Something of a Storm (All in Good Time Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter 17

The next day was Friday.

I slept well Thursday evening, and woke up feeling relieved and thankful. I wished there were some rhyme or reason to what made me have a good night, but there simply wasn't. Some nights I was miserable, had nightmares, and got electrocuted in my sleep, and others I didn't. Period.

I had plans to go to Peter's studio for an hour or two the following Monday, but had nothing going on until then. Our neighbor, Andy, knocked on the door Friday afternoon at around 2. It wasn't uncommon for him to come over when he was bored, so Lexi let him in and we all sat around the living room talking about nothing and everything.

"You wanna get a pizza tonight?" Andy said randomly while we were talking. "We can hang out in my apartment and play some Mario Kart."

"I have to work," Lexi said sadly. "Why don't y'all come to Miller's to eat instead of getting pizza?"

I wasn't sure if I was up for a sit-down dinner, and my face must have reflected my uncertainty. "Come on," Lexi said. "You're having a good day, and everybody wants to see you."

She looked at Andy for support since he loved Miller's and went there often. "You know you want some bacon-wrapped shrimp."

"You know I do!" he said laughing.

She was right, I was feeling pretty good, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I agreed to go—only if I was still feeling well by then.

Andy went back to his apartment when Lexi left for work, but said he'd be back at 6:30 to "pick me up" so we could walk down there.

I wasn't really in the mood to interact with everyone at Miller's, but I decided to make the most of it hoping a normal dinner would help me reenter the world of the living. I put on some skinny jeans, flats, and a flowy looking top that sort of hung off one shoulder. I also wore a watch and necklace for the first time in nearly three months. My thought was that putting a little effort into my outfit would make me feel confident, thus making it easier for me to talk to everyone there.

I was glad I took a little time on myself, because Andy showed up looking like he'd spent a lot of time getting ready himself.

"You look like a movie star!" He said when he came over.

I laughed. "Hardly, but thanks. It's just that you've only seen me sick and devastated since I've known you basically."

"You have been sick for a long time, haven't you," Andy said, having absolutely no concept what I'd been through.

"Yeah," I said as if that were an understatement. "You look handsome yourself," I said.

He smiled. "I have my eye on one of those hostesses, but don't tell your sister. She thinks I go there for the shrimp."

I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively at him. "Which one?"

"Maddie," he said. "But don't tell Lexi."

"I won't, but she's your best bet at talking to Maddie. They're good friends, you now."

"I know, but I'm not ready for that yet."

"What? Talking to her?"

"No. I like to take my time—ease my way into it."

I laughed. "While overdosing on bacon-wrapped shrimp?"

He laughed too. "I've never eaten so much shrimp in my life!"

Dinner was easier than I anticipated. Eight or ten of the employees stopped by the table to say hello and give me their best wishes for my recovery and I told them I hoped to be able to come back to work soon. They all said Lexi had been keeping them posted on what was going on and that they couldn’t wait to have me back. It felt great to know I was being missed, but best of all, I took their kindness as a reflection of how much they liked Lexi.

Andy sat where he had a clear view of the hostess station and thanked me a thousand times for being his date since he was sure my presence was making Maddie notice him. He would let me know when Maddie glanced over, and I would pretend to be really entertained and maybe even infatuated.

We didn't eat dessert at Miller's. There was an ice cream shop between there and our apartments, and we both agreed that the only logical thing to do was to stop by there and get a scoop.

It was twilight when we left Miller's and by the time we got our ice cream, the sun had nearly set. That's why I didn't see Zack's truck in the driveway until we were right on top of it. Andy and I were walking arm in arm, eating our ice cream and laughing about Maddie when I heard Zack's voice.

"Hey, Laney," he said.

It startled me, and I looked up to find him leaning against the back of his truck watching us approach.

"Hey Zack," I said, looking guiltier than I should have. "This is Andy. Uh, Andy, this is Zack."

Zack gestured at him with a curt nod before focusing his attention on me. "I tried to call, but you didn't pick up, so I thought I'd just come by. I saw you two walking down the street when I drove up and decided to wait."

His expression was serious and unreadable. I took my arm out of Andy's, and thankfully he got the hint.

"I'll head upstairs," he said.

"Okay," I said with a smile.

"It was nice meeting you," he said to Zack as he passed him.

Zack smiled and nodded at him, but didn't say anything. He turned and watched him ascend the stairs. "So, he's just going up to chill in your apartment?" he asked, looking annoyed.

I smiled. "I assumed he was going to chill in his apartment since he doesn’t have a key to mine."

"That's your neighbor?" he asked with a flick of his thumb in Andy's direction.

"Yeah, we just got back from eating at Miller's."

"Is that something you do a lot?"

"That was my first time to eat at Miller's since I got sick, actually. I was worried about having to talk my head off and catch up with everyone, but it wasn't bad. They were all really nice."

"I wasn't talking about eating at Miller's. I was talking about that dude. Do you hang out with him a lot?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. I mean not all the time or anything, but he comes over quite a bit."

Zack crossed his arms and let out a grunt that I took to mean, "that's interesting." His expression was totally serious—I could see that from ten feet away and with only the light provided by street lamps.

I smiled and narrowed my eyes at him playfully. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous."

