Knocked Up(10)

"Only because you chose the most boring question ever. Let me show you how a pro does it," he cut in, then a long pause punctuated the air as he thought of his question.

"Oh yeah, I'm learning so much,” Suzette jibed him, but Tawny was already zoning out again, glancing back to the other group to see if Luke had made his reappearance.

She was just worried about his recovery, that was all.

Internally, she rolled her eyes at herself. If she was going to spout lies to herself, she was going to have to be a hell of a lot more convincing than that.

Still, she had no reason to be interested in a guy like Luke. She hardly even knew him, after all, and the things she did know weren't anything to recommend him. He was racing dirt bikes for money, for crying out loud. But then again...

She pictured herself on the back of his motorcycle, her arms tight around him as they zigzagged from one lane to another, the wind whipping in her hair.

"Uck, disgusting,” Suzette groaned, and Tawny focused on her friend, trying her best to look like she'd been paying attention to her surroundings.

"Don't knock it ’til you've tried it." Rex winked at her and Suzette grimaced.

“You’ll notice that you’re the only one with a finger down from that one,” she said with a laugh. “Tawny, why don't you go?" she asked, but Tawny shook her head.

"Nah, I've got nothing interesting.” She swiped at the sweat beading over her upper lip. The last thing she needed was to run through all the things she hadn’t done right now. Tonight was about having fun and leading Never Have I Ever was right up there with a root canal, to her mind. “I think I might go take a swim, actually."

Suzette stuck her tongue out at Tawny but didn’t try to dissuade her as she headed out of the circle and topped off her beer before wandering over to the lake.

It always amazed her at parties like these, even in a town this small, how few people she knew. Then again, she'd only transferred to the university two years back. Before then, she'd been on the east coast, going to a local college and living with her mother while her father was stationed overseas.

Again.

She shook her head. That life was behind her now. Her suitcase was unpacked for good, and she wasn't about to go back to a life of not knowing where or when she was going next. Nothing was worth that. She loved Alhouette and the sooner she could start strengthening her roots here, the better, as far as she was concerned.

She took another swig of her beer and strolled lazily down the spit of beach, over a bluff that gave the best views of the almost fully set sun.

Yup, this was the life.

“One of the few things I love about this place,” a low voice called. She jerked to a halt and gripped her slippery beer. Luke Anderson was sitting just a few yards away beneath a tree, watching the horizon.

“Come to check and make sure I didn’t slip into a coma when you weren’t looking, Doc?” he asked with a sheepish smile.

She knew she should have let out a little fake laugh and kept walking but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Instead, she meandered toward him, taking a long swallow from her beer. She hadn’t eaten much and, combined with the heat, she was already feeling a little tipsy, which was nice for a change. Still, she was in no rush to join the horde or play that stupid game anymore, so she settled in the grass a few feet away from where Luke was lounging against the tree trunk.

“It’s nurse, actually. And I’m not much for excitement," Tawny said simply and Luke nodded.

"I hear you. I've had more than enough for one night."

An awkward silence stretched between them for a moment and Tawny was about to break it by excusing herself to start back toward Suzette when Luke spoke again.

"Playing drinking games, huh?" he asked.

"Just a little," she said. "I didn't stay for long."

"Couldn't handle the competitive atmosphere?" Luke cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, something like that." But more than that, she knew things would get rowdy because those games always did and the last thing she wanted to have to do was admit all the things she hadn’t done.

"You know, sometimes, when I'm trying to get my little brothers to shut up, I play juice box drinking games with them." He laughed and Tawny found herself smiling back at him. "My nine-year-old brother is a little too good at quarters for my liking, though, and I wound up dropping like fifteen bucks on Capri Sun.”

She laughed, then said, "How many brothers do you have?"

"Three. At the moment. Rex is my age, so that's not too bad. Except for the fact that I used to share a room with him and he snores like a son of a bitch."