Emily Calls It (The Emily Series) (2 page)

“Now, none of that. We’ve got to get you into a new zone and out of this icky
Graham
place.” She sort of picked at the air around me when she said it. Little did she know, but I wasn’t thinking about Graham.

TWO

The Distraction

We made plans to meet later that evening. I promised my mom I would be home for dinner, at least, considering I hadn’t made it home the Christmas before. Sitting at the table with her and my little brother
,
Hunter, was so comforting. Just being in our little farmhouse at the round oak table with mismatched chairs spoke volumes about my upbringing.

I slipped right into my at-home lifestyle. There was history here. Signs of wear and age, a genuine quality that touched everything
.
Southern
California
seemed so new compared to home. The apartments and strip malls had fresh paint and perfect concrete sidewalks everywhere. There was only one sidewalk in Two Rivers and it was on a quarter mile stretch of road called
Main Street
. And the pace. I could almost feel the earth’s rotation slow whenever I crossed the
Bay
Bridge
and headed north.

I leaned back in my chair as Mom gingerly cut her steak, taking slow bites. I sipped my ice water.

"I can't wait for you to see the new vineyard. It's beautiful." She reached across and pulled my brother's milk out of spilling distance. He looked up, annoyed.

I took another bite, chewing it slowly so I didn’t finish my dinner before her. "So, what about you, Hunter? The seventh grade, huh?"

"Yeah. I can't wait to pick my electives. I think I'm going to take a music class.” He pulled his milk glass back beside his plate forcefully.

I held my glass, smiling into it to hide how much I was enjoying our meal together. I could feel myself breathe again
.
I knew that coming home was the right decision.

***

Jessica picked me up around eight o’clock. We looked like twins in our little skirts and spaghetti-strap tops. I hopped in her car, wondering for a minute what we’d do tonight. There weren’t a ton of options, but enough that I wondered.

“So, what’s the plan?” I knew she’d have one. That was the thing about Jessica. She said she was going to distract me and I knew she would.

“I thought we’d go to the Brewery.” She smiled, mostly to herself.

“Really? That’s a
n awesome
idea.” The Brewery was a couple of towns away, but only about a thirty minute drive. Sadly, we weren’t old enough to sample the beer, but it was always a great place to hang out since they served non-alcoholic drinks and pub grub. I hadn’t thought about
going there, but it was an excellent
idea.

“Shayla and Doug will be there, and some of the old gang.” She looked pleased as punch with herself for organizing this get-together at the last minute.

“Great. It will be nice to see everyone.” And I truly meant it.

Jessica attended college in
Washington
State
, but made it home for every break and holiday. She kept in closer touch with our old friends than I did, and about now I was glad for that. When we drove up, Doug’s car was there, but no others I recognized. I had a feeling this was going to be a fun evening: Shayla was always a blast and I’d missed her energy. Walking through the door was like landing in another universe. Outside was quiet and dark; warm for an early summer evening. Inside it was packed. And I point this out because it’s unusual for any place to be packed around here. It was bright and loud and buzzing with people. The Brewery’s entire west side was one long bar with high tables next to it, and TVs and darts in the back. The other side was the restaurant, opening on the bar but partitioned a little. The conversations spilled over from one section to the next; words mixed with laughter. Smoke that didn’t realize it was supposed to stay in a certain area floated over our heads, blending with the smells of food and perfume.

I spotted Shayla almost immediately. I’d know her squeal anywhere. She pushed her chair back and its loud scrape against the dark wood floors paled in comparison. She sidestepped a group we didn’t know and wrapped me in a big hug. She was so excited she almost vibrated. I knew several people at the table, of course, but about a half-dozen were new to me. Shayla made the introductions while Jessica faded into the background as one often did around Shayla. I hugged all my old classmates, amazed at how just a year had changed them. Some of the guys had new facial hair…then there was the whole “freshman fifteen.” The rule that your freshman year of college you either lose or gain fifteen pounds from the change in routine. Luckily, my weight
doesn’t fluctuate
much. Shayla made her way around the table and rested her hand on the shoulder of a guy I didn’t recognize.

“Emily, this is Scott.” I extended my hand to greet him.

“Hi.” I kept it short.

“It’s nice to meet you, Emily.” He stood up and took my hand giving it a firm but not too firm shake. I saw Shayla and Jessica exchange a quick glance. Oh, so
this
was the distraction Jessica was talking about. Sometimes I’m a little slow, but I eventually catch on.

I sat in the only empty chair, which just happened to be next to Scott. As we talked about the usual getting-to-know-each-other stuff, I c
hecked him out. I mean, why not
?
He was a nice looking guy, tall with dark hair and really intense green eyes. My girls knew I was a sucker for pretty eyes. During our conversation I learned that he was from around here. He was a friend of Doug’s, and going to college in the Bay Area. I should’ve guessed: his style was obviously not local. Local guys were still sporting the crisp Le Tigre polos with raised collars in bright colors. Shoulder pads were a girl’s best friend, and big hair was everywhere. Scott’s jeans were ripped on t
he thigh just slightly, his tee
shirt was faded and his hair was a little longer than I usually saw on guys around here. And kind of messy. I’d overheard them talking about following a band from
Seattle
and they tossed around the word “grunge.” That was new, but intriguing
.
I liked him immediately. I don’t know if the feeling was mutual or if he was just being nice and frankly, I didn’t care. It was just nice to have a light conversation with a side order of flirtatious glances.

