Not a Chance(105)

With Arden around in the evenings, Dustin had taken to checking on Emma. The whole experience with Tonya and her boyfriend had been fairly traumatic and Dustin was concerned. But as Emma regained her composure over the week and no longer needed the shoulder to cry on, Dustin found himself unable to stay away.

One night he went to her apartment, knocked on the door and went inside without waiting for an answer. He'd come to feel quite at home there. Inside, Emma was dressed in her usual 1950's Good Housekeeping style. There were amazing smells coming from the kitchen and she was cheerfully setting two places at the table. She looked up at him in surprise.

No more surprise than what he felt. And then he felt angry. "You expecting someone?" he asked sharply.

Her smile dropped. "Yes. Why?"

Dustin clenched his teeth. "Why? I don't know. Maybe because I've seen you every evening for over a week and you never said anything about having a date."

"Who said it was a date?"

"It pretty much looks like a date."

"So what if it is?"

"Stop answering me with questions, dammit. Who is he? Huh? Who is it you're cooking dinner for?"

She tossed a handful of silverware on the table and then stood up with her fists on her hips. "It's not a date. I was cooking dinner for you, dummy. But now I want you to leave because you're being a jackass!"

Dustin froze. "Oh," was all he could think to say.

"So go ahead," Emma said. "Leave."

Dustin shuffled his feet. He glanced past her into the kitchen. "What did you make?"

"Meat loaf. Your favorite."

He wondered how she knew what his favorite meal was. "Can I stay?" he asked.

Emma shrugged and looked away.

"I'm sorry. I was jealous, I guess. Can I please stay?"

She shrugged again. "I guess so. This isn't a date, though."

"Of course not."

Dustin helped her finish setting the table and pouring tea. During that process the tension vanished and they ate together and chatted about every little thing. When dinner was over, they washed dishes together and by the end of the evening, Dustin didn't want to leave. He was starting to forget why he'd broken up with this girl.

"You want to maybe go to the movies tomorrow night?" Dustin asked as they sat on the sofa sipping coffee.

"Um..."

"It wouldn't be a date," Dustin hurried to say. "Just as friends."

"Oh." Emma still hesitated.

"There's a new Kate Hudson movie playing that's supposed to be...good."

She laughed, then. "You can't even say that with a straight face. You do not want to go see any Kate Hudson movie."

"No," he said, "but I wouldn't mind sitting next to you and holding your hand while you see it," he said.

She turned red and looked away. "Okay," she said. "As long as it isn't a date."

"Absolutely not a date." Then he sat his coffee down. Took hers and sat it aside. And kissed her on the lips. It was another hour before he finally went home.





Arden sat at her dining table early Saturday morning. There were school papers spread out in front of her, but she wasn't looking at them. She was tapping her pen on the table and pondering the conversation she'd had yesterday with a private detective she'd hired to track down Tonya.

"I found her," he said. "She's over in a one-bedroom apartment in Garber living with some guy and his two kids. I tracked down the car using the license plate numbers you gave me and then found her from there."

Arden had given him the plate numbers off of Travis's Cyclone which Tonya had stolen a couple of months ago. "You found the car?" she asked.

"I found the guy who bought the car. You want his number and address?"

Arden said yes. Now maybe she could get Travis his goodbye and possibly his car back, too. That had been a bonus.

The only question in her mind now, was, whether she should go find Emma herself first. Or tell Travis and let him deal with it. She really wanted to go herself and get things lined up so she could surprise him. But that man that Tonya was dating had hit Emma. If he was around, it would be best for her not to be alone. So she opted to bring Travis with her.

She waited until she knew he'd be getting ready to go to work and then drove to his house. It had been a week since she'd stopped spending the night. It was the end of February and a warm, false-spring day. Arden kept her windows down and enjoyed the excitement of Spring's approach.

Travis actually smiled when he opened the door to find her there. He even looked her up and down despite the fact that she was only dressed in her ratty jeans and a t-shirt. "Well, hey there beautiful," he said.