Some Hearts (6 page)

“Do you mind if they sit with us?” Riley asked. “You probably remember
Casey but that’s Beth Ann and Melanie with her.”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Hello ladies!” Casey chirruped as she edged up to our table. “Emory! I was hoping we’d see you again. Did Riley tell you about the party this Friday? I forgot to tell her to invite you. So if she hasn’t said it already, we’d love to have you come with us.”

“She did mention it. Thanks.” I motioned to the empty chairs. “Have a seat.”

Casey sat and so did her friends. Riley introduced me to Beth Ann and Melanie. She was right, they were a friendly group. Was it possible that the cattiness of high school had been left behind? I hoped so.

In seconds our table was swarming with girls and talk of the party on Friday night. I listened to the conversation and chimed in here and there. Riley’s new friends seemed nice enough and they were welcoming toward me. In seconds I’d ascertained that
Melanie was also single while Beth Ann had just started dating someone.

Melanie
, Casey and Riley were already discussing outfits, hair and make-up.

While I wasn’t opposed to going to a party, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be part of their Friday night manhunt.
I didn’t want to hold any of them back but I also didn’t want to be the girl standing around, all alone, either.

Luckily, I had a few days to try to find a way out of it.

“I can’t believe you’re ditching me so you can spend a night out with Caleb,” Riley teased.
“
Hmmmm
,” she hummed into my ear. “Maybe I can. I’ve only met him a few times but that man is…
yum
. No wonder you’d rather go with him than hang out with a bunch of drunken college guys. You might have the right idea after all. ”

“It’s not like that and you know it!” I huffed into my phone. “Caleb’s just a friend. He was Evan’s
best
friend. He’s been really great to Ty. I suppose I really don’t have to go with them tonight, but Ty’s the one that asked. He seemed so excited. I hate to let him down. And Caleb—”

“Emory. Take a breath,” Riley ordered
as she burst into giggles. “I was just giving you a hard time. I hear what you’re saying and yeah, I get it. Not just about Caleb, but about why you don’t want to go to the party. You know I’d never abandon you,
especially
not at a frat party.”

“I know that,” I agreed. “But I don’t want to hold you back, either. If you meet someone, I would feel uncomfortable hovering.”

“I get it. It’s fine. I’m just happy to hear that you aren’t sitting home tonight. And yeah, I wish you were coming with me, but there will be other times. Right?”

“Sure,” I agreed.

“What does Noah think about you going out with Caleb?” she asked.

“I thought we just covered this? I am
not
going out with Caleb. I’m going because Ty asked me, begged me, really, to come with. We’re just going to a demolition derby. Not the prom.”

“So in other words, you don’t plan on telling Noah.”

I paced the length of my room. “I guess I hadn’t planned on it. I don’t want him to worry when there’s nothing to worry about. With him so far away…”

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” She snickered into the phone
. “I still can’t believe you’d rather go to a demolition derby than a frat party.”

“I’d probably be far more excited about a frat party if I was single,” I pointed out.

“True, true,” she conceded. “Then again…if Caleb had invited me, I think I’d be willing to ditch the party too. Is
he
single?”

“Uh…
,” I thought he was, but it had never really come up. I couldn’t say for sure and I didn’t want to get her hopes up. “I have no idea. Probably not.”

Her tone was tinged in disappointment when she said, “You’re right. He’s probably not. But hey! Maybe you could find out for me?”

I was speechless for a moment. Finally finding my voice I said, “Are you serious?”

I could visualize her shrugging as she said, “Sure, why not?
I’ve always thought he was hot as hell. I knew he’d never be interested in a high school girl. But now, that’s the beautiful thing about college, the age difference doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore. I mean, he’s only what…twenty-two? Twenty-three?”

“
Twenty-two. Should I tell him you’re interested?” I asked.

“What? No!”

“Then how am I supposed to get that information out of him? I don’t want him to think I’m hitting on him.”

“Oh, Emory, just work it into the conversation. It can’t be that hard.”

“Really, just like you worked it into the conversation with Biology Boy?”

