Life in the No-Dating Zone (4 page)

“Squidward!”

The kids laughed.

Get yourself together, Claire.
I took the kids’ plates to the dishwasher. No. There’d be no revenge in my future. I was way too grown-up for that. But maybe … maybe I wasn’t too mature to shake things up a little. Before I could change my mind, I dried my hands. Then pulled out my phone to text Gray.
 

Five

Gray

Being in the mall’s food court was a lot like visiting an alien planet. Well, a really boring alien planet filled with screaming toddlers, laughing middle schoolers, and shell-shocked moms who looked like they couldn’t remember why they’d wanted that third child. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid—way before my mother started lawyering. Way before the divorce.

The line in front of the Sbarro moved. I edged forward. I was still five people away from the counter. That didn’t matter. I’d picked the longest line possible so I’d have something to do while I waited to hear from Claire.

Warm, yeasty bread scents drifted toward me, making my stomach growl. But there was no way I could eat. Not with the prospect of sitting at a table across from Lindsey Taylor in my immediate future. Iced tea was all I could manage, and with my luck, I’d probably spew it all over her.

Another person paid and left. I edged forward again. I’d been surprised when Claire texted two days ago saying she’d decided to help me. I still was. She wouldn’t tell me why, but at the time I didn’t care. And even now I was only mildly curious. Probably because the thought of what I was about to do made my insides feel like I’d eaten a bottle of Elmer’s Glue.

Which was stupid, because Claire couldn’t have made it any easier. I was going to walk by the table where she was eating lunch with Lindsey and Rose, and she would invite me to sit with them. I would talk for a few minutes, then leave.

That was it. No huge plan for whisking Lindsey away so we could be alone, no flirting—as if I even could—and no asking her out. “Start small,” Claire had said. I needed to remind myself of that before I actually sat down. The fear I might say something like,
You are so hot,
made me want to yank my hair out. Probably wouldn’t happen, but still a fear.

Man, I’m a wuss.

I made it to the counter, ordered my tea, and then practically fell into the first empty chair and table I saw. If I had my own way, I’d walk over to them right now just to get it over with. But Claire was in charge of this show. My orders were to text her at one thirty to find out whether I should come over, wait a few minutes, or abort the plan entirely. A possibility if Lindsey was having a bad day or something.

I pulled out my phone. 1:25.

Swallowed some tea. Wiped crumbs off table and onto the floor. Rubbed hands on cargo shorts. 1:26.

Slow down, your tea’s half gone
. Opened game app on phone. Played for thirty seconds. 1:27.

A guy on cleaning staff picked up other people’s trash. Was that a dirty diaper? Confirmed—food court job worse than Cineplex. 1:28.

My phone buzzed and I jerked, nearly catapulting my tea toward the Sbarro counter. They’d have loved that.

Claire: Come now.

Go time.

I stood and carefully pushed in my chair so I wouldn’t trip over it.
Just focus on each step and you’ll get there.

The alien planet became dim and just so much background noise. I focused on the table at the far end of the room and the three girls sitting there. Dark brown hair, dark blond hair, and then gleaming reddish-brown. I shoved away the sudden urge to go back the way I came. I would do this if it killed me.

It had to rank as the longest walk of my life.

When I got close, for half a second I thought Claire was going to ignore me. But then she looked over as if she’d counted my exact steps and knew just where I’d be. “Oh, Gray. Hi.”

The other two girls’ heads swung to face me. I strolled over, hoping I looked totally chill—my face was probably green.

“Grayson Langley,” Lindsey said. “I haven’t talked to you in forever.”

“Hi,” Rose said.

“Hey,” I said. Did my curving lips look anything like a smile?

“What’re you doing here?” Lindsey asked.

I’d been doing okay. I really had. But then I made the mistake of watching Lindsey’s hair float around her nearly bare shoulders. How would it feel to run my fingers through it? Or across that soft skin? The silence stretched out. What had she asked me, again? In desperation, I sucked on my straw but instead of tea found air. And a loud gurgling sound.

“Are you shopping?” Claire said, her voice unnaturally high.

“Nah, just returning something my dad bought.” Nice. A sentence. I should high-five myself.

“Parents,” Lindsey said scowling, “they make us do their errands like we’re slaves or something.”

