Parker's Island (17 page)

“I, I should walk.  I need the exercise.”

“Okay, I’ll walk you home
,
then
,
” Brian said, always proving to be a gentleman.

“Brian, grab a
couple of
sandwich
es
on your way out.  It was nice meeting you
,
Delaney.  I hope we see more of you around here.  You’re right
Brian
,
she is
drop-dead
gorgeous
, and so polite
.”

I was mortified by her comment, but Brian was completely unaffected
.  “Yes
,
she is!”
h
e agreed unashamedly.

He took my hand and we headed downstairs.  He grabbed two sandwiches on the way out the door.

“Oh, I’m
really
not hungry
,
” I said, seeing the second sandwich.

“Yeah, I kind of figured that.  You don’t have much of an appetite do you?”
h
e asked, already about done with the first sandwich.

“I think you have a big enough appetite for the both of us
,
” I grinned.

“I’m a growing boy.”

We both laughed at that.  “You need to eat more
,
Delaney
.  Y
ou’re too thin. 
Don’t get me wrong
.  Y
ou
’
r
e
b
eautiful, but thin.

“Hmm, I thought I was drop-dead gorgeous
?
  I’ve
just
been demoted to beautiful
?
”
I teased.

“My mom likes to embellish things
,
”
h
e grinned sheepishly.

“Your mom’s great.  If my mom caught
you
in
my
room hugging me, she certainly wouldn’t have invited you to lunch!”

“Hmmm, is that what you were doing?  Hugging me?  I’m just curious, because I just thought
I was hugging
you.”

It was so easy being with Brian.  He was so nice and funny and sensitive to all my needs.  I needed some time though, “Brian, I…”

“
You don’t have to say anything
,
Delaney.  I’m sure you need some time
,
”
h
e said, as if reading my mind.  “
I’m not blind.  I know you don’t feel for me what you do for Logan.  I told you I’
d
wait
, and I meant it
.”

“Thank
you
,
”
w
as
all
I could manage to say.

“
Can I ask you something?” Brian said.

“Sure.”

“You may not want to hear it
, and you don’t have to tell me
,
”
h
e said.

“Boy, an uncomfortable
conversation
.  T
here’s a switch
,
” I said jokingly, but worried
about his question
nonetheless.

“It’s obvious that you like Logan and it sure seems that he likes you
.  S
o why aren’t you two together?”

“Because he doesn’t want me
to wait
,
” I said
quickly
, re-living his rejection
,
yet again
.

“Wait for what?”

I realized I had almost let something slip, so I quickly covered my tracks. 
“He’s
..
.going away to college and he doesn’t want me to wait for him.”

“I don’t buy that.  I know he’s crazy about you.”

“Obviously
,
you’re wrong.”

“No, I’m not.”

“How do you know that?”  I knew Logan had strong feelings for me, but he
had
also let me go
without a second thought.
 

“I’ve seen how he looks at you
,
Delaney.  He’s in love with you.”

I knew it hurt him to say that.
“You can’t know that just by the way he looks at me.”

“Yes I can
,
b
eca
use I look at you the same way,” Brian said without the slightest hesitation or embarrassment. 

I stopped walking and turned to him.  “Brian, I’m very confused right now.  The last
thing I want to do is hurt you…
again.”

“Delaney, I told you
,
I’m not blind.  I know
you love him and
he loves you.  So, before I
make a huge ass out of myself, I need to know if he’s coming back for you
.
”  He stood there, an open target
,
waiting for me to give him an answer.  I didn’t have one.

“I don’t know
, I don’t think so
.”

“Fair enough.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence.  When we got to my street, I told him that I should go the rest of the way by myself.  I didn’t want
any more questions from my parents
that I would have to
lie about, and Brian would definitely entail a lot of questions.

“You don’t want me to meet your parents?”
h
e asked, sadly.

“No, it’s not that.  I was
supposed
to be with Molly at her house,
all weekend
.
  That’s why I didn’t want you to pick me up
,
” I said, hoping he’d understood my meaning.

“They don’t know you went to the grad party?”

“Not everyone has parents as understanding as yours.”

“Oh.  Well then
,
may
I see you again?”

“I just need a little time, okay?”

“
Okay
, b
ut don’t keep me waiting too long.  My mother is going to drive me nuts until you come to dinner.”

