Rumor Has It (Limelight) (4 page)

“Nice car,” Ellie said from behind me.

“Thanks. Hop in.”

She moved around to the passenger side, raised one leg up to get in and let out a gasp. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I still have on a towel. How did I not notice this?”

“Further evidence that driving you home is a good idea. Sit tight. I’ll go grab your skirt.” I laughed and she turned, eyes narrowed. Her annoyance only made her cuter. I ran up the steps to the side of the house and made my way to the window she’d come through. Her beige skirt was still hanging, half in, half out, flapping in the warm, salty breeze coming off the ocean.

Ellie was waiting for me in the passenger seat when I returned. I jumped in the car and tossed her skirt over to her. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She held it up in front of her to examine it. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I turned the key in the ignition and started to reverse down the driveway.

“It’s ripped down the side. There’s no way I’ll be able to wear it again.”

I turned my head to look from the driveway directly into her brown eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”

She laughed. And what a great laugh. This girl had already gotten under my skin. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was gonna be about as permanent as the ink adorning the rest of my body.

CHAPTER FOUR

The drive home was quiet. I kept my mouth shut, trying not to make a bigger fool of myself than I already had. I’d rather crawl home than admit it, but I was glad for the ride. My wrist was killing me and I’d swear my brain was pulsing against the inside of my skull with every heartbeat.

Mason had turned on the radio after we’d reached the main road. I guess he’d figured out I wasn’t going to be much of a conversationalist because the volume was louder than it’d be if we’d been trying to carry on a conversation. I decided not to mention my headache. The music wasn’t making it worse. Besides, one of my favorite songs was playing.

I relaxed into the leather seat, closed my eyes, and inhaled. I’d always loved that smell. Most girls I knew liked floral and citrus scents but I’d take the smell of rawhide over those any day. I was humming along to the song when the volume went way down. I opened my eyes and looked across at Mason.

He was holding a pink package out to me. “Gum?”

“Sure, thanks.” I reached over to take the package from him and our fingertips brushed briefly. It was enough for me to become hyperaware of his proximity. I punched a piece of gum out, tossed it in my mouth and returned the package to him, careful not to make contact this time. My reaction to him was freaking embarrassing and I’d had enough embarrassment lately.

I returned to my previous position—eyes closed, head back as peppermint flavor burst into my mouth. Mason turned the music up again and began surfing through the channels. He stopped on a hip-hop song and an aggressive, unhappy sounding man rapped about who knew what. The bass from the song pounded into my body through the seat.

I’d never been a fan of hip-hop. My musical taste had always been limited to rock and roll and the odd country ballad. Based on what I was hearing though, I wasn’t missing much. I waved to get Mason’s attention and he reached forward to turn the music down again.

“Do you mind if we turn it down, or change the station or something? That’s kind of making my headache worse.”

The corner of Mason’s lips twitched up and what could only be described as a shit-eating grin spread across his face. “You’re not a fan of hip-hop?”

“I don’t really know anything about hip-hop…but I’m definitely not a fan of
that
.”

He stifled a laugh, although I wasn’t sure why. “No problem. Why don’t you choose?”

“Thanks.”

That was nice of him. I was pretty sure handing over control of the radio was a big deal for guys. I raced through the dial until I found a rock station that played mostly classic hits and left it there. It was probably neutral enough to satisfy us both.

“Can you do me a favor and punch your address into the GPS? That way you can relax without having to give me a play-by-play of where to turn.”

Hmm. I wonder if he was always this thoughtful or if he was treading lightly because he still thought I might have a concussion. I leaned forward, entered my mom’s address into the GPS and relaxed the rest of the way home.

Twenty minutes later Mason pulled his Range Rover into my mom’s driveway. My mom and Ralph lived in a traditional-looking Virginia home—two-story, white sideboards, black shutters. It was bigger than the average home and in a sought-after neighborhood. Still, I couldn’t wait to be on my own again.

I was happy to see my mom wasn’t sitting on the front porch. If I was lucky she wouldn’t even notice my car was missing, and I’d get out of explaining the situation. Damn, I’d forgotten about the towel wrapped around my waist. She’d probably notice that.

It was silent in the car for a beat, and I was torn between wanting to bolt and disappointment that I’d probably never see this guy again.

“Well, thanks so much for the ride. You don’t have to bring me back to my car tomorrow. I can ask one of my friends to take me over,” I said.

“I’ll be here at seven.” It wasn’t a request.

“Okay...well... I’ll be sure to set my alarm early then.”

“P.M.”

“Oh.”

“Dress for a date.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’ll be Saturday night, so it’s a date. It’s the least you can do after breaking in my house,” he said with a grin.

He really wasn’t going to let that go was he? “I think I explained that situation.”

“And now I’m explaining how you can make it up to me.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough.”

I pressed my lips together. “Really? If you think you so, tell me three things you know about me. If you’re right, I’ll go out with you.”

He laughed and those sexy eyes looked square into mine with a look that said “game on.” Crap. He didn’t seem nervous.

“One. Your boss is an asshole and you’re afraid to piss him off. Two: You prefer rock and roll over hip-hop and pop. Three: You don’t like living here and dread coming home.”

Damn. This guy was good. I sat silently for a moment, and Mason laughed. I was both impressed and unnerved that he could read me so completely after so little time.

“I could tell you what color your underwear is, too, if you’d like,” he said.

I smirked. “I’ll see you at seven tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

He looked like he wanted to say more but the interior of the car was starting to feel like it was closing in. I undid my seatbelt and opened the door.

“Thanks again for the ride,” I said and closed the door.

