The Other Boy (14 page)

From her perch on the old wooden porch swing on Saturday afternoon, Maddy could hear the purr of Brian’s XTerra long before she actually saw it. She felt her pulse increase immediately but forced herself to sit still, gently pushing the swing back and forth with one bare toe. The sun was ferociously hot, but Maddy had found that if she didn’t move too much and stayed in the shade, she could manage not to sweat through a new shirt every half hour she spent outside. The vineyard was very quiet, but she could hear all the sounds around her distinctly: Brian’s motor, the
squee-squee
of the swing chains, and the faint ocean-wave rustle of the wind in the tops of the trees.

The yellow SUV swung into view, Fall Out Boy blasting on the stereo. Through the windshield, Maddy could see Brian’s tousled dark head and familiar Oakleys. He pulled up next to the Sinclaires’ red pickup and killed the motor. Her first instinct was to leap up and call to him, but something kept her sitting quietly, hidden in the shadowy corner of the porch. For a long moment, he just sat in the driver’s seat, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, not moving. Then, just when Maddy was wondering why he wasn’t getting out of the car, his door swung open. She could see that he was wearing his favorite crisp white cotton button-down, art-fully opened to reveal a Calvin Klein tank undershirt.

His jeans were dark-washed and perfectly frayed.

He stood by the car door, bouncing his keys in his hand. He looked like he was listening to the quiet also.

She silenced the porch swing and sat still. Brian did a double take as he took in Bob’s falling-apart truck.

Maddy bit back a smile. The truck
was
a little startling; its bumper looked like it might come off at any moment. He stared at the house for a long moment, his face incredulous. Then he crunched toward the porch.

“Hey!” Maddy finally stood up. Brian jumped.

“Whoa, hey! Hi, babe. You startled me.”

“Sorry.” She ran down the steps to hug him. Despite all the weirdness on the phone, she was ridiculously glad to see him. “I’m so happy you’re here!”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, enfolding her in his arms.

Maddy wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head into his chest, waiting for that spark she always felt whenever he was around. But Brian was a little sweaty and sticky from being in the car.

He slapped his neck. They both looked at his hand as he drew it away. Smashed in the palm was a monster mosquito in a splatter of blood. Not the most romantic beginning to a date, but it didn’t matter. Brian gave her another squeeze and then looked at her appraisingly. Something in his gaze made Maddy wonder if she should have blow-dried her hair and put on something other than jeans and a white tank top. He dropped his arms. “Got anything cold to drink?” he asked. “It’s boiling out.”

“Oh, yeah! I’m sorry, let’s go around back. Then I can give you the tour.”

“Great.” He started following her, still staring at the house. “How do you all fit in this place?”

“Oh, it’s not bad! It’s actually bigger than it looks outside. I have my own room.” She realized how that sounded. “Not that I
wouldn’t
have my own room, I mean. I was just saying… .” She trailed off. She realized she didn’t have the slightest idea what she was saying.

Brian was staring at her, his mouth slightly open.

“Anyway, the house is really cute inside,” she continued nervously, unable to stem the flow of words. “And I have a porch.” She pointed up to her balcony. “It’s really great,” she finished lamely. He was still staring.

“Good to know,” he said finally. “Do you have an outhouse, too?”

“No, we actually have indoor plumbing, if you can believe that, and electricity, too. It’s a really high-tech place,” Maddy replied lightly.

“Wow. Now I
am
impressed.”

Maddy smiled at Brian and took his arm but she felt more uncomfortable than she was letting on. It wasn’t that he was teasing her about the vineyard—she had made fun of it plenty herself. It was something in the way he was acting. He seemed kind of ill at ease for some reason—not at all his usual imperturbable smooth self.

The sight of the backyard restored her equilibrium a little. The porch, with its overgrown trellises on either end, ivy hanging off the roof, and comfy rattan furniture, looked so cool and inviting. The grapevines lined the yard on three sides, dropping little grape clusters over the lawn like gifts. She turned to Brian expectantly.

He was digging his phone out of his pocket. “This is the back,” she declared.

He looked up. “Chad texted me. What did you say?”

