Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone #2) (20 page)

Claire smiled as Gray lifted his backpack onto one shoulder. “Sadly, yeah,” he said. “See y’all later.” He picked up his tray, and he and Claire headed for the stairs.

The rest of us got up, too. Mike caught Lindsey’s gaze. “You coming?”

“In a sec. You two go on.” She lifted her chin. “I’ll catch up with you.”

Parker hesitated, but since he was an obedient tool, he nodded and headed off with Mike.

Rose smirked at us. Which was totally weird. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Rose smirk before. “You guys going to
linger
around here?”

What?

Lindsey shook her head. “You’re so hilarious. I just need to talk to Berger for a minute.”

“Okay,” Rose sang as she walked away. “See you later.”

“That was strange,” I said. “What’s up with Rose?”

“Just an inside joke,” Lindsey said. “I can take the key chains now.”

“Oh, right.” I set my backpack on a chair and pulled out the sack. “They’re all here. I haven’t pilfered any for my own use.”

She dropped the bag in her purse. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t put it past you.”

I grinned. “Are you calling me a thief?”

“Of course.”

“Fie, woman, thou dost not know me.” I zipped my backpack closed, then slung it onto my shoulder. “Ready?”

Laughter came from the other side of the cafeteria. A brief frown contorted Lindsey’s features, then was gone. “Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

I forced myself to keep a blank face. Was she finally going to mention what went on at her house Saturday night? Because a line had definitely been crossed, whether she was willing to admit it or not. I simply had to help her feel comfortable about it, that’s all. Because she clearly didn’t. She messed with the zipper on her purse like I’d seen her do before, keeping her gaze on the table.

“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry for, you know, everything that I … I mean, I was kind of a mess the other night, and I appreciate you being so nice about it all.”

I rested a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up. “It’s okay,” I said. “That’s what friends do.”

A grateful smile crossed her lips. “Well, thanks.” She adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and paused for a sec as if she were going to say something else, but then didn’t.

I probably should’ve just left it there and walked out of the cafeteria with her. But I couldn’t. Not when I had the opportunity to begin what I liked to call “Operation Lindsey.”

“Besides,” I said, as she started to turn away, “girls leap on me all the time.”

She swung her head back toward me, looking amused. “Really?”

“Uh, ye-ah,” I said, making the word two syllables.

A spark lit in her eyes. “I had no idea this was such a common occurrence.”

“Absolutely.” I gestured to myself. “How can they resist all this?”

She laughed. “How, indeed?”

I angled my head toward the exit. “Let’s go.”

She scooted around the table. “As long as you promise to tell me about all these adventures you’ve been having. For example, do I know any of the girls who’ve been abusing you in this manner?” She lifted an eyebrow.

Nope. Because there weren’t any. But it wouldn’t hurt to tease her. “Maybe.”

“Hmm. Would one of them have long, dark hair and a tendency to finish every sentence with a lilt?”

She was thinking about Kara. Did that mean she thought something might really be going on? Nah. She had to be fishing. “I’m not one to be leapt upon and tell. But I will say the person in question has an interesting secret.” I headed for the door.

She grabbed my biceps, keeping pace with me. “I’m all ears.”

I shook my head, not able to keep the smile off my face. “Nope. Can’t tell. It’s her secret, not mine.”

“You are so evil.”

I laughed as we made our way up the stairs. At the top, she spoke into my ear. “You’re gonna tell me.”

I grinned. “Nope.”

She smiled back. “We’ll see about that.”

“We will.” I winked at her. “See you at rehearsal.”

Her smile turned into a look of surprise. Good. Not a bad start to Operation Lindsey. I went in the opposite direction, weaving through the mass of student humanity. My plan had two basic steps. One, flirt till you drop, and two, be patient. And I was pretty much an expert in both of those things. The only question was, how long would it take her to be over Adam Castro?

Thirty-Eight

Lindsey

On Sunday afternoon, I parked my car in front of Claire’s house. I could only hope being here would help. For the entire week of being grounded, I’d walked around feeling like I was wearing a five-pound necklace on my chest. It obviously had to do with seeing Adam, and I just couldn’t shake it, no matter what my friends did to cheer me up.

