Burning Down the House (17 page)

“I like you, Sara. I do, you must know that by now…but this is just too risky. I don’t want to give him any reason to feel uncomfortable about leaving us alone here together. I mean, I know your dad’s a pretty open-minded guy, but when it comes to his own little girl he might not be quite so understanding. You see what I’m saying here?”

I
wanted to reassure him that my father would have no qualms about us dating but in all honesty, how could I? Homecoming didn’t count - my dad was no idiot, he knew Rob only took me because Riley jacked me over. If he thought we were actually interested in pursuing a relationship, he might have an issue with us living together under the same roof. Because there was no question of where we’d end up. Look how close we’d come already. The temptation was undeniable. I couldn’t speak for him, but personally I’d never been so wildly attracted to anyone in my life. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Friends, no benefits. Right?” He released me with a grin. “You better be glad I was too doped up last night to stay awake.”

I smiled in spite of myself. “And why is that?”

“You might
have gotten a lot more than you bargained for.” Turning to leave, he added over his shoulder, “Now get your stuff together - you got about two minutes to grab something to eat before we leave. Let’s go,
ándale!
”

Snatching up
my backpack, I shadowed him into the living room. “I’m not hungry.”

“You sure?”

“Uh-huh.” Scanning the room, I located my pink Converse high tops and shoved my feet into them. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”

He
lingered for a moment like he wanted to say something else, then appeared to change his mind. “Good. Let’s go then.”

“I don’t know what your hurry is,” I grumbled
, following him out the front door and pausing to lock it behind us. “We have time.”

“I don’t like to be late.”

“We’re not late! Chill out…God, I hate it when people rush me.”

“If I was rushing you I’d do this…”
Turning to face me, he dug his fingers into my ribs and tickled me until I shrieked and slung my backpack at him. Like that would do any good - he played football, he was
used
to having heavy things slam into him.

“Stop it! I hate being tickled.”

“Uh-oh, you never shoulda told me that…”

“If you don’t want those fingers broken you better keep ’em to yourself!”
I threatened, hopping up into the Tahoe and buckling my seatbelt. To my surprise, once he started the engine and backed out of the driveway he took one hand off the steering wheel to reach for mine. Our fingers intertwined automatically, palms pressed firmly together.

“I don’t much like keeping them to myself.”

Talk about mixed signals. Not even five minutes ago it was
I can’t do this
and now here he was holding my hand and teasing me with innuendos. Obviously he wasn’t terribly committed to his mission. How was I supposed to know what to think when he was so inconsistent? If he was anything like Trent, I could just take his flirting with a grain of salt and know that he wasn’t serious.

Fortunately he was nothing like
Trent.

“Rob…?”

“Sara...”

“Do you have nightmares a lot?”

He glanced over at me warily. “Why? Was I talking in my sleep last night?”

“A little. Mostly you were just thrashing around.”

“Sorry. I hope I didn’t keep you up.”

“Not really.
I was already awake.” I pulled one foot up to adjust a crooked shoelace with my free hand. “So, do you?”

“
I did for a while. Not so much lately.”

“Could be that medicine you’re taking
, you know.”

“
Possibly. I think it’s one of the side effects. I only take it once in a while, when I feel like I haven’t been getting enough sleep.”

“Maybe you should try some warm milk instead,” I suggested.

He chuckled at the idea. “Warm milk - now that’s disgusting.”

“
Well…hot chocolate always makes me sleepy.”

“Hot chocolate has caffeine in it. How’s that
gonna help?”

“I
don’t know. Works for me though.”

“All right
, Dr. Marsh - next time I need help sleeping I’ll give it a try. And if it keeps me up all night you get to do my homework for me the next day.”

“Funny, I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
Shivering, I pulled my hand away from his to turn on the heater. “Man, it’s cold out this morning.”

“
Yeah…weird how that cold front didn’t make it any warmer.”

“
Smartass!” I hugged my arms to my chest. “I shoulda worn a jacket.”

“Mine’s in the back
seat if you want it.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt long enough to retrieve his
blue and gold letterman jacket and slip into it. It was too big of course, but that didn’t matter because it was warm and also had my new favorite number on it. Forty-two. “People might talk,” I warned him playfully.

“People will always talk.
Doesn’t mean you have to listen.” He reached for my hand again and my heart fluttered. “I already had three people come up and ask me if we were dating.”

Not surprising. It was b
ecause of us showing up at the dance together. Funny how nobody had asked
me
if we were dating. “What did you tell them?”

“That
it was none of their damn business.”

I almost choked on my giggle. “Jeez, Rob…I hope they left space in the yearbook for your ‘
Most Likely to be Featured on Crimestoppers’ photo.”

“What
? I can’t stand nosy people.”

“You can’t stand anybody!”

“That’s not true. I can tolerate you. Just barely.” He grinned to show that he was kidding. “I didn’t kick you out of bed, did I?”