Maddy struggled to control her annoyance. He’d only been here five minutes and he was already checking his messages? Plus, he wasn’t even paying attention to the place. “I said, this is the backyard. See? Those are the grapevines there.” She pointed.

“Oh, yeah. Cool,” Brian managed.

Maddy gave up. “There’s some mint iced tea in the kitchen,” she said, opening the screen door. She sort of wished he would just stay on the porch, but he followed her in. He glanced around casually, taking in the simple kitchen with its bright yellow walls and wood floor, before leaning an elbow on the counter. Maddy bustled around getting out jelly glasses and the big frosty glass pitcher of tea. She loaded it all onto a tray and backed slowly out the screen door.

Brian flung himself onto one of the old rattan chairs and hooked a footstool over with a leg. Maddy handed him a glass and sat down on the top porch step, facing sideways, her back against the railing. Normally, she would have sat in his lap, but it was just too hot.

Brian drained his tea glass in three swallows and set it down with a deep sigh. Maddy put hers down too. She was remembering the junior prom just a few months ago. When he had seen her, posed at the top of the swirling marble staircase in the foyer of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, clad in a shimmering red Versace gown, his mouth had dropped open. He couldn’t stop staring at her. They all drank smuggled-in vodka tonics and danced until Morgan twisted her ankle in the middle of the dance floor and they had to carry her into the limo.

All night, Maddy had felt Brian’s gaze on her, and he constantly touched her hair or her neck. She’d felt like a princess. Now Maddy glanced at her boyfriend, who was fishing something out of his glass with his little finger.

She didn’t know why the prom memory had sprung up.

Maybe it was because she felt so different from that girl in the red gown. It was like Brian had been plucked from her old city life and plopped down here on the porch, in her new Napa life. He still looked the same, but, looking down at her rolled-up jeans and earth-stained bare feet, she realized that she didn’t.

Brian shifted a little in his chair. “So,” he said. Maddy looked up eagerly at the sound of his voice. “As I was driving around looking for this place, totally lost, hoping I wouldn’t run into the Toothless Hillbilly and
do-do dee-do-dee-do-dee
”—he mimicked the banjo tune from
Deliverance
—“I swear I drove past this store with the sign ‘Live Bait and Video Rental.’ Is that some kind of joke up here or something?”

“No, it’s for real,” Maddy explained. “Isn’t that hilarious?”

“Yeah, I was cracking up.”

Maddy gave a little laugh but it sounded forced, even to her own ears.

Brian leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles. “Where are your parents?” He grinned devilishly.

She grinned back. “They’re out. They had to go to town to get some parts for the tractor. Fred’s repairing some staking down in the right field, and David is …

actually, I don’t know what he’s doing.”

A zing of tension floated through the air. Brian sat up in his chair slightly. “Oh, yeah, David. I forgot about that guy.” His voice was casual. “Where’s he from?

Here?”

“Um, yeah. Well, for part of the year. The rest of the time he goes to Westside Public. I think he lives with his aunt and uncle in the city during the school year.” Maddy focused on gathering their glasses on the tray. Her heart was beating fast, but she didn’t know why. Nothing about David was a secret—he was just David. Brian was the important guy in her life, and he was right here in front of her. She took heart at this thought and looked up at her boyfriend with a genuine smile.

“Oh, yeah, Westside?” Brain snorted. “What’s his dad do? Is he a garbage man or something?”

“No!” The vehemence of the word surprised them both. Maddy lowered her voice with an effort. “He’s my dad’s business partner, remember? Why are you being like this?”

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I forgot about that. Look, come here, okay? I’ve been missing you.”

She took a deep breath. “Whatever, forget it. Let’s just enjoy the day, okay?”

He gave her a sexy smile. “Definitely.” He held out his hand in truce. When she took it, he reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her down on top of him.

She shrieked playfully and wiggled around so that she was facing him. His sharp blue eyes sparkled at her from his sunburned face.

“I missed you too,” she said.