She kept talking, but I couldn’t make out her words. My stare had shifted from her hair to her moving pink lips. My gaze drifted down her neck—

A loud screech broke my trance. Claire pointed at the chair she’d just scraped across the floor. “Have a seat.”

Lindsey rubbed an ear. “Geez, Claire!”

I thought I saw Rose send Claire a questioning look, but I wasn’t sure.
Don’t analyze people’s looks. Just sit your butt down.
“Uh, okay, thanks.”

Rose moved a shopping bag out of my way, which caused them all to scoot their seats to make more room. They didn’t need to—I wasn’t like a giant or anything. Though my arms and legs didn’t bend right all of a sudden. I set my Styrofoam cup on the table and stared at it with a rising sense of panic. I didn’t know where to look. No one was talking, and if I looked at Lindsey, I’d start staring again.

Claire patted my shoulder. I almost blurted out,
Thank you,
but managed to just look at her instead. “Gray has come to me for advice,” she said.

I tensed. What the heck?

“Yeah?” Lindsey asked.

“He’s having girl trouble,” Claire said.

Something was strangling me. I couldn’t breathe. What was she doing? “Claire,” I rasped.

Lindsey put down her burrito. “Oooo, who do you like? Tell us, we can help.”

My mouth fell open, but no words came out. I was going to murder her. Claire Gardner was a dead girl. Just as soon as I got her alone. But I’d have to survive this first.

Claire grinned. “He doesn’t like someone.” She patted me again. “He has a stalker.”

Lindsey leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Who is it? You want us to take her out?”

Rose laughed. “Lindsey.”

“I—” Heat raced up my neck and into my cheeks. “Probably shouldn’t say.”

“You are too cute,” Lindsey said. “Don’t be noble. We can be your bodyguards.”

Rose gave her a light punch on the arm. “Stop embarrassing him.”

“I’m not. Am I?” She squinted at me. “Hmm. You are a little red. Don’t be embarrassed. I get stalkers all the time. They’re easy to deal with. You—”

“Easy to deal with?” Claire laughed. “Of course they are. You just open your arms and welcome them into the Lindsey ’Verse.”

“It works, doesn’t it?” Lindsey asked, then sipped her drink.

“So what sage advice have you given Gray?” Rose asked.

Claire smirked. “The same advice I give everyone. Ready?”

Lindsey and Rose came to attention and all three girls said, “Talk to her!”

I laughed. “Okay, I get it.”

Claire pushed her glasses up her nose. “Once you politely tell her how you feel, she’ll leave you alone.”

“And if that doesn’t work, we’ll take her out,” Lindsey said, then narrowed her eyes as if planning an attack.

That look broke through my cloud of nerves and I could finally think clearly. I was having a conversation with Lindsey Taylor. Lindsey Taylor! And I hadn’t passed out or anything. I was still going to murder Claire for not giving me a heads-up about what she was going to say. But then I’d forgive her.

Lindsey tilted her head to one side. “So, who is it?”

Six

Claire

“Um,” Gray said, but then faltered.

He stared at Lindsey like she’d caught him in a tractor beam and he couldn’t escape. Not that he’d want to. He really was good at the whole deer-in-headlights look. Guess I’d better help.

I waved my hand in the air between them. “Been there, Lindsey. We probably won’t find out until some other day. We’ve got about four more stores to hit, remember?”

“Yeah,” Rose said, “and only an hour to do it.”

“Oh, all right,” Lindsey said. She shook a finger at Gray. “But you’re not off the hook. I expect you to tell us everything next time we see you.”

Gray’s lips curved into a goofy smile. But he didn’t move.
That’s your cue, you loon. Time to go.
I couldn’t think how to nudge him without the girls seeing, so I grabbed his thigh and squeezed. Okay, that might have been a mistake. His whole body jerked and he looked at me like I had tentacles growing out of my head.

I tried for a save. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to step on your foot.”

He shook his head, which I hoped would clear it of Lindsey’s spell. “No problem,” he said, then stood. “I’d better go. Don’t want to get caught in the shopping undertow.” He grinned.

Whoa
. Where had Mr. Charming come from?

Rose laughed.