“Technically…you did.”

“Only because we both had to get up.”

“What if we didn’t?”
That was the million dollar question, and one that was probably better left untouched but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to know.

He hesitated for what seemed
a very long time before quietly admitting, “I suppose ultimately that would have been up to you. I’d like to think I have enough self-control to stop myself from doing what I promised myself I wouldn’t, but my willpower has its limits, Sara. You might want to keep that in mind next time you decide to climb into bed with me.”

It was because of my own limited willpower that I called that
very morning to make an appointment with Planned Parenthood. It was probably high time I looked into getting some birth control. Just in case. Because in spite of everything he said, I had a strong premonition that this was one train wreck that couldn’t be stopped.

13

“Oh, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?”

“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?”

“The exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.”

“I gave thee mine before thou didst request it; and yet I would it were to give again.”

“More passion,
Sara!” Mr. Clarke cut in. “Don’t just say the words.
Express
them.” He threw up his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay guys, bell’s about to ring so why don’t we pick it up here tomorrow. Riley, I want you to put more effort into memorizing those lines. Work on it over the weekend. Next week I expect to see you doing this scene without having to refer to your script. Good job, everyone - class dismissed.”

Dana
skipped over to me with a spirited grin. “Don’t be such a frigid bitch, Juliet!”

“
Tell your son not to be such a douche, Lady Montague!” I picked up my backpack and heaved it over my shoulder with a wide yawn. “I need a nap. Will you take my physics test for me?”

“Sure! Oh, wait - were you
actually wanting to pass it? Then, no.”

“
That’s it - I’m telling Montague that you and Friar Laurence have been getting it on behind his back.”

“Hey
, Sara - wait up a sec,” came Riley’s voice from behind me. I caught Dana’s facetious eye roll as I turned around to see what he wanted.

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking, maybe we should get together sometime and work on our lines.”

“What for? I know
my
lines.”

“Well
, to be honest I could really use some help with mine. Between football practice and homework, I’ve been swamped. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to study them. If I don’t step it up, Clarke’s gonna wind up replacing me.”

“And this is my problem, how…?”

The bell rang then, and Dana waved as she headed for the door. “Good luck on your test,” she chirped brightly.

“Yeah - I’ll need it!” I
returned my attention to Riley. “Look, if you’re having that much trouble why don’t you just ask Mr. Clarke to let your understudy take over?”

“I
can’t do that. It would affect my grade. You need some help with that?” He motioned to my backpack.

“No, I got it.”

“Alright…you’re probably still upset with me over the whole homecoming thing. I get it. I guess I can’t really blame you. I was just kind of hoping you’d look past my error in judgment and accept my apology. If it makes you feel any better, the night turned out to be a total disaster.”

I struggled
to conceal a complacent smile. “Why? What happened?”

“I’m not even sure
what
happened. Jordan was a complete bitch to me the whole night. I don’t know what her problem is. She’s got some major issues.” He shook his head in bewilderment. “One minute she’s flirting with me and hinting about getting back together, then all of a sudden she does a complete one-eighty and it’s like she’s a totally different person. I’m seriously starting to question whether she might be bipolar or something.”

I
remembered her admission of accepting the date with him as a ploy to make someone else jealous. That right there would explain her erratic behavior. I kept that info to myself though - none of this was any of my business and frankly, I really didn’t give two shits one way or the other. “Not sure what to tell you. Girls are complex creatures.”

“You got that right. Hey, you
gonna be at Colin’s party next weekend?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Aw now, you gotta come - it’s gonna be insane. Doug lost a bet to Trent and now he has to show up dressed as a cowboy. Complete with assless chaps. You
know
you don’t wanna miss that.”

I’d heard all about the infamous bet during lunch earlier.
Ah, the allure of witnessing Doug’s big hairy butt hanging out of a pair of cowboy chaps. What an incentive. “Yeah, I don’t know how I’d ever live with myself knowing I missed out on that.”

“Once in a lifetime opportunity.” He
gave me the same broad, boyish grin he frequently used on teachers to win them over. “Here’s an idea - why don’t you ride there with me? I’ll be your designated driver. That way you can party all you want and I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. I figure I owe you that much.”

Was he
high or did he seriously believe I was that stupid? Oh sure, like I was naïve enough to go off and get completely bombed while entrusting
him
to safeguard my virtue. Dude should take his act to a comedy club. “You’re all heart, Riley.” Incredibly, he didn’t even appear to catch the sarcasm. That, or he simply overlooked it.

“
Killer! So what do you say? Wanna get together this weekend and rehearse our parts? I’m free all day Saturday.”

“I’m not.
I have plans.” This was actually true - I was going with Dana to help her search out a costume. Not that it would take all day, but I had no intention of wasting one minute of my weekend helping Golden Boy learn his lines just because he took on more than he could handle. That was his problem, not mine.

