Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone #2) (29 page)

Claire appeared in my peripheral vision. “We’ll wait outside,” she whispered.

I nodded, keeping my gaze on Adam. The sounds of the fast-food restaurant, people talking, order numbers being called, fell away. I had a choice to make. I could walk right out of the building and not say a word. Or, I could talk to him.

It was definitely
not
the scenario I’d have chosen. I hadn’t looked in a mirror in a while, but I was positive my makeup was smeared or long gone. My hair frizzed around my face from the humidity outside, and my clothes were wrinkled. He, on the other hand, looked perfect. Big and strong, tight jeans, and hair styled with just the right amount of product.

I waited for the old pain to rise up and choke me to death, but nothing happened. Surprising. Instead, a sort of numbness had taken its place. Good. I could handle numb. And even though I didn’t want to, I had to talk to him. There was no way I’d let him think he’d scared me away.

I tightened my grip on my bag of chicken strips and went up to him. “Hey. How’re you doing?”

“Not bad, not bad at all.” His smile grew until it became a smirk. “Had a rough day?” he asked, his voice full of sarcasm. His gaze traveled over me again.

Sudden anger burned through my numbness. Had he always been such a jerk? If so, how come I’d never realized it during all those months of dating? I’d been an idiot. But I wasn’t anymore. At least, not an idiot where he was concerned. “I guess you could say that,” I said, keeping my voice light.
Go me! Take the high road.
“There’s just a lot going on.”

“Hmm,” he said with no emotion at all. “There usually is.”

What was that supposed to mean? That I used to handle a busy schedule looking a lot better than I did right now? That he was ready for the conversation to end?

He looked at the menu high on the wall. Any other time I would’ve been aching to get his attention back, but slowly, as though I were waking up from a deep sleep, I realized something. I didn’t care. I absolutely didn’t care. Let him make fun of me. Let him think I’d let myself go. There were way more important things going on in my life, and thankfully, he wasn’t one of them.

I let out a quiet laugh and shook my head. He looked at me, a slight frown marring his features, which made me want to laugh harder. But I didn’t. I gave him a bright smile. “Hey, good to see you. I have to go. Hope you and Brisa are doing okay.”

His frown deepened into a look of confusion. “Yeah, thanks. Good to see you too.”

With my smile in place, I swept out the door, then sucked in air like I’d been drowning. It was over. It was really over. A lightness raced through me. My breathing calmed. I wanted to collapse onto the pavement and just smile. But no. That would be gross.

Claire and Gray strode toward me from where they’d been leaning against his car. “We just heard from Ashley,” Gray said. “They found Nana. Everyone’s meeting down at The Coffee Bar.”

Relief, along with everything that had just happened, left me lightheaded. I so wanted to join them, but Berger’s earlier resistance came flooding back in. “That’s it then,” I said. “Guess I’ll head home.”

“What?” Gray asked. “Are you nuts? Let’s go find out what the story is.”

“Yeah,” Claire said, “come on.”

“Um, I’m not sure Berger would like that.”

“Screw him,” Gray said. “Let’s go.”

Hmm. Maybe there’d be enough people that Berger wouldn’t notice me.
If
I could stay in the background. I headed for my car, pushing away the thought that this was a really bad idea.

Fifty-Six

Berger

I knew it the moment Lindsey set foot in The Coffee Bar. It was like the air changed or something. She stood half hidden behind Claire and Gray, as though she didn’t want me to see her. I couldn’t really blame her. I’d been a complete jerk earlier.

But what was she doing here? Why wasn’t she with all the theater people, triumphing over her success with the play? Because with her in the main role, our play would definitely advance in the competition. Why would she ditch them now?

I had to smash my heels into the floor to keep from rushing over and begging for forgiveness. Because right now was all about Nana, who had shown up with a confused cab driver in tow. He had picked her up and taken her to a toy store because she wanted playing cards. Marked ones.

And once he realized she couldn’t pay him, he had done his best to get her home. But she didn’t know where she lived. He was halfway to the police station to get help when she remembered The Coffee Bar.

