Chapter 9
“So, how did it go?” These were the first words out of Sandy’s mouth when Allie opened her front door that night. Sandy held up a carton of ice cream in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Sandy looked hopeful.
Allie took the bottle of wine. “Fine,” she called casually over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen to get glasses and a bottle opener.
“Oh no, you don’t,” came Sandy’s hurried voice as she raced to keep up with her. “I want details. Unless? What happened? Do I need to give him another talking to?”
“Another?” Implying she had spoken to him before. Allie groaned. She should have known better when she’d told Sandy about her date. Carson was her friend too, and she had sung his praises, but because he had behaved the way he had, Sandy surely would have spoken to him.
“Yeah. After your bad date, I went to his office and gave him a sit down. His coworkers fully supported me,” Sandy said matter of fact. Not ashamed at all that she’d gone to his work and scolded him like a parent.
Oh God. This was embarrassing. “Sandy, please tell me you’re lying.” Though she already knew it to be the truth.
“Of course, I’m not lying,” Sandy defended. “He was out of line. Why do you look so upset?”
“That’s as bad as when you came to my defense with Billy Cromley. When you confronted him for spreading lies about me, you started your own about his jock itch.”
Sandy took the proffered glass of wine from Allie’s hand. “To be fair, I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t true. He did adjust himself a lot. Or maybe he had an STD.” She looked toward the wall thoughtfully.
“The point is, you are always coming to my defense. You don’t let me fight my own battles.”
Sandy’s head whipped back toward her. “And my point is, you never stand up for yourself. Someone treats you bad, you just turn the other cheek.”
“Because I know they aren’t worth the aggravation. I chalk it up as a learning experience.” Allie fell into her seat as the seeds of doubt crept in. “Is that why Carson asked me out again at the grocery store? You pressured him into it?”
Sandy’s eyes widened in horror, the glass halfway to her lips. “God, no. I would never. If I thought you two wouldn’t suit, I never would have pushed to begin with. All I said to him was that he owed you an apology. Carson asking you out was all him.”
Allie sank deeper into the couch with a small smile creeping up on her face. So the grocery store had been a coincidence, and his asking her out had nothing to do with Sandy’s verbal attack.
Sandy sat down next to her on the couch, her feet tucked up in front of her. “So how was it, your date? You took the wine, so it had to be better than fine. Tell me,” Sandy practically shouted, her whole body thrumming with anticipation.
“It was fun actually. He was fun. You should have seen him explaining gun safety and how paintballing works.” A smile pulled at her lips in remembrance.
“You didn’t tell him that you grew up with three older brothers?”
“No, that’s not how I usually start a conversation.
He seemed to be so serious about it, I didn’t have the heart.
” He was so excited and thorough explaining everything.
Allie hadn’t paid attention to his words as much as just watching him.
He’d been unguarded in those precious moments, allowing her to observe him and stare at his handsomeness.
“He learned pretty fast after that, didn’t he? Oh, I would have paid to watch you trounce him.” Sandy’s hands shook in excitement, almost sloshing wine onto the couch.
“To be fair, I bribed some teenagers to do it for me.”
“Ah,” Sandy laughed and clapped her hand against her wine glass, “Even better. Now I really wish I had been there to see that.”
“Yeah, he was great about it. Laughed even.” Until they’d brought up his scars.
“And then? Don’t keep me in suspense.” Sandy leaned forward, bouncing up and down on the cushion.
“We went to lunch and had a nice meal.” Allie shrugged as she took a sip of her wine.
Sandy sat back against the arm of the couch like a deflated balloon. “No kiss?” Her lips crinkled. “Handshake? Anything? You have to give me something.” Sandy gave her pleading eyes.
“I touched his hand.” It wasn’t much, but it was something, right?
Sandy quirked an eyebrow at her. “An accidental brushing or you placed your hand on his on purpose?”
“I put my hand on his. Our waitress was being rude, so I implied we were together put ownership on him.” Allie wouldn’t look Sandy in the eye.
It had been very forward of her and unlike her, but she hadn’t liked how the waitress was staring at him.
Carson was a handsome man and shouldn’t be gawked at like he was the star attraction of a freak show.
Sandy gazed at her with an amused look on her face. “Well, well. We went from hating him to coming to his rescue.”
Their dynamic had changed over the past week. He was nothing like the inattentive man she’d met a week ago.
“You like him,” Sandy accused.
She did. “I do. Not at first as you know, but now,” Allie sighed, “He’s kind, sweet, funny. We actually have a joke now.”
“Do you?” Sandy asked, sounding intrigued.
“About him being a SEAL. I call him the animal kind.”
“And he doesn’t get angry?” Sandy sounded baffled.
“No, he started joking about it. He calls himself a performing seal. He’s everything you first told me about.” Allie pulled her lip between her teeth as she replayed their date in her head. It hadn’t been perfect, but she considered it one of her best dates.
“Well, I’ll be. Allie Sunbright is falling for a guy. And I’m the one that set it up.” Sandy grinned from ear to ear.
Allie just scoffed, not wanting to jinx it. “Sandy, we’re just hanging out. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Sandy held up her hands in surrender. “I won’t say anything more about it. Are you making plans to see each other again?”
“Yeah, he asked me to go hiking this weekend.”
Sandy tapped her on the leg. “You know what you need to do.”
Did she dare ask? “What?”
“While on your hike, fake an injury. Like stumble a little and pretend you rolled your ankle.”
“What? Why would I do that?” That sounded like a terrible idea. One she’d never be able to pull off, and even if she could, why would she do that?
“Men like to be big strong heroes. He’ll come to your rescue and carry you down the hill. Maybe take you home and nurse you back to health.” Sandy gave her a saucy wink.
“Yeah, no. Not my style. Knowing my luck, I’d try to fake an injury and end up falling down the mountain and really hurting myself.”
“You wouldn’t. You’ve always been sure-footed. Okay, so no injury. The thing is we have time to figure out something to get you two closer. More than hand touching. Good grief, you’d think you were in middle school.” Sandy shook her head in shame.
Allie wasn’t that kind of woman. Sure, she liked going on adventures and seeing new things, but when it came to relationships, she was cautious and liked to take her time.
She didn’t hop in bed with the first man that turned her head.
She wasn’t a virgin, but she was far from being a woman of the world.
“Sandy, can I ask you a question about Carson?” Something that had been plaguing her for a while now.
“Of course,” Sandy replied instantly.
“Why is he so sensitive about his scars?” Allie didn’t know if Sandy knew the answer, but since they had known each other so well and for so long, if anyone knew, Allie assumed it was her.
Sandy’s face turned guarded. “Have you asked him?” she inquired instead.
“I have, but he changes the topic.”
“He’ll tell you if and when he’s ready, Al. It’s not my place to share his stories.”
Which meant Sandy knew but wasn’t telling. That wasn’t fair. “What? You tell me everything else about him, but not that?” Talk about double standard.
“It’s a personal matter and that’s all I’m willing to say.”
She wasn’t going to get any more details than that, she supposed. “Alright.” It seemed she didn’t have a choice but to wait and see.