“Hey,” Lindsey said. “Not a bad idea. He could give us opinions on the clothes we try on.”

Gray held up a hand and backed away still grinning. “No, thanks. Talk to y’all later.” He sauntered off.

After a few seconds, Rose leaned forward and whispered, “Wow, he’s gotten hot.”

“Yeah, where’ve you been hiding
him
?” Lindsey asked. She obviously didn’t care if Gray heard her.

“Say what? I’m not hiding him.” I glanced in the direction he’d gone, but didn’t see him among all the shoppers. “Gray’s always around. He hangs out on the edge of things.”

“Are
you
the edge of the thing he’s hanging around?” Lindsey asked with a laugh.

She was absolutely right. She just had no clue. “That made no sense.”

“No, really,” she continued, “he must like you. That whole needing advice thing is probably just a cover.”

“I doubt it,” I said through my last bite of taco.

“Do you really not know who’s stalking him?” Rose asked.

They weren’t going to let go of this unless they were sidetracked. “No, I don’t.” I wiped my mouth and threw the napkin on my tray. “But I do know there are some new shoes calling my name. Let’s go.”

While I waited for Rose and Lindsey to throw away their trash, I marveled at how well Gray’s first meeting had gone. Especially after that disastrous beginning. Now I needed to figure out step two.

***

I didn’t get home until almost five thirty because the three of us hung out at Rose’s house after shopping. It felt so much like old times I was considering giving up this whole “shake things up” idea. Gray probably didn’t need my help anyway. He had broken through the awkward barrier and could easily join our group whenever he saw us.

Mom met me in the garage as I was taking the spoils of my shopping trip out of the trunk. “Hey there!” she said.

“Hi. Wait till I show you what a little babysitting money can do.”

She took a bag from me. “It’ll have to wait. Gray’s here.”

Weird. “He is?”

“Yup. For about half an hour.”

“Huh. Wonder why he didn’t text me.”

“He’s been talking to your dad.”

Oh, no
. “For half an hour?” I whispered.

“Yes.” She headed into the house. “The good news is that they’ve been outside playing with Jack, so there has been some distraction.”

I followed her. Poor Gray. My mom could get someone’s life history in three minutes, but that was like an inquisition. My dad was way more touchy-feely. Mr. Therapist didn’t need the whole life history. He’d just zero in on one thing and ask you 50,000 questions about it. Including, but not limited to, the dreaded:
How do you feel about that?

I set my packages on the kitchen table. “I’d better go assess the damage.”

“And I’ll get your dad to come in.”

We stepped outside to the sound of Jack’s happy squeals. Gray was hunched facedown on the grass, letting Jack climb on him. My dad sat on a lawn chair nearby with his legs stretched out and a pleased expression on his face.

“Ben,” my mom called, “could you bring Jack in, please? Mimi’ll be here any minute and I need to get him ready.”

“All right.” He stood and scooped Jack off of Gray. “Come on, my boy, time to go.”

Jack’s pudgy little features twisted into his pre-tantrum look. “No, no. A! A, A!”

Gray jumped to his feet. “It’s okay, buddy. Time to get ready for mommy.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Mommy will be here soon,” my dad said. He walked toward the door and smiled when he noticed me. “Hello, sweetheart.”

“Hey, Dad.”

Normally we hug and kiss on the cheek when we see each other, but with Jack looking like he might lose it, Dad whisked him inside. I heard one sad “A” from Jack just as the door closed.

“A?” I asked.

Gray took a long swig from a water bottle, then wiped his mouth. “Yeah. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? I might start using it.”

“What are you doing here? And did my father analyze you down to the tiniest pore?”

“What? No. Your dad’s cool. We talked about hiking, and I told him where I usually cycle. That kind of thing.”

“Oh. Well, good. Sometimes he can be kind of … ”

“Nice?”

“Ha. No. Overly sincere.”

“And that’s bad because?”

“You’re just lucky. If he ever does it to you, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“Speaking of people doing things to you, do you know how close you came to death today?”

I placed a hand on my chest. “
Moi?”

He came nearer. Sweat rolled down from both temples. That’ll happen when you play with toddlers in 98-degree heat. “Yes, you. How about a heads-up next time? It sounded like you were about to spill my secrets all over the table.”