So Over It (6 page)

Abbie looked toward the ocean. “Yeah?”

“Sure. The sand is way nicer than this.” I gestured to Grammy and Papa’s lean lawn. “When does he eat again?”

“Around ten. There’s a bottle in the fridge.” She beamed at me as she stood. “Thanks. I’ll just grab a towel and magazine and go.”

Halfway to the door, she turned, her face serious. “Connor called your cell earlier. I told him you couldn’t talk.”

“Why’d you answer my phone?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why’d you leave it on my bed?”

“Not so you could jabber with everyone who called.”

“I think you should talk to him.”

“I didn’t ask your opinion.”

“He can’t hurt you way out here.”

“Unless he called to say he’s dating Jodi.”

“I’ve seen him with Jodi. It’s nothing like the way he is with you.”

I had a love/hate relationship with these kinds of comments from Abbie. While nice to hear, they made resisting Connor so much harder.

When I didn’t answer, Abbie lifted her shoulders in a mild shrug. “Whatever. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”

Ha. More and more, it felt like I never would.

Mom and Grammy returned from their trip to the grocery store just as I laid Owen down for a nap in the room he, Abbie, and I shared.

Grammy greeted me. “Justin came by looking for you this morning. Did he find you, princess?”

I nodded.

Her eyes twinkled. “He ask you out yet?”

“Mom . . .” my mom said with a sigh.

“What? We can all tell he likes her. I don’t understand what he’s waiting for.”

“Maybe to know her longer than a week.”

“Your father asked me to marry him two months after we met.
Two months
.”

“Well, you’re unusual.” Mom piled mangoes in the fruit bowl. “And we’re not looking to marry Skylar off this summer, okay? Keep that in mind after we’re gone.”

Grammy ignored this and looked around the living room, kitchen, and dining room. “Where’s Abbie?” Her voice lilted with suspicion, as if Abbie could be running around getting pregnant as we stood there.

I popped a grape in my mouth. “She’s at the beach.”

Grammy’s brow furrowed. “By herself?”

“Well, Dad and Papa are still at the golf course, you guys were at the store, and she can’t take Owen. He’d be miserable in the sun.”

“It’s good for her to have a break,” Mom said. “That was nice of you, Skylar.”

Grammy’s jaw clenched as if she completely disagreed, but she surprised me by keeping quiet about it.

When Grammy turned her back to put away bread, Mom winked at me and I smiled. It’d been years since Mom and I got along so well. Kinda made me sad that in a few days they’d leave, and it’d be just me, grumpy Papa, and meddling, suffocating Grammy.

6

He happened to call at a moment when I was thinking
about him, missing him. That’s why I answered.

“Oh. Hi,” Connor said.

“Were you expecting someone else?” I asked.

“No.” Pause. “I mean, kinda.” Another pause. “It’s been awhile since you actually answered one of my calls.”

“I’m on vacation.” I stretched out my legs and let the grass tickle my feet. “I’ve got stuff going on.”

He didn’t need to know that “stuff” involved sitting on my grandparents’ porch, half-hoping Justin might walk over and ask me to do something so I’d stop thinking about Connor for thirty seconds.

“Right. So. How’s everything going?”

“Fine.”

“Just fine?”

“I mean great. Except I suck at surfing.”

Connor chuckled. It sounded forced. “Must be the Midwestern girl in you.”

“Must be.”

Yet another pause. “Things here are good.”

“Good.”

“Dad, Chris, and I are playing softball on the church team. We’re three and oh.”

“Cool.”

“I tried talking Eli into playing with us, but he hasn’t shown up yet.”

Why’d he bring up Eli? “Huh.”

“Is now a bad time? You sound distracted.”

“I’m not distracted. I just . . .” I ran my hands through my windblown hair, grateful Connor couldn’t see how it aggravated me to talk to him. “I guess I don’t understand what you want from me.”

“What I want from you? I don’t want anything.”

“Everybody wants something.” But I thought of the Monday before I left for Hawaii, how Connor took care of me twice and Eli just took care to proposition me.

“All I want is for us to be like we were.”

“When?”

“Your choice.”

“Well, we’re already kinda like we were last summer. I thought you were annoying.”

I thought this would offend him, but instead he laughed. “If annoyance is all you feel for me, then I’ll take it. Sounds like an upgrade.” He didn’t wait for a response. “Cameron and Curtis miss you.”

Thinking of them made me smile. I was so not a kid person, but something about those boys touched my heart. “I miss them too.”

“Curtis has asked a couple times if you’ll be back for his party.”

“When is it?”

“July 3.”

“You know I won’t be back by then.”

“I told him that. He says you will.”

The thought of five-year-old—almost six-year-old—Curtis wanting me at his party tugged at my heart. Last winter, when Dad spilled about having an affair and Mom took off, the Rosses became my family. And when Connor and I broke up, not only did I lose my best friend and boyfriend, it felt like I lost a couple brothers and a set of sane parents.

“Maybe I could come back for a little bit. Abbie’s birthday is around then too.”

“A vacation from your vacation,” Connor said. “When’s her birthday?”

“The sixth. It could work out pretty nice.”

“Well . . . I won’t tell Curtis you’re thinking about coming. I don’t want to get his hopes up.”

“I’ll talk to my parents and let you know.”

Justin’s truck puttered up the road. It had such a distinct sound I could recognize it even after my short time here. He hung his hand out the window and did that Hawaiian thing that seemed to mean “aloha,” “thanks,” “take it easy,” and a myriad of other goodwill phrases. I waved back.

