It Was You (10 page)

“
Alright, enough about the wicked witch.” Tana bit into her burger, chewed and swallowed. “I wanna hear about your man.”

I felt my cheeks redden. “What about him?”

She rolled her eyes. “Uh. Like, everything. You said he called this morning. You're seeing him tonight. Dish.”

“
There's nothing to tell,” I said. “We're meeting at the beach.”

Tana nodded. “Right. But what are you going to do? Do you really like him? You think he likes you?”

I picked up my own hamburger. Mayo oozed out the sides and onto my fingers. I licked them, taking my time answering.

I did like West. A lot. And I was pretty sure he liked me. A lot. But that didn't mean I had any freaking clue where it was headed.

“I don't know,” I told her. “Guess we'll see.”

She twirled the straw in her styrofoam cup. “I kinda wish I wasn't leaving.”

I nodded. “Me, too.”

“
UCSD has a decent program,” she said. “I could transfer there...”

“
Not this late in the game,” I said. “You need to go. CalPoly is where you want to be.”

“
It's just...” she hesitated.

I knew what she was thinking. We'd been best friends since fourth grade. Nothing came between the two of us—not other girls, not sports, not boys. Nothing. But now something was separating us—life. When she'd made the decision to go away for school, we'd both talked ourselves into thinking it would be fine. It was only a couple of hours away, we'd still get to see each other on weekends, we could text and call and Skype and everything else.

But it wouldn't be. We were at one of those crossroads in life. I knew she'd always be in my life. What neither of us were sure of was what role we would play. And that was a scary thing.

“
No buts,” I said, my voice firm. “You're going to have a blast. And we'll visit all the time. Remember, I'm at Harvard on the Hill now. Pretty sure the workload isn't gonna keep me from coming to see you. A lot.”

She smiled, her eyes wet. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

We finished our lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. She didn't need anything and neither did I, but it was one of those things we always did. At UTC or Fashion Valley, we always managed to find a way to kill an afternoon, window shopping and trying on clothes neither of us would ever end up buying. This day, we headed up Interstate 5 to UTC. We grabbed frosty drinks from Starbucks and then wandered through the outdoor mall, stopping in at our favorite stores, fingering the fabric of lacy tops and flimsy sundresses, chatting and laughing, the seriousness of our earlier conversation forgotten.

Not forgotten, I amended. I knew what we were doing. We were shopping because we could. And because, two days from now, we wouldn't be able to anymore.

SIXTEEN

I was late meeting West. Not because I didn't want to go and not because I'd taken too long to get ready but because I couldn't find the shirt I'd wanted to wear. I spent an hour tearing apart my closet and checking out the laundry room, searching for the black-beaded, scoop-necked tank top. It was nowhere.

I texted Annika.

Where is my tank top?

She'd know which one I was talking about. I'd gotten it a few weeks earlier and she'd eyed it jealously, had even asked to try it on. I'd  said no and ripped it out of her hands.

A minute later, my phone dinged. I swiped my finger across the screen, opening the message.

A picture of Annika stared back at me. Wearing my tank top.

The anger boiled over inside of me and I typed a vicious response back. I hesitated before I hit the send button.

I wouldn't do it. No reaction would be agony for her. She'd sent it to piss me off and I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of knowing it had angered me. So I swallowed my fury, erased the text, and hunted for something different to wear. A white peasant blouse with short sleeves and a rounded neckline. It wasn't the beaded tank top but it would have to do.

I drove back toward the bay, my stomach in butterflies. The traffic on Ingraham was snarled in both directions, like always, and it took me twice as long as it should have to get back over to our meeting spot. I cut into the neighborhood along Riviera, finally escaping the sea of cars.

West was already there. Leaning against an old F150 that was idling next to the curb, his eyes on the phone in his hands. I honked quickly and he looked up.

I rolled my window down. “Hey. Sorry I'm late.”

He blew his hair off his face and offered a smile. “No, you're not.”

“
Yes, I am.” I wasn't going to offer a reason—he didn't need to know I'd hunted high and low for an outfit for our date.

He studied me. “Hmm. Pretty sure it was a calculated move on your part. Late enough to make me worry that you weren't gonna show.”

I laughed. “Whatever, West Montgomery.” I turned the radio down a little. “So, what are we doing?”

He motioned to a side street. “Go park. I'll follow you.” He reached for the truck's door handle.

“We're not staying here?” I asked.

“
Thought we could go on a real date,” he said as he slid into the driver's seat. “Unless you want to just troll the beach and look for another party to crash.”

A real date. My stomach fluttered. “Uh, alright.”

I shifted the car back into drive and turned right on to the first side street off of Riviera. Parallel parking was not my strong suit so I had to drive about a block before I found a spot big enough to pull into. He pulled up next to me and was out of the truck and on the passenger side before I was out of my car.

“
Where are we going?” I asked as I approached the truck.

He opened the door, sweeping his arm toward the cab. “Get in and you'll find out.”

There was something both attractive and maddening about his self-assurance. I wanted to both smack him and kiss him at the same time. Nonetheless, I shook my head and stepped up into the truck and he shut the door behind me. He trotted around the front of the truck and hopped in on the driver's side.

