Into the Darkness (19 page)

The sight of him quickened my heartbeat but also seemed to bring me back to earth. Shayne looked at me and saw the difference in my face.

“You all right? You’re not getting seasick or something, are you?”

“No, I’m fine.” I forced a bigger smile.

He glanced back toward the lagoon. “You know who owns that lot? Your wild friend Charlotte’s family.”

“She’s really not much of a friend.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Why is the lot undeveloped?”

“Her father thinks it will double in value or something. That’s what my father says. He tried to buy it once from her father. Did Charlotte take you there?”

“No.”

“So, if Charlotte didn’t take you there, who did?”

“Nobody,” I said. “I just took a long walk one day.”

He nodded, but I could see that he didn’t believe me. I wondered myself why I hadn’t told the truth. It was
almost as if I wasn’t sure if I really had been there or I had dreamed it.

Or maybe I was feeling guilty again for enjoying myself with a boy who could do what he wanted and had no dark and dreary life pulling him back into the shadows, where only loneliness and sorrow dwelled.

Suddenly, I had become a keeper of secrets, and for some reason, that made me feel even closer to Brayden.

The water was cold, but Shayne was right. After swimming for a while, it didn’t feel bad at all. He had some tubes and even a raft. He helped me up onto it, and then, holding onto the raft and kicking, he pushed me in a circle around the boat as I lay there soaking up the sun and feeling like a queen. He returned to the boat and plucked a soda out of the box onboard. He poured it into a plastic cup and brought it to me on the raft.

“Your Majesty might be thirsty,” he said.

“Thank you, Prince Charming. I am.”

I took a long sip and looked out at the lake, the beautiful houses, the other wealthy people enjoying their boats. It wasn’t hard to see yourself as special when you had all of this at your beck and call, I thought. It had a way of seducing you. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t be as arrogant as he was if I lived this way.

“You look too pleased with yourself,” he suddenly declared, and turned over the raft.

I screamed and used the emptied cup to heave water on him. We frolicked about until he pulled me to him and kissed me while I held on to the edge of the boat. He
pressed his body against mine and told me to hold on or we’d both drown. He was fooling, of course.

“You’re taking unfair advantage,” I said.

He shrugged. “I don’t know what else to take,” he said, kissing me again.

I broke free and kicked back.

“I’m drowning!” he shouted, pretending to be pulled down under the water. When he came up, he spurted at me like a whale.

I screamed and splashed at him. He went under again and then came up beside me, but he didn’t touch or kiss me again.

“Let’s eat. I’m starving,” he said, and climbed up onto the extended platform, reaching for my hand and helping me on. He threw me my towel, and we settled down, unwrapping the sandwiches and opening our drinks.

“How many other girls have you taken out on the lake?” I asked.

“You’re the first.”

I tilted my head with a skeptical expression.

“It’s the truth.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. Yes, I do. I knew you would appreciate it more. Most of the other girls I know would rather hang out at the mall or . . .”

“Or?”

“Do other things,” he said with a sly smirk.

“What makes you think I don’t?”

His eyes widened a bit, and then he laughed.

“No, I’m serious. I’d like to know why you said that.”

“I don’t know. When I look at you, I think,
That girl has class.
”

“Which means what?”

“Why this third-degree questioning?” he asked. I saw that he was looking a bit uncomfortable.

I looked out over the water toward the lagoon. Really, why was I asking these questions? Even I could feel the antagonism in my voice. It was almost as if I wanted this to fail, this budding relationship. It was too good. We looked too perfect. Whatever the reason, something was gnawing at me.

“You want to try waterskiing?”

“Not today,” I said, which assumed that there would be a tomorrow.

He nodded. “How about I take you to this restaurant in Greenwood tonight?” He smiled. “My dad’s an investor. We eat for free.”

Greenwood was a large town about twenty miles southeast of Echo Lake. I had been there only because it had a well-developed mall with some large department stores.

“Okay,” I said. “What time?”

He looked at his watch. “My parents and my sister could come back anytime soon. Let’s get back to the house so I can show it to you without being interrupted, and then you’ll tell me how much time you need to get ready to go to dinner. I am your loyal servant,” he added with a mock bow.

“Okay.”

The truth was, I hated leaving the lake. I thought I could stay out there until nightfall and maybe even after that.

“We can do this again next weekend and stay much later on the water if you want. Maybe by then you’ll get your courage up for a waterskiing lesson.”

“Maybe,” I said.

He cleaned up a bit and then raised the anchor and started the engine. I sat back as we started off toward his dock.

All of this had come as a real surprise. A little more than twenty-four hours ago, I would have laughed at the idea of Shayne Allan and me becoming what Ellie called “a thing.” In the meantime, I had met Brayden and, especially after our short time in the woods, imagined that we might become “a thing.”

Did this all happen as suddenly and as surprisingly to other girls as it was happening to me? I wondered. For most of my teenage life, most boys were little more than an interesting distraction. I had begun to worry that something might be seriously wrong with me because of my reluctance to get too involved with any one boy and my failure to get very excited about anyone. I knew I seemed “different” to so many of them, and I was seemingly either above or simply outside of everyone else’s experiences and needs. It was how I had earned their nickname for me, Prudence Perfect, but along came Brayden, and I could feel a change coming over me. Was it simply a case of belated maturity? Or was something magical finally happening to me?

