Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (22 page)

“Ally, they’re just walking,” Lily agreed with me,
looking disappointed that she didn’t see more.

“No, look, they’re holding hands.” She pointed again,
this time at our hands. It was true that they were close, but they were not
touching. I think I was swinging my arm just as the picture was taken. So at a
certain angle it looked like we
might
be holding hands.

Lauren bent down to get a closer look, squinting her eyes
at the picture. “Sorry, Ally, but it just looks like their hands are close
together.”

Allison slammed the book shut with a
smack
and
groaned, “Whatever.”

I smiled at her. It was funny to me that she was
making such a big deal about whether or not I was dating Nate. I wished I could
tell them, but I wasn’t one to go back on a promise.

When I glanced at Lauren, she was smiling at me with a
knowing grin, as if she knew I was lying. Why was it that she could always see
through me? But she never told the girls and was never obvious with her
knowledge. There was something about her eyes that seemed to be wise beyond her
years. But then again, I could be imagining all of that.

“So Megan, how’s Eddie?” Lily asked, setting down my
drink after taking a sip. I should have bought two.

“You’d know that more than I would. He’s taking some
time off for finals, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that you two went
out.”

She blushed, her eyes darting to the Formica table.

“Have you been holding out on me?” Lauren asked,
giving Lily a playful slap on the hand.

Lily glanced up, her cheeks the color of her ruby red lipstick.
“You were gone all weekend and it was a last-minute thing.”

“I know all the details and I will trade for some of
yours, Meg.” Allison wiggled her eyebrows, refusing to let go of her theory.

“No, save them for tonight,” Lauren said to both
Allison and Lily. “You’re coming, right?” Her eyes flicked to me.

I stared at her blankly.

Lily was the one to speak. “I asked you a week ago.
Remember, we’re having an end of the year slumber party. And since this is our
last year, I’m stealing some wine from my mom’s stash.” Lily bumped me with her
shoulder.

Oh, right, we were supposed to hang out at her place
tonight. Her parents would be gone for the night, leaving Lily alone for the
evening. Since Nate would probably ditch me again, spending time with them
definitely sounded better than hanging out with a silent wolf that eventually
ditched me too.

“Of course I’m in, I wouldn’t forget.”

Lauren picked me up just before dinner, I had tried to
call Nate and tell him what was going on but his cell phone was off. I couldn’t
even get his voicemail.

She pulled up to a two-story, red brick
craftsman-style house with white trim and a matching front covered porch. It
was a cute house and it looked like Lily. I think I could have picked it out
even if Lauren hadn’t shown me.

After we unloaded our bags I followed Lauren onto the
front porch. The white wicker patio furniture was almost shaking from the bass
vibrations coming out of the house. Aggie’s voice was floating out of the
speakers, singing about her latest heartbreak.

There were two other voices singing along and I knew
instantly that Allison was here. When we turned the corner, we spotted the two
of them doing a matching dance, along with their off-key singing.

“
Hello!
” Lauren yelled, trying to be heard over
the music.

They both froze at the sound and then erupted into a
bout of hysterical laughter at being caught off-guard. Once their laughter
subsided, Lily leaned over a shelf above the TV to turn the stereo down.

Her living room was large, with a big bay window,
filled with comfortable-looking furniture. Family photos littered the walls and
shelves. A thick multicolored rug sat in the center of the room under a coffee
table. It was filled with CDs that Lily must have dropped before putting on
Aggie.

“Hey, guys! Just throw your bags in the corner; we can
take them up later. I just ordered pizza and there are snacks in the kitchen.”

“Well, then, I guess we have plenty, because we
stopped at the store on the way,” Lauren said as she tossed her bag on the
floor.

I did the same, but held onto the white grocery bag. I
set it on the table and opened it. Allison leaned over, pulling out a bag of
pretzels. She ripped it open, the smell of salt floating out of the bag. I
reached in and took a one, popping it in my mouth as I sat down on the couch. I
was strangely comfortable here. Like Nate’s, it was small, well, compared to my
house, but it was so much cozier. It was hard to feel comfortable in a house
that echoed.

