Drive Me Crazy (8 page)

Sierra grinned. “Fine.”

As they approached the cabins, they could hear Alexis’s laughter from near the dock. They strolled down the hill to find their friend, and when they got past the cluster of trees, they found a lot more than they’d bargained for. Alexis and Jake were lying under the big oak tree next to the lake, making out as though no one could possibly spot them.

Sierra blushed a little, then called out, “Hey, take it inside!”

Alexis just rolled away from Jake and looked up at her friends from her spot on the ground. “Hey,” she purred happily. “Kat, you’ve met Jake, right?”

Kate nodded, then looked enviously out toward the lake, searching for Lucas’s boat. With her best friend’s summer romance already in full swing—mere days after the breakup with Kevin—Kate wanted Lucas to hurry up and get back from waterskiing already. This summer she finally had her chance to have the romantic ending she’d been imagining ever since she’d met Lucas, and she was ready to get on with the fairy tale already.

The ground was squishy between Kate’s bare toes as she walked across the old football field. A storm had blown through Love the night before, washing out the evening bonfire at the resort. Kate had been stuck inside her cabin playing Yahtzee with her sister all night. Lucas and his family had gone to a friend’s cabin across the lake for dinner, and the storm had forced them to stay sheltered there until late, which meant Kate and Lucas hadn’t gotten the alone time she’d been looking forward to the whole day before.

Tonight, however, the air was fresh and the sky clear. The rain had washed away the humidity, so it was warm but not muggy. Kate clutched Lucas’s callused hand at her side as they made their way toward the center stage at Love’s Blues Festival. The blues fest was Love’s major annual celebration, and she and Lucas were going to the opening night’s performances with a bunch of other kids who were staying at the resort.

Kate’s shoes were off, and she was enjoying the feeling of the still-wet grass on her bare feet. The field was packed with people who had come from miles away to enjoy the weeklong festival. Kate, Lucas, Sierra, Alexis, Jake, Adam, and a few other friends from the resort had all piled into two minivans for the short drive into town. They’d parked near the ice cream shop and had walked four blocks to the other side of town and the run-down football field that held the makeshift performance stage.

“Let’s sit over there,” Lucas suggested, gesturing toward a rough patch of ground off to one side of the stage. He led the group across the field, holding Kate’s hand tightly. After laying a blanket on the ground, Lucas pulled Kate down to sit in his lap. His hands wrapped around her waist, and his fingers tickled her bare skin between the top of her jeans and her tank top.

It was still hard for Kate to believe that she and Lucas were finally together. She’d had a crush on him for three summers, but it had always seemed like being with him would always be a fantasy rather than her reality. They’d been pretty flirty during bonfires at the end of last summer, but even then it had always been around a group, and nothing more than the one kiss had ever happened.

Kate’s obsession with Lucas had initially developed because of how hot he was and—if she were being honest—how cool and unavailable he’d always seemed. She’d never imagined that they would ever move beyond the flirty stage, but their kiss at the end of last summer had changed all of that. It had been something much more than just a kiss, and Kate knew in that moment that there was potential for something much deeper.

But until their reunion a few days ago, they had never really been
together
, so it was still sort of surreal and a little unfamiliar to be with him, just hanging out as a couple. Kate had never been in a relationship before, but she’d envisioned what it would feel like her entire life. The holding hands, the sweet words whispered in her ear, the comfortable teasing between two people in love. When Kate was younger and her parents had taken her and Gina to this festival, they had watched young couples dancing and laughing and joking with friends, and she’d always been so envious. Now, finally, it was her turn, and she had the perfect boy at her side.

“Are you comfortable?” Lucas whispered in her ear, shifting his leg to help her settle in on his lap.

“Yes,” Kate murmured back.

He wrapped his arms around her more snugly and pulled her in against his chest. Her heart raced—tucked against his neck, she could smell sunscreen mixed with a hint of his cologne. His body felt warm and soft against her, his arms strong and solid.

“Do you want a soda?” Adam was standing over them, pointing down at Kate. “Coke?”

Kate furrowed her brow and looked up at him, resentful of the fact that he’d crashed their moment. She knew it hadn’t been intentional, though. “Um, sure, thanks.”

“Lucas?”

“No, dude. I’m cool.”

