Текст книги "Thizz, A Love Story"

Автор книги: Nicole Loufas

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

My parents and Ashley went to visit my grandmother in Sacramento for spring break, so I have the house to myself. I really wanted to go. I haven’t seen my gram since Christmas, but Nick needs me here. This shit with the Devil’s Gold is heating up. It’s been three days since our meeting with Will, and he still hasn’t made a deal with those assholes. Which is why I think Nick’s a fucking idiot for letting Dani ride with him on a run this morning. His number-one priority shouldn’t be locking down territory, it should be her safety. It was just a drop at a fraternity, but you never know what could happen.

I walk outside to check the mail. If I don’t get into Stanford, joining Nick’s crew was for nothing. I have to get in, and when I do, the money I’ve earned will help me survive. Because that’s what this is all about—survival. Surviving high school, surviving Nick, hell, even surviving Dani. I can’t shake her no matter how hard I try. I haven’t seen her all week, but it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about her every night. Her hair, her eyes, her lips, and the way she smells like burnt coffee and lavender. I caught myself sniffing my mom’s coffee cup the other day just to get a whiff of something that reminded me of Dani. Which is exactly why I have to stay away.

I walk to the end of the driveway and open the mailbox. I pull out three envelopes, none of them from Stanford. As I’m walking back to the house, a white car pulls up behind me. I pick up the pace. I don’t think the Devil’s Gold knows anything about me or where I live, but you never know. I hop onto the porch and push open the door. I’m about to close it when someone calls my name. It’s not the voice of a biker or a hit man. It’s a chick. I open the door and find Alisa Martinez’s curly head hanging out the passenger window. We hooked up at K’s party, after Dani and Nick left. I haven’t seen her since. She goes to St. Bernard’s, so I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about her following me around at school. I never even got her number. That was kind of a dick move, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“I thought that was you!” She tells her cousin Amy to pull over, then gets out and skips to the front door.

I’m so fucking happy she isn’t some asshole trying to shoot me, I overlook the fact that she was probably stalking me and invite them in. Alisa looks like one of those hot chicks in a rap video, and her cousin is just as built. After a few shots of rum and a joint, I’m feeling pretty nice. I don’t need the thizz, but I give the girls one when they ask. Half an hour after the pills kick in, the three of us are tangled up on my bed. A few hours later I wake to the sound of bells and Alisa shaking me with her foot. “Get the door,” she mumbles from somewhere under the covers.

I climb over the girls and slide on my sweats. The ringing is non-stop now. There’s only one person who rings my bell like that. I fling open the front door ready to sock Arnie in the chest.

I don’t see Arnie.

I don’t see anyone but Dani.

A few minutes later, she sees Alisa and Amy in my bed, and I go to the bathroom and puke. I send the girls home, and Nick starts our meeting. Aurora isn’t the only new addition. Alex, the guy Will hooked us up with, is here too. He’s a thirty-two-year-old stoner from Lake County who looks like he hasn’t showered in a month.

“Alex, you’ll be working Lake County. Aurora will be heading up the Humboldt State operation and a few surrounding areas. Arnie, you keep doing what you’re doing, and Matt, you’ll be with me.” Nick hands out new cell phones and reminds everyone they need to watch their minutes. “I know I’ve said this before, but it needs to be said again. Thizz is our business, it’s a product we sell to make money. We don’t get high on our own supply. When we party, we do it in a controlled environment. We don’t act a fool, we have to stay in control.” Nick looks at Arnie when he says the last bit. He’s been on a few binges lately. His father has been on him to join the army. We’ve been hearing about this since freshman year, but now he’s serious. Arnie will be eighteen this summer, and with no plans to go to college, it doesn’t look like his old man is going to let up. Arnie nods in agreement. It’s cool that Nick didn’t bust him out in front of Aurora and Alex. Then again, Nick is cool like that.

Nick ends the meeting and takes Alex into my room to count out the pills he is taking back to Clearlake, and the rest of us fall into pockets of conversation. Dani won’t look at me. I don’t even want to look at myself. I pull my beanie down until it’s just above my eyebrows. My head is pounding. I want to crawl back in bed and sleep until spring break is over.

I hear Aurora brag to Dani about her new car and her plans to travel to Europe after she graduates from college and I look up. Why is she even here? I pull Arnie aside to complain. “She drives an eighty-thousand-dollar Mercedes, what does she need to sell thizz for?” Aurora looks up like she heard me. I don’t care. “She’s just a bored rich girl that wants to play badass.”