“Mmm.” He massaged the backs of her thighs

through her jeans and then slid his hands up until they were just below her butt. She closed her eyes. Their lips met, and then his tongue slid into her mouth. She drew back. She usually thought the tongue maneuver was pretty hot, but today, she just didn’t feel like it. Maddy awkwardly disentangled herself and struggled up from his lap. What was the matter with her? Here was Brian, at the vineyard. They were going to make out a little—

what was wrong with that? She didn’t know, and that bothered her. Slightly breathless, she got to her feet and smoothed back her hair with both hands. Brian looked disappointed. “Come back here,” he said, motioning to his lap.

“Don’t you want a tour? I can show you the room I’ve been working on. It’s in an old barn.” Brian sighed and got up.

Maddy slipped on her Havaianas and led him to the path through the vines that started at the bottom of the lawn. She glanced over at Brian. His face was patchy and flushed from their brief make-out session and he looked pretty annoyed. She turned away. Whatever. She just wasn’t in the mood right now. “We can take this down to the bottom of the vineyard, where there’s an awesome stream. And then we can finish with the tasting room.”

She felt a little twinge of excitement. It
was
sort of amazing that she actually lived here.

“Hunh,” Brian grunted behind her.

Still air, thick with the smell of mulch and soil and leaves, closed around them as they brushed between the rows of trellises. Maddy made herself be quiet as they walked single file down the path. She wanted to see if Brian would say anything. A few moments passed. He was silent behind her. She turned around. He was gazing at his cell phone. “Are you checking your messages again?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said, not looking up. “It’s Chad—

everyone’s going to Tangerine tonight. I forgot to tell him I was coming up here. He wanted to know if I wanted to come over to his place first.” He typed something rapidly on the keypad without breaking stride.

Maddy felt herself getting angry.
He could at least pretend to be interested,
she thought.
He’s driven all the way up
here
. She continued stewing as they wandered down the path but then exhaled audibly and tried to talk herself back into a better frame of mind.
You thought the vineyard
was pretty boring too when you first came up here,
she reminded herself.
Brian just hasn’t seen the cool parts yet.

When he gets more used to the place, he’ll see what you see.

At the end of the field, the vines stopped and the path widened. The meadow, the stream, and the shed were spread out before them like objects in a painting.

“Isn’t this gorgeous?” Maddy said hopefully.

“Yeah. So, what’s up with tonight?” Brian asked.

She struggled to keep the wounded expression from her face as she answered. “It’s just going to be a dinner here with my parents and David and Fred. Mom said it’s a surprise. I think she’s cooking something, or maybe Dad is. They’ve been whispering about it the last couple of days. I told her the only thing I absolutely had to have was something with chocolate and raspberries.”

“Why’s Crunchy coming?”

Maddy shot Brian a dirty look. “Why are you being so obnoxious? He’s coming because he lives here.”

“Where?”

“Here! Right over there.” She pointed to the roof of the little white cottage, visible across the field. “He and Fred live in that house.”

“They live
there
? What are they, white trash?”

Maddy stopped short and whipped around. Her face was hot with anger. “Why are you being such a total snob? I can’t believe you,” she fired at him.

Brian fell back a step and held up his hands. “Whoa—

don’t get all worked up.” He flashed his disarming smile.

“I was just kidding. Anyway, stop looking so cute or I’m going to have to …” He reached for her, but Maddy turned and strode rapidly to the banks of the stream.

The sight of the clear, golden water tumbling over the slick gray stones soothed her. She took a deep breath.

“This is my favorite thinking place out here,” she told Brian calmly. “Every day after we’re done working, I come out here and sit on this big rock and relax. Isn’t it peaceful? And you can see deer in the evening too.”

“Cool.”

Maddy climbed onto the rock and plunged her hot, dusty feet into the water. “Come on, Brian—it’s nice and cold!”

He stood on the bank, looking a little hot and over-dressed in his long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans. “Look at you, hippie chick. What are you doing?” he said, not moving.

“I’m cooling off my feet. Come and sit next to me.”

“I’m fine.” It was obvious he wasn’t going to put his feet in and that he wasn’t interested in the stream. It was time to expedite the tour. She climbed off the big rock.

“Okay, well, the room I’ve been working on is over here.”

“Great,” he said unenthusiastically.