As I made my way up to the front door the towel slipped. Thank God I caught it before it fell to the ground. He didn’t need to see any more of me today. I wanted badly to turn around and catch one last glimpse of him. I resisted the urge and instead walked in the house to shut myself off from all that was Mason. At least until tomorrow evening.

A few hours later I lay on my bed listening to music on my iPhone, wrapped in a towel. The hot shower had done wonders for my headache. I’d taken a couple ibuprofen when I first got home and my wrist was still tender, but no longer painful.

When I’d first moved in here I’d been given the guest room. I was grateful I had my own space because I pretty much camped out in it whenever I was at home. It was difficult though, spending so much time in a room that didn’t speak at all to my personality. We lived in Virginia but if you looked at this room alone, you’d swear you were somewhere in Florida. A peach and lime green flowered comforter covered the bed, and the furniture was white wicker. Off-white ceramics covered the floor. I’d been waiting for one of the Golden Girls to pop by since I’d moved in.

I’d finally started to relax, when my mom barged through the door. I about leapt off the bed, my adrenaline rushing and heart racing.

“Jesus, Mom. Don’t you knock?” I pulled my ear buds out and sat up.

“I did knock, honey,” she said oblivious to my irritation. The smell of Mexican food wafted in from out in the hall. “I made dinner. Did you want any?”

“What’d you make?”

“Burritos and homemade nacho chips with pico de gallo.” Mom was in one of her phases again. Ralph must be a fan of Mexican.

“Maybe later, thanks.”

“Okay, I’ll put a plate aside for you.” She finished speaking but still stood there. I waited for her to say whatever it was she’d really come in my room for. “When I got back from the grocery store, Ralph mentioned you came in wearing a towel.”

“I got a rip in my skirt and needed something to cover me, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay. How embarrassing.” She gave me a big smile and plopped down on the bed. “So you were right.”

“About what?”

“Ralph. There was a problem at one of the dealerships this morning. He had to run out quickly and forgot to bring his phone. Silly me for worrying so much.”

“Glad to hear all is well.”

“Thanks for talking some sense into me, sweetie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She gave me a quick hug and then left the room.

I laid back down and put my ear buds back in. My phone vibrated on my stomach. I lifted it up to see who was calling. It was Skye. We’d been roommates all through college. She’d returned home after college, too, and lived a few towns away. In a way she was the reason my mom had met husband number five. After my mom’s last divorce she’d been beside herself—again—and had ended up tagging along on a visit I made to Skye’s over Thanksgiving weekend. She’d met Ralph at some function we’d attended with Skye’s parents.

I hit the answer key and the music stopped in my headphones. “Hey.”

“Hey, babe. What’s shakin’?”

“Oh, another day in the life of Ellie. Capital ‘E’ for embarrassment.”

“You have to stop worrying about that video. I know it looks bad, but it’ll blow over. Someone else will do something stupid and put it on the Internet and the world will forget your video ever existed.”

“Gee, thanks,” I deadpanned.

“You know it’s at almost forty-four million views now.”

“You do realize that every time you go and check how many views the damn thing has you’re just adding to the tally, right?”

“I can’t help myself.” Skye laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh with her. Of everyone in my life I knew she’d have my back. Always.

“I wasn’t talking about the video anyway.”

“Oooh, this sounds interesting. What gives?”

I filled her in on my day.

“OMG! This guy sounds hot.”

“You’ve never even seen him, Skye.”

“Like it matters. I can tell by the way you’re talking about him that you’re into him.”

“I don’t know. I guess.”

“You’re totally holding out on me. He’s a hottie.”

I sighed. The truth was I had no trouble sharing with Skye…but I didn’t know how to describe him. Hottie didn’t seem to do him justice. Intense? Sexy? Charismatic? Take-charge and yet gentlemanly?

“He’s totally hot.” I giggled.

“So are you excited or what? You don’t sound excited.”

“I guess I am. I have so much on my mind with this damn video and trying to find a job. Not to mention the stress of living here.”

“That stuff is all going to exist whether you date this guy or not. You might as well have fun. Do you want to go out with him?”

“I guess.”

“You guess you want to go out with him? If it was me I’d be thrilled!”

“Yeah, well, if it was you you’d have to get rid of the jerk first.”

“Jerk has a name and besides, we’re not talking about me.”

“I’m just nervous. We’re from totally different worlds. He’s clearly got money and some level of success. I’m just…regular.”

“Oh, please. That’s just an excuse. Maybe he has a rich daddy who’s footing the bill on the beach house.”

“I guess. My focus has to be on finding a job that’ll let me move out of here. I can’t take it much longer. My mother has no boundaries.”

“Do your job-hunting, and then fit him into the schedule. There’s no reason you can’t do both.”

“Listen to us...it’s just one date. He’ll probably figure out after that he has no real interest in me.”

“Do you
own
a mirror, El?”

“It’s not just about looks.”

“I know that. And I know you. Therefore I’m an expert on the matter. Once he sees what an amazing person you are he’ll be a smitten kitten.”

“I don’t think guys like him get smitten. They probably just get laid.”

“Possibly.”

“Okay. Help me figure out what to wear tomorrow night,” I said begrudgingly.

“Great idea. I know the perfect outfit...”

*****

After I’d dropped Ellie off, I went back to the beach house and sat on the oversize sofa, watching the Yankees trounce the Blue Jays. I didn’t often have time to do this sort of thing anymore. Sit. Think. Drink a beer. Watch a game. The game ran into extra innings so it should’ve had my full attention, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Ellie. Ellie with her long dark hair, and bottomless eyes. There was something so endearing about her trying her best to explain her presence in my space.