Catching Lucas Riley (17 page)

“I did,” Karen admitted. “But I also told her about you.”

“Me?” Alex squeaked. “What about me?”

“I told her we had a dietitian on staff who was very passionate about
fighting childhood obesity and was interested in doing more,” Karen said, her voice gaining a little bit of strength. “She said she’d like to meet with you.”

Alex stared at her. “What does that mean?”

“Well, she’s going to be in Salt Lake City on October 21 doing another symposium. I told her you could probably meet her then.”

“Karen!” Alex squealed. “Oh my gosh! Are you serious?”

Karen nodded, her face breaking into another one of her signature soft smiles. “I thought you’d be excited.”

“What kind of speaker series is she doing?” Alex asked eagerly.

“It’s a traveling series,” Karen explained. “I don’t know the details or locations they have planned, but her group is holding conferences in various cities to speak about different aspects of childhood health. If Dr. Welch feels you’re appropriate, she’ll have you join the group. There are about ten of them, I believe. She said they originally had fourteen, but four of them were given the opportunity to go on a humanitarian trip to Africa, so they dropped out. She’s kind of desperate for people to make up the difference.”

“That’s my kind of job opportunity!” Alex exclaimed, rubbing her hands together with relish. “October 21. I’m so there.”

“I think that’s wise,” Karen said, smiling at her and getting to her feet. “I gave her your information, so she should be in contact shortly. In the meantime, you might want to take some time to put together a new resume highlighting the relevant work you’ve done. That community center class you taught last winter on healthy school lunches would be something valuable to highlight.”

“I’ll do that, thanks,” Alex said, and Karen left the room. Alex watched her go, her mind racing with new and exciting possibilities.

Alex studied herself in the mirror, liking how the sleek green dress emphasized her figure just the right amount. It was a kind of a modified mermaid-style gown, fitted from the shoulders to the upper thighs, finally flaring out slightly from there to the floor. As she turned in front of the mirror, the light caught the shimmery fabric, giving her a luminescent glow. She wore her hair down past her shoulder blades. It was long, full, and shiny—like burnished copper. She felt stunning. It was a nice feeling.

Meredith sighed. “You look incredible,” she said in a dreamy voice. Meredith herself wore a fitted red sheath, her hair piled high on her head and tumbling down in curls. She had been asked to the dance by a boy in one of her classes. A boy that she had been shamelessly flirting with since the beginning of the semester.

“Thanks.” Alex smiled at her. “I still feel kind of stupid going to this dance . . . it’s a little like reverting back to high school, don’t you think?”

“Bite your tongue,” Meredith said, shunting Alex out of the way as she moved in front of the mirror to apply some mascara. “I don’t care if we’re reverting to a middle school stomp if it means I get to spend an evening with Collin.” She stuck her tongue out as she attempted to perfectly apply the product to her lashes.

“Man, you must really like this one,” Alex said, raising her eyebrows. “You’re usually the first one to pass on the organized social events in favor of homework.”

“Yeah, well . . . he kind of . . . he’s really . . . ,” Meredith sighed, giving up on her attempt to find substance. “He looks like a Ken doll, okay?” she said, giving Alex a pointed look. “I’m sorry, but no one can expect me to pass up the opportunity to date a Ken doll.”

“Point taken. I’m pleased to see your priorities are so aligned,” Alex said, rolling her eyes. She turned in a circle, trying to locate her shoes in the bedroom that looked like a clothing-centric tornado had struck it. Finally finding them in a corner beneath a pile of half-folded T-shirts, she sank onto her bed to put them on.

“So . . . are you ready for this?” Meredith asked as she applied some bright red lipstick. The effect next to her creamy skin, black hair and eyes, and red dress was spectacular.

“Ready for what?” Alex huffed. She was attempting to locate her feet beneath the yards of shimmery green fabric. It wasn’t going well, thanks to the fitted bodice of the dress that refused to let her bend more than two inches toward the floor.

“For an evening of attempting to pretend like you know Sealey half as well as you actually do, charming Lucas, and refraining from murdering Ashley.” Meredith smacked her lips together and examined her expertly made-up face. “It sounds like a big job to me.”

“Well, I don’t expect to see Sealey and Ashley much,” Alex said,
finally managing to hook one of her delicately silver shoes over her right foot and fasten it. “After all, he has just as much investment in making sure Lucas doesn’t find out about our past dealings as I do.”

“Geez, the whole thing sounds so scandalous when you say it like that.” Meredith giggled. “Your
past dealings
. . .” She stepped easily into her matching red shoes and picked up a shimmery black shawl to drape over her shoulders. “Well, I’m ready.” She headed toward the bedroom door. “You’d better hurry. The guys will be here in less than five minutes.”

“Right behind you,” Alex said, gasping as she leaned forward with all her might to fasten her left shoe. Once the exhausting task was done, Alex stood and straightened her dress around her frame. The fabric skimmed the floor as she turned to the left and right to examine herself in the mirror.

The doorbell rang just as she emerged into the living room of the apartment where Meredith was arguing with Kacey. The rest of the girls sat around the room, watching the confrontation.

“I don’t care if it’s idiotic and juvenile,” Meredith insisted, her hands on her hips. “Besides, I wouldn’t be talking if I were you. Of the two of us, one of us has a date tonight and it isn’t you.” She gave Kacey a superior glance.

Kacey smirked at her and rolled her eyes. Nobody needed to ask why. Of all the girls in the apartment, Kacey was the one who never failed to have a date whenever she wanted one. Meredith’s argument was a weak one indeed.