“Dude, listen to what you just said. You could be talking about Nick.” Arnie’s right. Nick doesn’t need this lifestyle either. He doesn’t sell drugs out of necessity, and that’s what worries me. I always believed he would stop once we graduated. We had plans to go to Stanford together, and he didn’t even apply. Even if Nick leaves Eureka, it won’t be for school. It will be for the two most important things in his life. Thizz and Dani.

Nick finishes up in my room and walks Alex out. When he comes back, he motions for me to join him in the kitchen. As soon as the door swings closed he says, “We might have a problem.”

I pull an oatmeal cookie from the bag on the table and pop it in my mouth. Ashely must have left them down here for me. “What kind of problem?”

“The Devil’s Gold is putting up some resistance. They don’t like me very much.” Nick smiles like it’s something to be proud of. I choke on the dry crumbs. Nick pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and tosses it to me. “Don’t worry, Will’s working on it, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

I nod as I gulp down the entire bottle of water. I crumple the bottle and toss it in the sink. “Are they coming after you, us?”

“No, hell no. They don’t have the balls. You know who I am?” He puffs his chest out and flexes.

He’s pretending it’s no big deal, but he wouldn’t be telling me this if there wasn’t something to worry about. “Can you be serious?”

“Will told the Devil’s Gold president that he’d put Eureka on pause while they’re negotiating, out of good faith. That’s why I have Alex and Aurora running shit from out of town. Arnie is using some guy he knows in Arcata to sell his shit. This way we can lie low.”

I take a deep breath and tell him I have no problem lying low. The lower the better.

“There’s one more thing.” Nick leans on the sink and runs his hand through his hair. This must be the real bad news. “Will’s worried that Devon, his old partner, will find out about our beef with the bikers and make them a counter offer. If the bikers back Devon, they’ll give him Eureka and all of Humboldt County. If that happens, Devon will try to move in on Will’s action in the city, and Will won’t stand a chance. With all the heat he’s getting about that dead lawyer, the last thing he needs is a war.”

“I thought they were fishing?” I feel a burning sensation in my throat.

“Yeah well, they caught something. Will found out the witness is real. He’s got his guys looking for her now.” Nick opens the fridge again and rummages around for something to eat while I’m fighting the urge to puke.

“You think Will shot those people?”

“I don’t know, probably.” Nick shrugs as he pulls another bottle of water from the shelf and tosses it to me. “My uncle is old-school. He has his ways of dealing with shit. Good and bad.”

I crack it open and take a huge drink. I let out a loud burp and fan the air in front of me. “Fuckin rum.” It isn’t just the regurgitated alcohol making me sick. “What’s he going to do with the witness if he finds her?”

Nick looks at me like I’m an idiot. “What do you think he’s going to do?”

A cold chill runs up my back at the thought of some innocent girl being hunted by Will Walker. What makes it worse is the fact that I’m not doing anything to stop him. What can I do? For all I know, Will is just paranoid. The cops have no evidence it was him; if they did, he’d be in jail.

“None of this bothers you?” I look at my best friend, the guy that cried when we were six because he nailed a squirrel with a baseball, who is acting like murdering innocent people is no big deal.

“Yeah, I know.” He runs his hand through his hair. “It’s fucked up, but what can we do? It isn’t like I can tell Will how to run his life. I respect my uncle. If that means turning a cheek when some bad shit goes down, then I will. But I don’t plan on following in his footsteps.”

“Well, that’s a fucking relief.” It is, it really is. Nick isn’t a killer or even a gangster. He’s just a fucked up kid with a really fucked up role model. Unfortunately, Will can do no wrong in Nick’s eyes.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Dani pokes her head into the room. “Aurora needs to go. She has an appointment.”

Nick rolls his eyes and I give him an I-told-you-so look. “Give us a minute, babe.” Nick winks at Dani, and she disappears without looking at me. “I gotta get this girl back before she drives me crazy. I just wanted to let you know what’s up. I got your back.” Nick gives me a bro hug and says it’s best not to tell anyone about Devon or the cops. By anyone, he means Dani. I agree. She’s in enough danger as it is with the bikers on our ass.

“Why don’t you call those chicks back to keep you company,” Nick jokes as we walk to the door. “It’s a shame you have the house to yourself and you’ll be all alone.”

Dani brushes past me without saying goodbye.