A part of me was afraid to think too hard about it, for fear that it would all go poof in a sudden cloud of smoke. Maybe certain things in life, certain things that you do and feel, shouldn’t be analyzed at all but just enjoyed for
what they are. Besides, I thought, thinking a little more about Brayden, everyone is entitled to his or her own little secrets, whether they are secret feelings or secret fears. Perhaps I had been too severe a judge. So far, this afternoon with Shayne certainly made me feel guilty for looking down on him and ridiculing him. Just the little I knew already about his family made me think that he was under different kinds of pressures from the pressures other boys at our school endured. Rich or poor, everyone had his own particular burdens.

I helped him tie up the boat at the dock, and then we headed back to the house.

“You can use one of the spare bedrooms to change out of your wet suit,” he said. “Or you could use mine.”

“I’ll use the spare one,” I said.

“I was afraid you’d say that.”

“Then why did you offer?”

“To see if I was wrong. I can hope, can’t I? You shouldn’t be afraid,” he added. “It’s as easy as waterskiing.”

“But the landing isn’t as soft when you fall,” I said, and he laughed.

“Okay, go on and be a challenge. I can take it.”

Can you?
I wondered,
or will you find a convenient excuse to abandon the effort?

He took me upstairs and showed me the guest bedroom. It looked as large as my parents’ master bedroom. He explained that his father had designed the house so that all of the bedrooms had a view of the lake.

“Sure you don’t need any help?”

“I think I can manage alone.”

He surprised me by kissing me quickly and then backing away.

“Don’t know what you’re missing,” he said. “Take a shower if you want. Maybe it will save some time. Come on downstairs when you’re ready. I’ll show you our entertainment center.” He walked off to his own bedroom to change.

I went into the bathroom with my bag and began to change and brush my hair. Even though the bathroom was equipped with all sorts of shampoos and conditioners, I didn’t want to take a shower there. I could see that even with only a few hours on the lake, I had picked up some color. I was glad now that I had used the sunscreen. My complexion was such that it didn’t take much to get me red and peeling, especially the skin on my nose and above my eyebrows.

I did use the dryer to brush out my hair, and then, after I put on some lipstick, I headed out and down the stairs.

“I hope you remade the bed,” I heard, and turned at the top of the stairs to see Wendi and one of her girlfriends standing just down the hallway.

“Excuse me?”

She looked at her friend and then, smiling widely, came down the hallway toward me. Anyone who knew Shayne and then looked at Wendi would wonder if they had the same father, even the same mother. She had black eyes and hair. Most brothers and sisters shared some feature, but neither her chin nor her redone nose nor her ears and eyes resembled Shayne’s. She was barely five feet two, if that, and had a stocky build. Both
of Shayne’s parents were tall. His mother had a fashion model’s figure, and his father was an athletic-looking man. I had seen them both often at basketball and baseball games. As she drew closer, I thought Wendi would single-handedly make some plastic surgeon wealthy. I foresaw liposuction, breast enhancement, and endless Botox in her future.

“The maid is off today.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I figured you’d be one of those who played dumb,” she replied, obviously egged on by the wide smile on her companion’s face. “How long have you two been up here?” she asked. “We just got here.”

“As long as it took for me to change out of my bathing suit and brush my hair, if you must know.”

Wendi looked at her friend and smiled. She kept looking at her when she spoke to me. “It doesn’t take my brother long to get any girl out of her bathing suit.” She laughed, and her friend, who was a little more timid, just continued smiling.

“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but this is one girl who didn’t need his help,” I said, and turned away.

“I hope you weren’t a virgin when you came here,” she called after me, laughing. “Our maid will ask about the bloodstains. Looks like he won another bet,” she shouted after me. “He told his friends he could nail you.”

I kept descending, but the anger in my body rose like mercury in a thermometer. I thought it might blow off the top of my head. Shayne, who was waiting in the family room below, turned, took one look at me, and came hurrying over.

“What’s the matter?”

“I had the pleasure of running into your sister.”

“I didn’t know she was back,” he said, looking toward the stairway. “What did she do?”

“It’s not what she did. It’s what she said, but forget it. I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she bothered me.”

He took a step toward the stairway.

“Don’t start anything, please, Shayne,” I said. “I can see she’s just hoping for that.”

“Okay, but maybe now I will tell my parents about her stash,” he said.

“From what you’re saying, it won’t do much good.” I looked at my watch. “If you want to go to dinner, I’d better get home.”

“Sure. I’ll show you the rest of the house next time.”

I was already heading toward the front door. He caught up quickly and hurried ahead to open the car door for me, just as his parents pulled into the driveway. Shayne’s father stopped. They were driving a light yellow Bentley convertible. His father was in a bright yellow sports jacket with a black tie, and his mother wore a light blue shawl over her strapless dark blue dress. She had a different hairdo from the one I remembered. This was a short pixie hairstyle. I thought she had the face for it. She reminded me of the actress Keira Knightley.

“How was the lake?” Shayne’s father asked.

“Great, Dad.”

“Boat performed well?”

“Everything was great.”

“Hi, Amber. How are your parents?” he asked me.

“Very good, thank you, Mr. Allan.”

“I’m coming in to see your father soon,” Shayne’s mother said, leaning over to talk to me. “I saw a necklace he made for Morgan Brice. Gorgeous. We’re lucky to have so talented a jeweler in this town.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Allan.”

“Is your sister back yet?” she asked Shayne.

“I think she’s been back for a while. Check the safe,” he said.

Her smile faded, but his father almost smiled. “Where are you two headed?”

“I’m taking Amber home to change. We’re going to Salmon Bend in Greenwood for dinner.”

“Make sure you pay this time, Shayne. Don’t let them tear up your bill,” his father said firmly.

“Okay, Dad.”

“Nice to see you, Amber,” his father said, and continued on to their garage.