Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“Why don’t I call Zach?” Nessa says. “He won’t mind, really. It’s not a big deal.”
I stare at the steering wheel. This is seriously happening? Because my humiliation wasn’t complete? I sort of thought it was after the club incident. The paddleboard proved me wrong, and now this?
Fuuuck.
My AAA membership has expired and my car won’t start—and by won’t start, I mean it’s dead. Won’t turn over, or even cough for me. “Yeah, okay,” I tell her.
Nessa pulls out her phone and types a text. “Zach’s on his way. He’s still close. See?” She smiles. “No biggie.”
It is a big deal. A very big deal, because moments later Lewis walks up, along with Zach.
I stood up to Lewis. Sure, I immediately took a digger, but it was a start at addressing the issue between us. Forced to ask said guy for assistance afterward? Kind of ruins the moment. The dunking in ice-cold water did as well, but this seals it.
To make matters worse, Lewis is wearing a T-shirt and a baseball hat that hides his eyes. Why does the brim hiding those mysterious eyes make my stomach flutter?
I roll down the window and Lewis leans across the frame, because, of course, he takes control of the situation, even though we called Zach.
“Start it up.”
I turn the ignition and nothing happens.
He tosses a set of keys to Zach. “Grab the Jeep, will you? I’ve got jumper cables in the back.”
Zach hands his paddleboard to Nessa, who stepped out of the car when the guys arrived. He laughs when she nearly topples under the weight of the board that’s twice her size. She fumbles with the long paddle, finally balancing both paddle and board in her arms. “Be right back,” Zach calls.
Lewis strums his fingers lightly along the door, glancing at the interior, the dark eyes that disturb me no longer hidden by the hat when they’re this close. “You leave on a light?”
Does he think I’m a moron?
I fell all over the nightclub hammered a few nights ago and dunked us today, so yes, he probably does. “No.”
Lewis stares like he doesn’t believe me and continues to drum his fingers. I’d like to grab one and pull it back. Incite—that’s what he does. He’s an inciter of women. Look at Mira. She’s so crazy for him, she’s all jacked up.
A red Jeep roars in front of my car with Zach in the driver’s seat. Lewis walks to the back and returns with cables. He asks me to pop the hood.
Several minutes later, Lewis and Zach confer in a manly discussion involving subtle nods, gesticulations toward my beater car, and a few glances at Nessa and me after the jumper cables don’t work.
Lewis opens the driver’s-side door at the same time Zach grabs the paddleboard from Nessa. “Your car needs a tow.”
There go last night’s tips. I could ask my mom for money to fix the car, but I won’t.
“Zach is giving Nessa a ride. I’ll drive you home.” He punches a number in his phone and informs the person on the other line of our location.
I’m driving with Lewis? Alone? “Shouldn’t I wait for the tow truck?”
He shoves the phone back in his pocket. “No need. My friend will have it towed to his shop later on. We’ll swing by now and drop off the keys. He’ll call when he figures out what’s wrong with it.”
I glance at Nessa elbowing Zach playfully as they walk toward the beach, the paddleboard and paddle balanced easily above Zach’s head.
This is all wrong. “Why is Nessa going with Zach?”
“He lives near her. It’s easier this way.” Lewis gestures for me to get out of my car. I grab my tote, scoot out, and he closes the car door behind me. I follow him to the Jeep and he opens the passenger-side door.
I peer in, uncertain, but unable to come up with a better plan. Spending more alone time with Lewis doesn’t seem wise. “What happened to your truck?” I ask.
“This is my weekend car.”
Oh, right, because he’s extremely hot, makes enough money to own two cars—one of them a brand-new Jeep—and he’s a Good Samaritan who rescues drunken women and destitute girls with broken-down cars.
But he has a complicated not-a-girlfriend and that’s the one thing I can’t look past.
Despite my hesitancy, I go with Lewis. We drop off my keys with the mechanic, and Lewis introduces me to his friend.
The guy is nice and promises to pick up my car and contact me within the hour.
If I end up getting it fixed through his garage, there’s no charge for the tow, which my savings account appreciates.
The drive to my place is quiet. Neither Lewis nor I talk, and I’m hyperaware of his every movement. A wide wrist draped across the top of the steering wheel, the elbow of his other arm resting on the center console so close to my side.
“Cold?” he says.
I glance at the goose bumps on my arms.
Lewis adjusts the air conditioning, but the chill that ran through me had nothing to do with damp clothes.
Logic dictates I stay away from him and the complicated relationship he’s in with Mira, but a part of me wonders, What if?
Lewis helped me with my car and he took the blame for the paddleboard incident.
He’s not a bad guy and technically he doesn’t have a girlfriend, so my initial judgment of him was off.
We pull into my driveway. “Thanks for calling your mechanic friend, and for everything,” I tell him.
He lets out a sigh; it’s forced and heavy, like something’s weighing on his mind. “You have my number. Call me if you need a ride, or for whatever.”
That’s right. He typed his number into my phone so I’ll have a ride the next time I get wasted. Excellent.
It’s not Lewis’s job to take care of me. I’m not his girlfriend or his friend—wait, am I? We’re more than acquaintances, and there’s the unspoken stuff that makes it feel like we’re much more than friends.
