked to spend their time.

“I’ll take you home.” Walter jumped up and held his hand out. She didn’t take it immediately, looking up at him, confused.

“What do you mean, can’t we just stay here?” He hesitated and put his hand back down. She was confused by his demeanor after what had just happened between them. It didn’t make much sense to go home, and she started to wonder if the roommate was actually his girlfriend.

“So you have a girlfriend then.” She pointed to the clothes on the couch. He chuckled, which made her angry.

“No, not at all. My roommate is barely here, and that’s all she is.”

“So why do we have to leave?” She put her hands on her hips.

“I already have plans, babe. I made them with friends tonight. You know, just a guys’ night. We can have a full night together soon.” Whitney wasn’t happy. It was only five o’clock. She didn’t understand why he had made plans when they decided to hang out together, but if she thought about it they never said they would be together the whole evening. She didn’t want to seem needy, so she dropped it and let him take her home.

Lila looked stunning when he picked her up around six. He was a little early because he was trying to make a good impression. When she came to the door he had something clever to say, but when he saw her he forgot everything. He deserved a little time to relax and get to know someone new. Whitney certainly had no problem meeting new people. He pushed his best friend from his head as he tried to concentrate on his date.

She was wearing a purple dress and had swept her hair up her shoulders. Her eyes shone more blue with her choice of eye shadow, and she caught him staring at her.

“Too much?” Lila bit her lip, showing she was nervous.

“You look amazing.” She relaxed and smiled at him, stepping out onto the porch even though he could hear three or four chattering girls inside.

“Thank you, you look great yourself. I would invite you in, but we would never get out of here. My friends are full of questions. I haven’t dated in a while, so they all want to meet you.”

“I understand,” he said as he led the way back to the truck. “You met some of my over eager friends the other night.” Zane was a little embarrassed by the condition of his truck. It was already banged up, but the construction site made sure it had a thick layer of dirt on it at the same time. They were going to his favorite restaurant and bar for dinner. It was one of the highlights of their small town and pretty fancy for the area. It offered pasta, seafood, and steak. It made an excellent place for first dates, and he knew he wouldn’t run into Whitney since she was busy tonight. It was perfect.

“Have you ever eaten here?” He pulled in and got a good parking spot, which meant it wouldn’t be too busy.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to.”

Zane turned off the truck, jumped out, and rushed around to open her door. She smiled as he helped her down.

“My, you are such a gentleman, Zane. I would almost think you were trying to impress me.” Zane shut the door behind her and grinned.

“Is it working?” He was going to put his hand on the small of her back, but put it in his pocket instead.

“It is.” Lila had such a pretty smile. He held the door for her and celebrated silently that there wasn’t a wait. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out to make sure it wasn’t his dad. It was, but he was just checking on them.

How’s it going, Son, does she like the shirt?

Zane smiled, putting the phone back in his pocket after sending back a thumbs-up emoticon.

“My dad wants to know if you like the shirt he picked out for me to wear.” She smiled up at him, and he was glad he wore it.

“I think you look very nice.” They were seated against the wall so they had a little privacy but could still see who was coming in and out. There was a lit candle on the table to set up the ambiance. It was nice.

“I recommend the chicken marsala, but get whatever you want, of course.” Zane was having fun already. He had been worried for no reason. Lila was easy to talk to and easygoing.

“So, that guy you were with the other night talked you up pretty big after you left. Says you’re up for a huge promotion. What do you guys do?” The waitress showed up to take their drink order, and she ordered the house white wine, while he ordered a beer and then closed the menu.

“I work on a construction site. Cole is too much sometimes. The promotion I’m getting is to be over more of the job sites. Right now I’m the crew manager of one project, so it’s going to be more responsibility.” Zane smiled. He had to admit he was proud of his accomplishments. When he ordered the chicken marsala she did too.

“I’m trusting you that this will be delicious, Zane.” She was teasing him, and he knew she would love it. They got into talking about family, and he told her a little about his dad and taking care of him. She listened intently to him and asked questions. This couldn’t have gone any better. She was interested in listening to him and that wasn’t something he was used to.

“So is your dad hands-on, like has he always been one of those fathers who wanted to do everything you were doing?” Lila asked.

