Rumors (4 page)

Shane
seemed like he had more to say, his mouth opening and closing like
he couldn’t decide on his words.

I made
it easy on him by waving goodbye, looking over my shoulder with a
fleeting, “I’ll talk to you later!”

***

After
basketball practice, my sisters and I stayed late to hit the weight
room for a quick session. While the extra weight routine wasn’t
required, Coach had made a point of highly recommending extra
strength training. As I entered the small weight room, I caught
sight of Shane among the male athletes across the room. He lifted
his chin in greeting, putting down the dumbbells and pausing
between sets.

My sister, Taylor, quieted a squeal from her position beside
me. “He is
so
hot,” she said, trying to casually check Shane out. Beads of
sweat slid down his defined biceps, exposed from the athletic tank
top he wore. Taylor and Leah walked with me to the mats on the
floor, each of us grabbing a medicine ball.

“
Are you going to go out with him again?” Leah asked, her eyes
roaming the gym as she checked out the older high school athletes
sauntering into the room.

“
On another date? Nope, that’s definitely not happening
again,” I answered, lying on my back and holding the medicine ball
in my hands. “Are you two going to do abs with me, or are you just
here to check out the buffet?” My sisters snickered, taking one
more glance around the room before joining me on their
backs.

During
the forty-five minutes that I worked out in the weight room, I was
bound to have a run in with Shane. He came over while I was
concentrating on my triceps and pulling down on the bar from my
seated position.

“
Not bad, Collins,” he said, eying the cut in my lean muscles.
I blew out air with each pull, trying not to appear self-conscious
at Shane’s observations. He waited for me to finish my set. I
released the bar, stretching my right arm across my
body.

“
Can I help you?” I asked, catching my breath. I swiped a
loose strand of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my
ear.

“
Hostile,” Shane commented with an amused look. “I like
it.”

“
Hostile—what? I’m just in the middle of something.” I stood
up to lessen the height difference between us. At five-seven, I was
short for a basketball player and had to make up for it with speed
and endurance.

“‘
In the middle of something’, like that super-important text
this morning before class?” Shane’s mouth hinted at a smile. He was
teasing me.

“
I was totally texting!” I lied. “What’s it to you,
anyway?”

Shane
shrugged. “Nothin’. I just think it’s interesting that you’ve been
avoiding me all day.”

“
I haven’t been avoiding you. It’s not like we have classes
together or anything.” I paused for a moment. “What’s with the
sensitivity?” I asked, fully aware that Taylor and Leah were
gawking at us from across the room, giggling to each
other.

Ugh, sophomores.

“
Well, you know, it’s hard on a guy’s self-esteem when you go
on a date and the girl snubs you.”

“
It was hardly a date. You and I both know we were forced into
chaperoning two friends who turned out not needing us in the
end.”

Tara and
Austin were together right now, spending every bit of their free
time at school together and now after practice. I was pretty sure I
wouldn’t be seeing much of my best friend anymore, aside from our
structured basketball practices.

Shane
stretched his arms above his head. “Well, I don’t like having a
black mark on my record. How about a do-over?”

“
You want to go out again?” I didn’t do a good job of hiding
the shock in my voice.

“
Yeah, why not? Just so we can say we had one good date. It’ll
help my confidence.”

I rolled
my eyes. This guy didn’t need any help in the confidence
department, and he knew it. Before I could stop myself, I heard
myself say, “Ok, what did you have in mind?”

“
Well, the boys’ and girls’ varsity team is coming over to my
place on Friday. It’s a bit of short notice, but we’re trying to
spread the word. If our teams are going to join forces and sell
those raffle tickets together for Sectionals, some of the guys and
I were thinking we might want to invest in some co-ed
bonding.”

I tried
not to laugh at what else that might entail.

“
That’s your idea of a date? Hanging out with our basketball
teammates?”

Shane
laughed. “No, but that’s where we can start. We’ll do something
afterwards.”

I
shrugged. It sounded harmless enough, though I wasn’t sure where
this was going. “Sure. I’ll see you there.” I returned to my
triceps, ignoring my whispering twin sisters from across the
room.

***

Based on
the extravagant drive through Shane’s gated community, with the
security guard checkpoint and all, I shouldn’t have felt the need
to gawk at his spacious and equally impressive backyard. Tall
lampposts lit up the field of grass, illuminating the array of
trees bordering the edges of the yard. A paved pathway wound around
the outskirts in a circular formation. Tables and chairs were set
up in the center, the tables displaying an assortment of
finger-foods. Bottled sodas packed with ice lay in huge buckets
beside the tables.

“
Shane’s pad is so cool,” Tara said in awe.

“
No kidding,” I agreed, “Check out the fire pit!” In the
corner of the yard, theater-style seating allowed us to step down
into the fire pit, approaching the cluster of students roasting
marshmallows around the huge, concrete ring. Upbeat music set the
energetic mood of the party, with kids laughing and dancing to the
tempo.

“
There’s Austin.” Tara’s smile broadened, and she ran a hand
through her straightened hair, her natural curls flat-ironed smooth
today. “I’ll see you later,” she said to me, practically skipping
over to him. I watched Austin open his arms to her, swirling her
around in a big hug. Tara threw her head back with a laugh. She
made dating look so easy.

Scoping
out the rest of the party, I caught sight of my sisters standing
together at the edge of the fire. Leah’s arms were wrapped around
herself for warmth, though the way her eyes darted through the
crowd with a half-smile on her face, I knew she was nervous to be
at her first varsity party. She looked a little starstruck
surrounded by all the older athletes. Taylor stood beside her,
appearing to dominate the conversation with Grant, a decent player
from the boys’ team who was chatting with her. She spoke with the
self-assurance that Leah often lacked in large social settings,
though I knew both of them would do just fine. Their own rise in
stardom as the newest and youngest Collins gave them a head start
in the social arena.