“Nah, I’m just going to crash.”

“Alright then, later dude.” He waves as he gets in the car.

I watch Nick drive away, hoping he isn’t stupid enough to get into another confrontation with the bikers, not with Dani in the car. Who knows what will happen next time. Nick’s first priority should be Dani’s safety. I hope for her sake he does everything he can to make sure nobody ever hurts her. I also hope the daughter of the people Will shot is somewhere safe, someplace he will never find her.

I pull my memory box off the shelf and open it. The box was a gift from my parents on my twelfth birthday. I don’t have jewelry, so I crammed it with birthday cards and old photos. It’s the only memento I let Lucy bring me from home. I didn’t want anything else. I would have driven out of the city with the clothes on my back if it weren’t for Lucy. She spent all night driving to San Francisco to pick me up from the police station the night of the shooting, and I wouldn’t even let her rest a few hours before heading back to Eureka. I couldn’t wait to leave the city, leave everything that happened behind.

I don’t know who called the police. They showed up within minutes of the gunshots. My ears were still ringing when the swirling red lights came from three directions and surrounded my father’s Denali. They yelled for me to put my hands up, they asked if I had a weapon. After they figured out I wasn’t involved and realized I had just lost both of my parents, they left me alone. I sat in a room used to interrogate criminals for six hours waiting for Lucy. I thought about the last movie we saw, the last meal we shared. I wondered how long it had been since my mother kissed me goodnight or held my father’s hand when we walked down the street. I couldn’t even remember the last time I told them I loved them that wasn’t written in a card. The night I told Nick I loved him was the first time I uttered those words to another person since I was ten years old.

The first few weeks I pretended they were on some exotic vacation without me. It was easier to hate them than miss them. Only I could never hate them. They were the most loveable, likeable people on the planet. They were perfect, and I never lived up to their expectations. My grades, my hobbies, my hair, nothing was ever good enough. Not that they told me I was a disappointment as a daughter. I just was. I hated my mother’s charity events; they were boring and lasted forever. I usually had to dress in some dipshit-looking dress that fit too tight around the waist, especially after I attacked the snack table. Even though my father believed his clientele were good people at heart, I was still afraid when they came to his home office. I would always lock the door to the main house and hide in my room until they left. I’m not one of those people that see the good in others. My parents met at CAL and they were saints. I imagined walking onto the CAL campus and being magically transformed into a socially and environmentally conscience liberal out to save the world from injustice and the use of plastic water bottles. That was my goal. Is my goal. Only now I don’t see a future without Nick or thizz. They sort of go hand in hand. I don’t think of one without the other. How can I?

In the bottom of my memory box is a pack of my father’s favorite gum—Big Red. I pull out the gum and dump the pills I swiped from Matt into my hand. I place one in my mouth and swallow with a swig from an old water bottle next to my bed. I didn’t plan on popping alone, but Nick had to go out of town with Arnie to make a drop, and the meeting at Matt’s house was just a meeting. A very eye-opening one at that. Seeing those girls in Matt’s bed made me realize I was right all along. Matt doesn’t want me. He never did. I really thought, maybe, Matt had feelings for me. What do I know? I didn’t even notice my boyfriend and his friends were drug dealers. My perception of the world is seriously warped. I should blame thizz, but I don’t. Thizz is the only thing that makes sense to me. It puts a smile on my face. A happy thought in my head. Thizz is my best friend.

I feel the pill kicking in when my fingers start to tingle. The rush isn’t like it was a week ago. Every time is less powerful than the last. I need something to help stimulate the feelings. Music. I turn on the radio and Fergie’s “London Bridges” is on. It reminds me of Heather. I have to admit, she’s been less of a bitch since the night we thizzed. And now I know that Nick wasn’t at the beach with her, so I let myself keep an open mind to this new and improved version of Heather King. I pull a slip of paper from my desk drawer and go downstairs to use the phone in the hall. She answers on the third ring. “Hi Heather, its Dani.”

“Uh, hi.” She sounds very surprised to hear my voice.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to come over, for like, a girls’ night.” I contemplate telling her I have pills. Would that be weird?

“I can’t, I’m grounded,” Heather whispers into the phone. “My mom found my journal and flipped out.” She tells me she mentioned getting high and my heart stops. “She is threatening to send me away to some reform school our church has in Mexico.”

My heart is beating out of my chest, and not in a good way. “Does she know who you were with? What you took?”

