All In (12 page)

“I cannot believe we just got caught,”
I say, trying to catch my breath.

“By a woman named Kiki.” He
laughs.

I slip my dress over my head as Lane
throws on his pants. “Do you think she saw us kissing?” I ask as he
puts back on his shirt and I already miss his abs. “Even worse, do
you think she knows I was in my underwear?”

Lane opens the car door for me. “Nah,
I think it was too dark to tell it wasn’t a bathing
suit.”

“Let’s hope so, for my
sake.”

I can still feel the tingling left
behind on my lips from Lane’s kiss as he rests his arm over the
back of my seat, wearing a comfortable smile on his face. We pull
out of the parking lot and onto the road that runs along the
coastline, and I feel free like a bird again. Free from the weight
of expectations and responsibility, able to fly as the wind whips
my hair in all directions. Happy.

I let the feeling bubble up in me
until I can no longer contain it. I raise my arms into the night
air and let out a small squeal as he drives us down the beach road.
Lane laughs, and then, before I can get embarrassed by my behavior,
throws his head back and yells into the quiet night.

When we get home, Lane parks
underneath the branches of the weeping willow tree just outside my
house and it feels like we’re in our own little world. Hidden away
from everyone and everything except the fireflies, who glow and
twinkle all around us.

“You really are breathtaking,” Lane
says so softly it’s almost a whisper before brushing a curl from my
face and tucking it behind my ear. He plays with the ends of my
hair, running his thumb around the spirals of my natural curls, and
for the first time I think they’re beautiful. “Thank you for
dancing for me tonight.”

I want to tell him thank you back, for
upping the ante and pushing me to be…me. Instead, I lean in and
kiss him. Tomorrow I’ll be prim and proper again, but tonight I
want to be as wild as my hair.

My lips are swollen, and I’m panting
when we finally pull apart. Every inch of me is buzzing with
desire, his pull on me like a riptide. “I wish I didn’t have to
go,” I say, glancing at the time.

Lane sighs, running both hands through
his hair. “You have no idea.”

I think I do.

“If it gets any later it’ll be hard to
explain what I’ve been up to if my parents wake up and catch me.
And I think Andrew’s even home already.”

“Are you
sure
you have
to go?” Lane says, leaning in and capturing my
lips one more time. Oh, he’s good.

I let him bury his hands deep in my
hair until I’m about to let the cards fall where they may and never
go home again.

“I…I have to…” I say, my resolve
weakening by the second as Lane kisses down my neck.

“Alright, if you must,” Lane finally
says when I unball my fists, letting go of his shirt.

“I must.” Reluctantly, I give him a
peck goodnight then reach for the door handle but stop short when I
remember I’m forgetting something. “Wait. I almost
forgot.”

“What is it, baby?” Lane asks, looking
around the car for my forgotten item.

“Our wager…if I showed you mine, you’d
show me yours. Something that scares you.” I say. “A bet’s a
bet.”

Lane pauses. His smile fades into
something more serious, still content and happy, but there’s an
intensity in the way he’s looking at me now. He takes my hand in
his and brushes his thumb across my skin before placing it against
his chest, letting me feel his heart beat beneath my palm. It’s
pounding, and it makes my pulse race too. His eyes never waver from
mine, and I’m desperate to know him, to know what it means when
he’s looking at me like he is.

“What scares you, Lane?” I breathe in
the small space between us.

“How fast I’m falling in love with
you.”

Lane

“Hey, you,” Ashley says, crossing the
parking lot in a cute little yellow dress. Her hair is stick
straight, and I’m secretly disappointed it’s not down and curly
like it was last night. It was so beautiful. I’m also disappointed
she’s not still wearing her tennis skirt. I mentally slap myself
and my one-track mind, but Ashley isn’t making it very easy on
me.