“Maybe sometime after Halloween then,” he persisted.

I stopped in front of the door to my physics class. “We’ll see how it goes. I stay pretty busy.”

“
All right. Well, if your plans change, give me a call. You have my number.”

If my plans changed. As in, if there was a global disaster and he was the only
remaining male left on earth. Would I call him then? Nah…probably not. I couldn’t imagine ever being that desperate.

Dad was fumbling around in the garage when I got home from school. He didn’t hear me come up behind him and when I
touched his shoulder he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“
Sara! You scared me half to death, sweetheart…sneaking up on me like that. I’ll have to put a bell around your neck.”

“Sorry…”

“How was school today?”

“Pretty good. I aced a
physics test I barely even studied for. Oh, and Doug has to wear buttless chaps for Halloween. What’re you looking for?”

“I know I have a chainsaw around here somewhere.
Have you - wait, Doug has to wear
what?
”

I laughed
at his double take. “You’re better off not knowing. Trust me.”

“
I’ll take your word for it,” he chuckled. “Looks like we had some nasty weather come through here last night, huh?”

“Yeah, it got pretty rough. The power was out almost all night.”

“Glad that limb didn’t hit the roof.” He stumbled over a rusty bicycle and fell against a stack of cardboard boxes, almost knocking them over. “Dammit, I have
got
to sort through all this crap one of these days!”

“You didn’t have
to fly through any bad weather?”

“Just a little wind shear. Nothing major. Where’s
Rob, at practice?”

“
Yeah, I guess. He said he’d take care of that limb if we had a chainsaw.”

“We have one…the question is, where did I
put
the darn thing? Oh, hey - looky looky, what do we have here?” He held up the orange saw triumphantly. “Ah-
ha!
Knew it was under all this junk somewhere. Now we’re in business.”

“You need any help?”

“No thanks, ladybug - I’m just gonna cut it into smaller pieces so it can be thrown out back in the woods.”

“
Rob and I can take care of that.”

“We’ll see how it goes. Shouldn’t take
me too long.”

Leaving
Dad to his work, I went inside to finish up the little bit of homework that didn’t get done during study hall. After that I started a load of laundry, vacuumed the living room and put together a chicken noodle casserole for dinner. There was a recipe on the back of the noodle package that sounded good, and since we had all the ingredients I figured why not give it a try? It smelled heavenly while it was baking, filling the kitchen with the savory aroma of bell peppers and toasted crackers.

I was just
opening the oven to check on it when Dana’s familiar
Suicide Blonde
ringtone interrupted me. Before I even had a chance to say hello, she was squealing into my ear, “Have you lost your mind?”

“Um, no. I don’t think so.”
What was I supposed to have done now?

“You didn’t
really agree to go out with Riley Murphy again! Please, tell me you’re not that dumb!”

“I’m not that
dumb. Where’d you get that idea?”

“
Trent said Riley told him at football practice today that he’s taking you to Colin’s party next weekend.”

Oh, for the love of… “
Are you kidding me? Dana, you know better than that. He’s full of it.”

“You mean he just made it up?” She sounded incredulous
and relieved at the same time.

“Well,
someone’s
got their facts mixed up. Because I can definitely guarantee you I’m not going anywhere with
that
fucktard.”

“Oh.” There was silence for a minute, then I heard her sigh. “Well, I did think it was a little
out there. Especially since it seemed to me like you and Rob were starting to click.”

“I didn’t think you liked
Rob,” I reminded her.

“He’s not as bad as I used to think. At least he’s not a phony.
I used to believe Riley was such a nice guy, but now I think he’s just full of himself.”

“He is that.”

“No wonder Jordan doesn’t want him back.”

For some reason I suddenly
recalled the necklace she’d been wearing, the charm with the letter “
R
”. Whatever game she was playing, it was getting her nowhere fast. Did she want him back or didn’t she? Maybe Riley was on to something about her being bipolar. “Do you know if he said anything in front of Rob?”

“Uh-uh. You want me to ask
Trent?”

The front door slammed and I heard my dad’s voice along with
Rob’s. “No, don’t worry about it. I have a feeling I’m about to find out.”

I was setting the table when Dad
appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later. “Why, that smells downright edible,” he teased.

“
Hopefully it will be. I never made this before. Did you get the limb hauled off?”

“
Sure did…Rob and Doug showed up just in time to help me drag the pieces out back.”

“
Doug’s here?”

“No, he went on home.”

“Did you ask him about the chaps?” I grinned at him while filling the tea glasses.

“No, and why would you bring that up at the dinner table? I don’t want that image in my head while I’m trying to eat.”

“What image?” Rob asked, joining us at the table. I quickly assessed his expression, but there was nothing unusual there. Either he didn’t know or he didn’t care. I really hoped it wasn’t the latter.