Don't Bet On Love (10 page)

“
Fine. If you can show me a valid driver’s license
,
I’ll tear up both tickets. Meanwhile, I’ll have to hold you in custody until your
parents arrive.
”

Officer Cummings led us to a small room
he called a holding pen, but it sure looked like a
jail c
ell to me. He stepped back and
allowed us to enter, th
en pulled the door
closed behind us. It shut with a loud clang.

I sank down onto the bench that ran along one wall, then
took off my high-heeled shoes
and stretched my aching legs out in front of me. Gary paced back and forth like a caged animal, runn
ing his hands through his hair.

“
I kind of like that guy Wilson.
”
I said,
making a feeble attempt at conversation.
“
I have a feeling he'd be a pretty good fellow to have on your side.
”

Gary smil
ed slightly but kept on pacing.

“
You might as well sit down,
”
I said at last.
“
You'll wear a path in the floor.
”

“
Yeah,
I
guess you’re right.
”
He sat down beside me on the bench, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees and his chin in his hands.

As I watched him, I found myself wishing our parents wouldn’t hurry to our rescue too soon. Colette might have Gary tomorrow, but at least for tonight, he was all mine. A night in a jail cell with Gary suddenly seemed wonderfully romantic, and it was definitely something that he would never be able to share with Colette.

“
I'm so sorry about all this, Molly,
”
Gary said, breaking the silence.
“
I can’t seem to do anything right!
”

“
Oh, Gary, please don’t apologize.
”
I reached out and touched his arm.
“
It wasn't your fault. And I thought you were terrific back there at the Lamplighter, talking to the manager.
”
Steeling myself to say the de
spised name, I added,
“
I bet Colette would have been proud of you.
”

Gary gave a humorless laugh.
“
Yeah, right.
”

“
Well, she should be! After an evening like this, any girl would be proud to go out with you! Look at it this way. How many people know what it's like behind the scenes at the fanciest restaurant in town? How many people get to ride in the back of a squad car? How many people have adventures like these when they go out on dates?
”

Too late,
I
remembered that this
was not a date, and lapsed into
embarrassed silence.

Gary slipped his arm around my waist.
“
You’re a good sport, Molly,
”
he said softly. And then he bent his head and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

At that
moment Officer Cummings reap
peared, jingling the keys to our cozy cell.
“
Hadley and McKenzie, your folks are here,
”
he said.

I reached for my shoes, glad of an excuse to hide my face from Gary before my expression gave me away. A good sport, he’d called me. I didn’t want to be a good sport. I wanted to be the girl
Gary
loved—but Gary loved Colette Carroll.

CHAPTER NINE

The rest of
the evening seemed sort of anti
climact
i
c after all we'd been through. Officer Cummings unlocked the door and led us back to where the sergeant sat, talking to our parents. Gary claimed his wallet as if he were being reunited with a long-lost friend, then presented
his driver’s license to the ser
geant. He studied it for a moment, then looked at Gary intently, as if he weren’t quite convinced
that the bespectacled, shaggy-
haired boy in the photo and the boy standing in front o
f him were one and the same. Fi
nally satisfied, he returned the driver’s
li
cense to Gary and tore up the tickets, just as he had promised. Then Gary left with his parents, and I left with mine.

I was quiet during the drive home, but my mind was racing with thoughts of Gary and me—and Colette. The minute Gary had kissed me, I knew I couldn’t go on coaching him and then just turn him over to Colette. I would have to tell Mark that from now on Gary was on his own—even if it meant telling Mom and Dad about the speeding ticket. Funny, but that didn’t seem nearly as big a deal as it had just a few hours earlier. I guess going to jail has that effect on a person.

It was after eleven o’clock when we finally got back home. I was exhausted and my feet still hurt, but I was determined to settle the whole thing before I went to bed. I followed Mom upstairs to my parents’ bedroom and tapped lightly on the open door.

“
Mom, can we talk?
”
I asked timidly.

“
Of course, honey,
”
she answered.
“
But the sergeant explained everything, and your father and I understand that you and Gary weren’t to blame. In fact, we think you both handled the situation with a lot of maturity.
”

“
Thanks, Mom,
”
I said, coming into the room.
“
I’m glad you understand. But—well, to tell you the truth, this wasn’t my first brush with the law.
”

Mom’s eyebrows drew together in a frown.
“
Oh? What do you mean?
”

I sat down on the edge of the bed, then began hesitantly to tell my sto
r
y.
“
A while ago—last month, to be exac
t—I got a ticket for speeding. I
wasn’t going all that fast, but I knew you and Dad would have probably grounded me, so—well, I decided not to tell you. Mark loaned me the money to pay the fine, and I’ve been paying him back out of my allowance every week.
”

“
I see,
”
Mom said thoughtfully.
“
So what made you decide to tell me now?
”

“
Well, because Mark wanted me to help Gary get a date with Colette Carroll—she’s this gorgeous girl at school, and Gary is prime-time in love with her,
”
I said, although the words almost choked me.
“
Anyway, I didn’t want to do it, but Mark threatened to tell you and Dad about the ticket. So all this time I’ve been helping Gary get ready to ask Colette to go to the prom with him. But I can’t do i
t anymore because he—I mean, I—
but he doesn’t
…
”

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I buried my face in my hands and burst into tears. Mom put her arms around me and held me close.