We decided to order a bunch of appetizers and split them. After I sampled just about everything, Sc
ott leaned in
and asked me if I wanted to play darts. Terrible as I am at darts, it’s still fun. We grabbed our drinks and walked from the restaurant to the bar side through the crowd. I trailed behind Scott trying to make a path. He waited for me to catch up, then reached for my hand. It was strange having another man hold my hand, even in the most casual situations. Once I saw we were getting through the crowd, I let go. He looked back but didn’t seem to be bothered. He suggested we do a little warm up and shoot for the
bulls-eye
. I knew there was no way I’d actually hit it, but decided not to let that stop me.

“Emily, here, you go first.” He handed me several darts and moved back setting his drink on the wall ledge and propping himself against the wall. I found myself giggling that he would position himself far away from any danger to getting stuck by a dart. My laughter echoed in my ears and I realized I hadn’t laughed in weeks. Scott flashed me a brilliant smile in response.

“What?” He asked shrugging his shoulders.

“I was just thinking, it was wise of you to back up.”

“Really, I’ll keep that in mind.” He picked up his drink. I turned around, facing the dartboard for a serious attempt to actually hit it. I threw the first one and willed it in the direction of the board. The first one was a
bulls-eye
, which completely surprised me
.
I jumped up clapping my hands like a foolish cheerleader. When I whipped around to show Scott, he was right behind me.

“Whoa! I thought you weren’t good at this.” He held on to the top of each of my arms then
hugged me
. He was just trying to ride out my happiness over the
bulls-eye
, I know, but I went rigid. He let go almost immediately, and I tried to take the attention away from the obvious by laughing again and getting ready to throw my next dart. He backed up again but not as far and watched me throw the rest. They landed on the dartboard but none were
bulls-eye
s, which was fine. I think I got lucky with the first one.

Shayla, Doug and Jessica joined us as we started the game. It went by quickly. I lost, of course, but I expected that. Quite a few of our group left and the remaining handful relocated to the darts room. We pushed a couple of tables together and pulled up chairs making a nice little conversation area. I excused myself for a moment.

“Jessica?” I tilted my head toward the restrooms. She followed…somewhat reluctantly. We stood over the wash basins lathering up our hands at the same time.

“So, Scott was the distraction you were talking abo
ut earlier?” She shrugged, and
a mischievous smile cross
ed
her lips. “I would expect this from Shayla, but not you.” I couldn’t help myself. She looked wounded.

“What? You’re mad?”

“No, I think it’s sweet, actually. But I know you didn’t act alone,
Oswald
,” I said. She laughed and flicked water on me.

“We’re not expecting you two to fall in love or anything. We just want you to have some fun. I couldn’t stand the look on your face earlier. You’re having fun, right?” she asked. I smiled. I was. It didn’t surprise me that they wanted to set me up. What did surprise me was that they were able to find a suitable guy in less than eight hours.

“Come on.” I tossed my paper towel in the basket and opened the door, gesturing for Jessica to go ahead of me. I sat between Scott and Jessica and shot Shayla a look that didn’t
faze
her one bit. She was having too much fun with this little scenario of hers.

Absorbed in a conversation with Jessica, I didn’t notice Scott set a beer down in front of me. The restaurant had cleared out except for our table, and I guess he must have known the bartender. If he thought plying me with drinks was going to get him anywhere with me, he was probably...well, at least on the right track. I smiled to myself taking the first drink. It was refreshing on so many levels after a year of white wine with Graham, his preference
,
I assumed
,
from years of his hoity-toity upbringing. This dark microbrew definitely hit the spot.

I don’t think I could have orchestrated a better night. The conversations were alive and exciting. We were having a great time. Shayla was in rare form. I threw my head back laughing at her story about her most recent run in with her older brother. They were always at each other’s throats, but somehow this time it was hilarious to me. I felt Scott rest his hand on the back of my chair barely touching my shoulder with his fingers. I turned to him, looking over my glass as I took a sip of my drink. He was flirting, and it actually felt nice. Another round of beers and I was officially having a great time.

It was getting late when the group started to break up. Soon it was just a few of us, including Scott and me.

He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Can I give you a ride home?” I held his gaze for a second thinking about it. He was a nice guy. Cute, of course, and really sweet. I was willing to bet he was a great kisser. My mind wandered for a moment before I realized he was still looking at me for an answer. Jessica acted like she was involved in her own conversation, but I knew she was listening.

“Thank you.” I paused for a second sidetracked by his cool green eyes. “But I came with Jess.” I shrugged indicating it was sort of out of my hands…even though it wasn’t.

“No problem. Maybe another time.” He brought his drink to his lips with his eyes locked on mine. Then he paused before taking a drink. “What would you say to dinner sometime this week?” He knew I was only in town for a few days but that wasn’t stopping him. I was touched by his persistence.

“Sure, that would be nice.” I smiled then realized I was happy, which was a surprise, considering.

“Here.” He took a folded piece of paper from the front pocket of his jeans. I opened it and saw his phone number. I wondered when he wrote it and put it in his pocket to give me, but it really didn’t matter
.
“Call me,” he said then turned back to Doug. Shayla looked over at the same time. It was comical, their little setup.

THREE

On The Mend

I knew when Shayla gave Doug a good night kiss that she was coming with Jessica and me. I also knew that the subject of my love life was not closed. This was going to be an interesting ride home. While I waited outside the brewery for Shayla, Scott joined me.

“Emily.” He took my hand. “It was great meeting you. I’m already looking forward to dinner.” I watched him walk to his car and waved as he dropped into the driver’s seat.