So here she was, ecstatic with her purchase, surrounded by people who’d been looking for her, completely oblivious to how worried everyone had been. “Look at these,” Nana said, holding up a couple of cards. “They’re marked! Now I can beat Margaret Carrington at her own game.” She grinned as people laughed.

“Here,” she continued, waving toward the door. “You three come over here. You can’t see the cards from way over there.”

“It’s okay, Nana,” Gray said. “We can see.”

“Grayson Langley! Come here right now!”

I couldn’t believe she’d actually remembered his full name. Dementia was a weird beast.

Gray made a panicked face that left people chuckling. He and Claire moved through the crowd until they reached Nana. But I didn’t see Lindsey.

“See that little flourish right there?” Nana asked. But she didn’t wait for an answer. “Lindsey? Where are you?”

I looked at the front doors of the shop, hoping she was still hiding. But no one was there. A weird mixture of emotions jigged through me, the biggest being frustration. I’d thought I might have a chance to work it all out with her tonight.

“She had to go home, Nana,” Gray said.

“How disappointing,” Nana said, but then spoke to the people standing nearby.

It
was
disappointing. All of a sudden, my feet were moving before I realized what I was doing. I didn’t need to stand around listening to Nana talk. There were plenty of people taking care of her. I burst through the front doors to see Lindsey’s tail lights halfway down the block.
Dammit.

The door banged behind me. I turned to see Gray frowning. “What’s going on with you and Lindsey?”

“What do you mean?”

“She was acting like you didn’t want her around.”

Crap.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I never said that.”

“Well, what did you say?”

“I just … ” Everything inside me seemed to be sinking to the ground. I scuffed the toe of my shoe against the asphalt. “That looking for Nana was a family thing.”

Gray lifted a hand for a high five. “Nice job.”

“Shut up.”

He dropped his arm to his side. “Keep doing things like this and your relationship won’t last very long.”

Didn’t he think I knew that? “What do you care anyway? I thought you didn’t want Lindsey and I to get together.”

“I didn’t. But you already have, so I figure I should support you guys.” He pointed toward The Coffee Bar. “You know, for the good of my relationship with Claire?”

Of course he was thinking of his own girlfriend. I’d probably do the same thing in his position. “Right.”

“So why’d you try to get rid of Lindsey?”

I opened and closed my mouth several times. “I just couldn’t figure out how to look for Nana and take care of Lindsey at the same time.”

“Did she ask you to?”

“No, but—”

He shook his head even as a laugh escaped his mouth. “Do you have any idea how worried she’s been about Nana? How she helped us search?”

Oh, no.
“She couldn’t have. She went to Caldwell for the one-act play competition. They needed her.”

“I don’t know anything about that. All I know is that she came to the senior center and helped us search the neighborhood. And halfway through, Mike texted her saying that the play had gone well.”

She gave up the play? To help search for Nana? “I didn’t— This doesn’t make any sense.”

Gray clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Looks like you effed up big time, bro.”

He was right. I had. And just how the heck could I make it right?

***

I’d made it all the way home and grabbed my book of poetry before Lindsey finally answered one of my ten phone calls. And now, sitting in my sister’s car outside of the Taylors’ house, I worked hard to steady my breathing.
Come on. You can do this.

I had to. I couldn’t imagine what things would be like if Lindsey didn’t forgive me. I forced myself out of the car and up to the front door.

Lindsey’s dad opened it almost immediately. We stared at each other for several seconds before he stepped back to let me in. “You know I almost said no to this,” he said, looking stern. “It’s after nine o’clock. On a school night.”

Yeah, and we’re not ten years old.
But I nodded instead of letting that comment loose. I wasn’t a complete loser, even though I’d been acting like one. “Yes, sir. I won’t be long.”

He shut the front door. “She’s waiting for you by the pool.”

“Thanks.” I started off for the back of the house.

“And, Trey?”

I looked back.

“Glad your grandmother is okay.”

“Thanks,” I said, then practically ran to the back door. I had no idea if he was going to be timing me or something. Outside, a couple of amber patio lights shone, but most of the light came from those in the pool.