She sighed. “Fine. You’re right. But if it does happen to come up…?”

“I will absolutely let you know,” I agreed.

She made a little humming sound. I knew exactly what that meant.

“Stop molesting Caleb in your imagination!” I said with a laugh.

“I can’t help it. He got me thinking. Maybe I should just skip the whole frat guy scene. Like I said, go for a real man. I mean he has a job, right?”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Yes, he’s the manager of Randall’s.”

“The sporting goods store?”

“Yes.”

That appreciative hum started up again. She could be so single-minded sometimes. I never knew whether to feel amused or roll my eyes.

“I hate to cut this short,” she finally said, “but as long as you’re sure you don’t want to come with, I better get off the phone. Casey just walked in and her arms are full of shopping bags. I think my opinion on a new outfit is going to be needed.”

I laughed. “Okay. You have fun tonight. And if you need a ride or anything, just give me a call.”

“Thanks, but we’ll be fine. The party is within walking distance of the dorms. So you have fun too and we’ll chat tomorrow.”

I really had no interest in going to a demolition derby. Yet, I was even more desperate to avoid the frat party. When the offer had come up, I’d latched onto it.
I wasn’t sure what the appropriate attire was for watching intentional car crashes but I settled on a pair of worn jeans, knee high black boots, and a simple but form fitting black t-shirt. I decided to pull my long hair up in a ponytail. It seemed like tonight would be all about casual.

When the doorbell rang half an hour later, I decided I was as ready as I was going to get.

***

To my surprise, several hours later, I found that I was having a great time.
The demolition derby was being held at the county fair a few towns over. We’d walked through the fair first, even taking the time to go on a few rides. I was surprised when Tyler begged to walk through the animal barns. I hadn’t thought that would be something he was interested in. Turned out, I was wrong about that too. He was fascinated by the horses, a little disgusted by the cows, and completely enamored with the baby goats. So much so that he insisted he was going to have goats one day.

I found that unlikely but decided to let the boy dream.

Caleb had insisted on buying us dinner. If malts, cheese curds and cotton candy could be called dinner. I had almost protested, wanting to point out that Tyler really should have a decent meal. Then I’d realized that at the fair, there really wasn’t any such thing anyway. So why spoil the boys’ fun?

The stands were brimming with people. At first, I had thought the idea of car
s crashing into each other over and over until only one car was left running seemed absurd. But that was before I heard my brother laughing hysterically at the drivers’ antics. In no time, I was laughing, clapping and cheering along with everyone else.

The cars moved at a
slower pace than I’d expected. I decided that only made sense. They had to keep the drivers safe. It was almost comical, the way some of them just putted along, their impacts not amounting to anything while others got a running start.

When it was over, we joined the flow of people spilling out of the stands. The fair was in full swing. The lights of the rides li
t up the night, the smell of artery-clogging foods filled the air. Screams floated down to us from some of the larger rides and Tyler looked at them in awe.

He turned to me and I knew what he was going to ask before he even said it.

I shook my head. “We need to head home. We’ve got a little bit of a drive ahead of us. Besides, you got to go on plenty of rides earlier.”

He opened his mouth, clearly ready to protest but Caleb clapped a hand down on his shoulder. “You heard your sister. You probably want to listen to her or she might not let you come with me next time I ask to take you somewhere.”

Tyler’s shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.”

I had expected him to put up more of an argument. Instead, he yawned hugely and I realized he was probably too tired to put up too much of a fuss. He took off toward the truck,
rehashing his favorite parts of the night with Caleb. When we reached the truck, he crawled into the backseat. I’d been smart enough to call shotgun first.

We weren’t even out to the main highway when I glanced back to find him sound asleep in the backseat of Caleb’s truck. I turned back around with a satisfied smile on my face.

“I know he had fun tonight, how about you?” Caleb asked.

“I have to
admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It really didn’t sound that appealing to me. But yeah, I had a great time.”

He laughed at that. “W
hy in the hell did you agree to go?”

“Because Ty asked me to.”