I’d even slipped a couple of times and had forgotten to smile in front of Mrs. Mac, which ended with her taking over the rehearsals so I could “observe.”

Now that I was free again, it seemed past time to lose that heavy necklace. I climbed out of the car and walked to Claire’s door, every step still like walking through sludge. I rang the bell, then went in. “Hey, Gardners, I’m home!” I called.

Claire’s mom came out of the kitchen with a dish towel in her hands and a smile on her face. “Hello, you,” she said, pulling me into a quick hug. “It’s been too long. How’re you doing?”

“Not so great,” I admitted.

She led the way into the kitchen. “Well, maybe getting out of the house for a while will make you feel better.”

“I hope so.”

She brushed hair off my forehead with her fingertips. “Me too.” She gestured toward the back of the house. “Everybody’s in the sunroom.”

Uh-oh.
Everybody? Claire hadn’t told me anyone else would be here. A moment of panic raced through me, and I almost turned around and walked right back out the door. But my curiosity got the better of me. “Thanks,” I said and headed down the hall.

When I reached the sunroom, Claire was just coming in from the backyard, holding her sweater closed across her middle, her cheeks pink from the cool air. “Yay, you’re here!”

The view through the huge windows showed Gray and Berger beside the grill, smoke billowing up around their heads. I dumped my purse on a chair. “You didn’t tell me anyone else was coming. What’re they doing here?”

“Cooking us hamburgers.”

“In fifty-five degree weather?”

“That’s not cold. What’re you so irritated about?”

I glanced at the boys, then back to her. “It feels like you’re trying to set us up.”

“You and Berger?” She shook her head. “No way. We’re just a bunch of friends hanging out.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

She pursed her lips, then smiled. “Maybe because of the
Linger
conversation?”

“Shut up.”

She laughed. “Relax. My only ulterior motive was to have fun together. How’re things going with Jeremy anyway?”

I dropped onto the couch. “Fine, I guess. He wanted to go out last night, but because of the grounding, I had to say no. Hopefully we can spend time together next weekend.”

“So do you really like him?”

Now there was a question. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s nice enough. I just need to get to know him better.”

“Really? You two have been hanging out at school a lot in the past couple of weeks. Seems like you’d know if you were attracted to him.”

I tried to joke that off. “Ha. Who wouldn’t be attracted to him? You’d have to hate big muscles not to be attracted.”

Claire’s gaze traveled outside, and a slight smile curved her lips. “I don’t know. I kinda like average-sized muscles.”

I had no response to that. The only muscles I really missed were Adam’s. He was perfect. Right in between the size of the guys outside and huge Jeremy. But Adam’s muscles were busy with someone else, so … Yeah, I probably shouldn’t go down that trail.

“Lindsey?”

I looked at Claire. “Yeah?”

“You okay?”

I put my feet on the coffee table, suddenly exhausted. “I will be.”

“If you’re sure. I mean, we could go hang out in my room until the food is ready.”

It would take too much energy to get upstairs. I shook my head. “No, I’m good.”

“Okay.” She went to the door and stuck her head out. “How much longer?”

“A while yet,” Gray said, facing her. “We’re coming in.”

Claire backed out of the way, and the boys walked in, bringing along a gust of cold air that swirled Berger’s hair into an even messier look. Gray’s was too short to wiggle in the wind.

“Hey, Lindsey,” Gray said.

I lifted a hand without moving my arm from the cushion and tried to smile. It must not have convinced Berger, because he came closer, toed the bottom of my shoe with his, then set his foot down. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, right,” he said, putting his hands on his hips.

“Why does something have to be wrong?”

“Because you look like you’ve melted into the couch cushions. Like you can’t move.”

I looked away. “I can move. I just choose not to.”

He bent over and wiggled my foot. “I know what you need.”

I met his gaze. “Oh, really,” I said, infusing it with as much scorn as I could.

“You need a good, old-fashioned argument.”

I shut my eyes for a moment. “Seriously, Berger, I don’t want to get into one of your silly fights.”

“It won’t be silly.”

“Right. What do we possibly have to argue about?”

