Bittersweet (14 page)

Dallas was waiting on our rock.

“Sorry our night got jacked,” I said.

“No problem. I like the Demon Drop crew. Besides, I owe Paris a drink. Though at Perkin’s that will have to be of the iced tea variety. Cheaper though.”

He laced his fingers through mine and we walked to the car. Holy effing butterflies. I didn’t think I could take it if he went cold again. So while I wanted this, I didn’t want him to lead me on and change his mind.

“Is this okay?” he asked, holding up our entwined hands.

“Maybe.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe?”

“We’ve been going out for weeks and I’ve gotten the ‘just friends’ vibe from you. Why are you all of a sudden holding my hand and calling me hot and stuff? If you are going to hold my hand tonight and then not touch me tomorrow, I’m not okay with this.”

He grimaced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you mixed signals. I’ve liked you since the moment I saw you sitting at Grant’s desk with that gorgeous shaved head of yours and that look in your eyes that said, ‘I dare you to like me.’” Dallas grinned and shook his head as he obviously relived the moment in his head. I still was not sure about this.

He dropped his eyes and wouldn’t look at me. “But Grant asked me to back off. He doesn’t want you getting hurt and he said you had a lot to deal with and didn’t need a handsome older guy breaking your heart. I tried for a while, but today I couldn’t help myself. You were standing there and I just had to touch you. I can’t explain it. I’ve never felt that way before. It was crazy. Am I freaking you out?”

Dallas wasn’t hanging out with me because of Grant. But I was still having a hard time believing him.

“You sure you aren’t just after the chocolate?”

He laughed. “Naw, it’s you.”

I felt like I was in a dream. A damn good one.

“I’m gonna kill Grant. He’s not my father and doesn’t have the right to playact one.”

“Don’t be too hard on Grant. He’s just being protective. I think he figures if he doesn’t look out for you, no one will. He’ll get over us being a thing. He’s concerned about the age thing, mostly. But I told him this afternoon that it wasn’t a big deal.”

“How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty-two.”

“You know I’m still in high school, right?”

“Yeah, Grant mentioned that. Let’s just see where things go. Right now, I’m happy just holding your hand. Maybe we’ll just be somewhat affectionate friends.”

Not if I had anything to do with it. Not after a revelation like that. But I didn’t say that out loud.

At Perkin’s, the group was sitting around a large table. There were two chairs left and they were not next to each other. One empty chair was between Angelica and Paris. The other chair was next to Becca. Of course. That wasn’t engineered at all.

“Savannah, come sit by me,” Angelica trilled.

I let go of Dallas’s hand and sat down next to her. I didn’t even bother to look at Becca. I didn’t want to see the sour look on her face.

Dallas leaned over and whispered something in Paris’s ear. I strained to hear it, but whispers and I didn’t mix well.

Paris grinned and got up. He sat next to Becca and Dallas slid into the empty seat next to me. He rested his arm on the back of my chair. I couldn’t tell if he was claiming me as his or allowing me to claim him. It didn’t matter. Either way was fine with me.

The Tremendous Twelve turned out to be three eggs, hash browns, four pancakes, a banana, and four strips of bacon. No way could I eat the whole thing. Thank goodness for Dallas. He ate more of it than I did. We ate and talked and laughed. Becca avoided my eyes and I avoided hers. No one else seemed to notice.

Afterward, Dallas drove me back to the parking lot so I could fetch my car.

Instead of waiting in his own car while I got into mine, Dallas followed me. I leaned against the door and looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. He leaned his forehead against mine.

“You should know, I’ve never had such a hard time pursuing a girl before.”

I smiled and felt my butterflies go berserk. He sighed. Then he leaned down and I had a small panic attack when I realized I could have pancake breath or bacon stuck in my teeth, but he shifted and whispered something in my ear. My damn hearing. It sounded like shh shh shh. I didn’t want to kill the mood by asking him to repeat it, so I stayed silent. Dallas paused for a moment, then pulled back and let go of my hands.

He forced a smile and opened the door for me. What just happened? I tugged down on my shirt and avoided his eyes. I thought of turning and asking him to say it again, but instead I climbed in the car.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

I spent the entire ride home dissecting what had happened. Maybe I’d offended him when I didn’t respond to whatever he whispered. I replayed the scene again as I brushed my teeth and then climbed into bed. Nope, not a clue.

I had to know. I took out my phone and sent him a message.

You awake?

Yeah

Can I ask you a ?

Sure

You know how you whispered something to me while we were standing by the car?

Yeah

I can’t hear whispers and I have no idea what you said. Will you tell me again?

His response didn’t come right away. Did I offend him again? Maybe friend Dallas was better than boyfriend Dallas. Not that he was my boyfriend, but things were moving in that direction. Unless, of course, I kept doing stupid things. After a few minutes my phone buzzed again.

I’m such an idiot. You have no idea what I asked?