“You
are
cool,” Adam said back, flashing a thumbs-up.

Lucas grinned, oblivious to Adam’s cheeky tone. “Thanks, man. You’re cool too.” He held up his hand for a five. Adam responded with an unenthusiastic hand-slap, then set off with Alexis to buy sodas from the concession stand.

“Are you cold or anything?” Lucas said, rubbing Kate’s arms. “Do you need my sweatshirt?”

Kate turned her head to look at his face in the darkening sky. “Lucas, it’s, like, seventy degrees outside.”

“So?” he said, holding her more tightly. “As your boyfriend, it’s my job to make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Uh,” Kate said, and furrowed her brow, mildly concerned about Lucas’s definition of “boyfriend.” (But he
had
called himself her
boyfriend
!) “I don’t necessarily think that’s true.” She smiled at him, adjusting her position on his lap so she was still snuggled in close but better able to make eye contact.

“Oh you don’t, do you?” Lucas tickled her.

“No, I don’t.” Kate pulled back slightly. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t a damsel in distress, but realized she might come across as somewhat brusque. “It’s just, I don’t want you to think I’m totally helpless or anything. I’m not like that.” She grinned. “I brought myself a sweater, just in case.”

Lucas laughed, then whispered in her ear, “I didn’t mean it like that, babe.”

“Okay,” Kate murmured back, then purred, “I certainly do appreciate your concern.”

“Good.” Lucas punctuated his response by tugging gently at her ear to turn her lips to his. She could feel him lick his lips in the instant before he leaned into her, and she could smell his spearmint gum. Her body hummed, buzzing with the anticipation of the kiss. His lips brushed hers, then pushed more persistently.

Things had just started to get interesting when Adam and Alexis returned. Adam tossed a bag of gummi worms to Sierra, who was sitting with the rest of the crew from the resort on another blanket a few feet away, then thrust a bottle of Coke toward Kate. Kate pulled back, frustrated once again by Adam’s unique ability to appear everywhere he wasn’t wanted exactly when he shouldn’t. The road trip with the girls, her reunion with Lucas, and now, at their first real date. He had even been there for their first kiss of the summer—gross.

Adam sat down next to Lucas, placing Kate’s soda on the ground between them. “Ooh-hoo, wet ass!” He hopped up and pulled a corner of Kate and Lucas’s blanket over to protect his baggy jeans from the damp grass. His tug uprooted Kate from her perch on Lucas’s lap, and she tumbled off.

“Hey, watch the language around my girl,” Lucas scolded jokingly. “These ears are delicate.” He put his hands over Kate’s ears like earmuffs.

Kate readjusted herself, now sitting right next to her boyfriend rather than
on
him. The lap thing hadn’t really been working on a number of different levels. Most important, this level of PDA was a little uncomfortable. But also, she wanted to be able to see him while they chatted. She loved to look into his sharp green eyes, and think about the fact that she was the only girl who could get this close to them.

Adam snickered. “I don’t think Kate really needs your protection, buddy.”

“Actually,” Kate said haughtily, leaning around Lucas to speak directly to Adam, “I love that Lucas is being so sweet. He treats me like a lady.” She knew she sounded ridiculous saying this, and it wasn’t fully true, but it pissed her off that Adam was acting like she was some sort of shrew or something.

She suddenly realized that maybe she
did
like her guy watching out for her. It wasn’t as if she was a member of the X-Men, able to fight off her verbal attackers and cold weather with superhuman strength and a skintight rubber suit. She found it cute that Lucas was treating her like such a delicate flower—it was sort of a nice feeling. She figured he would soon realize how feisty she was, and this whole fairy-tale princess thing would end, but she didn’t mind preserving it while it lasted. It’s not like he had her locked up in a padded room or something.

“All I’m saying, Kate, is that you’re pretty able to take care of yourself. If that’s rude, then I’m sorry.” Adam muttered the last sentence under his breath, but it was still audible.

Lucas straightened up, leaning toward Adam. “Dude, lay off.” The guys were talking pretty quietly, but Kate saw Sierra get to her knees behind Adam and look over at her. Kate rolled her eyes, pretending everything was okay.