Lindsey got up from a lounge chair on the other side of the pool. She had on a swimsuit cover-up that hit about mid-thigh, and her hair hung in wet waves across her shoulders. I took a deep breath and walked slowly toward her. “Hey,” I said, stopping several feet away.

“Hi,” she said, her voice quiet.

I couldn’t tell if she was upset or happy or pissed. Might as well jump right into things. “So, yeah. I’m Trey Berger. You know, the idiot who treated you like crap earlier today. I was just wondering if you’d thought about maybe forgiving me.”

She looked off into the shadows of the rest of the yard. “I don’t know. Do you want forgiveness?”

Okay, not in a joking mood. I’d better get serious real quick. “Yes, Lindsey. I do. I’m really sorry. I just … sometimes I’m really stupid. This afternoon I was panicking about Nana.”

She shook her head and walked away. Should I follow her? It was so hard to see her expression. I tossed my poetry book onto one of the lounge chairs. I was just about to head after her when she strode back.

“Tell me the truth,” she said. “Why didn’t you want me there?”

I did my fish impression again. Was I really going to have to say this? Admit what had been going through my mind? I stared into the pale blue expanse of the swimming pool. Yeah, she deserved the truth. I cleared my throat. “So, um, a lot of the time I feel responsible for people. You know, making sure they’re happy and stuff? You’re one of those people.”

She sighed and stared down at her feet.

“I just didn’t think I could handle doing that when I was helping with the whole Nana thing.”

Lindsey slowly raised her head as if she was looking at an imbecile. “What did you think I was going to do? Stand around crying over Adam? Be all depressed over the stupid school play?” She moved into my space. “I wanted to help, Berger. I wanted to be there for
you
.” She poked me in the chest.

“I know, I know.”

“Don’t you think I’m mature enough to know how to act in different situations? I mean, even if I was still upset about Adam, which I’m not, do you actually think I’d stand around weeping, hoping you’d come hug me, when people are trying to find your grandmother?”

She wasn’t still hurt over Adam? Even a little? “When you put it like that, I feel stupider than stupid.”

She raised her hands in one of her usual dramatic movements. “You should!” She walked away, then twisted back around. “I don’t know how this thing between us can work if you don’t trust me.”

Okay, she was talking about our relationship now. That was good, right? Had we moved past the forgiveness issue? I’d better find out for sure. “Can you forgive me?”

“Maybe. Can you trust me to take care of myself?”

I went over and took her hands. “Yes. But that doesn’t mean I won’t screw up like this again. Making people happy, or trying to … it’s just something I’ve always done.”

She pulled a hand away and ran it into my hair. “Maybe it’s time you let other people do things for you.”

I bent and rested my forehead on hers. The light scent of chlorine rose up from her damp hair. “I’ll try.” We stood like that, just breathing together, taking in each other’s nearness. She was still there, even after the way I’d acted. Which reminded me. I lifted my head. “So, about that whole forgiveness thing … ”

She smiled and slipped her hands around my neck. “Does this answer your question?” She kissed me slowly, and I had to fight against getting really into it. I mean, her parents could be watching.

“Don’t worry about them,” she whispered.

I laughed. “Reading minds again?”

“More like reading your lips.”

I smiled and ran my hands down her arms. She still had on her lucky bracelets, which reminded me of something else. “There’s one more thing we need to settle.”

Fifty-Seven

Lindsey

I shivered at the tingling caused by Berger’s touch. “What?”

He lifted my wrist and slid a finger under my bracelets. “I don’t want to be your lucky boy.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. Was he breaking up with me? No, of course not. Not after I’d forgiven him. And I’d never even talked to him about lucky boys. “But—what? I mean, how did you—”

“Know? Come on. I’ve been around you for months. I know how much you believe in luck. I’ve watched you with other guys.” He looked away, his mouth working as though he didn’t know what to say.

He knew how much he meant to me, didn’t he? The “L” word hovered on my tongue, but I just couldn’t make myself say it. This was all so new, so scary. I touched his cheek, bringing his attention back. “Hey, you’re amazing. Why can’t you be my lucky boy?”