Something in the Way(21)

"How old was she?"

"Seventeen. Regina says she'll wait for him to get out."

The way Charles had threatened to throw his power around scared me. Who  knew if it was true what he'd said about bringing more charges against  the teacher? But a man like that definitely had connections, and it was  clear he didn't want me anywhere near Lake. He'd been angry enough that I  hadn't mentioned my work next door, but it was Lake being over there,  me being around her, that'd really set him off. I hoped we'd be done  with this house soon and get out of his proximity. Anything in the  neighborhood went wrong, and he'd surely find one of us to blame.

Tiffany cocked a hip. "So is that the problem?" she asked. "You're worried I'll get pregnant like Regina Lee?"

"No."

"What then? Not pretty enough? Too fat?"

Nobody in the Kaplan family could be considered fat. "Definitely not."

"You already told me you don't have a girlfriend. Were you lying?"

She asked it casually, as if it were nothing to lie about that. I urged  myself to say yes. It'd be easier to be a cheater than admit I felt  protective enough of Lake that I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Tiffany  yet. Then I could wash my hands of this and drive off. Tiffany would go  inside and tell her dad. He'd be thrilled.

And Lake would think I'd lied to her.

"I don't have a girlfriend," I said.

Tiffany pushed off the truck. "Then you must be, like, gay. Or mentally  unstable. I'm here offering you sex. If you're not just going to come  out and tell me why you don't want it, then bye. Don't call me again."                       
       
           



       

She turned and walked up the grass. I couldn't breathe-it was an  unwelcome and unfamiliar feeling. I didn't let shit like this get to me.  Where girls were concerned, I'd generally not found them worth the  trouble. But as Tiffany got farther away, so did Lake. I wouldn't be  invited back. How would that look, a grown man trying to hang around  her? If I saw it, I'd put a stop to it.

Without Tiffany, there was no Lake. No monster sandwiches, no blueberry  pie. But what'd I done to deserve that sweetness in my life? Nothing.  And who's to say I wouldn't spoil it? I might. So probably, I should  just walk away.

But it wasn't just Lake I'd been watching tonight. Tiffany was right  when she'd said she was a disappointment to her dad. He put her in a  box, then got mad she was in it. Not that Tiffany didn't provoke him.  She did. But she was just looking for someone to pay attention to her.

"Wait."

Tiffany turned around. "What?"

"It's none of that," I said. "I'm just old-fashioned."

"What do you mean?"

I climbed the grassy incline until I stood in front of her. I took her  shoulders as if bracing us both. Maybe I didn't deserve sweetness, but  Tiffany, yes. She was a decent match for me. She could use someone on  her side. And she came with Lake. I leaned in and kissed Tiffany on the  lips. "It means I like to take things slow," I said. "I'm  old-fashioned."

Tiffany blinked up at me. "Well, that's a first."

Yeah, it was. "I gotta go. But I'll call you."

She nodded at the ground. For a minute, I wondered if she even wanted me to. "Okay," she said. "Goodnight."

She turned and went back inside. I would've expected any girl to swoon  after that. Maybe Tiffany wasn't fast because she was desperate to be  loved. Maybe she was fast because she liked it that way. She might  actually leave me in the dust if I didn't make my move. I could lose my  chance with her.

I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to fight to hold onto Tiffany.

But I did know, that was the only way to remain a part of Lake's life.





11





Lake





I didn't move away from the window until the front door slammed and Tiffany pounded up the staircase.

I couldn't be sure what I'd seen. If Manning had kissed her just now on  the front lawn, it'd looked innocent enough, a peck on the lips. What  did that mean? There was no connection between them. I knew that, but  did Tiffany?

I went into our adjoining bathroom and made some noise, hoping Tiffany  would invite me into her room. When she didn't, I knocked.

"What?" Tiffany asked.

"Can I come in?"

"What do you want?"

I opened the door. Tiffany sat on her bed with her address book open and  the receiver of her see-through, touchtone phone in her hand. "I'm  trying to find something to do tonight."

"I thought you were going out with Manning?"

"Does it look like I am?"

"What happened?"

At this point, the conversation could go two ways. Either she'd kick me  out and accuse me of being nosy, or she'd spill her guts. I was hoping  for the guts. Did Manning ask her the kinds of questions he asked me?  About music, books, fancy dishware? I couldn't picture them talking  about those things. When I had Manning's attention, there was no room  for anyone else.

The dial tone began to beep. With a sigh, Tiffany hung up the phone and  flopped backward onto the bed. "He wanted to hang out. We almost went  back to his place, but he has to work early."

My face warmed. What I wouldn't give to see where he lived, what kinds  of things he thought important enough to put on his shelves. What color  were his sheets? What other books were on his shelves? Did he put photos  on his nightstand? If Tiffany went there, she'd get to see all that  before me. I walked a little more into the room. "Are you going to see  him again?"

She reached up and flicked the corner of her Nirvana poster. "I don't know."

I stood taller. I wasn't surprised. I knew it was coming. I'd always  assumed the two other guys Tiffany had brought home to dinner had broken  up with her right after, but maybe it was the other way around.  "Really?" I asked.

"Don't get me wrong. Manning's super-hot, and he's nice to me. But he's  like an old man. He works and has classes and goes to bed early and  takes things slow." She yawned, turning her head to me. "I thought  college guys would be different, you know? Fun and cool."

I nodded as if I understood. In reality, Manning was the coolest person I  knew because he didn't care one bit about being cool. "So you're going  to dump him?" I asked, trying not to sound hopeful.                       
       
           



       

"No. If I don't want to see him anymore, I just won't pick up his  calls." She sat up and fixed her hair in the reflection of her mirrored  closet. "You saw Corbin today?"

I was still wondering what it'd be like to have Manning call me in the first place. "Who?"

"Corbin. Hello? Hottest guy in your school? You saw him at the beach?"

I blinked a few times. Had that only been this morning? "Um. Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I talked to him."

"When?"

"On the phone."

"He called?" I asked.

"Yep. While I was changing. I told him to call back because we were about to have dinner."

"Did he ask for me?"

"Why?" she asked. "Do you like him?"

"No." It came out defensively, a reflex more than an answer. I'd spent  the last couple years wanting nothing to do with the boys at my school.  Now that I knew Manning, who wasn't anything like them, I was even less  interested. But Corbin seemed different, too, like he was listening when  I spoke instead of trying to see down my top. "I mean, I do like him," I  said. "But just as a friend. You?"

"Do I like Corbin? He's only seventeen. Way too young for me." She  flipped through her address book. "And it's not really sexy when a guy  likes you too much. That's basically why I could never date someone like  Corbin."

"I thought you said he had a small crush on you a while back."

"He did, but who knows if it was more? I just think it's weird that he's suddenly interested in you."

I had no idea what to say to that. Corbin hadn't brought up Tiffany at  the beach, but maybe he did still have a thing for her. I didn't care  either way. "I've never liked a guy who liked me back."

Her expression softened. "Don't worry, it'll happen. Especially when you  get tits." She giggled. "Sorry. Don't use that word. It's gross. My  friends always say it, but that doesn't mean you should."

Tiffany didn't get motherly often, but when she did, it was nice. Like  she was looking out for me. "Okay. I won't. And thanks for saying the  pie wasn't soggy earlier."

"It wasn't. I ate the whole piece and you know how I am about calories."

I smiled. Giving me her calories was a compliment. I had the sudden urge  to hug my sister. It'd been a weird night. Some bad things had  happened, like the fighting and the possible kiss, but it could never  truly be bad because time spent with Manning was time getting to know  him. It was true even when we didn't speak.