“No, I’m not that stupid. It wasn’t like I was broadcasting it on Myspace. Don’t worry, I didn’t mention your name. I don’t think she even knows when I wrote it. I already told Arnie; he knows I would never rat him out.”

“What is up with you and Arnie?” She said Arnie wouldn’t let her take thizz, so he must care about her. They never did more than grope each other the night we took thizz, but it was more of a friendly groping.

“Our fathers grew up together, so we’ve been friends our whole lives. He’s like a big brother to me. We have this stupid pact that we’ll marry each other when we turn thirty.” She laughs, but I can tell it’s something that means a lot to her. To both of them probably.

“That’s so sweet!” I gush. Oh shit, the thizz is really kicking in.

“Yeah, he really is a nice guy, once you get to know him.”

I really hope I get to see that side of him one day.

“I’m sorry I can’t hang out. I’ll try to stop by the café this week to say hi.” I hear a knock on a door and Heather says she has to go. “Check your Myspace, it’s the only way I can communicate without my parents snooping.”

I tell her I will and we hang up. Heather really has everyone at school fooled into thinking she’s this socialite, sneaking into clubs and partying. She went out one night and her parents are ready to ship her off to Mexico. I was wrong about Heather. She’s just as fucked-up as the rest of us.

I lie across my bed and pull out a piece of my father’s favorite gum. I fold it into my mouth with a sigh. My boyfriend ditched me to meet his uncle, my best friend is having a threesome with the town sluts, and the girl that’s made my life a living hell since the day we met has turned out to be sort of nice. Can things be more fucked up?

I rummage through my desk and pull Nick’s Audiodub CD from its case. I borrowed it from him and never gave it back. My CD, along with my CD player, was never retrieved from my father’s SUV. I place the disc in my computer and crank the speakers as loud as they will go. “The Story that Never Ends” fills the room. The familiarity of the rhythm is like a hug from an old friend. Halfway through the second chorus, the phone rings. I storm down the steps to the hall and answer it.

“Dani, thank God you’re home! Can you close tonight?” Mary’s voice sounds twenty times worse on the phone. “I just got invited to a party and my parents are actually letting me go,” she squeals. “I’ll owe you, please!”

I want to say no, I want to tell her to piss off, but that isn’t what comes out. “Sure! I’ll be right there!” Empathy—a side effect of ecstasy.

The twenty minute walk takes ten minutes. I run all the way. I open the door to the café and steady myself to act normal in front of Mary. Three girls are fixing their makeup in the mirror on the wall.

Mary comes out of the storage room looking like she’s headed for a red carpet event. She throws her arms around me and I hug her back. Her gratefulness makes me happy. I feel like I’ve done something right. The praise induces another surge of serotonin.

I let her go and step back to admire her dress. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks.” She steps away, remembering who I am, who she is, and the mutual disgust we usually display for each other.

I think maybe I should insult her so she doesn’t think I’m acting weird, but I can’t think of anything clever to say. So I grab the bar rag from the counter and begin wiping things. The social aspect of thizz has me longing to join Mary and her friends in their inane conversations about hairspray and eyeliner. “Where is the party at tonight?” I ask nobody in particular.

“You wouldn’t know her,” a snotty girl answers. A few of the others sneer in my direction then turn back to the mirror with lip gloss in hand.

“I was just making conversation.” I turn from the counter and ferociously wipe down the train. Mary never bothers to clean the dried milk from the steamer or wipe coffee grounds from the counter. I don’t care where those bitches are going anyway. I’m sure wherever it is, it’s going to be lame.

“It’s a girl that goes to our school,” Mary says ruefully as she places three empty mugs in the sink. She hands me a fresh towel and offers an apologetic smile. “She comes in sometimes. Her name is Alisa.”

My head whips around at the sound of her name. “Alisa Martinez,” I hiss. Alisa has been in the café? I guess I never really pay attention to the people plucking coffee cups from the counter.

“You know her?” one of the girls in the group asks, as if my knowing Alisa was the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.

“Actually I do,” I sneer back. I saw her boobs today!

“Yeah right,” the snotty girl rolls her eyes and whispers something to the group that makes them giggle.

My out-of-whack brain starts to process the situation. Mary is going to a party at Alisa’s. I wonder if Matt’s going to be there. I want to call and ask him. I might have yesterday, but now it seems wrong. It’s none of my business what he does with Alisa or any girl.

After Mary leaves, I sit on the counter and watch headlights come and go.