But instead of settling in behind the wheel, he slid all the way across the bench seat next to  me. Before I could ask what he was doing, his lips found mine and he kissed me. A hot, fierce kiss that left me breathless. He pressed up against me and his hand snaked up my thigh, stroking my skin. Everything inside me caught fire and I kissed him back. I put my hands in his hair and dug my fingers into his scalp. His tongue danced against my teeth and I opened my mouth eagerly. He thrust his tongue into my mouth and I wrapped my lips around it, sucking gently. He groaned and let his hand creep further up my thigh. I pushed my hips forward and his hand slid to the middle of my legs. His fingertips brushed against me and I moaned into his mouth. I brought my hands from his hair to his chest and pushed at him. Not hard, but firm enough to make him stop.

“No?” he whispered, grinning.

I tried to catch my breath as my heart tried to work itself out of my chest. “I thought we were going on a date.”

“We are,” he said, his hand sliding out from between my legs. “Just wanted you to know I missed you.” His lips brushed against my cheek. “We'll find time later.”

He slid back to the driver's seat, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened.
He shifted the truck into drive.

“
You must drive another car,” he said, glancing into the rearview mirror, watching as cars passed by.

I stared at him, confused. “What?”

“Something bigger.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“
A semi, maybe?” He flashed me a grin. “That spot you just pulled into is big enough for one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”

He drove towards Ingraham and turned left, back into Pacific Beach. “Our first fight,” he said, glancing over at me. His smile widened.

“
No,” I said. “Pretty sure we've fought every time we've talked.”

West laughed. “Good point.”

We'd also mauled each other nearly every time we'd seen each other, too. But I didn't mention that.

“
So, where are we going?” I asked, shifting a little in my seat.

“
You'll see.”

I frowned. “I don't like surprises.”

“Bummer.”

“
I'm serious,” I said. I really didn't like surprises. Annika was always 'surprising' me—by taking my stuff, stealing guys I liked, showing up unannounced—and I hated not knowing what was going on.

He glanced at the dashboard. “You'll know in approximately ten minutes.”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. A few minutes later, we turned on to Garnet Avenue.

“
Sellers,” West said as we waited at a red light. He pointed to the bench at a bus stop. My parents smiled back at us and my stomach dropped. “Any relation?”

I hesitated for only a second. “Sellers is a pretty common last name. Not everyone who's named Sellers is related to each other.”

“Well, duh. But the lady kind of looks like you.”

I ignored him. “Did you know Peter Sellers was my great uncle?”

He looked at me, impressed. “The Pink Panther dude? Really?”

“
Nah,” I said.

“
What the—?”

I cut him off. “Like I said, just because someone has the same last name doesn't mean they're related.”

He took the hint and didn't ask anything more. We drove a little further, toward the beach, crawling along with other cars heading to the restaurants and bars that lined the main drag in Pacific Beach. We were a few blocks from the ocean when West pulled into the parking lot of a tiny Mexican food place.

“
Dinner?” I asked. “We're eating dinner here?”

Why couldn't he tell me we were eating dinner? Why was that some big secret? I didn't care and I liked Mexican food, but I didn't see why he'd made such a big deal about keeping it quiet.

He didn't park but maneuvered the car to the drive-thru.

“
Or not...” I said, letting my voice trail off.

He rolled down the window when we got to the drive-thru speaker.

“What do you want?” he asked me.

I scanned the menu. Tana and I ate there at least once a week during the summer months and I had a dozen things I wanted to order.

I finally decided. “Rolled tacos. With guacamole.”

He nodded and turned to the window. A woman asked for our order and he recited it.

'“You got the same thing as me?” I asked as he drove to the pick up window.

“
Yep.” He smiled at me. “Crazy that we like the same food, right? It's like we're twins or something.”

I knew he meant it to be funny but it hit too close to home. “Yeah. Crazy.” My voice sounded flat as I said it.

He eyed me for a long moment, his mouth open like he wanted to say something. But he didn't, just pulled the truck forward to the pick-up window.

“
You got money, right?” he asked.

I turned, a smart ass response poised on my tongue, but he was just grinning at me, already handing money to the lady in the window. She handed him back a plain white bag and a drink holder with two drinks in it. He set it all on the seat in between us.

“You can hold out for a few minutes until we eat?” he asked.

“
I can hold out for as long as I need to,” I answered.

He gave me a sideways glance. “That sounds like it could be taken a couple of ways.”

I felt my cheeks redden a little at the innuendo. “Yeah. It does, doesn't it?”

He smirked, nodded and guided the truck out of the drive thru line and back on to the boulevard. My window was down and I rested my elbow on the door, the ocean air filling the cab of the truck. He drove quicker than I would have, zipping around slower cars and changing lanes to get around anyone in his way. I didn't know if we were late or if he just always drove like that.

We passed through Pacific Beach and he turned toward the beach at Bird Rock. He pulled the truck to the curb about half a block from the ocean and cut the engine.

“
We're eating in the car?” I asked.

“
We can,” he said. “But I thought the beach might be more fun.” He pushed open his door and got out.

I stepped on to the sidewalk. The sky was dark, the ocean hidden from view, but I could still hear the waves as they crashed along the rocky shore. West kicked off his sandals and tossed them in to the back of the truck. He reached into the bed and pulled out a red and black blanket. And a basket. A picnic basket.

Of all of the things he might've pulled out of the truck, those were the last things I expected to see. West did not seem like a picnic and blanket kind of a guy. Despite wanting to be irritated with him, I was impressed. I thought it was cute and romantic and I liked it.