Following You (The By You Series) (8 page)

"Thank you for taking me out, it really means a lot to me," she said.

She held him like that for a few long moments, hoping he would respond.

Please, just put your arm around me. That's all I want.

Another few moments passed, and Sarah had about given up hope. She wasn't sure what was bothering him lately, and she just wished he would open up to her. They were supposed to be in this thing together.

As she was about to let go, he finally put his arm around her and hugged her tight to him. He gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head, and she felt like she could melt into him right there. They held each other for a bit, and when she finally broke away she gave him a big smile.

"Let's go eat," she said, and they left the room, together.

Sarah sat quietly in the truck while Huck drove them through the city. She didn't ask where they were going--she was sure he had chosen some place amazing. She hadn't stopped smiling since they'd left her room. There was just something nice about being able to go out with Huck like they were adults.

If Maggie could see her now, she'd probably laugh at her. Her cousin, Maggie, had practically been traveling nonstop since she graduated high school a year earlier. First, she'd moved from New Jersey down to Green Falls, supposedly just to visit for the summer. Only, summer turned into forever when her mom passed away a short while later. She'd met the sexy guitarist for
The Believers
, in Green Falls, and she'd been on tour with the band ever since. Going out to dinner in a new, strange city probably wasn't a big deal to her, anymore.

But, it still meant something to Sarah.

As they drove through West Village, Sarah made a mental note of the interesting places she saw. Jeremy had told here there were a lot of them, and he hadn't been lying. She was going to have to come back one weekend just so she could walk around and explore. She got excited as she thought about all of the new things she and Huck were going to be able to do together--life in Houston was going to be very different from what it was like in Green Falls.

They drove for about fifteen minutes before Huck pulled into a tiny alley that wrapped behind two old buildings. At first, Sarah was confused about where he was taking her--the alley was dark, and she didn't see anyone around--but as they made one more turn around another building, there was a tiny parking lot in front of a quaint little restaurant.

La Trattoria Giuseppe
.

Sarah grinned at Huck as he pulled into a parking spot.

"This place looks so amazing, how did you find it?" she asked.

Huck puffed up his chest and winked at her. "I have my ways."

Sarah clung to him as they walked through the entrance, and she let out a gasp when once they were inside. The entryway was made of old brick and had a wooden floor. Candles provided almost all of the lighting in the restaurant. The sconces that held the candles were mounted on the walls, and candle wax made tiny tendrils that hung down their sides. When Huck gave their name to the hostess, they were led through the restaurant to their own room. It wasn't a private room, because there were tables for other guests, but Huck and Sarah had it all to themselves.

"Huck, this place is
so
romantic," Sarah said, still looking around.

Huck grinned at her. "I'm glad you like it."

"I do, I love it," she said.
 

"Good, because it's supposed to be pretty pricey. The food better be good."

Huck grabbed a menu from the table and started reading through it. When his jaw dropped open, Sarah picked up her menu and looked at it.

Wow
.

"We're definitely not in Green Falls, anymore," he said, sounding stunned.

Sarah shook her head as she read through the menu.

"Huck, this is too much," she said.

"No, no--it's fine. I want the best for my girl."

Sarah couldn't help but smile, even though the comment bothered her at the same time.

"You know I don't need you to spend a lot of money on me, right?" she said. "I'd be happy with anything, as long as we're there together."

When Huck looked up from the menu, she was expecting him to say something nice and sweet. But, there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Look, I'm just trying to do something nice," he said. "I'm taking you to a nice restaurant, can't you just be happy about it?"

He didn't wait for a response before he grabbed the menu and started reading it again. Sarah watched him for a second, stunned by the coldness in his voice.

"Huck, this is getting out of hand. What's wrong?"

"Why do you keep asking that?" he said, without looking up. "I told you nothing's wrong. Just drop it."

Sarah leaned forward and pulled his menu down to get his attention.

"I've known you my whole life, I can tell when something's bothering you."

"Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think."

He jerked the menu back up and Sarah didn't even try to stop him. Her jaw dropped open and she stared at him for a moment.

"Huck, that hurt. Why would you say something like that?"

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Can't we just order some food and have a pleasant dinner?" he said.

Sarah pursed her lips and didn't say anything. She eyed him for a long time before she picked up her menu. None of the words on the menu made any sense to her, how was she supposed to focus when he was acting that way?

A minute later they heard the clicking of feet on the wooden floor, and Sarah looked up to see a skinny brunette wearing all black heading their way. She was carrying a bottle of wine that she set on the edge of the table.

"Welcome to
Trattoria Giuseppe
. My name is Lilly. Can I interest either of you in a..." Her voice trailed off when she looked down at Huck. Sarah had to do a double take when she looked at him, too.

Huck was leaning back in his chair and was grinning from ear to ear. His arm was hung over the back of the chair as he sat half-turned to face her.

"Hey stranger, long time no see," he said.

"What are you doing here?" she said, smiling. "I didn't think you would really come visit."

"Well, I've been craving spaghetti all day and
someone
told me this place makes the best."

The girl let out a small laugh. "Sound's like
someone
knows what they're talking about, then."

Sarah stared back and forth between them, not sure what was happening. Did Huck already know the waitress? How? And, why did she suddenly feel like she was invisible?

Sarah cleared her throat, a bit too loudly, and both Huck and Lilly looked over at her.

"Huck, don't be rude," she said. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Sorry," he stammered. "Sarah, this is Lilly. Lilly...Sarah."

Sarah tried to make her smile look genuine, but she didn't think she was fooling anybody.

"You'll have to excuse my boyfriend--he forgets his manners, sometimes."

Huck shifted uneasily in his chair, but he didn't say anything. Lilly looked back and forth between them with an uncertain, nervous smile.

