The Trouble with Dating Sue (Grover Beach Team #6) (31 page)

What was her problem? One eye brow arched, I pivoted to her.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to sit in there with me,” she ranted, pointing one finger back to the door. Her jaw was set, and her eyes gleamed with real anger. “But you could have at least said goodbye to Ted. From his looks, he really could have a thing for you. Why do you want to ruin this?”

Yeah…why? I took a deep breath. Ethan was a great guy—if a little antisocial as of late. Being gay didn’t make things any easier for him. And Ted could be E.T.’s very own love story. I sucked in another lungful of air through my nose. Ethan had also arranged this date with Sue for me. He helped me out when I was completely down and lost. Maybe there was a way to return the favor. Today. Right now. Would it hurt to go back inside and talk to Ted?

Drawing in a third deep breath, I bit my lip and cut a glance at the sky. “You’re right. I’m an idiot.” Determined, I let go of her hand and walked back into the café.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

Already in the doorway, I shrugged and glanced back over my shoulder. “Giving him my number…I think.” Well certainly not mine, but Ethan’s.

Rounding the corner, however, I stopped dead as my nerves began to flutter. Ted had carried our empty cups away and was putting the money into that old-fashioned cash register. He either heard the door close or he felt my stare on him, because he lifted his head and slid a glance over to me.

His eyes were puzzled, waiting. And I did a hell of a job standing here making him guess. Fuck, I should do something. But what?

Oh God, this was weird. I had no idea how to approach a guy, even if I was just acting. On the other hand…why act? Susan was waiting outside. She wouldn’t hear a word we spoke in here, so I could be myself and just come clean with the waiter, right?

Yep. That sounded a lot better.

Already chilling out, I cleared my throat, and with a friendlier expression than the shocked one I’d been wearing when I came in, I walked toward the counter. Ted slowly closed the cash register and turned to me, looking wary.

Susan and I had been the only patrons this afternoon, so it was certainly okay to speak normal and not whisper this conversation. “Hi,” I said with a light voice, holding my hand out over the bar. “I’m Chris Donovan. Ethan Donovan’s twin brother.”

With surprise in his eyes and more than a little confusion, Ted reached for my hand with what seemed to be a reflex, and not real confidence. “Uh…hey.” His grip was shy and light.

A smirk on my lips as the memory of how Susan had given me her number came up in my mind, I tightened my hand around Ted’s and pulled his arm toward me across the counter. “I noticed how you stared at me before,” I told him as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and slipped the pen from his chest pocket. With it, I pointed to the door. “Did you see the girl I just walked out with? Sorry, dude, but I’m totally into
her
.” I gave him an apologetic look. “However, I know that my brother would kinda like to…um…” Dammit, what was a good term to use? “Hang out with you.” Yep, that worked. Opening the felt-tip pen with my teeth, I scribbled Ethan’s number on his forearm. Then I let go of his hand, recapped the pen, and held it out to him. “So maybe you’ll call him.”

Reluctantly, Ted closed his fingers around the pen. All this time, his eyes were fixed on mine, wide with wonder. “Oh…kay,” he mumbled, blushing a pink that would have looked sweet on Susan but not on a boy.

I gave him a quick smile and nodded. “Take care.”

Heck, that went better than expected.
Great
.

And now back to Sue.

OUTSIDE CHARLIE’S, SUSAN waited for me with a hanging jaw and an expectant look. “You really gave him your number?” she exclaimed in awe.

“Mm-hm.”

Now she started to grin. “Awesome! What did he say?”

I chuckled. “No way. I’m not talking to you about this.” It was hard enough to actually go through with it, no need to spill every little detail. Especially because it would ruin our date, which had gone fairly well so far. Sue seemed quite chilled out and happy to be with me. I could totally pull off the Ethan thing, and it wasn’t even hard. That should convince her in the end that we were the perfect match.

We walked across the street to the Mustang and climbed in. I didn’t dare look back at the café in case Ted was looking at us through one of the huge windowpanes. In fact, it was a great relief to finally leave this place and head somewhere
I
could be Sue’s sole focus again, instead of another guy she thought she had to hook me up with.

As we drove out of town, she turned her head to me. “Did you borrow your brother’s cologne?” From the corner of my eye, I spotted a smile on her face. “You smell like Chris.”

I bit my lip at the pleased sound of her voice and cut her the quickest glance. “Good?”

She nodded once.

A smirk tugged at my lips. “You said the other day that you liked how he smelled. I thought it couldn’t hurt to try it.” And for her benefit, I added, “You know…for Ted.”

“Do you think he’ll call you?”

My shoulder jerked in a small shrug. “I don’t know.” Ted didn’t seem like a forward player to me. Equally as shy as Ethan, or maybe even more, he probably needed a few days to work up the courage. Even then, I assessed him as someone who took the careful way. He wouldn’t call Ethan.

As we drove on the highway along the ocean and the sun slowly sank into the waves ahead of us, I squinted at the stark orange rays striking the windshield. From my chest pocket, I retrieved my shades and put them on one-handed, then finally said, “A text would be cool.”

