Veer (Clayton Falls) (4 page)

***

After breakfast, Molly and Ben drove me over to my new place for the summer.
The pool house was really just one big room
with a queen size
d
bed, a sitting area with a huge TV, and a small kitchen.
A
bathroom rounded off the place. The best part was that
,
being the pool house, it was right next to t
he
pool.

“It must have been awesome to grow up with a pool in your backyard.” I looked longingly out the window.

“You can definitely use it all you want
.
M
y parents will be glad. Most of the time
,
it just sits unused.” Ben f
lipped through a pile of old CD
s on the counter. I assumed his brother had left them.

“That’s awesome. I’d love to swim some laps in the morning.”
I was already itchin
g to get in the water. I’d
been starting my morning in the pool since college. If I couldn’t swim
,
I’d run
,
but considering the heat,
i
t was nice to know I wouldn’t have to resort to it.

We’d gone by the repair shop to check on my car, but it was going to take
at least
another day. The guy said something about ordering a part. I didn’t mind waiting, but I hoped it wouldn’t put too much of a dent
in
my Visa
balance
. Molly offered to let me borrow her car for work on
Monday,
and
she assured me she didn’t need it. I didn’t doubt her. The Molly I remembered hated driving.

Molly left after I
convinced
her I was more than capable of unpacking my own clothes. She was sup
posed to meet with some clients,
and I didn’t want to get in the way of her
small but thriving
photography business. Only Molly would quit law school and end up making money as a photographer.
In some ways I envied her. I didn’t have a creative bone in my body.

After putting away the last of my clothes and stowing my suitcases in the closet, I popped in
one of the movies I’d brought with me.
It was a sunny day out, but it was hot and humid
,
and I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I wanted to make sure I didn’t smother Molly.

I had just reached the good part
of the movie
when the door burst open. I jumped, unable to believe I’d forgotten to lock the door after Molly left. It was so unlike me.
I panicked,
until I saw a guy who looked a lot like Ben standing in the doorway
wearing
a huge grin. I relaxed
. T
his had to be Ben’s brother
. T
hey even had the same smile
.

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t know you were here already.”

“Hey, that’s fine.” I tried to hide just how
much his intrusion
frightened me. “You must be Jake.”

“That would be me.
You’re
Becca, right?”

“Uh huh.” I reached
for the remote
to pause the movie.
I’d thrown it off the co
u
ch in surprise.

“I’ll get out of your hair in a second
.
I just realized I forgot a few books.”
He closed the door behind him. At least he was good about keeping the cool air inside.

I picked up the two paperbacks that had been on the floor by the TV.
“
A
Ken Follet fan
,
huh?”

“Yeah,
I’m on a kick. What about
you?”

“I read a little of everything.”

“You all moved in?” He glanced around, maybe checking
for
any changes.

“Yeah, I didn’t have much.” I hoped he didn’t blame me for having to move. “Did you move nearby?”

“I’m across town, closer to where Molly and Ben live.”

“Is your place nice?”

“As nice as any rental house is
,
I guess. It was time for me to get out of here. I like that my parents can’t just stop by all the time.”

I smiled. “That’s a good thing.”

He
peered over my shoulder, suddenly n
oticing the TV. “Is that
Dawn of
the Dead
?”

“Yup.”

“Interesting movie choice.”

“Hey, watching a zombie apocalypse kind of puts your own problems into perspective.”

He laughed. “Very true. Mind if I join you for a bit? I love this movie.”
Without waiting for
a
response
,
he slumped down next to me on the couch. You could tell he’d been living there
. He
was right at home.

“Sure
,
”
I answered even though I didn’t need to. I pressed play
,
starting the movie up
again.

Jake grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
As if an afterthought, he glanced over to make sure I didn’t mind.

Molly had described Jake as a class A jerk,
but
he seemed pretty cool to me. He definitely wasn’t my type, but I could see us becoming friends.

“So what exciting activities does Molly have planned for you tonight?”
h
e asked as the credits
rolled
.

“Um, she wants to introduce me to some of her friends. She said they all hang out at some bar.”

“
Nice. Y
ou’re going to experience Clayton Fall’s finest establishment, Gill’s.”

I looked over at him. “Anything I should know before I go?”

“Yeah, expect every drunk guy to hit on you, and don’t take anything people say personally.”
His brown hair was shaggy, a contrast to Ben’s buzzed look.
He kind of had that surfer boy thing going
for him
.

“
Okay
.
.. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Cool. All right, I’m going to get out of here. I’ll see you tonight?”