“Adam.”

Claire let out a muffled gasp. I ignored both her and Gray where they hovered on the other side of the room. I homed in on Berger, who stared at me with that fake pleasant look he sometimes used on other theater people. The fact that he would use it on me actually made my chest ache. “I’m not talking about Adam with you.”

“What don’t you understand about the word
argument
?”

“Why are you being so weird?”

He shrugged. “There’s stuff I’m curious about. Like how any girl in her right mind could go for that guy.”

A burst of energy zinged through me, and I climbed slowly to my feet. I wanted to hit him. “What?”

“You heard me. Castro’s such a prime example of douchery that it’s amazing—”

“Shut up,” I said, lifting my arms and bringing them back down hard. “I know what you’re doing. It’s not gonna work.”

He cocked his head like I was stupid. “It’s already working. You moved. Now tell me what was so awesome about the guy.” He shoved a palm toward me. “No, wait. I’ll do it.” He blinked rapidly like he was trying to bat his eyelashes. “He’s so hot and says just the right thing all the time,” he said in a breathy voice.

“You’re an idiot,” I said, the words shooting from my mouth.

From somewhere in the room a deep voice said, “Not this time. I’m staying.” I ignored it. All I could handle was staring at Berger. Why was he acting like this? He was my friend. He always supported me. What had happened to change that?

“I guess I’m an idiot,” he said, “but the fact that you dated him for so long qualifies you for idiot status, too.”

“Berger!” Claire’s voice came out loud and strong.

I waved her back. “It’s okay, Claire, he’s just jealous because he’ll never be as amazing as Adam is.”

“Yeah, I hear a lot of girls thought he was amazing.”

That zinging energy raced through me again, and I tightened my fists to keep my hands from shaking. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, Lindsey, you know what it means. He’s not Mr. Perfect. He never was. He’s a douche who used you and—”

“Stop it!” I swung my arm toward him, but he easily stepped out of the way. “Okay,” I said, tears stinging my eyes, making me furious with myself. “He’s a jerk. He cheated on me, and he broke my heart. Is that what you want me to say?”

Berger folded his arms across his chest. “Not really. I always thought the guy was a bro, you know? Easy to get along with, nice to old ladies and small children.”

What the heck? My mouth fell open. I sniffed. Sometimes I just did not understand Berger at all. “I hate you so much right now.”

He smiled. A real smile this time, one that made his brown eyes glow warm. “I know.”

From out of nowhere, Claire shoved a wad of tissues into my hand. I stared at them blankly for a couple of seconds, then wiped my eyes and nose. Thank goodness I hadn’t bothered with makeup before I came over here. I tossed the tissues onto the coffee table and walked right up to Berger. He didn’t move away. So I punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow,” he said.

“That was mean.”

“I know. But you feel better now, right?”

I tilted backward, and he caught my arm, probably thinking I was about to fall. “No,” I said, “do not start telling me it was for my own good or some other BS like that.”

He let go of me, looking confused. “Wait, are we still fighting? I thought we were through. If we’re not, I may need a sec to come up with a new plan of attack.”

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. But instead I stepped in close enough to feel the warmth from his body without touching him. I looked up into his eyes. “You hurt my feelings. Don’t ever do it again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I still hate you.”

“That’s okay. I hate me too.” And then he wrapped his arms around me.

I sighed as I relaxed into his warmth, sliding my arms to his back. Why did this keep happening? I was either crying on him or resting on him. It was just so incredibly weird. We stood there quietly, his hand gently holding my head against his chest.

“Well, that was entertaining,” Gray said.

I backed out of Berger’s arms, heat rising up my neck. I’d forgotten Claire and Gray were in the room. Because all I wanted to focus on was the warmth of being in Berger’s arms.

“And I’m starving,” Claire said a little too enthusiastically. “Could someone check the hamburgers?”

Gray clapped Berger on the shoulder. “
Berger
and I will check the
burgers
.”

“Ha, ha,” he said with a glance at me.

But I just pressed my lips together. I needed time to get myself back together. To stop feeling so confused about Berger. “Be right back,” I said, heading for the restroom.