Kiss in the Dark (15 page)

Stephanie folded her arms across her chest, still glaring at each person who left the apartment carrying Boston’s things. When the other girls had left, Vance took hold of Boston’s arm and began pushing her toward the door.

Vance dropped his hand from Boston’s mouth but continued to direct her out through the open doorway. She heard Dempsey say something to Stephanie—heard Steph slam the apartment door. It was over.

Boston looked ahead to where her friends stood leaning up against Vance’s pickup waiting. As she approached, smiles spread across each loyal and beloved face.

“All of us were too weak to do it on our own, Bost!” Danielle laughed. “What a bunch of weenies we are…letting one girl bully us around like that for so long!”

Boston hugged Danielle. She couldn’t believe it. She was free! After so long—so much emotional baggage. She felt more lighthearted than she could remember feeling in years.

“Let’s get home!” Danielle said. “We’ll unload your stuff and then…then you can get ready for your date with Logan without having to worry about Steph pulling some kind of mess to screw it all up!”

Boston nodded, for it was true. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to get ready to go somewhere—anywhere, let alone on a date—without having to worry about Steph’s interference. Yet there was one person she hadn’t thanked yet—the one person who had finally managed to make Boston see how truly bad Stephanie was for her emotional well-being.

But Vance shrugged again, feigning ignorance. “Well, I don’t really see that I did anything out of the ordinary…but…you’re welcome.”

He quickly moved past her, sauntering around to the driver’s side of his truck.

“Let’s get back and get this stuff unloaded,” he said. “It shouldn’t take us too long.”

Max and Dempsey hopped in the back of the pickup as the engine roared to life. The girls waved as the men drove off and then headed to Danielle’s car. They’d all ridden over from Danielle’s house together.

“He’s not one to be comfortable with legitimate compliments or thanks,” Danielle said as Kara and Halle got into the backseat.

“So I gather,” Boston said.

“Oh, I just think Vance is too cute…too sweet…and way too hot for his own good!” Halle exclaimed. “Why isn’t he married already? Or at least spoken for?”

Danielle shrugged. “I guess he’s just been focusing on getting his career in line and stuff,” she said. Yet Boston glanced to her. There was something in Danielle’s voice, something she couldn’t identify. Still, the breath of sweet liberation was too invigorating to deny, and Boston smiled.

Instantly, Boston’s nerves began to twitch. She’d sort of been keeping her date with Logan in the background of her thoughts, having known that moving out of Steph’s apartment would probably be dramatic. Still, other than the flying vase incident, the exodus had been fairly uneventful. Now she allowed her mind to turn to Logan, and it unnerved her.

“Yeah,” Boston finally confirmed. “It’s our third time going out.”

“Ooo! The third time’s usually the deal maker or breaker,” Kara said. “You either want to press forward or not. Has he kissed you yet? Is he a good kisser?”

Boston shook her head. “No…not yet.” Instantly her stomach was churning with anxiety, for Kara was right—there seemed to be so many things about the third date with someone that were telling.

“He sounds like he’ll be a good kisser,” Halle said.

Danielle laughed as she turned onto Main Street. “How can someone
sound
like a good kisser, Halle?”

Halle shrugged. “Just his name. Logan West. How can he not be a good kisser with a name like that?”

“It is a good name,” Kara noted.

“Kind of like Max Ironside?” Boston teased. Boston had always liked Max’s name. It was kind of brutal sounding, whether or not it fit Max’s appearance.

“Exactly!” Kara laughed.

“Logan West,” Halle mumbled. “Logan West. Yep…he’ll be a good kisser, Boston.”

Boston shook her head. Oh, how she loved her friends! Oh, how glad she was she had them. Her heart pinched, however—sympathy for Steph. Even after everything, Boston still felt sorry for her.



Boston closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, exhaling slowly in an attempt to calm her nerves. Everyone had returned to the apartment and helped unload Vance’s pickup. Dempsey, Halle, Kara, and Max left after unloading the truck, but Vance had stayed to help Boston and Danielle find a place for everything. Thus, the day had waned, and it was nearly time for Logan to arrive.

Boston had phoned him the night before, informing him of her new address. He would be arriving any minute, and Boston’s anxieties were making themselves known by churning her stomach like mad.

Something was wrong. Boston couldn’t quite put her finger on the problem—but something was wrong. Something was wrong because her anxiety and nervous state weren’t caused so much because Logan was taking her out but because she wasn’t sure she actually still wanted to go out with him. All afternoon she’d agonized over her feelings—feelings of uncertainty, even disappointment. Was she simply so nervous about the fact that this was her third date with Logan—the numbered date that often saw a couple born or two people deciding they weren’t interested in each other? Was she nervous because she knew Logan may try to kiss her goodnight again, and with Stephanie nowhere to be found, he might actually be successful?

Boston knew her emotions were chaotic merely because of what had happened earlier in the day with Steph. She still couldn’t believe Steph had thrown a vase at her! Perhaps just residual stress was causing her uncertainty and trepidation. Still, there was something else—something Boston didn’t want to consciously admit.

Standing before the mirror in the bathroom, she looked at her reflection—studied herself long and hard. Then, taking another deep breath, she whispered, “It’s Vance!” There! She’d said it! Vance was what, or rather who, was keeping her so wound up in regard to Logan West. There in the bathroom, Boston finally confessed to her conscious mind that, ever since Vance Nathaniel had appeared, Logan West had lost his luster.