I wrap my arms around her tiny frame
and kiss her hello. I’m weirdly nervous and not because Ashley’s
about to meet my family for the first time, but because we haven’t
actually spoken since I told her I was falling in love with her
last night. I hope I didn’t freak her out.

“You look amazing,” I say, opening the
car door and helping her in.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She
winks when I hop in the car, and I wonder if I’m not the only one
with a one-track mind around here, by the way she’s staring at
me.

I reach over and put my hand on her
tanned knee, my fingers grazing the edge of her skirt, causing
Ashley’s cheeks to flush soft pink. “We better get outta here
before I change my mind and take you to that dark theater and not
let you watch a minute of that movie.”

“You know that’s not a half bad idea,”
Ashley says before kissing my cheek. “But I’m actually looking
forward to meeting your family, so we should probably put this,”
she kisses my lips, “on hold until after dinner.”

I shake my head to clear it. Damn.
This girl is turning me inside out.

“If you insist,” I say, whipping out
of the parking lot and heading up the coast. “Are you nervous?” I
ask as we drive, my hand still resting on her knee.

She fidgets with her hair and then her
dress before looking at me with a tentative smile. “A little. Is
that silly?”

“Nah, but you have nothing to be
nervous about. They’re gonna love you.” I hope. I’m not at all
worried about Grandpa liking Ashley, but Mom might be another
story.

I pull into my neighborhood, or the
Campground as it’s known to both locals and Stays, and enjoy the
look of surprise on Ashley’s face.

“You live here?” she says, her eyes
wide and sparkling. “It’s so… magical.”

Each small house looks like a colorful
gingerbread cottage right out of a fairytale. It’s hard to see it
as anything but home, since I’ve lived here for so long, but even I
have to admit during the light festival it really does look
cool.

I drive extra slow so Ashley can take
in each front porch decked out with paper lanterns, hanging in all
different shapes and sizes, glowing in the early summer
evening.

“It’s pretty quiet here during the
year since only a few of the cottages have year round residents,
but during the summer the neighborhood has a real vacation
feel.”

“I absolutely love it,” she says,
smiling from ear to ear. “My grandfather brought Andrew and me up
here once to see the lights, and I still remember thinking it was
something out of a dream.”

“Well, home sweet home,” I say,
pulling up to my house. Ashley gets out of the car and straightens
her sundress. “You ready?” I ask. She nods, not seeming nervous at
all as we walk hand in hand through the front door.

“Well, well, well,”
Grandpa says, getting up from his recliner. “This must be
the
Ashley our Lane here
can’t stop talking about.” He shuffles across the small living room
and takes Ashley’s extended hand in his. “I sure can see why he’s
so head over heels.”

“Subtle, Grandpa,” I say
sarcastically, making both him and Ashley laugh. While it may not
have been subtle, it certainly did break the ice.

“Hi, Mr. McCarthy,” Ashley says
politely. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“You too, my dear, but please feel
free to call me Grandpa Frank. All the kids do.”

Ashley smiles up at me and then back
at my grandpa. “Well then, it’s very nice to finally meet you,
Grandpa Frank.”

“Sweet this one,” he says to me while
patting the back of Ashley’s hand and it’s obvious she has him won
over.

Irene pokes her head around the corner
from the kitchen and waves us in. “You kids come on in, dinner’s
almost ready. Your mama’s just pulling it out of the
oven.”

“That’s Irene, Grandpa’s nurse,” I
tell Ashley as we walk into the kitchen, Grandpa close behind
us.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Ashley,”
Irene nods, wiping her hands on a kitchen cloth.

“You too,” Ashley says, seeming right
at home standing in the middle of my crowded kitchen.

My mom sets a casserole dish in the
center of the table covered with tinfoil before untying her red and
white apron and tossing it over the end of her chair.

There’s just a beat of silence before
I remember my manners.

“Oh. Mom, this is Ashley Whitmore,” I
say, looking down at the girl on my arm and feeling proud she’s
somehow mine. “Ashley, this is my mom.”

