Trouble From the Start Read online

  The guys returned to the table with two trays laden with food. They passed around the burgers and drinks, set two large baskets of fries in the center. Community property. The booth suddenly shrank when Fletcher dropped down beside me. I refused to hug the wall, which meant that my leg was hugging his. It didn’t appear he noticed that he was encroaching on my personal space.

  Jeremy lifted his glass. “A toast to our gradua—”

  Grimacing, I caught his eye, shook my head before he could continue on with some speech to commemorate our freedom.

  He stared at me, shifted his gaze to Fletcher, turned beet red. “Sorry, man.”

  Fletcher picked up his glass. “To your graduation.” He tapped his glass to Jeremy’s, to Kendall’s—she looked like she wished she were somewhere else—and finally to mine. He winked. “And to less bumpy roads.”

  My chest knotted painfully with his acknowledgment of our success. I knew how hard it had to be for him. I blinked to hold the tears at bay. “A lot less bumpy.”

  We all clinked glasses again, drank deeply. I realized there was a lot about Fletcher I’d underestimated.

  “So,” Jeremy said, “what are you doing over the summer, Fletcher?”

  “Working at Smiley’s. You?”

  “Dad’s law office.”

  “Sweet,” Fletcher said.

  “Not really. Mostly I’ll be filing. Law is not exciting.”

  “I thought your dad was going to take you to court,” Kendall said.

  Jeremy grinned. “It’s not like on TV. There is never a big aha moment when everyone realizes the wrong person is on trial.”

  “Jeremy’s going to be a lawyer,” Kendall said, beaming.

  “Maybe,” he said. “It’s a long way off.”

  “You’ll do it,” she said. “I’m hoping to be a vet. I love dogs.”

  “Don’t get her started on dogs,” I warned Fletcher. “She does volunteer work for a second-chance shelter. She’ll try to talk you into adopting one if you’re not careful.”

  “What’s a second-chance shelter?” he asked.

  “They rescue dogs from kill facilities,” Kendall said. “So they get a second chance.”

  “I like that,” he said.

  She blushed slightly, seemed a little confused, and I realized that he was turning out not to be exactly as she’d expected either.

  We finished off our burgers while talking about the summer blockbusters that we couldn’t wait to hit the theaters. Well, mostly Jeremy, Kendall, and I talked. Fletcher watched as though we were aliens that had just landed, and he couldn’t quite determine what to make of us. Although I had to admit that I was observing him as well. He liked lots of salt on his fries but no ketchup. His burger was bun, meat, and cheese. I knew that because nothing else was visible.

  When he finished his drink, he got up to get a refill.

  “Anyone else?” Jeremy asked, grabbing his glass. Kendall nudged hers over.

  Although I was almost out, I just shook my head.

  As he walked off, Kendall leaned forward and whispered, “He’s a lot different than I thought.”

  “Jeremy?”

  She scowled. “Fletcher. Although it would have been nice if he’d offered to refill your glass.”

  “Why? I’m perfectly capable of refilling it myself.”

  “Jeremy always gets my refills.”

  “He’s your boyfriend. Besides, Fletcher isn’t Jeremy.” She was going into control mode and I wasn’t in the mood for it.

  “Everything okay?” Fletcher asked when he got back.

  “Avery needs some more tea,” Kendall said pointedly.

  “Okay.” Her tone must have gone completely over his head, because he just waited, standing by the table. Waited for me to get out.

  “I’m fine,” I told him. “This late at night, it’ll just keep me up.”

  He slid in beside me. “You can have some of mine.”

  “You can’t share when it’s free refills,” Kendall said.

  “What difference does it make?” Fletcher asked. “We paid for two drinks. There’s no charge for refills.”

  “But . . .” She seemed stunned by the logic.

  Which for some reason I found hilarious. I snatched up Fletcher’s cup and took a couple of sips before handing it back.

  With a grin, he finished off what was left.

  Jeremy returned to the table. A group of boisterous graduates burst through the doors. Some were still wearing their tasseled caps.

  “On that note, I think it’s time to go,” Jeremy said.

  We all scrambled out of the booth. Lightly taking my arm, Kendall held me back. “We’re not going home yet,” she whispered. “Can you get a ride with Fletcher?”

  “Thought you were worried about his skull.”

  “Come on, Avery. Graduation night. I don’t have to be home until dawn.”

  “Sure, let me ask Fletcher.”

  His reply was simply to hand me his helmet. A guy of few words was Fletcher. I realized as I slid my arms around him that it didn’t really bother me. I knew that Kendall and Jeremy spent a lot of time talking. They had so much in common. They enjoyed the same music, video games, television shows, movies. They debated characters, and the best superheroes, and their favorite pizza. I couldn’t imagine Fletcher caring about any of those things.

  We pulled into the driveway and he cut the engine. Sometimes silence was louder than the roar of an engine. Reluctantly, I swung my leg back and climbed off. I handed Fletcher his helmet and shifted from one foot to the other. “Thanks for the ride home.”

  “Any time.”

  “No bets tonight?” I asked.

  “No bets.”

  “See you.” Turning, I headed for the front door.

  “Hey, college-bound?”

  Stopping, I faced him. The outside garage lights washed over him, sitting astride his bike, making him look at once dangerous and welcoming. Why did I always have such conflicting thoughts where he was concerned? “Yeah?”

  “Do you always kick guys in the nuts when they try to kiss you?”

  Studying him, I angled my head thoughtfully. “Maybe you should try it sometime and find out.”

  I didn’t know what had prompted me to say that. It also seemed that he grew incredibly still straddling that bike. Because I didn’t want to offer him the chance to reject me, to laugh, to say not in a hundred years, I spun on my heel and strode into the house.

  With my back to the door, I took a deep breath and wished I’d had the courage to stay and find out if he wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him.

  Chapter 20

  AVERY

  Sunday was a little more relaxed than the one before. Dad was preparing for his usual grilling. I helped Mom bake a carrot cake, my ode to vegetables. The blinds in the kitchen were pulled up, and I had a view of Tyler splashing around in the pool. Although he knew how to swim, he still wore little inflatable floaties around his arms.

  Fletcher sat on the edge of the pool. All I could see was his bare back, the ridges of his spine. But I could imagine the individual droplets of water glistening and gliding along his skin. Tyler was taunting him, splashing water at him. Fletcher ignored him.

  Then suddenly Fletcher launched himself into the pool. Tyler shrieked as Fletcher grabbed him and held him up. Fletcher’s maniacal laugh echoed across the yard.

  “You should join them,” Mom said.

  “What?” And I realized I’d been standing in front of the window like a statue.

  “Join them,” she repeated as she spread the last of the buttercream icing on the cake, something I was supposed to have helped her finish.

  “Are you sure? I was supposed to help you.”

  “Go have some fun,” Mom insisted. “There’s not much left to do here.”

  She didn’t have to tell me again. I headed outside. As I neared the pool, I kicked off my sparkly flip-flops, then sat on the edge, letting my feet dangle in the warm water. Tyl