Two
hands squeezed my shoulders from behind. Startled, I whipped
around. The culprit grinned back at me, his brown eyes catching the
light from the fire. I turned around and faced Shane, unable to
help noticing that his red sweater contrasted nicely with his warm
skin tone.

“
Thought you might not show,” he said.

I
frowned at him. “Now why would you say that?”

“
Because you’ve basically turned into a hermit since school
started,” Shane said. He seemed to regret his words the moment they
slipped out of his mouth. “Oh, I mean—”

I
sighed. What he meant was to say was, “Since your cousin drowned
and you became socially reclusive.” I remembered why I’d been
avoiding these gatherings. People always said the wrong things,
even when their intentions were good.

I put
three fingers against Shane’s mouth, blocking any more of his
fumbling words. “You really could work on your tact. Do you always
say the first thing that pops into your head?”

Shane’s
eyes scanned my features. He half-smiled and said, “Obviously not.
Because if I did, the first thing I would have said to you is how
pretty you look tonight.” He brushed a layer of hair away from my
eyes.

My mouth
opened, but now I was the one struggling for words. Shane
maintained his unnerving gaze. I settled for clearing my throat,
taking a moment to break eye contact. He was flirting with me, and
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. One date gone horribly wrong,
and now he was being charming?

I forced
a laugh, attempting to act casual, like I wasn’t picking up on his
flirtatious vibe. I was sure it didn’t mean anything, anyway. Guys
like Shane could say whatever they wanted and get away with it,
even if they didn’t mean what they said.

Since I
was at a loss for a witty response, I changed the subject entirely.
“So… did you sell any raffle tickets this week?”

Shane
let out a chuckle, though since I hadn’t said anything the least
bit funny, I knew it was somehow directed at me. “You want to talk
about the raffle?” Amusement touched his expression.

My face
flushed red. I hoped that even with the brilliant full moon that he
wouldn’t notice. First he was rude, then charming, and then back to
making fun of me? I couldn’t figure him out, and I didn’t like it.
I let out a frustrated huff of air, looking through the crowd for
an escape. Talking to Shane was impossible because, for whatever
reason, he set my nerves on edge. I could barely hold a decent
conversation with the guy, whether it was because of his good looks
or dumb, insensitive comments.

Shane’s
fingers lightly touched my elbow until I looked back at him. He
probably sensed my irritation because his features dropped the hint
of mockery. “Look, you wanna get out of here?”

“
To where?” I asked, slightly heated. “On our
date?
” My tone indicated
that if this was the start of our evening, I was less than
impressed.

Shane
observed me quietly. “Follow me,” he said. “Let’s go for a walk.”
He took a couple of steps and then turned around, waiting for
me.

Stalling, my eyes found my sisters, both of them now
comfortably seated on the iron chairs beside the fire. They were
smiling and heavily involved in the conversation at play with a
group of guys. Tara was nowhere to be found—and neither was Austin,
so that explained her whereabouts clearly enough. Aside from a
couple of friendly smiles and fleeting waves from my teammates (who
paused their conversations only long enough to briefly acknowledge
me), I was on my own.

I shoved
my cold hands into the pockets of my white coat and caught up to
Shane, as we ascended the stairs out of the fire pit. In silence,
Shane led me to the corner of the yard. He lifted the lock and
pushed the double doors of the gate open, closing it behind
us.

We
walked without speaking for a couple of minutes, our shoes padding
against the cool sidewalk beneath us. Since Shane had pretty much
laughed at me when I had tried to start up a conversation last
time, I refused to initiate. However, he didn’t seem bothered by
the silence. I caught him glancing at me a time or two, a mostly
hidden smile in his expression. He’d look away when I’d make eye
contact, but only after making sure our eyes did, in fact, meet for
a moment.

After
cutting through Shane’s ornate neighborhood, I could see we were
approaching an enormous, luscious golf course. Some of it was well
lit by huge floodlights, probably for security, while dimmer areas
relied on the luminous moon.

“
So, what do you think?” Shane asked, taking in the view from
beside me.

It was
the most gorgeous golf course I’d ever seen. “I can’t believe you
have your very own golf course inside your neighborhood,” I said,
disbelief etched in my voice. It wasn’t like I grew up without
money or anything. I knew Dad spoiled us, too—sometimes it seemed
to be his way to make up for divorcing Mom three years ago. Even
still, to have this huge golf course in the center of your
community was unreal.

Shane
stepped onto the perfectly groomed grass. I followed.

“
Are we allowed out here?” I asked, looking around at the
quiet course void of people.

“
Of course not,” Shane answered, his steps unfaltering. “But,
are you seeing this place? It’s huge. They can’t watch all of it at
the same time. Come on.”

We
trailed quietly, ditching the homes behind us and delving deeper
into the golf course. Passing through a few hills, we situated
ourselves on top of one mound with a gathering of trees. Hiding in
the shadows, I pulled my knees up to my chest for warmth, resting
my arms around my knees. The spectacular view of the lake lay
before us, reflecting the yellow glow of the moon.

“
I wonder how many golf balls would be found in the lake if
someone drained it?” I asked aloud, picturing the thousands of
golfers who had run this course over time.

“
Good question. Let’s go find out,” Shane said, jumping to his
feet. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

I dug my
feet into the ground when he tried tugging me down the hill. “What?
No way!” I shouted, though a laugh escaped my protest. Shane’s hand
covered my mouth, his body stepping into mine.