“Hello, Ms. McCarthy. It’s nice to
meet you,” Ashley says, giving mom a handshake. “Thank you so much
for having me over for dinner.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you too
Ashley, and you’re very welcome. Please call me Jody.” There’s a
brief moment of silence while we all five stand smiling at one
another before a bell on the stove rings. Perfect timing. “So,
who’s hungry?”

Grandpa pulls out a chair for my mom.
“For your famous meatloaf? You betcha.”

“I hope you like meatloaf,” I whisper
to Ashley when we’re seated. I can’t believe I’d never thought to
ask if it was something she even ate. Stupid.

“It smells amazing, Jody. Meatloaf is
one of my favorites,” Ashley says before giving my leg a squeeze
under the table. Okay. I get it. I can chill out.

“So, Ashley, how did you and Lane
meet? Mom scoops a heap of mash potatoes on her plate then passes
the bowl to Grandpa. “Did you all go to school
together?”

“No, ma’am, we actually met at the
club.”

“Oh, that’s right. Lane said you had a
tennis lesson earlier. You must be very good. How long have you
been teaching?” Mom asks casually, making me choke on my green
beans.

Irene slaps my back a few
times while I cough. “No, Ma, Ashley
had
a tennis lesson at the
club.”

Slow understanding registers across
Mom’s face and this is exactly what I was afraid of. “Oh,” is all
she says before taking a long sip of water and exchanging a look
with Grandpa. Great.

I struggle for something, anything to
fill the silence, when I’m saved by my girl.

“Has Lane mentioned we’ll be going to
school together in the fall?” Ashley asks, without skipping a beat,
addressing the whole table.

“Another Yalie, huh?” Grandpa says,
his pride clearly evident.

“Yes, sir, my brother too. He and Lane
have bonded over their mutual love of cars.”

“You don’t say? Well, won’t that be
nice to already have made some friends once you get to school.”
Grandpa looks at me, but I think he’s speaking to Mom more than
anything.

“Yes, that will be nice,” Mom agrees.
I can tell she’s still surprised Ashley’s a Stay, but I think the
shock has worn off. In retrospect, I probably should have told her
ahead of time.

The rest of the conversation over
dinner flows easily. It feels like Ashley has always sat in the
seat to my right, like that’s where she belongs. Mom did flinch
subtlety when Ashley said she was from Connecticut, just like my
father had been, but by the time dinner had finished and Ashley
volunteered to help mom with the dishes, I could tell my mom was
warming up to her. A little.

…

“Well, it’s getting late, I better get
Ashley home before my shift at the lighthouse,” I say, standing up
from the couch and stretching.

“Oh, sweetie, I have some leftovers
for you to take in case you get hungry later,” Mom says. She pulls
on my sleeve, and I take the hint and follow her into the
kitchen.

“You know I usually just take a
protein bar.” I eye her.

“I know, I just wanted a second to
talk to you.” She crosses her arms. “I really wish you would have
warned me.”

“I’m sorry, Ma. I wanted you to get to
know Ashley before assuming she’s just like the rest of
’em.”

Mom glances out into the living room
where Ashley is hugging Irene and then Grandpa goodbye. “She is a
lovely girl, Lane… I just don’t want you to get your heart broken
if this ends up being nothing but a summer fling for her.” I nod,
understanding where she’s coming from. “I’m only trying to look out
for you, kiddo, because I love you.”

“I know you are, and I love you too,
Ma.” I give her a hug then toss my arm over her shoulder. “Don’t
worry.”

“Thank you so much, Jody, for having
me over,” Ashley says when we walk back into the living
room.

Mom gives Ashley a hug goodbye.
“You’re very welcome, come on over anytime.”

I smile. “Thanks, Mom,” I say, and I
know she knows what I mean.

“Well?” Ashley asks when we’re back in
the car and have pulled out of my driveway, but the smile on her
face tells me she already knows the answer.