Susan lowered her head. When I cut another glance at her, I saw how she smiled, expression soft, her eyes on her knees. It must’ve been a nice memory that brought out that reaction. Hopefully one she shared with me.

The Merry Melody was a place I’d hung out a few times last summer. Tyler liked taking Rebecca out here because, apart from an awesome cuisine, they had a dance floor, and Becks loved to grind against him to the beat. The DJ usually played some nice rock and pop music. Only, today seemed to be a bad choice. “Oldies night,” I groaned as I pulled Sue around the twisting couples to a booth in the back.

“What? I like it,” she said into my ear, sliding in front of me with a broad grin. “And look at us”—gripping her skirt, she made it sway a little to the music—“we seem to have picked just the right clothes for it, too.” Her delighted eyes gleamed in the colorful spotlights.

We sat in a small booth with green upholstery, Susan opposite me. Studying the menu, I said, “I’m hungry. Are you?”

“You always are.” Laughing, she stole the laminated card from my hands. After quickly scanning the meals listed, she made a displeased face. Obviously her favorite—kiwi and cream—was not on the menu. “I think I’ll go with fries.”

Since this was a self-service place, I told Susan to wait while I went to the bar and placed our order. A cheeseburger meal with extra fries and an extra Coke for Sue. Back at our table, I enjoyed my food while Susan nibbled one French fry after the other. Was she not hungry? I licked the ketchup off my fingers and wiped my hands on a napkin. “You’re not really a big eater, are you? I noticed when you stayed over for dinner.”

She sucked her Coke through the straw and grinned. “I like to save up my quantum of calories for liquor-filled pralines. They’re my soft spot.”

Pralines, aha.
And I thought I was your soft spot,
I thought, staring at her slowly emptying basket of fries. As I looked up, her scrutinizing gaze was fastened on me.
Crap.
Had I just said that out loud? I shrugged in a nonchalant manner and waggled my brows once, hoping to cover that capital mistake.

Her eyes narrowed to curious slits. Was she starting to figure me out? Man, I was such an idiot, incapable of holding my damn tongue. Since it was far too early in my plan to reveal the truth to Susan, I settled for distraction. A jaunty song started playing, and that gave me an idea.

I reached under the table and pulled gently on the skirt of Susan’s blue dress. “Does that swing?”

She laughed. “What?”

As we’d come in, she’d said she liked the oldies music and even pointed out our perfect clothes for a night like this. We could put that to the test. I got up, shrugged out of my jacket, which I tossed back into the booth, and tugged Sue along to where some older couples twisted on the parquet floor. “They’re playing your song. Let’s dance.”

“I—agh…” She tried to hold me back. “Wait!”

Not a chance, sweetness.
Her hand in mine, she had no choice but to come with me. On the dance floor, I twirled her around under my arm and pulled her against my chest.

“I can’t dance. My knee. You know that,” she protested, staring up at me, baffled. “And why is this my song?”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. Just move your hips a little,” I teased her with a smirk. Taking advantage of the moment and holding her tighter, I began to sway with her. “And because it’s called ‘Runaround Sue.’”

It didn’t take long for Susan to finally chill out and get into the quick rhythm with me. She laughed into my face as we twirled around the dance floor. With a gentle push, I rolled her a few steps away from me, then twisted, sixties-style, after her. In spite of her still-healing knee, she even did some gentle and smooth moves herself, and it was a pleasure to watch her. Adventurous, that’s what she was today. And she’d been absolutely right before. Her dress was perfect for this kind of dancing.

I snapped my fingers to the music for a few beats. When Sue’s hot and burning gaze met mine, I crooked my finger, beckoning her to me. Without hesitation, she stretched out her hand. I grabbed on tight, pulling her into me once more. Oh man, the feel of holding her again! It was worth every goddamned lie today.

Susan searched my face in the dim spotlights as if she was looking for something. Like maybe the answer as to why Ethan would suddenly want to be so close to her. For all she knew, the guy in front of her was gay.

The slight flush on her cheeks didn’t entirely come from dancing. If I wasn’t careful now, she might fall in love with Ethan all over again. That couldn’t happen. Then again, judging by her look, she was falling for the guy she was with right now. And whether she knew it or not, that guy was me.

The song ended, but I couldn’t care less. We’d slowed our dancing long before. Another oldie started, a love song this time. Shyness in each of her movements now, Susan tried to slip away from me. I didn’t let her. Wrapping my arms gently around her body, I adjusted our swaying to the new rhythm of “Stand By Me.”

Her enticing scent filled my head. Our flaming gazes locked, I knew she could read my longing clearly in my eyes, but I couldn’t help it. It might’ve confused her, but she didn’t break away.

Soon, her delicate hand moved up from my shoulder to the back of my neck for a closer embrace. At the familiar touch of her cold fingers against my warm skin, my eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment. I completely failed at holding back a pleased smile. When I looked a Sue again, there was only one thought on my mind. Kissing her. And nothing in this world could have stopped me from doing it.