I wonder if we would be going to the party if Nick didn’t have to meet his uncle.

I wonder where I would be if my parents were still alive.

I wonder how the side of the espresso machine got so dirty.

I grab a bottle of comet and a sponge from under the sink and start to scrub. I clean every cup, plate, and crevice in the café.

“Dani, you did this all last night?” Patty runs her finger along the edge of the counter.

“I was bored.” I hope I didn’t overdo it.

“Well, thank you. And thank you for covering for Mary. She really appreciated it.” She puts her arm around me and squeezes my shoulders. The fact that Patty is thanking me for covering for Mary tells me she went home last night, so chances are she didn’t get high.

Patty is gushing over the cleanliness of the floor when Matt walks in. I try to smile, but my teeth grind together. Shit. After I left the café last night, I went home and took another pill. If Matt suspects I got high alone, or that I’m still a little bit buzzed, I don’t know if he will rat me out. During Nick’s meeting yesterday, he went on and on about not getting high on their supply. I know he wouldn’t be cool with me taking pills alone and running all over town at night.

“What are you doing here?” I pretend to be preoccupied with wiping down the counter and avoid eye contact. I take a sip from my ice coffee and realize the overdose of caffeine I’ve consumed this afternoon has enhanced the residual thizz coursing through my veins.

A couple of middle school girls swoon when Matt walks up to the counter. They bat their eyelashes at him as they take their drinks from the bar. He doesn’t even throw a look their way. His crystal-clear blue eyes are on me as he yanks the rag from my hand. I slip my tongue between my teeth to stop my jaw from grinding and pick up my ice coffee. I hate not being in control of my emotions right now. I hate that the smell of Matt’s body spray turns me on in some sick and twisted way.

He leans over the counter and whispers, “I don’t want there to be weirdness between us.”

I take a sip of my coffee and try not to chew the straw. “Why would there be weirdness?”

“Please don’t make me say it.” He smiles and I bite the straw even harder.

I wonder if he’s referring to the fact that I saw two naked, closely related girls in his bed. Or it could be the fact that I acted like a total slut the last time we were alone together. Or maybe because he’s been lying to me pretty much every single day that we’ve known each other. He’s worried about weirdness? We are way past weird.

“No, no weirdness at all.” I snatch the rag from him and hide it behind my back. I recall Alisa’s naked body under the covers where I’d slept a few days before and my face turns hot. “What are you doing here, getting coffee for another family threesome?” I wish my tone was a little less harsh, but I don’t really have control at the moment.

“Geez, Dani, lighten up. You really have no right to be mad.” I try to turn away, but Matt grabs my arm. “You should be happy for me.” His eyes search my face for some sign of his friend.

I know I’m being unreasonable, but what I’m feeling isn’t even close to happy. “Why would I be happy for you?” I yank free.

One of the regular gossipers places her empty mug on the counter between us with a curious smile. Nosy old crow. I reach for the mug, but Matt gets to it first. He picks it up and walks around the counter. What is he doing? I follow him to the sink.

He spins around when he’s out of earshot from the rest of the café. “For the same reason I’m happy for you and Nick.” He’s whispering, but I hear the desperation in his tone. He hands me the empty mug. “Because I’m your friend and I want you to be happy.”

Blood races through my veins and my body tingles all over as I focus on Matt’s eyes. I fight the urge to say what I really want to say, what I really feel. That it’s easier to tell yourself you’re happy, because it hurts less than being jealous. Is that what Matt is trying to tell me? I feel my jaw tighten and release. Matt sees it, too. He searches my face and raises a curious eyebrow.

“I’m happy for you,” I tell him. I walk into the storeroom.

He follows me in and closes the door. “I never wanted to hurt you, Dani.”

I can’t look at him. I don’t want to touch him. I definitely shouldn’t be alone with him.

“Come here.” He spins me around and holds his arms open. I’m weak, I can’t fight it. I lean into him and he wraps his arms around me. He feels so good. “If it makes you feel any better, I’d rather be sleeping next to you.”

My entire body erupts in joy. I want to blame this on thizz, but I won’t. I can’t. Thizz has nothing to do with the pleasure I feel in Matt’s arms. I wasn’t on thizz during our computer class four months ago when I first saw him and my heart suddenly started to pump back to life. I wasn’t on thizz when I got his message and fantasized for an hour that he was in love with me. My feels for Matt were never thizz induced.