"Right," she said. She looked back at Huck for what felt like too long before she kept talking. "Well, like I was saying, can I interest either of you in a drink?"

"I'll just stick with the water," Sarah said. She knew she probably sounded like a bitch, but she didn't care.

Lilly nodded and turned to Huck, who seemed to be thinking it over.

"What kinds of beers does this place have?" he asked.

"We've got bottles of Bud Light, Heineken, Dos XX, and Shiner Bock," she said. Then the smile returned, and she added, "But you know I'll have to card you for those."

Huck waved a hand, not missing a beat. "You don't need to do that--we're friends!"

"I can't do that, I could get in a lot of trouble," she said, but she was still smiling. "Are you trying to get me fired?"

Something rubbed Sarah wrong about the way Lilly was looking at him. She didn't like how comfortable they were talking to each other--like they were old friends, or something.

"If anyone sees it, I'll tell them I snuck it in," he said. "No one will be the wiser."

"Huck, drop it," Sarah said. "She said she can't bring you one, so let it go."

Huck flashed her a look of annoyance, again. Like somehow it was her fault that he couldn't get what he wanted.

"No, it's fine," Lilly said, quickly. "We're slow tonight so no one's really paying attention. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Huck said, and then he gave her one of his big, goofy grins. Lilly didn't seem as annoyed by it as Sarah was, though. By the time she disappeared with the bottle of wine, Sarah couldn't even think straight, anymore.

"That's quite a new friend you have there," Sarah said.

"Who, Lilly?" he said. "I met her earlier today."

"You two seem awfully close for only having known her for a few hours."

"I guess," he said.

Sarah gave him a wide-eyed look, hoping he wasn't going to make her ask even more questions. But, like usual, he was oblivious. Sometimes he frustrated her so much she just wanted to break things. This was one of those times.

"So how did you meet her?" Sarah asked.

"She's friends with a girl in my dorm. They needed help moving some stuff."

"And when you were doing all this moving she just happened to tell you all about where she worked and how she wanted you to come see her?"

"Why are you making a big deal out of this?" he said. "I thought you'd like that I found a nice place to take you?"

"You didn't come here for me, you came here to see her," Sarah yelled.

As soon as she said it, Lilly rounded the corner with their drinks. She and Sarah made eye contact for an awkward second before Sarah buried her face in her hands.

"Here's your drinks," she said, setting them gently on the table. "I'll give you guys a minutes to look over the menus."

Sarah listened as the clacking of Lilly's shoes faded far away. She wanted to crawl into a corner and die. Was it possible to go a whole day where
nothing
good happened? Her cheeks were getting hot and she was on the verge of crying. She just wanted to be as far away from there as possible.

"I can't believe you would say that," Huck said, his voice low and hard. "Now you're just making things awkward for everybody."

"I want to go home," she said, her hands still covering her face.

"What?"

She dropped her hands and looked him in the eye.

"I said I want to go home. Please take me back to campus."

"We can't leave, we haven't even ordered, yet. What am I supposed to tell Lilly?"

"I don't care what you tell Lilly," Sarah said, her voice nearly a shout, again. "I'm your
girlfriend
, and I want you to take me home."

She could feel the tears about to come. She was going to leave with or without him--the choice was his.

Huck stared at her for a long moment. She could see the anger in his eyes, but she didn't give a shit about it. He didn't have the right to be angry with her, right then.

"Fine," he said. "Have it your way."

Huck pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet and left it on the table. Sarah grabbed her stuff and wanted to run out of the restaurant as fast as she possibly could. The only saving grace was that they didn't pass Lilly on their way out.

Huck was quiet the whole way back to campus, and Sarah wasn't in much of a mood for talking, either. It was supposed to be a magical night--their last night of fun before classes started. Instead, her day had been filled with one disaster after another, and their date had only gotten worse. She just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for a week--was that too much to ask?

When they pulled onto campus, Huck parked in the lot closer to his dorm instead of hers. She gave him a confused look.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You're coming back to my place, aren't you?" he asked. "I told you we have it to ourselves."

Sarah hadn't even considered going back to his dorm after everything that had happened. But, she didn't want to be alone, either. Given the choice, she'd still rather be upset and with Huck, than upset by herself.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," she said.

It was still early in the evening, and the campus felt as busy as ever. It was different coming from a small town to being surrounded by so many people you didn't know. Huck was the only one she wanted to be with, though. As they walked back to the dorm, she could tell he was still upset, but that didn't stop him from putting an arm around her when she leaned into him.

She loved it when he held her like that. Being that connected to him had a way of making all of her worries melt away. By the time they made it back to his room, Sarah had even started feeling bad about the way she'd acted at the restaurant. Huck hadn't really done anything wrong, he was just clueless, sometimes. Looking back on it, she got worried that she had overreacted about the whole thing.

Sarah sat on the edge of his bed while he kicked off his shoes and flipped on the television. He hopped onto the bed next to her and leaned his back against the wall. The room wasn't big enough for a couch, so they had to work with what they got.

She curled up against him and lay there while he flipped through the stations. This was exactly how she'd wanted to spend her night--curled up with him in front of the TV. There wasn't anything better.

"Huck?" she said.

"Hmm?" he grunted, while flipping stations.

"I'm sorry I made a big scene back at the restaurant," she said. "I know I ruined your special night."

"It's fine," he said.

Sarah sat up and looked at him, putting her hand on the remote to get his attention.

"No, it's not fine. I know you were just trying to do something nice for me, and I acted like a total bitch."

"Whatever. It's no big deal."

"It
is
a big deal. I don't want you thinking I don't appreciate what you do for me. I happen to appreciate the crap out of you."