“When I was little, after my mom died, my dad would take me to the roller skating rink every weekend. It was something Mom and I had always done together. He was terrible and spent his time pulling himself along the wall, but he still took me so I could skate with my friends.” Zane liked sharing some personal information with Lila. His dad really was the best.

“That’s so nice. My parents wouldn’t let me go to the rink with my friends. I never got to do anything but skate around in circles in my driveway. We had a roundabout at the end of the road, you know. My parents were always working. They never really had anything to do with fun.” Lila smiled at him sweetly. “You’re lucky you had that kind of dad.”

“That’s really sad your parents didn’t do things like that with you,” he told her.

“I’m over it.” Lila laughed. “It took years of therapy, but I’m over it.” They talked more about their childhoods, but Zane didn’t bring up Whitney. Even though she was a large part of his childhood, it just felt weird.

Whitney saw Zane and Lila walk in, and had moved to the corner of the bar where they couldn’t see her. She hadn’t realized Zane was seeing anyone. Seeing as how she was supposed to be enjoying a night of bliss with Walter, she didn’t want him to see her. She had him drop her off at the bar instead of taking her home, lying that some friends were waiting there for her. All she needed was for Zane to see her and ask where biker boy was.

She decided that vodka was a good enough thing to spend her tips on and proceeded to do just that, trying not to glance over at them enjoying themselves. She could see Zane, but the way the wall was positioned near the bar he couldn’t see her. He looked happy, which she thought was totally unfair. She wasn’t sure what to think about her evening with Walter. It certainly hadn’t turned out the way she’d hoped. Next time would have to be different.

She was on about the sixth drink when she heard Zane laugh loudly and watched him stand up as the girl he was with excused herself. She decided to go say hello to her buddy and carried her drink over, sitting down where the girl had been.

“Hi, Zany-poo,” she slurred, chewing on her straw.

His eyes widened, and she knew she was the last person he expected to see, but he recovered quickly. “What are you doing here? Don’t call me Zany-poo. You know how much I hate that.”

“When did you start dating little rich girls?” She leaned across the table, almost catching her hair on fire, and he blew out the candle. He actually glared at her.

“Get out of here, Whitney, I’m on a date. Go find Walter to slur at.”

“You have to take me home.” Leaning back in the chair, she looked at him with resolve. She couldn’t drive home.

“I don’t have to take you home, Whit, don’t be like this right now.” Lila chose this time to return to the table and didn’t miss a beat as she pulled a chair from the table by the booth and sat at the end. This threw Whitney off for a minute, but she recovered quickly.

“Your date won’t take me home. Don’t you think that’s rude?” Whitney watched Lila look at Zane, who was shaking his head.

“That’s because he is taking me home tonight. He rescued you the other night.” She didn’t waver and looked Whitney right in the eyes. Whitney felt the anger boil up inside of her.

“Listen, bitch, you’ll never be as important to Zane as I am, so whatever little fantasy you’re drumming up, it won’t last and then he will be right back next to me.” She was leaning into Lila’s face and trying to let her know she was serious.

For a moment Zane sat in stunned silence, but then he stood up from the table and waived the waitress over. “We’ll pay for our check at the front. My date has a headache and has asked for some fresh air.”

“Certainly, sir.” The waitress tried to pretend she hadn’t heard everything as she rushed off to get the check. Whitney watched Zane level angry eyes on her as he drew Lila to his side.

“I don’t care how you get home, Whitney.” Throwing some money at her, he said, “There’s some for the taxi. I wouldn’t take you home for anything tonight.” With that, he guided Lila away from the table, and Whitney watched them leave.

Whitney couldn’t believe he had chosen that girl over her. She stumbled back up to the bar and asked for another. It wouldn’t be long before she was cut off, but at least he had provided her the money she needed for it.

Zane helped Lila in the truck and tried to suppress his anger. How could she act like that? How could she say such stupid shit? He was angry with her, and angry with himself for not realizing sooner that Whitney was a lost cause.

“I’m so sorry about her, Lila.” He started the truck up and pulled out onto the road.

“Don’t be. I had a great time and got to eat a fabulous dinner. Hey, it even had a little show afterward.” She put her hand on his arm to show him she was serious. He breathed a sigh of relief that Whitney hadn’t scared her away. He didn’t even want to talk to her. She may have been his best friend, but she was going to have to get her shit together, without him.