18 Truths (14 page)

“You’re right. I’m so sorry. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Any delusion I had about getting through to him vanished as I watched him walk out the door without me. At least I managed to hold back my tears until he was out of sight.

“Many of the truths we cling to
depend greatly upon our own point of view.”
—Obi-Wan

he air was hot and humid this Saturday night, flavored with the scent of cocktails, chocolate covered strawberries, and smelly gourmet cheeses. Grace had invited us—well, she’d invited Nate, but I was part of this so I had to tag along—to a charity ball at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, the largest privately owned home in America. Her dad worked for a nonprofit, and his organization was one of the beneficiaries of the event, so we all got in for free. The function was held outdoors with live music and dancing, wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, and an elegant dinner, the cavernous grounds lit up with thousands of twinkle lights that blended in with the stars above. It was just the right setting for the charity date auction, featuring Asheville’s most eligible bachelors.

Riel had dressed Nate and me for the event, and for a guy who spent his time in robes, he’d done a really good job. My white spaghetti strapped dress cascaded down to my ankles and would’ve dragged across the ground if it weren’t for the four-inch gold heels I wore. With a golden sash tied snugly around my waist, Nate had told me before we left that I looked like a present that needed to be unwrapped. Then, he scooped me into his arms and kissed me. The small show of affection was the only attention I’d received all week from him, and I hoped he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off me when the event ended later. I certainly couldn’t keep my gaze off him. He looked completely ‘rock and roll’ in his striped black and white blazer, slim fitting black button down shirt, black pants with a leather belt featuring silver bling embellishments, and military style lace up boots. He looked beyond gorgeous, and our ensembles made me long for the prom night we never really had, even though this event was way fancier than our Grand Haven High School dance.

All in all, the evening wasn’t half-bad, my straightened hair even remained frizz-free as the three of us boogied on the dance floor to the jazz band. Another guy managed to steal a brief dance with Grace, offering me some sweet relief. As Nate spun and twirled me around, my face hurt from smiling so wildly. I couldn’t help but continue to think of our prom, the disco ball rotating above us when we professed our love for each other the first time.

All too quickly, Grace’s dad swooped upon us, shouting over the music about a bachelor who didn’t show up.

“Oh, you should totally do it!” Grace said to Nate. Before he could reject the idea, she pulled her dad and Nate aside and volunteered him.

As Grace and I sat on the lawn while Nate was carted backstage, I thought our time alone together might be a good opportunity for a girl talk. “Truth or dare?”

She shook her head. “Neither. I don’t play games.”

Oh, really? Then what are you doing with my boyfriend?
I plastered a smile on my face. “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”

Grace’s returning smile seemed forced as well. “Usually, I’d go with dare, but I’m too tired. Hit me up.”

“What was your latest wish?”

She chewed her lip. “To die.”

“Grace.”

“What? Why does everything I say seem to put you on edge? If you don’t want honesty, then don’t play.”

“Good point.”

“And I don’t want any of your encouragements either.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Fine. My turn. Truth, please.”

She sighed, and I wished she didn’t look so absurdly vulnerable. If Nate’s track record stayed true to form… I sighed, too. He was a sucker for the bird with a broken wing.

“Okay, name your dream job.”

I blinked at her. If she only knew about my real job and how there was no way I’d ever have another one. “Um, a writer.”

“Nice. What do you want to write? Love stories?”

Shrugging, I said, “Probably not. I haven’t had much luck with love. I mean, I’ve only ever had one boyfriend.”

Grace dug in her purse for something and eventually pulled out a tube of lip-gloss. “Oh, right. The guy that died?”

My eyes held back tears from the effort of keeping another part of my life a secret from her…the moment that ultimately landed me here as her spirit guide in the first place. “Yes, that guy. What about you? Have you dated much?”

She fluffed her long chestnut hair so that her locks tumbled about her shoulders in subtle waves, and I wondered why she acted like she was getting ready for a date. “I’ve actually never had a boyfriend. I’ve gone on lots of dates, even made it to date number three with the same guy once and snuck him into my bedroom through my window.”

She’s like the female version of Conner.
A quivery sensation rippled through me like it always did when I thought of him, which lately was more and more. I took a deep breath and focused on Grace. “How’d that turn out?”

She laughed, and I noticed she had one of those really nice musical laughs. “Well, Dad heard something and knocked on my door to investigate. I shoved the boy into my closet, but Dad insisted on checking in there, and when he did, the guy went flying past him, straight out my window.”

Nodding, I said, “I hope your bedroom was on the first floor.”

Grace retrieved a compact from her purse and checked her reflection in the little mirror. “Nope, second story window. He broke his arm.”

“Ouch.”

Pressing some powder on her face, she said, “Better than dead, and six feet under is exactly where he’d be now if my daddy got a hold of him that night.”

I winced at her choice of words. “Sounds like a great dad. Are you guys close?”