“Skylar, you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said as Justin climbed out of his truck. “I asked you about Owen. How’s he doing?”

“Fine. He’s getting lots of attention.”

“Abbie said he screamed on the plane.”

“Just for the first and last hour.”

Justin crossed the street and smiled at me. I signaled I’d be off the phone soon.

“Take your time,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Has he laughed yet?” Connor asked.

“Not yet. Grammy and Papa are doing everything they can to get him to. They’re dying to hear it.”

Across the street, Chase poked his head out the door. When he spotted Justin on our front porch, he yelled, “Still cool if I borrow your truck, dude?”

“Sure,” Justin hollered back as he fished for his keys.

“Who’s that?” Connor asked. Anyone would’ve recognized his jealousy. He rarely masked emotions. It wasn’t in him to be duplicitous.

I glanced at Justin. “Neighbor.”

Justin covered his mouth, as if he shouldn’t have said anything, but I shook my head, assuring him it was fine.

“They must build the houses right on top of each other. He sounds close.”

“Well, he’s sitting here with me—”

“Oh,” Connor said. “I don’t want to interrupt. I’ll let you go.”

“Okay. Hey, tell your mom—” But the line sounded curiously quiet. I pulled the phone away from my ear to find it flashing call ended. Great.

“Sorry,” Justin said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.” I sighed. “It’s fine. It’s just this . . .” How to describe Connor? “Just this stupid guy from back home.”

“Oh.” Justin fiddled with the cushion of the bench. “Is he . . . ?” He cleared his throat.

“He’s an ex-boyfriend,” I said, hoping to erase whatever went through Justin’s mind that made his ears pinken.

“Oh. Is he the father?”

I blinked. “Who?”

Now his face bloomed crimson. “Never mind. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine, I just don’t get what you’re asking.”

“It really isn’t any of my business. I just wondered if he”—Justin gestured to my cell phone—“is Owen’s father. I didn’t know if you guys still talked.”

“Why would Connor . . .” And then it dawned on me. “You think Owen’s mine?”

Now Justin blinked. “He’s not?”

“No.” I burst out laughing. “He’s Abbie’s.”

“Oh.” I could practically see the wheels of Justin’s mind working. Thinking over events of the last week? “I guess I just saw you with him so often . . .”

“Well, he is my nephew.” I grinned. “I’m pretty fond of him.”

“Right.” Justin’s face returned to its normal shade. “Wow, I can’t believe this.”

“I had no idea you thought that.”

“Just a misunderstanding, I guess.” Justin fiddled with his shirt collar, something Connor often did when nervous. “So. Do you maybe wanna go out sometime?”

Since it was Friday and neither of us had anything going on, we skipped the formalities of “checking our schedules.” He said he’d like to shower and change, and then he’d be ready. When he crossed the street, I went inside to make my grandmother extremely happy.

Grammy clapped her hands together, making her flabby arms swing. “Oh, I
knew
he liked you!”

I glanced at Mom, whose reaction had been muted.

The rule at our house had always been no dating until college. Of course Abbie had a three-month-old son and I had two ex-boyfriends, so we’d obviously gotten around it. Eli and I dated on the sly, and Connor and I got together when Mom left the first time. This made Justin the first guy I’d ever discussed with her.

“This is okay, right?” I said.

Her smile looked forced. “Of course.”

Abbie emerged from our bedroom, Owen in her arms. “What’s going on?”

“Justin and I are having dinner tonight.”

Her smile looked weird too. “No surprise.”

“I think it’s wonderful.” Grammy bundled me into a tight hug. “I guess it doesn’t matter how long it took him to ask, just that he did.”

“Grammy, I’ve only been here eight days.”

“Still. You’re a catch.” She held me at arm’s length and assessed my outfit. “Now, run and change before he picks you up.”

I glanced at my billowy skirt and tank. “I plan on wearing this.”

“On wearing
that
?” Grammy acted like I intended to wear my bathrobe and slippers.

“I think Skylar looks nice,” Mom said.

“She should wear a dress.” Grammy planted her hands on her hips. “Nice girls wear dresses on dates.”

I looked at Abbie, hoping she’d join my side.

“I agree with Grammy. Especially for a first date,” she said.

Okay—I wasn’t touching another diaper between now and Thursday.

“My skirt’s fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

Grammy’s face pinched with a frown. Mom appeared to notice. “Maybe they’re right, Skylar,” she said gently. “Maybe a dress would be a good idea.”

Traitor.

“I’m not changing my clothes,” I said as I stalked back onto the porch. “Not for anyone.”

I may have been uncertain about a lot of things. Clothing was not one of them, and never again would I let somebody make me doubt how I dressed.

7

“You look really nice,” Justin said as his truck begrudgingly accelerated.

I grinned. “My outfit wasn’t a popular decision.”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with it?”

“My grandma thought a dress would be more appropriate.”

Justin glanced at his cargo shorts and polo. “I can only imagine what she thought of my choice.”

“Well,
I
think you look good.”

Justin’s face reddened, and my heart raced. Should I not have said that? Was that stupid? I’d never done this before, been on a
real
first date. I’d known Eli for years, and we rarely did stuff just the two of us. And then Connor and I were best friends before we got together.

But Justin . . . What did I really know about him? He surfed, shared a tiny house with another guy, and most recently lived in Maryland. How did I go about learning the other stuff? The important things that made a person them. Things I knew about Connor, though I couldn’t remember discussing them. Like what he’d find funny, how protective he was of his brothers, especially the little ones, and that his dad was his hero. I knew these things before the idea of dating him had crossed my mind, long before the first time we kissed—