“
I think I can guess the rest,
”
she said gently.
“
I’m afraid I can’t do anything about you and Gary, but tomorrow I’ll pay off your debt to Mark, and you can make the rest of your payments to me. But I’m going to have to t
ake your car keys for a while.”

“
I know,
”
I sniffed. “
You might as well ground me on prom night, too. I won’t be going anyway.
”

“
The prom is still a month away,
”
Mom said.
“
A lot can happen in that time. Who knows? You might get an invitation from somebody you like even better than Gary.
”

“
No, I don’t think so,
”
I said sadly, rising slowly from the bed.
“
’Night, Mom.
”

“
Good night, dear. And I hope you’ve learned something from all of this.
”

“
I sure have, Mom,
”
I said fervently.

“
And that is?
”
she prompted me.

“
Always stay within the posted speed limits, and don’t try to hide things from you and Dad. Oh, and one other thing.
”

“
What’s that?
”

“
Never
borrow money from Mark!
”

Then I went to bed with a heavy heart but a clear conscience.

I should have known that my brother would be waiting for me the next morning with plenty of jailbird jokes
. I endured it all patiently, “
good sport
”
that I was, until Mark made some wisecrack about how he was going to tease Gary at school on Monday.

“
Don’t you dare!
”
I exclaimed.
“
Gary feels just awful about the whole thing, and if you say one word to him about it. I’ll—I’ll—
”
I paused, tr
ying to think of something really awful to threaten him with.

Before I could come up with anything
,
Mom called from the kitchen,
“
Mark, will you come here a moment, please?
”

Mark disappeared into the kitchen. When he emerged a few minutes later, his blue eyes were blazing with anger.

“
Mom just told me everything. I can’t believe you did this!
”
he sputtered.
“
Just when everything was going so great!
”

“
Did what?
”
I asked, although I had a pretty good idea.

“
Pulled out on
Gary
and me like that! How could you play such a dirty trick on your own brother?
”

“
I never wanted to do it in the first place,
”
I reminded him.

“
Yeah, but lately you and Gary have been thicker than sorghum molasses! How can you leave him in the lurch? I thought you’d gotten to be pretty good friends.
”

“
Well, that just shows how little you know,
”
I said coldly. If Mark ever guessed that I had fallen hopelessly in love with Gary Hadley, I’d never hear the end of it.
“
We made a deal, that’s all, and now the deal is off.
”

But now I’d have to break the news to Gary, and I definitely wasn’t looking forward to it. My only consolation was that I would have all
weekend to prepare my speech be
fore facing Gary on Monday.

As it turned out, I didn’t have that much time. About halfway through the morning the tele
phone rang, and Mark went to an
swer it. A moment later he yelled,
“
For you,
Moll. It’s your former cellmate!
”

I raced upstairs and took the call on the extension in Mo
m and Dad’s bedroom, hop
ing that Mark wouldn’t listen in. My heart was pounding, and my hand was trembling as I lifted the receiver and held it to my ear.
“
Hello?
”

“
Hi, Molly.
”
Just the sound of Gary’s voice made me weak in the knees.
“
I wanted to call and make sure you were okay, after last
night.
”

“
I’m fine,
”
I said, touched and a little amused by his concern. What had he thought might happen to me—a terminal case of dishpan hands?
“
What about you?
”

“
Well, I’m afraid my pride is still kind of bruised, but the rest of me is hanging in there. Listen, Molly, are you busy this afternoon? I thought maybe we could go to town and look at tuxes. I need to get my reservation in, and I sure could use your advice.
”

I took a deep breath. It was now or never.
“
No, Gary, I’m afraid I can’t,
”
I said.

“
Then how about tonight?
”

“
No. I’m sorry, Gary, but I’m not going to be able to help you anymore.
”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Gary finally spoke, he sounded both stunned and hurt.

“
It’s because of what happened last night, isn’t it? Now you really
do
think I’m hopeless.
”

“
No!
”
So much had changed since he’d overheard me saying that to Mark that I was horrified at the memory of my own words.

“
Then why?
”

“
Because—well, because you don’t need me anymore,
”
I said, unable to keep the sad
ness out of my voice.
“
Like I told you last night, any girl would be proud to go out with you.
”

“
Would
you
?
”

Would
I!
How could I possibly answer his question?

“
Well, I—if it weren’t for—I mean, if only— that is, I
…
”

“
Never mind,
”
Gary said, putting a merci
ful end to my idiotic stammering.
“
Forget I mentioned it.
”