Just then the first band took the stage and the music poured over them, washing away Kate’s discomfort from the little brawl that was simmering (because of her!) between Adam and Lucas. The twang of the banjo rang out across the stage as the singer took the mike. The vocalist was a surly-looking woman with a beer in one hand and a harmonica in the other. She belted out a few lyrics, and the crowd went wild.

Many people in the audience were dancing, and Alexis unabashedly joined in. She stood from her blanket and pulled Jake up to join her. Alexis reached her hand down to pull Sierra up, then came toward Kate. As Alexis approached, Kate could feel Lucas’s arm seize her shoulder in something that resembled a vise grip.

Alexis leaned down to yell, “Come on, Kat!” Adam stood up to join them, but Kate stayed rooted to her spot on the blanket. She was being held down, and she looked at Lucas to figure out why he had such a strong hold on her. He was scowling at Alexis and the others, watching them suspiciously as they danced around like fools. Kate was fully jealous, and wanted to be with her friends, kicking back and having a good time.

“What do you say?” She put her mouth right up to Lucas’s ear so he could hear her over the music. “Dance?”

“I wouldn’t call it dancing,” Lucas responded. “They’re embarrassing themselves. You actually want to be a part of that?”

Kate frowned. “They’re just having a good time. You don’t even know anyone here. How is it embarrassing?”

“They look like losers. Besides, I can think of a better way to spend the night,” he said coyly, pulling her legs over his and grabbing her into a tight hug. As the music played on, Kate melted into his embrace. She soon realized this was an easy choice…snuggle under the stars with her superhot boyfriend who kissed like a rock star, or dance like a nut around a broken-down stage?

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Adam slapping wildly at his knee in time with the music. Sierra was doubled over with laughter, and Alexis had her head tipped back happily—but Kate was already long gone. As the music played on, she drifted further and further away from the football field and into her own private world with Lucas.

An hour or so later the first band stepped off the stage and everyone returned to the blankets to relax and cool down. Alexis was sweating, but somehow managed to make it look sexy instead of nasty. Jake pulled her, squirming, onto his lap and tipped her back for an overdramatic kiss. Kate turned away, embarrassed by their PDA and horrified that she’d been doing the same thing for the last hour.

Adam pulled out his banjo and strummed away, entertaining everyone in their near vicinity with his upbeat tune and goofy lyrics:

As Adam sang, Sierra sidled over, plunking down on the blanket with Kate and Lucas. Seconds later Alexis climbed off of Jake’s lap and came over to sit with them as well. When Adam finished singing, he stood up and took a bow.

“So tell me, Lucas,” Alexis said abruptly. “What do you usually do for fun?”

“For fun?”

Alexis nodded slowly, as though Lucas was stupid or something. “You know, with your friends?”

“We play a lot of hockey,” Lucas said, and shrugged. “Hang out with the guys, stuff like that.”

“Sounds fun.” Alexis widened her eyes, clearly critical of Lucas’s chosen pastimes. Kate was getting sick of Alexis’s obvious disapproval of her boyfriend. She could be so snobby about this stuff sometimes.

Adam was sitting with them now too, and Lucas looked over and gestured to Adam’s banjo. “You play the guitar, eh?”

“Yes, sir, I do—but this is a banjo.” Adam grinned. “Are you a blues guy?”

“Not really,” Lucas said. “I just came along tonight to hang out with my girl.” He squeezed Kate’s thigh. She tensed up. For some reason Lucas’s hold on her was starting to feel sort of stifling.

But Alexis was watching Kate carefully, and Kate was sick of her friends judging her boyfriend. Why couldn’t Alexis just be happy for her and not question Lucas’s perfection? Kate smiled and leaned into Lucas, snuggling against his chest. She looked up at him and asked, “The show’s good so far, don’t you think?”

“It’s okay,” he muttered. “I’ve gotta get back pretty soon, though. The guys and I are going out early tomorrow, and I need to get some stuff ready down at the boat. Get some of the slalom skis in, grab a few wakeboards. Come with me?” This was more of a statement than a question, but Kate was game. Maybe some alone time, away from annoying Adam and judgmental Alexis, was exactly what they needed.

“Sure,” she answered, nodding.

Lucas stood up quickly, clearly eager to go. “Grab the blanket, okay?” He picked up the cooler. “I’ll take the heavy stuff.” He winked, but Kate still bristled. Did he think she was a puppy?