We sat around the table waiting for the pizza,
gossiping about the kids we no longer went to school with. Somehow we started
talking about our secret crushes. “Come on, Megan, you first. Give us a name of
a guy you had a crush on.” When I hesitated, Allison rolled her eyes. “Everyone
has crushes. I’ll tell you mine, everyone will, right?” She looked to the other
girls, who nodded.

I only had one crush my entire high school career and
I wasn’t sure if I should say. I wasn’t telling them we were dating, just who I
liked. Since most of the girls in our school had the same name in her thoughts,
I figured it was safe to admit.

I sighed, leaning back into the couch. “Nate, okay.
But who here hasn’t had the same crush?” Allison and Lily both smiled, keeping
their arms down.

We all turned our heads to Lauren. Her arm was raised
and she was wearing a disgusted look on her face. “God, no. Yes, he’s cute, but
definitely not my type.
My
secret crush was Brody Michaels.”

“What?” the three of us shrieked at the same time.
Brody Michaels was cute, but very studious. He wanted to get into Harvard so he
concentrated on studying, but not much else. No one really ever saw his face;
he was always carrying a big load of books that covered it.

Lauren’s eyes sparkled as she grinned. “Come on, he’s
so thoughtful. Imagine how gentle he’d be. And his soft brown hair is always
messy, as if he’s so preoccupied with studying that he constantly forgets to
brush it.” Our surprised faces still stared at her. “I wanted to run my fingers
through it to brush it in place to help him out. But I thought he might be
weirded out if I tried.”

“Uh, yeah, definitely?” I said, laughing. I reached
over to take a drink of soda, looking at Lily.

She smiled. “Besides Nate. Hmm, let me think. Cole
Mathews.”

“Oooh, good one. He’s very cute and he doesn’t seem to
know it,” Lauren commented before popping a pretzel in her mouth. Lily picked
up her can of root beer and tilted it back to take a drink, pointing to Allison
with her other hand.

Allison was sitting on the rug in front of the coffee
table stuffing pretzels into her mouth. “I don’t have another one.” We looked
at her doubtfully. “Fine, I do, but it’s embarrassing. I don’t like the guy,
but something about him had me thinking about him sometimes before I went to
sleep.”

Curiosity was burning inside me. “Who?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed; she was having a hard
time admitting it. She placed her head in her hands and mumbled, “Shane.” She
added a muffled groan at the end.

There were three matching “Ewwws!”

She lifted her head; her usually alabaster skin was
now flushed. “I know, he’s such a jerk, but there’s something about a bad boy
that I can’t shake.”

“Yeah, don’t go there. I know him personally and now
that it’s all over, I can tell you that he’s the one that tried to run me off
the road.”

Lily and Allison gaped at me in surprise. “You knew?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to tell you. I was afraid he’d
come after you.”

“All right, crush definitely over,” Allison said,
tossing the forgotten pretzel she held in her hand back into the bag. We all
jumped at the sound of a knock on the door.

“
Yay
, pizza,” Lily shouted as she stood up. She
bent down to gather the money that we had all pitched in earlier. Her short
blond hair fell in shorts spikes around her face.

“Who ordered olives?” I complained, picking a bunch of
little round green bits off of the greasy cheese from my pizza. We were
gathered around the coffee table, sitting on the floor and munching our dinner.

“Me, sorry. I should have said only on half.” Lily
smiled with her mouth full of food.

“No biggie, I can pick them off.”

“Hey, Lily, go get the wine and then tell us about
your date with Eddie,” Lauren suggested, holding her pizza up in front of her
mouth.

Lily disappeared into the kitchen to pour us some kind
of sparkling fruity drink that really didn’t taste like wine, all the while
relaying her night with Eddie. Apparently, he took her to the batting cages and
then to Wapoose Park. They ate hot dogs by the lake and then rode on rides the
rest of the night. “He said he got the idea from Nate,” she explained, looking
at me.

I almost gasped in surprise as she quickly looked
away. I wasn’t sure if she knew or not. It had never occurred to me that Eddie
might tell her. He was there the first time we kissed, but maybe Nate had told
him not to say anything.

When the last of the pizza was eaten, my phone rang. I
had drunk about two of the fizzy drinks so I wasn’t at all concerned when
Allison reached in my bag and answered it. “Hello…yes, she is. Can I tell her
who this is?...Hello?” Her voice was forcefully smooth, however, her flushed
cheeks gave away the fact that she had more glasses than I had.