“Guys, let’s not scare the visitors,” Alex cautioned as she headed for the door. “Some of us have a vested interest in their sense of well-being, okay?”

Kacey rolled her eyes a second time and snuggled back into the couch to recommence reading her book. Jaclyn and Rachel turned back to the television, but Sage, who sat right next to Kacey on the couch, was on the edge of her seat. Her eyes were fixed on the door as though a movie star was about to walk through it.

She wasn’t far off. Alex couldn’t seem to locate her lungs when Lucas sauntered into the apartment, wearing a black suit and a silver tie. His light-green eyes seemed strangely illuminated.

“Evening, ladies,” he said cheerfully. Kacey grunted, but Jaclyn, Rachel, Sage, and Meredith all smiled admiringly at him.

“Well, hello,” Jaclyn said, winking at him playfully. Rachel elbowed her. Alex was about to suggest they leave to escape her roommates prying eyes, but she suddenly realized that the room seemed awfully crowded. Turning to look at who had entered the apartment behind Lucas, she saw a tall, tanned, muscular young man with light-brown hair smiling at Meredith; a gorgeous, short, skinny girl in dark blue with curls piled on top of her head; and . . . Sealey.

Alex felt the dismay invade her face before she could stop it. What was Sealey doing here? He was supposed to be avoiding her! She was on the point of opening her mouth to say something remarkably stupid, but thankfully, Sealey anticipated her.

“Hi, Alex,” he said loudly, talking over the beginning of her sentence. “Lucas suggested the four of us drive together instead of separately tonight. Good idea, don’t you think?”

“The four of us?” Alex repeated, still trying to get her expression under control. She had just realized that the beautiful girl in blue was Ashley. She hadn’t recognized her with her hair done up and the copious amounts of makeup on her face. Ashley gave her a smile that was an impressive mix of scorn and superiority and moved close to Sealey, taking his arm.

“Hi, Alex,” she said in a falsely sweet voice. “Nice to see you again.”

“Ashley,” Alex replied, dully. She felt suddenly and completely unprepared for this experience. She turned to look at Meredith but found her best friend’s eyes focused on the life-size Ken doll standing a few feet away. No help there.

“Well, shall we go?” Lucas asked, rubbing his hands together. “Nice to see you guys,” he said to her roommates. “Have a good night, okay?”

Her roommates called well wishes after them as they left the apartment, but Alex barely heard them.

“You look fantastic,” Lucas said to her, his eyes taking her in appreciatively. Alex saw Ashley roll her eyes at Sealey behind Lucas’s back. Great. So
this
was how the evening was going to go.

“Thanks, Lucas,” she replied, taking his arm. “You look pretty amazing yourself.”

Lucas smiled in response.

“So we thought we’d hit Elements for dinner, since that seems to be a favorite haunt of yours”—he winked at her—“and then we’ll head to the dance afterward. How does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect,” Alex replied, her voice still strangely choked. She had not anticipated spending a romantic evening with Lucas constantly observed by his bratty sister and watchful best friend. Her expectations of enjoying the date evaporated.

Thankfully, within an hour her initial outlook appeared to have been overly pessimistic. Dinner was surprisingly agreeable, thanks to Lucas and Sealey’s constant banter back and forth. It kept her laughing and negated the need to make conversation with Ashley, which was always a plus.

By the time they made it to the dance, Alex was much more relaxed. Especially with the sea of couples on the dance floor that seemed to be inviting Alex and Lucas to get lost in their midst. She resisted the urge to immediately pull him to the middle of the floor and leave Ashley and Sealey behind. After all, she was attempting to be a more malleable version of her usual pushy self, consistent with her efforts since the beginning of the “Woo Lucas Riley” project. Yanking him away from his sister and best friend probably wasn’t the best way to show her flexibility.

“I feel like I’m back in high school,” Ashley moaned, looking around the decorated lounge in the student center.

At last, something Ashley and I can agree on
, Alex thought. Still, a chance to be in Lucas’s arms for a solid two hours was not something she was eager to complain about.

“Come on,” Lucas said to her enthusiastically, grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. A slow song was starting right as they entered the fray and Lucas’s strong arms immediately encircled her. She felt heat climbing up her cheeks as his warmth invaded her space. She resisted the urge to lay her head on his shoulder, feeling like she might want to warm up to such a forward gesture. Still, he held her extremely close. Close enough that instead of just letting her hand rest on his shoulder, she could nearly rest her chin there instead. In that position, she had the chance to observe the couples dancing around them. They were all staring at her.

“Why is everybody looking at us?” she whispered in Lucas’s ear. “Did I rip my dress or something?”

“Your dress is fine. More than fine,” Lucas replied softly in her ear. “As for the staring, I hadn’t really noticed. But I can’t say I blame them. I would be staring at you too.”

Alex felt tingles invade her extremities but pulled back to give Lucas a doubtful look. “Somehow I don’t think I’m the one they’re staring at. I’m not the hero of the USU football team.”

Lucas smiled self-consciously. “I manage to ignore the staring most of the time,” he finally conceded. “I actually don’t love the sensation of having all eyes on me, so I’ve learned to blur out everything around me except the focus of my attention. And for right now, that’s you.” He softly brushed his lips against the side of her face, and Alex closed her eyes, her fingers clenching on his suit coat. The song merged into another slow melody, and Alex and Lucas swayed silently, lost in the moment.