But before she could answer, the auctioneer introduced Nate as one of Asheville’s most eligible bachelors and opened the bidding at ten dollars.

Grace jumped to her feet. “Ten!”

I yanked on her black and white polka dot chiffon mini dress. “What are you doing?”

“Bidding! I volunteered him for this thing, it’s the least I can do!”

“Do I have fifteen?”

Crickets.
Seriously? Was Riel just messing with this Limbo experiment, because my man was a catch!

“Take your shirt off!” Grace yelled.

The auctioneer’s lips curved instantly into a devilish smile. “Oh, we have a request from your bidder. Do you have six pack abs under that suit? Because if you do, I think we’d all like to see them.”

Now that got the crowd going, everyone hooting and hollering.

“Are you serious?” Nate asked, tapping the buttons on his black shirt.

“One hundred percent!”

“Oh my gosh, I don’t think I can do that.” His face turned beat red.

“Come on, it’s for charity!”

The crowd started chanting, “Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!”

Slowly, Nate unbuttoned his blazer, then his shirt, and tossed both of them to stage left. A lean, muscular body, nicely defined biceps, and a tanned set of abs proved he could make any girl swoon.

After that display, he didn’t need any help from Grace. Six other teenage girls were already engaging in a bidding war, and the price quickly escalated to ninety-five dollars.

“One hundred dollars!” Grace called out as the other girls checked their purses, frowning.

“One hundred dollars going once, one hundred dollars going twice? Sold to the pretty girl in the retro style dress in the back. Congratulations.”

“Why did you do that?” I asked her as everyone applauded.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it would be funny to see him sweating on the stage in front of everyone. Tell me that wasn’t priceless when the moderator made him take his shirt off!”

I cleared my throat. “No, I mean, why did you bid on him? Do you like him?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Please, you guys are so into Star Wars, I was doing those poor girls a favor. Any one of them would’ve been bored out of her mind. A girl can only hear the words, ‘Han shot first,’ so many times before she finally snaps.”

A wave of irritation washed over me. “I hear ya, I do. But I just don’t think you’re at a place in your life right now where you should be going on dates with anyone, no matter how innocent your intentions.”

And just like that, awkwardness tore through the air like a bullet, punctuated by the piercing stare Grace shot me with. “You know what? You really need to relax. Why don’t you drop out of Biology and take a yoga class or something?”

“Excuse me?” I said after a long pause.

“You’re excused.”

“Grace, you don’t—”

“Stop!
You don’t
get to sound so sad after saying my name, and you’ve used that tone with me every day this week. Yeah, I told you a few things about my life. But quit pretending like you know how to save me.”

“I’m sorry.” I bit my lip. “But I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, and I—”

“Just leave me alone, okay? You can go Oprah someone else.”

As I watched Grace walk up to the stage to collect her date—
my boyfriend
—I tried to think in what circumstance this could be construed as positive. I couldn’t think of any.

A few minutes later, Nate led Grace back to our blanket on the grass. “Of all the tomfoolery these rich snobs think up, this one is my favorite,” she told him. “So, are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” I asked.

She gave me a cold stare. “For our date.”

“Now?” I shrieked, feeling a rush of panic. “But what will I do?”

Grace gestured to the crowd. “Look at all the hot single guys out here. I’m sure you can find something, or someone, to occupy your time.” She sighed. “Olga, there are lots of fish in the sea. This world is swim or sink. It’s time you put yourself out there.”

“I don’t like swimming,” I muttered dryly, which was true. What I really wanted to retort was,
Oh, who’s Oprahing who now
?

But I bit my tongue.

“Whatever. All I know is I plan on getting my money’s worth tonight.” She studied Nate’s profile, looking him up and down. “Your brother is quite the catch. Shall we?”

Nate held out his arm, and she placed her hand on his bicep. At least his clothes were back on.

“It’s getting late, Nate. We should head back home.”

I wished he would say something, agree with me. Instead, he just stood there, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his pants, the other hand clenched in a fist as Grace kept a firm grip on his arm while checking her cell phone.

“Gosh, what are you, his mother? It’s like, nine o’clock. Relax.”

Looking at Nate only, I asked, “Can I please speak with you for a moment, alone?”

“Sure.” His deep voice sounded low and serious, and slightly uneven. “I’ll be right back,” he told Grace. His hand on her back felt like a slap across my face.

We walked a good hundred meters away from Grace before stopping behind a tree, out of her line of stalker vision.

“What’s up?” His blue eyes danced like flames in the night, giving my stomach butterflies despite my anger.

“So, you’re going through with this date?”

The band switched gears, the music slowing. Nate calmly reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward him and swaying us hypnotically to the steady rhythm. “Hey, quit acting like I did something wrong. You’re my girlfriend. I love
you
, nobody else.” He grazed my forehead with a kiss that was full of brotherly love, then leaned back to look at me.