He shifts his weight and lets me go. “At least you don’t snore.” He laughs. He’s acting like what he said was a joke, but it doesn’t feel like one. Or maybe it is and I’m wishing for things that aren’t real again.

Matt doesn’t want me. He wants Alisa and her cousin, and he’s had them. Multiple times probably. Matt is nothing more than a good friend, he said it himself. He’s happy for me because he’s my friend. Just a friend. That’s good enough for me. It has to be.

I step away and whip Matt with the towel in my hand. “Get out of my way. I have to get back to work.” And just like that, the mask is back on.

Matt stays with me all afternoon, helping me remember orders and laughing at me when I spill things. When Nick calls to tell me he’s running late, I tell him Matt is here, that he can walk me home. Nick is so protective, yet he has no problem leaving me alone with Matt. If that isn’t reason enough to believe Matt doesn’t have feelings for me, I don’t know what is.

My feet tingle as we walk down the street, and I can’t wipe the smile from my face. I guess I wasn’t as sober as I thought. “Do you believe in destiny?” I ask as we cross West Harris.

“Sure.” Matt pulls my arm and holds me back as a car makes a right turn in front of us. He doesn’t comment on the fact that I was almost taken out by a Honda.

“Do you think it was my destiny to come here?” This is something I thought about last night. “I feel like I was meant to be right here, right now. But that would mean my parents were destined to die.”

Matt slides his hand down my arm and presses his palm to mine. He’s holding my hand the way a parent would hold a child’s as we cross the street. It looks innocent, but my heart is racing.

“Not destiny, it’s more like fate. Fate can go either way, good or bad.”

I see what he’s saying, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. “If I had a choice to go back to my old life with my parents or stay here, I don’t know what I would choose. Does that make me a bad person?”

Matt stops walking and turns me to face him. “Something horrible happened and you ended up here. You had no control over that. Your parents would want you to be happy. They would want you to feel the way you feel right now.” I doubt that. They wouldn’t want me to be high. Just happy. And I am happy right now, right here, with Matt.

I choke back tears and throw myself into Matt’s arms. “I’m so glad I met you.” My heart feels heavy in my chest. Like it’s weighted down with too much emotion. Emotions I can’t act on or even acknowledge. There are things I can never say to Matt, to anyone. What I want to say is a betrayal to Nick. So, I choose my words carefully. “You’re my best friend, Matt.” I kiss his cheek just a few millimeters away from his mouth. A kiss on the cheek is nothing. We’ve kissed for real, even if it was a game.

“You’re not mad about, you know, the lying?” He looks at his feet. “I never would have lied to you, but Nick said…”

“I know.” I squeeze his hand. He doesn’t have to apologize. I know it was Nick. Matt would never betray me. It’s the one thing I know I can count on. “I understand.”

When we get to Lucy’s, I have no problem asking Matt if he wants to come inside. It isn’t like I have anything to hide from him. He hesitates at the door as if he’s not allowed to be alone with me. “Are you sure?” He looks around to make sure nobody is lurking in the bushes, ready to jump out and catch him doing something he shouldn’t.

“Why not? We’re friends, Matt, we hang out all the time. What’s the difference if we do it at your house or mine?” Something that feels like guilt surfaces as I try to convince Matt to stay with me. Maybe being alone at my house is crossing a line. I don’t even let Nick come inside when he drops me off.

Matt reluctantly steps inside the foyer and asks to use the bathroom. I point him in the direction of the guest bathroom and go upstairs to change out of my coffee-stained shirt. I’m looking for something to wear when I hear Lucy’s car pull into the driveway. I don’t know if I’m happy she’s here or totally disappointed. I grab a white tank top and pull it on as I hurry back downstairs in time to see Lucy introduce herself to Matt.

“Are you Nick?” Lucy extends her free hand with a smile.

“No, I’m Matt, Nick’s friend—Dani’s friend.” Matt shakes Lucy’s hand.

“Do you want to stay for dinner? We have more than enough.” She sets a bag on the dining room table and removes several cartons of Chinese food.

“Thanks, but I can’t. I was just leaving.” Matt sees me standing on the step and waves. “I’ll see you later, Dani.”

“I’ll walk you out.” I take Matt by the forearm and walk him onto the porch. “Thanks for the walk and talk and everything.” I lift my arms to give him a hug, and I feel his hand slide into the back pocket of my jeans. I step back and put my hand on my right butt cheek.