I mindlessly started stroking the small of her back, feeling that the skin under her dress was in no way as cold as her hands. Her breathing sped up a tiny bit, just enough to reveal her surprise and pleasure by this new twist of the evening.

Encouraged by her surrender, I moved her other hand to the back of my neck, too, then let my fingers slide down along the side of her arm, which made her shiver again. The couples around us were still dancing, but Susan and I had come to a standstill in the middle of the dance floor. As I was holding her gently against me with both my hands at her back, I lowered my head until our brows touched, all this time capturing her eyes with mine.

Just when I was sure she wanted me to kiss her as much as I wanted to, she said in a hoarse whisper, “Ethan…”

Shit!
My brother? He was here? “Where?” I breathed, but for the life of me, I couldn’t make myself look up, much less detach myself from our embrace.

Susan narrowed her eyes just the slightest bit. “What?” she croaked.

What
what? I mirrored her frown. Then realization struck me.
Oh damn!
She thought I was—

My heart raced with anxiety. I should have told her the truth already. She should’ve known who she was going to kiss, but it was too late. Now was
not
the moment.

“Never mind,” I whispered and leaned in the last couple of inches, claiming her lips. They tasted a little salty from the fries and a bit like Coke, but a lot like Sue and our first kiss. In fact, they tasted so good, I never wanted to move my mouth from hers again.

Her fingers wandered down the back of my neck, leaving a trail of goose bumps from the cold. It was heavenly torture, making me moan. All of a sudden, she went stiff as a rock in my arms. And I knew why. She’d found the silver chains beneath my shirt.

“Chris—”

No, no, don’t break it, sweetness!
Refusing to look into her face, which was doubtlessly filled with shock, I reached for her hands and dragged them away from my neck. The moment was too beautiful to ruin with excuses and explanations. When I laced our fingers, she let me, and I moved her hands to the small of her back. “Don’t think about it, Sue, just don’t,” I quietly pleaded, then planted another tender kiss on her mouth.

Susan kissed me back like she’d finally come to embrace each and every single butterfly in her stomach that she’d spoken about earlier. Little, fluttering fellas she had because of me. Leaving her hands where I held them, her fingers tightened around mine, and she lifted herself on tiptoes, her body flush against mine. I kissed her hard, finding and stroking her tongue with my own. She didn’t back down. Not once—until the song ended.

Reluctantly detaching her lips from my mouth, she inched back and gazed at me with huge, question-loaded eyes. Only seconds later, the anger finally surfaced, contorting her face. She shoved my hands away from her waist and took a disgusted step backward. The move impaled my heart with the sharpness of a sword. Helplessly, I locked my gaze with hers, my eyes pleading as I took a small step toward her. I reached out my hands in the hopes of explaining.

But Susan didn’t give me a chance. “Don’t touch me!”

I froze on the spot. “Sue—”

She wouldn’t listen. Her eyes starting to glisten, she whirled about and stormed away. Her aim was the exit. I followed, after a rushed detour back to our table, where I’d left Ethan’s jacket. When I found her outside, she was pacing the sidewalk, her phone pressed to her ear.

Snatching her wrist, I tried to stop her and make her look at me. “Susan—please let me explain!”

As if touched by acid, she yanked her hand away and snarled, “I don’t need your explanation. You’re a bloody—” Her eyes jerked away from mine as she spoke hastily into the phone. “Dad? Hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but could you pick me up at the”—she turned around and lifted her head to read the huge cursive letters above the door—“Merry Melody. It’s a bar across town at…” Frantically, she pivoted, scanning up and down the street, probably for a hint at where exactly we were. The horror inside me grew as I watched her. I didn’t want anybody else to pick her up. We needed to talk this out first.

After a moment, she told her dad, “I’m fine. Just a misunderstanding. I need a ride home.” Then she hung up and swirled back to me.

“You didn’t have to call your dad. I can take you home.” Desperation rang in my voice.

Her eyes sharp as glass shards, they could have easily cut cement as she snapped, “Do you honestly think I’ll ever get into the same car with you again?” She pointed at me with her phone still clasped in her whitening fingers. “You goddamn liar!”

“Please. It’s really not what—”

“—it looks like? Save me that! I’m done with you.”

Great. She was going to keep up this game until her father showed up. Anger surging inside me, I clenched my teeth. “Jesus Christ, why won’t you let me explain? You gave me no other choice! All the things you loved about Ethan—” Man, how could I make her understand? At a loss, I threw my arms in the air, Ethan’s jacket flying. “I had to show you somehow that you can have them with me, too.”

Susan went stiff. It seemed her anger had just reached the next level as she asked, a deadly and slow, “Does Ethan know what you did tonight?”

Oh my God. I’d promised to keep him out of this. But telling her now that I drugged my brother to get on his phone would probably make matters worse. I really didn’t know what to say.

Hurt beyond words about the truth I didn't voice, Sue closed her eyes, as if wanting to shut me, and everything else that had happened tonight, out of her mind.