Oh crap, it was probably Nate. I jumped up, taking the
phone from her, rushing into the kitchen. I huddled by the back door in front
of the refrigerator that was filled with pictures of Lily as a child. “Hi,” I
whispered, hoping no one could hear. It had gotten very quiet in the living
room.

“Hi. Who was that?” Nate asked from the other end.

“Allison. We’re having a sleepover at Lily’s. I tried
to call, but your phone was dead.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I forgot to charge it. Are you going
to be there all night?”

“Is that okay? I just figured since you’ve been busy
all week.”

“No, that’s fine and why I was calling. I just wanted
you to know I wouldn’t be home until late.” I knew he’d say that.

I brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face. “Did
you tell Eddie to keep quiet about us?”

“No, why?”

“Because he’s dating Lily and I think she might know.”

There was a brief silence on the other end. I used the
break to glance over my shoulder. No one was there, but the living room was
still quiet. “Oh, I never thought of that.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“It’s okay. I was just worried about it getting around
all over school, but as long as just a few people know I’m sure it will be
fine.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want him to be mad at me. “Anyway,
have fun tonight, Meg. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whispered, hoping no one in the
living room would hear.

I heard him laugh softly just before the phone went
dead. I smiled, picturing his vivid blue eyes sparkle when he laughed.

I turned around, feeling all fuzzy and warm and not
just from the fizzy drinks.

Lily, Allison and Lauren were standing in the doorway
side by side, arms crossed and smiling.

The Rileys

“That was Nate. I have barely heard him speak, but
when I did, I remembered it.” Allison narrowed her eyes, waiting for me to deny
it. Honestly, I was tired of lying and since he did kind of give me permission
I was dying to talk to someone about it.

I just smiled and said, “So?”

“I knew it! You can’t lie to me.”

I glanced at Lily. “Did Eddie tell you?”

She smiled and nodded.

Allison spun on her. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“It was her news to tell.” She headed back into the
living room. We all followed taking our previous spots.

“Lauren, aren’t you mad at Lily for keeping it to
herself?” Allison whined.

Lauren sat down on the couch beside me. “No, she’s
right. It was Megan’s news to tell when she was ready to tell it.”

“Why did you lie?” Allison asked, sitting back down on
the floor.

“Because Nate wanted to keep it hidden from everyone
at school. So I did. I’m sorry.”

“Why did he want to keep it a secret?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know, but he asked me to trust him and since
I do, I kept it to myself. We just weren’t expecting you and Eddie to get
together.”

She grinned at that. “Isn’t he cute and so sweet?” He
was and I was happy that two of my new friends had found each other.

“I can’t believe you’ve been dating all this time,”
Allison blurted out, interrupting Lily.

“We haven’t been. It was true about the picture. He
was just walking me to class like I said. We’ve only been dating this last
month.”

“How did it happen?” Lauren asked.

“Eddie spilled water on me at the shelter and Nate was
wiping the water off my boobs. You should have seen the look of shock on his
face when he realized what he was doing. It was so cute I couldn’t resist. So I
kissed him.”

“That’s so adorable,” Lauren said, reaching over to
pick up her drink.

“Okay enough, I’ve been asking you for over a month
about him and you’ve been holding out on us. Since your tongue is loose, thanks
to Lily’s wine, you’re going to spill your guts. I want every detail.” Allison
stood up from the floor and sat down on the other side of me, waiting for me to
speak.

I almost gave her an excuse why I wanted to keep it to
myself. But this was what I had wanted to do since I first kissed him. Sit
around gossiping to my friends about my hot boyfriend. So I did. I told them
about our first date and nights since then. I told them since my parents didn’t
give a damn, I slept at his place most nights; emphasis on the sleep. When I
had no more gossip for them, we moved on to Lily and Eddie.

I woke in the middle of the night with a slight
headache. The wine was not a good idea. I was in Lily’s spare bedroom and since
it was a single bed, I was alone. Lauren and Lily were in her bed and Allison
was asleep on the couch. I still felt sleepy, but wondered why I was so close
to the wall.

I turned over, sprawling my arm out to lie across the
bed. Instead of hitting the soft mattress I hit something hard. I heard a low “
Umph
”
beside me. I jumped against the wall when I saw that I wasn’t alone. Nate
lifted his head. He was wearing a shy grin. “Hi.”