She argued with her inner self as she brushed her hair once more. “You’ve known him a week, Boston Rhodes!” she whispered. “Furthermore, he’s not interested…not one hint that he might be interested…in anybody…but especially you. What a drama queen he must think I am! All this mess with Steph?”

Boston shook her head, determined to purge any daydreams of knowing Vance Nathaniel as anything more than a friend. Inhaling a deep breath of courage and attempted calm, Boston left the bathroom.

Vance was sitting on the sofa watching some show with fast cars and lots of explosions. At the mere sight of him, Boston’s resolve to purge him from her fantasies was vanquished. Quickly, she turned her attention to Danielle.

“Well?” she began. “How do I look?”

Danielle smiled and pretended to study Boston from head to toe. “I like the green shirt—it brings out your eyes. And that skirt is perfect! He won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

Instantly, Boston felt nauseated.

“What?” she squeaked. “Danielle! You know how I get about things like this!”

“Things like what?” Danielle teased. “Things like going out with the hottest guy to ever work at Channel 7? Things like you look gorgeous?”

“You know what I mean, Danielle,” Boston said. “Halle’s right. It’s the third date…the make-or-break-it date…the first-kiss date.”

“He tried to kiss you last time—on the second date, if I remember correctly,” Danielle reminded her.

“I know! That’s what I mean! What if he’s like a guy who wants to…you know…” Boston glanced to Vance sitting on the sofa. He seemed completely unaware of what was going on.

Boston sighed, “Well, that’s almost as bad! What if he hates me? What if I sicken him? What if I’m a terrible kisser? Oh my heck! Just today the girls said Logan looks like he’ll be a good kisser! What if I’m not?”

“Boston, you’re wigging out over nothing,” Danielle said, lowering her voice. Danielle glanced to where Vance sat watching Mike Rowe perform some nasty task on
Dirty Jobs
. Boston glanced at Vance again too. He still appeared to be completely unaware of the conversation she was having with Danielle. He even exclaimed, “Oh, man! That is sick!”

“You do this every time you’re dating a new guy,” Danielle said. “You’re always worried about this…and the first kiss…and I’m sure you kiss fine! How many guys have tried to get you to do way more than kissing? Am I right? Then you know you must kiss well…so quit worrying about it.”

“But this guy is different, Danielle,” Boston said. “He makes me nervous all over.” She glanced at Vance, still intrigued by whatever was on the TV screen. “But I can’t decide if it’s because I like him or because I don’t. I mean, you’ve seen him. He’s totally handsome. You’ve seen how together he has everything. How would you feel?”

Danielle nodded. “Nervous, I admit. But not as whacked as you’re getting right now.”

Vance strained his ears to continue eavesdropping. He felt kind of bad for Boston, owning such anxiety over anticipating a first kiss. What was the big deal? The guy would kiss her, and that would be that. He tried not to glean too much amusement at her predicament; he was certain it was very serious to her.

Mike Rowe vomited over the side of a ship and coughed. Vance winced and groaned, “Ooo!” His attention was immediately arrested again, however, by the conversation going on behind him. He smiled as he realized Boston was breaking into one of her characteristic babbling marathons. For some odd reason, he really enjoyed when she got on a roll.

“This is Logan West, Danielle!” he heard Boston exclaim. “Logan West! Do you understand how long I’ve had a crush on him? He’s, like, totally perfect, totally gorgeous, totally smooth! And you’re right—he was actually going to kiss me last week, but good ol’ Steph interrupted it. And you know, that’s another reason I’m glad to be out of an apartment with her. I mean, like today, while Vance and Dempsey and everyone were moving my stuff, there she was…eating my Fruit Loops! Just last week she was chewing a hole in me for borrowing one of her eggs. But no! She can eat three bowls of my Fruit Loops and not even blink? And what if Logan goes to kiss me tonight and I’m not ready? What then? What if I decide I don’t want him to kiss me? What if I do want him to kiss me and I chicken out? Oh my heck! I don’t think I’m going to be able to look at him when he gets here. And that still doesn’t solve the problem of how am I ever going to find the nerve to kiss him back if he kisses me. What if he sicks me out? What if, after all this time of liking him, he turns out to be a womanizer? Or a crazy man? I can’t even think about it without feeling like I’m going to throw up! It’s the anticipation that kills me! You know I’ll never be able to settle down and enjoy the date!”

“You’ll never make the date if you hyperventilate from talking and pass out,” Danielle said.

In the reflection on the glass of the front window, he could see Boston moving toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder to see her raise herself on tiptoes and look through the peephole.

“He’ll be here any minute, and I’m gonna throw up,” Boston said. “I’ll throw up all over him. That’s what will happen…and then where will I be?”

“I’m pretty sure if you do that, you won’t have to worry about him kissing you,” Danielle teased.

Vance turned off the TV. He got off the sofa and walked to where Boston stood with her hand poised on the doorknob, waiting for her hot date.

“Seriously, Danielle,” Boston began again. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe I should cancel…say I’m sick or something. I just know I’ll botch this up…I just know I will! One way or the other. Whether it’s the kissing or simply deciding he’s not—”