“Okay,” I tell him, and let myself out. The air is warm, but my clothes are wet and clinging. I beat a hasty retreat to the front door and hear Lewis’s car rev lightly, the gravel stirring behind me. I force myself not to look back.
I walk inside the house I share with Cali and shut the door, slumping against the cool wood surface and closing my eyes.
Today kind of sucked, with the dunking and my car breaking down, but it was also kind of amazing.
Being with Lewis feels amazing. Even though he says Mira isn’t his girlfriend, I don’t understand what’s going on with them and that worries me.
I’ve barely gotten my bearings over how confusing all of this is, when Cali comes at me like a hurricane, strawberry blond hair waving to and fro, making her head appear twice as large and fiery, like the look in her eye.
“What the hell, Gen?” She points vigorously at the window. “What are you doing with that guy?”
Lewis and I aren’t dating. He gave me a ride home after my car croaked. Running into him was coincidental, though in all honesty, I was considering whether or not it would be so wrong to see him.
“He’s not that bad, Cali,” I say. “Simmer down. It’s not what you think.”
God, now I sound like Lewis. Cali’s acting more crazed than normal, but is she right? Am I letting down my guard too soon?
“You’re doing it all over again. Did you learn nothing from your last boyfriend? Get a clue, Gen, this guy is using you!”
Okay, now I’m pissed. I may have made errors in judgment when it came to men in the past, but I never allowed someone to use me. As soon as I figured out a guy was a jerk, I cut him loose.
“And you know so much about men? Did you know Eric hit on me? He wanted to sleep with me, Cali.”
“What?”
My eyes widen. What have I done? That’s not how I wanted to tell her.
I’ve been trying to figure out the right words.
I almost shared it with her once while we were on a hike, but the timing was off.
After that, I was waiting for the right moment and somehow it never came.
Now… Cali’s face is a mix of shock and anger.
I waited too long. I wasn’t thinking. “I’m so sorry, Cali.
I should have told you after it happened. ”
My cell phone vibrates in the side pocket of my tote. It buzzes twice more within seconds. I sigh in irritation and glance at the screen.
Mom: Darling, we’re here! Pick you up in ten for golf.
Crap, I forgot about my mom. She’s here for her visit and I promised her nine holes before work.
“I tried to tell you,” I say. “But it was when you were happy with him. After you and Eric broke up, I told myself that if I mentioned it I’d be kicking you when you were down. I didn’t want to cause you more pain. I panicked, and more time passed…”
“What are you talking about?” Cali’s face is flushed. She’s so angry. She has a right to her anger, but I never wanted her ex’s attention.
Maybe getting out of the house so we can both cool down is a good thing. I quickly reply to my mom that I’ll be ready, and jam my phone in my bag. I stride into the bedroom and strip off my wet shorts.
Cali follows and stands in the doorway.
I tear off my damp T-shirt and pull a clean one over my head.
“Do you remember when I drove Eric to the store to pick up sunscreen while you were in the shower the first weekend in town?” She nods.
“He came up behind me when we were there and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck…and he said things. I pushed him away, but I was still getting over the A-hole and I freaked out. I worried I was doing something to cause the negative attention. That you’d think it was my fault…
so I didn’t say anything at first.” I plead with my eyes.
“You don’t know what it’s like. I’m like the creeper magnet. ”
“Are you kidding me?” she says. “You’re seriously telling me guys lusting after you is a hardship that forces you to betray your best—fucking—friend.”
Tears fill my eyes and I blink them back. “That’s not what happened. That’s not what I’m saying.” Maybe Cali’s right and I’m a rotten person. I’m the common denominator in all this—Cali’s ex, my mother’s groupies and their wandering hands.
“What exactly did he say to you?”
I drop my head and stare at my hands. “He said he’d always been attracted to me.” Why does the truth sound so horrible? “That things were fizzling between you two and that you had basically become friends.”
I glance up, and the expression on Cali’s face is dejected, betrayed. She grips her forehead with her fingers. I stand and walk to the bedroom door. I squeeze my hands together when what I really want is to wrap my arms around my best friend. But I don’t think she’d welcome it right now.
My chest feels achy. I was right to keep this from her. No one wants the truth, not even me. Every word out of my mouth makes things worse.
Cali looks up pointedly. “What did you tell him?”
“No! I said no! I never wanted that. He made me feel dirty. I would never—”
She turns away, her rejection so sharp I suck in my breath.
After a moment, I grab my bag. “Cali, we need to talk, but I have to go or I’ll be late for work.
” I don’t mention my plans with my mother.
Cali and I both know I never leave this early, but I need to step away from this—to figure out how to make things right again. “I’m so sorry, okay?”
Hugging my bag, stuffed with golf shoes and extra clothes, I wait at the curb for my mom and wonder if Cali will ever forgive me. Maybe what happened wasn’t my fault, but I was weak and afraid, and I didn’t tell her.
Am I worth forgiving?
I betrayed my best friend by keeping this from her—it wasn’t intentional, but it happened—and I’m attracted to Lewis and it’s wrong, with his complicated side relationship.
I want him, knowing it’s wrong, and that’s worse.