I gasped. “What are you doing here? How did you get
in?”

“I missed you. I was driving by and saw a light on
downstairs. I thought you might be up. When I tried the door it was open.” Oh
crap, we must have forgotten to lock it. It was all those fizzy drinks we had.

My first reaction was anger. Despite the fact that the
door was open he shouldn’t have come in. But the guilty half-grin on his face
melted the anger away until it was just a warm glow at seeing him. He’d been
gone so much lately I really missed him. Instead, I lay back down and nestled
into his chest, as he wrapped his arms around me. It wasn’t long before we both
fell asleep.

The sound of banging in the hallway pulled me from
sweet slumber, I groaned, not ready to wake up. I wanted to stay in bed with
Nate’s arm wrapped around me all day. At that thought I jumped up and looked
around. He was gone. Was he really here or was it just a dream?

“Lily, I have to pee, hurry up!” Allison yelled and
pounded on the door again. Apparently she wasn’t much of a morning person.

I groaned again, lying back down in bed, wondering if I
really had dreamt Nate’s appearance. Was he just in my mind because of all I
had told them last night? But he felt so real. I could even smell his strange
scent: pine and leather. I sat up, glancing around; there was no sign that he
had been there. If I was dreaming I had a very good imagination.

I reached over to the bedside table to grab my phone.
The clock read nine so if he hadn’t been here I knew he’d be awake heading to
the shelter. It rang once before he picked up. “Hi.” His soft deep voice rolled
over me, making me smile.

“Were you here?”

“What do you mean?”

My brow creased in confusion. “Well, either I dreamed
very vividly of you, or you snuck into bed with me and then back out before I
woke up.”

“You must have a very vivid imagination.”

“You really weren’t here?” I asked, shocked and
disappointed that it wasn’t real.

He laughed. “No, I’m kidding. I was there. I didn’t
think it would be a good idea for the girls to see me. I locked the door behind
me though.” I heard the sound of a horn in the distance. “I’m surprised you’re
up, by the look of the empty wine bottles I thought you girls would be asleep
for a while.”

“I’d still be asleep if Lily had more than one
bathroom.”

“Huh?”

I laughed. “Never mind, I’ll see you later.”

“I love you.”

“Me too.”

At ten Saturday morning, I began getting ready for
graduation. It was at two in the afternoon, so I only had a few hours. I curled
my hair, pulled it up at the back and let some loose strands hang in front.
Since my makeup was finished, all I had to do was take off my robe and put on
my dress. There was one knock on my patio door before it opened.

“Were you hoping to catch a glimpse?” I asked,
spinning around to Nate, who was dressed in a black suit. His tie was navy blue
to match my dress, which was satin with a beaded neckline.

“I would never do such a thing. But I’m not
disappointed that you’re not dressed yet.” He sat down on the chair, as if to
get comfy for the show.

With a smirk, I slid into the closet to change. When I
came back, he frowned. “What a rip-off.”

That was the first time he made a joke in a week. He
seemed different today, more himself; the sadness was almost completely gone
from his eyes.

I gave him a swat on his shoulder. “I’m ready. My
parents and Mona are meeting us there. Let’s go.” Once he stood up, I slid my
arm through his.

The drive to the school was uneventful. I held his
hand as I watched the scenery go by. He asked me a few questions about the
slumber party. We had seen each other a few times since then, but only at the
shelter. He was always busy afterward. I told him Allison’s reaction to our
relationship. He laughed as he pulled into the crowded school parking lot.

Twenty minutes later, I was lined up in the gym
alphabetically next to Anna Baker. Nate was near the end of his aisle directly
across from Lauren. Even though there was space between them for people to walk
down, I was sure they were talking. They were looking straight ahead, but their
lips were moving and they both looked annoyed. You couldn’t really tell they
were speaking unless you were watching closely. It looked like Lauren wanted to
talk about something, but Nate was trying to ignore her. It was very strange,
considering both of them told me they didn’t know each other. There was
something going on between the two of them and I intended to find out what it
was. I was pretty sure I had a better chance to get the answers from Lauren,
even though she was pretty tight-lipped as well. I would need to think of a way
to pry it from her.