"I am one hundred percent jealous," he said without hesitation.

I nearly dropped the ice cream cone I was holding. My knees went weak. He looked so gorgeous leaning against his truck with his arms crossed indignantly, and there he was, getting jealous over me. I couldn’t stop a smile.

"I felt like I wanted to wring his neck when I saw you too walking down the street holding hands—especially with you all dressed up like that."

He gestured at me.

I closed the distance between us, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"You must be having a good day," he said, still looking serious.

"I am," I said. I looked down at my chest. "But just so you know, I wore this more for the people at Miller's than for Andy."

He let his eyes roam over me from head to toe. "You look good," he said.

"Thank you," I said shrugging. "If it makes a difference to you, I was helping Andy impress a hostess he has a crush on."

He stared at me for a span of time that was long enough I got uncomfortable. I looked down and started to squirm.

"It helps a little," he finally said. I glanced up at him to see that the hint of a smile was touching his lips. "I'd like you to tell me what bad company he was."

"It was terrible," I said, looking disappointed.

The landlord's big trashcan was only a few feet away, so I walked over to it, lifted the lid, and threw my cone away. Then I went back over to Zack and stood in front of him. I stood close enough that I could smell him. I wasn't sure if it was his soap or cologne or what it was, but he smelled good. I smiled up at him shyly. "I might sort of like it that you're jealous," I said.

His arms had been crossed, but at that, he reached out and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me toward him. I stumbled a little bit, but he helped steady me. I ended up standing so close to him I could almost feel his body heat even though we weren't quite touching. The proximity had me feeling breathless.

"I might sort of like it if I never see you walking down the street holding hands with anyone ever again unless that someone's me."

I smiled. "We weren't holding hands," I said.

"Close enough."

"He's my goofy neighbor."

"Well your new boyfriend doesn’t appreciate you holding hands or linking arms or whatever it was with your neighbor—goofy or not."

I looked all around with a concerned, deadpan expression. "Who's my new boyfriend?" I asked.

He put a hand on each of my cheeks, forcing me to look up at him. "Who do you think?"

"You?" I asked, breathlessly.

"Yep."

I closed my eyes and shook my head almost imperceptibly. I just couldn't make sense of it.

"What?" he said.

"I just don't get it," I said.

"Don't get what?"

"I don't get what you want with me."

"I don't want anything
with
you," he said. "I just
want
you."

My face was a mask of confusion. "I don't understand," I said. "It's just not right. All you know of me is my absolute worst."

I stared up at him and he just looked at me as if he didn't get my point.

"You've only ever seen me sick and desperate and paranoid and unfunny and makeupless. I mean, even at my
best
, I'm not good enough for you. How am I supposed to believe you actually want me when all you know is me at my worst."

"That's the whole point, Laney. If I want you this bad at your worst, imagine what it'll be like when you're well. You'll have to beat me off with a stick."

I started to laugh and he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. I felt safe and secure and a bit like I could just burst with happiness.

"I think I might be dreaming," I said.

I felt his chest shake a little with laughter. "I'm not as good as you think," he said. "Once you're done with all these toxins, you'll start thinking straight, and you'll be able to see all my flaws. That's why I'm trying to snatch you up now while you don't know any better."

I smiled even though he couldn’t see me.

He gave me a little squeeze. "What would you do if you had a million dollars in your pocket right now?"

"Is this a test to make sure you don't regret calling me your girlfriend just now?"

He laughed. "It's just a question," he said.

I thought about it. "Andy showed me a video on his phone the other day," I said.

He sighed, "More with the Andy."

"No, no, it was actually really cool. This rich guy was going into grocery stores and he would just randomly pay for other people's groceries. You should have seen it. He'd put the credit card down and tell them God is good, and it showed their reactions and what a blessing it was to all of them."

"So you're saying if you had a million dollars in your pocket, you'd go to the grocery store and buy other people's groceries?"

I groaned. "I don't know, probably not. It's a hypothetical question. If I had a million, I'd probably buy a house, and help Lexi go to college, and save it, and other responsible things like that. The grocery store fantasy would probably only happen if I had more than a million, I guess."

I was resting my cheek on his chest so his voice sounded deep and rumbly when he said, "That would be fun, though, wouldn't it?"

"It would totally be fun," I said, glancing up at him.

"You wanna do it?"

"Pay for people's groceries?"

"Yeah."

"What, like right now?"

"Why not?"

"Oh, and you just happen to have a million dollars in your pocket?"

He shrugged. "I have my debit card."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure."

I smiled thinking about how very fun that would be. "I'm definitely up for that," I said feeling as happy as a kid at Christmas.

"Or we could just go to the mall and get you something instead," he said.

My expression fell. That didn't sound fun at all compared to the grocery thing. "No way," I said. "We're definitely doing the grocery store, you already got my heart set on that.

He had his arms around my waist and he squeezed me again. "I think I might kiss you right now."

A wave of anticipation hit me at the words. "Like right this second?"

Without skipping a beat, he put his lips on mine. Our mouths touched gently, but this time, instead of pulling back right away, he let them linger for a second. I let out a tiny little accidental moan and he broke contact. He looked at me for a second before rubbing his hand over his face. It seemed like a gesture that said he was fighting some sort of temptation, which made me have to hold back a smile.