Nope. Not a clue. What was it? I won’t be able to sleep without knowing.

I asked if I could kiss you.

June 17

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Princess,

You know, I always liked observing your summer romances. They always seemed so damned normal. From the thirteen year old boy at Disney World to the Dutch boy from the cruise. You’d preen in front of the mirror for hours and hold hands and probably kiss a little when you’d escape from under my watchful eye. But I always tried to watch so carefully. The first indication that anything was going wrong and I intervened. You may not know this, but when the boy from Disney World decided he liked the blonde girl from California better, I marched right over to his hotel room and told his parents off. They thought I was crazy, said that we were only in the park for two weeks and you two were in middle school.

I can’t do that anymore. I can’t protect you. I’m so sorry.

Missing you,

Dad

T
HE NEXT MORNING
, I waited until we were in the car before I confronted Grant.

“So I heard you told Dallas to back off.”

He was quiet for a second.

“I take it he didn’t heed my advice?”

“That’s really none of your business. I can take care of myself. You and Dallas are friends. What makes you think he would hurt me?”

Grant sighed as we pulled into Bruegger’s Bagels drive-thru. He started to order when a voice crackled over the intercom.

“Hey, Mr. Haunted Valley, any chance I can score a couple of free tickets?”

Grant grinned.

“Probably not.”

“Aw man. Well, I already know what you want. Two coffees black, one plain bagel toasted with plain cream cheese and one onion bagel with butter.”

“Are we that predictable?”

“Yes. I can change the onion to asiago cheese if you’d like.”

“No, keep it the usual.”

Grant pulled up to the window and dug out his wallet. He pulled out two complementary tickets instead of cash and handed them to the kid.

“Thanks, Mister.”

My anger with him almost dissipated. Almost.

After we got back on the road, I waited for him to answer my question.

“Are you and Julia doing anything for the Fourth?” he asked me instead.

“Don’t change the subject.”

He clenched the steering wheel. “If I don’t look out for you, who will? Dave? He doesn’t exactly seem to be the hands-on kind of stepdad. You were my brother’s baby girl. It’s sort of my duty.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. What’s wrong with Dallas?”

“Nothing, except he’s a few years older than you. You are just here for the summer. There’s no reason to get involved. You and Julia seem to be getting along so well. Why bother with anything else?”

“It’s not that simple. Plus, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not your problem. I like Dallas.”

“I was fighting a losing battle anyway. I don’t know what you did to that boy, but he’s got it bad. Came into my office yesterday and told me the exact same thing you’re saying now. Except he was a little nicer about it.” He smiled. “Just be careful, okay?”

I thought about what he said. Why’d he have to bring up my dad? I’d barely thought of him in the last few days. Then I felt guilty. It was like I was leaving him behind. That somehow my happiness dimmed memories of him. I took off my watch and stared at my tattoo. I could never forget. Even if it meant being miserable for the rest of my life. We parked the car and I put my watch back on.

The park was quiet and the day was slow. It was nice. We ran single train all day on the Demon Drop and Cyclops only filled two of its ten rows. It was an easy day. I’d hoped to close the Demon Drop with my newfound friends, but Angelica sent me to close Cyclops with Becca. At least I got to work controls.

I found Paris in the control both singing
Row Row Row Your Boat
over the intercom. Some people liked to mess with the riders, but I liked sticking to the spiel. I handed Paris the slip that informed him he’d be closing Fast Lane and watched his face light up. He gave me a hug and raced away.

I went to load the ride.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the ugly almost bald garbage queen.” Corbin stood in line grinning down at me.

My day was just ruined.

I didn’t respond and pointed to the row I wanted him to sit in. Surprisingly he didn’t say anything else. But I had a feeling this wasn’t over.

I loaded the ride and began my spiel.

“Welcome to Cyclops Revenge. Please step quickly but carefully into the ship. Loose items such as cameras, cell phones, hats and glasses are not permitted on the ride and must be left with a non-rider or placed on the exit platform. Haunted Valley is not responsible for items lost or damaged on the ride. When you are seated, please fasten your seat belt and pull down on your shoulder harness.”

I left the control booth and checked seat belts. Corbin sat in the middle of the first row and had his cell phone clutched in his hand.

“Corbin, you’ll need to give that to Becca. She’ll put it in a basket.”

“Right, like I’d listen to anything you say.”

Maybe Becca didn’t like me, but she was a stickler for rules. “Savannah’s right. It’s not allowed. If you drop it, it could hurt someone. You’ll need to give it to me.”

“Can I just put it in my pocket?”

I thought about just leaving it at that but I didn’t want him blaming me if something bad happened.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve seen lots of cell phones fall out of pockets. If you just give it to Becca, nothing will happen to it.”

“It will be safer in my pocket.”

He was wrong, but I didn’t respond. His phone could very easily fall right out of his pocket while the ship was upside down. You know, gravity and all. But I supposed some people were above such laws.