He played around with the radio until he found a classic rock station. I smiled because Evan had enjoyed classic rock too.

“You’re a good sister. You know that, right?” he asked as he shot a glance my way.

I groaned. “Well, in all honesty, I didn’t go tonight just because Ty asked me. I was kind of looking for an excuse not to go to a party.”

“Ah!” he exclaimed. “The truth comes out. I feel so
used
!” He clapped a hand over his heart.

I reached over and smacked his shoulder
and he laughed.

“Not in the partying mood, huh?” he asked, his tone turning a little more serious.

“Not in the mood to hang out with a group of single girls who are on the lookout for single guys. Especially not at a party where everyone is wasted and almost everyone is acting stupid,” I explained.

He nodded. “Yeah, I suppose not. Must kind of suck that Noah’s so far away.”

“Sure does,” I agreed. I wondered if now would be a good time to fish for information about whether or not he had a girlfriend. I was trying to decide the best way to slide into that conversation when he reached over and put his hand on the volume dial.

“Do you mind?” he asked. “I love this song.”

“Not at all.”

He looked at me and grinned as he began to belt out the lyrics along with the radio. I wasn’t familiar with the song but I enjoyed listening to him sing along. Song after song, he seemed to know all the words. He kept the volume cranked up the entire ride home. That worked for me. I wasn’t good at forcing conversation
. With Tyler sleeping, I didn’t want to be responsible for keeping the conversation going. I wondered if Caleb felt the same way.

He finally turned down
the volume as he turned onto our road. I took off my seatbelt and half crawled over the seat so that I could shake Tyler awake.

“Hey, bud!” I said. “It’s time to wake up!”

He blinked up at me in the darkness. “I’ve been awake,” he irritably mumbled.

I knew better than to argue with a tired child. Even the sweetest kid could become belligerent when pulled out of a deep sleep.

“We’re almost home, Ty!” Caleb said.

My brother mumbled something unintelligible as I collapsed back into my seat.

“Thanks so much for tonight,” I told Caleb. “Thanks for letting me tag along. Again.”

“Yeah, no problem. I had a good time too. If you ever need an excuse to get out of another fun night with your friends, feel free to use me anytime.” I swung my gaze to him and he winked. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

He pulled into our driveway and parked. I was surprised when he got out of the truck and walked up to the door with us. It was dark out but the living room light was blazing. I was irritated when I reached for the doorknob only to find it locked. Mom was home but maybe she hadn’t heard us drive up. I fumbled around in my purse, finally finding my key ring.

The cool air seemed to have jolted my brother out of his sleepy state.

“That was so much fun!” Tyler exclaimed as he bounced around on the porch next to me. “Can we go again?”

Caleb laughed. “You know they won’t be back until next year, so I can’t make any promises. But I’ll definitely keep it in mind. Okay?”

Tyler looked a little disappointed but he agreed anyway. “I think I want to drive one of those when I grow up. Do you think I can?”

Caleb nodded as I
stuck my key in the lock. “I’m sure you could,” he said. “If you decide that’s something you really want to do. But who knows. You might change your mind by then. Maybe you’ll find something more interesting.”

“Like what?” Tyler wondered.
He sounded perplexed.

“Girls,” Caleb answered.

“No.” Tyler shook his head decisively.

Caleb gave him a teasing nudge. “You’ll be changing your mind
one of these days. You just wait and see.”

“Nope,” Tyler argued. “That’s not going to happen.”

I was smiling as I pushed the front door open. That smile quickly collapsed into a scowl.

My nose wrinkled reflexively as we walked into the foyer. I recognized the rancid smell immediately. Vomit was pretty impossible to ignore. I felt fury well up within me. She couldn’t behave herself for one night?

I realized with a sinking heart that of course she couldn’t. I’d taken Tyler off her hands. It was like giving her free reign to drink herself into oblivion. These revelations only took seconds. I was the first one in the door and I grabbed Tyler’s shoulder, nudging him in while trying to block Caleb’s way.

He looked confused for a second, not sure what to make of my rudeness. Then his nose wrinkled. I knew that he knew.