“
Are you going to be there too?”

“For you, I’ll make an appearance.”

“I appreciate the sacrifice.” I was quite certain he would be going anyway.

“What can I say
?
I aim to please.”

I laughed.
“
Thanks for the company.”

“Thanks for the hospitality.”

I smiled as I locked up behind him
and
wondered what the rest of my first day in town would hold.

Chapter Four

Gavin

I couldn’t believe this is what my life had come to. I sat on a stool at Gill’s blending in with the rest of the usual crowd. I’d never been much of a drinker, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I wasn’t really there for the alcohol
. T
here was just nothing else to do in town. Melissa
, a perky blond,
sat next to me,
constantly pawing at my arm to
get my attention. She was a nice enough looking girl, but I never got the sense there was anything going on in that head of hers. I
needed
at least a semblance of brains.
I hoped ignoring her would give her the message.

“Damn,
who’s
that?”
my friend
Ronny asked from a few stools down.
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
I
followed his gaze
.

“Oh hell
.
I guess this was going to happen eventually.” Becca
had just
walked in with Molly and Ben, looking around her
as if
she was entering a foreign country.

“I take it you know her?”

“That’s Molly’s friend from Boston
,
”
I
said flatly
.

“Oh. She’s hot
.
I guess good looking girls are usually friends
with one another
.”

“Not always.”

Ronny chuckled. “Do you know anything about her?”

“She’s in town for the summer to work for Matt and his dad.”

“Really? So she’ll be here all summer then.” I could almost
see
the wheels turning in his head.

“Uh huh
,
” I said disinterestedly, but really I was watching her mile high legs, exposed by her short
black
skirt, coming closer. I moved my attention up to
the
t
-
shirt
clinging
to her breasts. I shook myself
. Becca
might be hot
,
but I wasn’t going there.

“
Matt’s in trouble
,
isn’t he
?
There’s no way his wife knows he hired someone
who
looks like that.”

“He’ll blame it on his dad. Besides, I don’t think they could have known
how
she looked.”

“True, but Nancy will still be pissed.”

“Probably.” I really didn’t care what Matt’s wife thought.

“Have you met her yet?”
He eye
d
Becca like a piece of meat. I couldn’t blame him
. A
lmost no one new ever came to town
. I’d done the same thing to Molly a year ago.

“Yeah, I gave her a ride into town when her car broke down.”

“I bet you did.”

I finished my beer and set it on the bar. “I admit the girl’s good looking, but she’s not my type.”

“So you don’t care if I go talk to her?”
He got up without waiting for my answer.

“Be my guest.”

I tried to ignore the jealous pang I felt when I watched
Becca
smile when
Ronny
introduced himself. It wasn’t any of my business.
Melissa, probably noticing my ogling of Becca
,
gave up and went to find another guy to talk to.

I asked
the bartender,
Katie
,
for another beer
.
S
he passed me a Miller.
“Staring at that girl isn’t going to bring her any closer.”

“I’m
not staring.”

“Whatever you say, Gavin.”

“
How can I not look at her? Do you see how short that skirt is?
I’m not doing anything worse than the rest of the guys in here.”

Katie looked over at Becca. “The skirt
’
s not that short
. H
er legs are just
that
long. Lucky.”

I laughed. “
Aw
, you getting jealous of the new girl?”

“Why would I
?
I’ve got Chris. Besides, you’re the one
who looks jealous.” She put a hand on her hip as she leaned toward me.
“
Stop
drooling
,
and go talk to her.”

“I’ve already met her
. N
ot my type.” I popped open my beer.

“You don’t like tall, gorgeous brunettes? And
didn’t you say
she
’s
Molly’s friend from law school? So she’s smart too. What’s so wrong with her?”
Katie pulled a pint for another customer.

“She’s from Boston.”

“
Oh, okay, that clears everything up.” Katie rolled her eyes before walking away.

I looked back over at Becca. Christ, it had gotten worse. Jake Mathews had an arm slung over her shoulder like he owned her. What was i
t
about those Mathew
s boys that girls went for? I didn’t get it. Whatever
. I
t wasn’t like I cared
.
Sure
,
I’d been disappointed when Molly got back together with Ben, but it didn’t matter this time.

Becca
spotted me
. First she looked surprised, but then her lips curved up into a slight smile
,
and she waved tentatively. Damn it, why’d she have to smile at me
that way
?
I lifted my beer in recognition but then turned away. That should give her the hint. It’s not
as if
she needed more attention.