“I thought she invited me to lunch?” I grinned.

“
T
rust
me;
she’s given you an open invitation.  That goes for me
,
too.”

“Thank you
,
Brian.  You really are sweet.”

“Call me soon
,
okay, even if it’s just to talk
about…anything
.”

“Okay.  Oh, I also wanted to thank you for not telling Molly about
…L
ogan.  I would never hear the end of it.”

“Well, that was just my pride standing in the way.  It certainly wasn’t a noble act.”

“
That doesn’t
matter.  You saved me from having to answer 200 more questions last night.”

“Bye
,
Delaney
,
”
h
e said
, handing me my bag
,
sensing
I should get inside.

I reached into my bag and grabbed his jacket.  I handed it to him and said, “Thank you for the use of the jacket.  It really came in handy
.
”
M
uch more than he knew
,
I
realized
. 
I touched the side of his cheek and then turned and headed home.

The lies
continued
as soon as I walked in the door.  My mother quizzed me about what Molly and I did the entire time I was gone.  I tried to keep it generic in case I needed to reiterate the story later for my father
,
w
hich
, as it turned out, was exactly the case.  I was so thrilled when dinner and dishes were done so I could finally lock myself in my room.

Once there, I realized the sanctity of my room didn’t hold the comfort it always had before.  Once again, I cried myself to sleep, finally allowing myself to mourn
,
while
holding Logan’s shirt.

Chapter
Six:
Brian

The next couple of weeks passed in slow motion.  Brian was very patient and left me alone to deal with my emotions.  At the end of two weeks, he called
.
  I was surprised he waited that long.  I had heard nothing from Logan
; t
hat, I was not surprised about.  I had cried over what Chad had done to me and
over
losing Logan until I was numb and just couldn’t cry anymore.

My mother answered the phone when Brian called, and stood there while I talked to him.  “Mom, do you mind?” I asked, irritated by the intrusion.

“Oh,
I’m
sorry.  Are we going to get to meet this young man?”
s
he asked, waiting for an answer before she would leave.

“Brian, would you hold on
for a minute, please?”
I asked.

“Sure,
”
h
e said.

“Mom, Brian is a nice guy, someone you and dad would definitely approve of.  Please let me find out what he wants before I ask him to meet my parents
,”
I said.

“Alright
,
I’m
sorry
.
I’m just excited for you
,
”
s
he said, finally walking downstairs.

“Sorry about that.”

“So then, am I?”

“Are you what?” I asked, confused.

“Going to meet your parents?”
h
e asked, trying to embarrass me.

“Maybe,
” I said,
suddenly
finding the sound of his voice very comforting.  I couldn’t believe it, but I
realized I had
really missed him.

“You mean it?”
h
e asked, seriously now.

I was resolved to not spend the rest of the summer locked up in my room.  I needed to have some fun.  Brian was a great guy, and if I couldn’t have Logan, then I had to move on. 

“That all depends?”

“On what?”
h
e asked.

“On whether or not you’re going to ask me out again
;
t
hat is, if you still want…”
             
“How
about
tonight?”
h
e asked, taking the lead before I could finish my sentence.

“Um, let me ask, okay?”

I ran downstairs and asked my
mom if we had any plans for that evening
.  “No dear, why?” s
he asked, smiling like she already knew what I was going to say, and of course
,
she did.

“Um, I guess I have a date
,
” I said, actually a little excited about seeing Brian again.

“Are we going to meet
this young man
,
first?”
s
he asked.

“Yes
,
Mom
.
I’ll invite him in before we go out.  Okay?”

“Okay
,
”
s
he said, grinning uncontrollably.

I told Brian that I would be ready when he picked me up
that ni
ght. 

“I’ll be there at 6
:00
sharp
,
”
h
e said, obviously excited.

I hung up the phone and headed back to my room.  I sat down on my bed and slowly pulled Logan’s shirt out from under my pillow.  I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.  It no longer held his scent, and I realized I was holding on to something I couldn’t have.  I folded the shirt that I had worn to bed every night since I got back and I put it in the bottom drawer of my dresser.  “It’s time to move on
, Delaney!”
I told myself, opening my closet to figure out what I was going to wear th
at
night…
the first night of my new life.