I stood up as Mr. Miller, our principal, called my
name. There was a loud cheer from Mona and Ben. My parents were too civilized
for such a thing. When Nate’s name was called I thought I heard a low cheer
coming from the back. When he looked up sharply, it stopped.

Afterwards, I hugged and congratulated everyone. Lily
was showing off Eddie to the rest of the class and Allison brought
ponytail-what’s-his-name
from the bar. I spoke briefly to my parents, Mona and Ben before they left to
get everything ready for the party. I watched the gym doors close behind them
before I spun around to look for Nate’s blond hair over the sea of black robes
and perfectly styled heads.

I found him stuck talking to Mr. Miller. I could tell
he was trying to get away by the pleading looks he was sending in my direction.
But I really didn’t want to get sucked into the Miller vortex. Once you got
caught talking to him, you couldn’t get away. I smiled at Nate, giving him a
wave as I slipped into the parking lot. The last thing I saw was Nate’s
pleading look turn into a narrow-eyed glare.

Lauren was standing a few feet from the side door
talking to an older couple. The man was in a suit and the woman in a peach
dress. “Megan, come here, I want you to meet my parents.”

I made my way over to where she was standing. Her
father turned his head and I immediately recognized him from the press
conference. He looked like Lauren. Both of them had the same blond hair, but
while Lauren’s eyes were hazel like her mother’s, her father’s was the same
familiar piercing blue eyes that I saw on her brother. Their facial features
were similar as well.

Lauren took my hand. “Megan, this is my father, Will
and my mother, Carolyn.” They each held out a hand. I placed mine in her
mother’s first and then her father’s for a very firm handshake. They both wore
big smiles, appearing to be very happy to meet me. I guess friendliness ran in
the family.

“It’s nice to meet you both. Lauren was the only one
who talked to me during a very difficult time. She’s been a really good
friend.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Lauren has told us a
lot about you. We wanted to meet you when you came over, but we were both out
for the evening,” Lauren’s mother said, disappointment shining from her face.
Were they this involved with all of Lauren’s friends?

“We were hoping to see you the next day, but she told
us you went to the shelter. Thank you so much for your help there. I don’t get
to be involved as much as I like, work has me so busy.”

Now that she said it, it did seem strange that I never
saw any of them volunteer. After all, it was their family’s charity. “I really
enjoy spending time with the residents. I was actually hoping to give more of
my time now that I’ve graduated. I’d even like to take on more responsibility.
I know Julia could use some help.” I looked up at Lauren’s father, expecting a
response, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring over my shoulder and his
face took on a guilty expression.

“Oh, well, we have to go.” He took Lauren’s and his
wife’s hands, guiding them away. I stared after them as they all climbed into a
black luxury sedan, wondering what was going on. Why would he ignore me after I
asked him a question, considering how excited they were to meet me in the first
place?

“Hey, was that the Rileys you were talking to?” I
turned to see Nate coming up behind me.

“Yeah, Lauren wanted me to meet them. They were very
friendly, excited, even, to meet me. But when I asked him about getting more
responsibility at the charity he ignored me and then just took off.”

“They’re rich. Rich people are weird.” He shrugged his
shoulders as if his response explained everything.

I took a few steps closer. “Aren’t you
rich?” I ignored the fact that he unintentionally called me weird as well.

“No, how could I be? I have some money that
was left to me from my family, but that’s it.”

“Then how do you explain your car?”

He sighed. “What’s with all the questions?”
He took my hand, rubbing the back of it softly with his thumb.

“I’m just trying to get to know you
better.”

“Well, can we do this on the way? We have
to get you to your party. You don’t want to be late.” He leaned down to touch
his lips to mine, then pulled me to his car.

I climbed in and waited until he turned the
ignition and drove out onto the street. “So how did you pay for your car?”

He turned his head. “It was my father’s.
That’s why I made such a big deal about you driving it.”

Oh, now I felt like a jerk, bringing up his
family. “But why did Eddie call you a Richie?”

“I told you I inherited money when my
parents died. Besides he thinks anyone who has more money than he does is
rich.”

“You know, I just noticed that you look like
Lauren and even more like her father. Are you related somehow?” He stopped at a
stop sign, about a mile from my house. If I was going to get answers, I needed
to hurry up.