The Trouble with Dating Sue (Grover Beach Team #6) (35 page)

Ethan chuckled. “She might open the window, but all we would get is probably a bucket of ice water dumped on us.”

Fair point. Never underestimate the anger of a girl. “Then what do we do?”

He made a humming sound of helplessness and walked into the living room, where the Christmas tree still twinkled in multihued decorations. Together, we settled on the couch and stared at the sparkly lights and baubles, mesmerized like little boys on their first Christmas. “We could send her a message,” I suggested a few minutes later.

“And what do we say?”

“Hmm…” Contemplating, I put my feet up on the couch and hugged my legs to my chest. With my cheek pillowed on my knees, I fixed him with a stare. “Maybe send her a song?”

Ethan tilted his head to me. “You mean a YouTube link?”

“Yeah. A holiday song. You know, like ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ or something.”

He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. “Not a bad idea. Do you want to send her the message?”

“No. You do it. But say it’s from both of us.”

Ethan nodded. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and punched in a message together with a link to the song. After he’d sent it off to Susan, he put the phone down on the coffee table, and we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Mom came into the living room after a while and said good night. She planted a kiss on each of our foreheads, ruffled our hair, and then smothered a yawn behind her hand as she went off to bed.

We waited some more, my impatient heart pounding “Little Drummer Boy” all this time.

“It’s late. She’s probably asleep already,” Ethan reasoned after a while. He had to be right. It was Christmas. If Susan had read the message, she would have sent something back.

“Yeah,” I breathed, my eyes closing slowly. “Maybe tomorrow…”

Judging by the rustle next to me, Ethan was standing up and heading to his room. I couldn’t bring my body to move just yet. He was still crossing the threshold when a whistle sounded out, making my head snap up.

He stopped in the doorway, reading something on his phone.

“Is it from Susan? What did she say?” I blurted, gripping the legs of my jeans with suddenly clammy hands.

After what felt like forever, Ethan lifted his head, and a slow smile curved his lips. He tossed me the phone. Heart drumming wildly once more, I turned it around and read her text.
Merry Christmas to you, too… And to your family.

The corners of my mouth tilted up. Your family—that included me. She didn’t wish me death today, but a merry Christmas. I could have hugged the prickly tree from joy.

Ethan came back to get his phone. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and as I looked up at him, he squeezed, nodding encouragingly. Back at the door, he cast one last glance over his shoulder. “Are you going to stay up?”

“For a while.”

“Okay. See you in the morning.” He slipped around the corner, and shortly thereafter the sound of the door to his room closing drifted to me.

Heaving a deep sigh, I hugged my knees to my chest again and kept gazing at the beautifully illuminated Christmas tree.

I’D JUST TURNED on the water in the shower and soaked in the heat when a rattle on the door made me squint into the downpour around me. “What?”

“Wha wha-wha, wha-wha-wha-wha!”

I recognized Ethan’s voice over the noise of the running water, but heck if I knew what he was saying. Working up a lather and soaping my body, I shouted, “I’m in the shower! I can’t hear you!”

More of his unintelligible blabber sounded through the door.

“I. Can’t. Hear. You!” What was his problem? The bathroom would be free in fifteen minutes. He could certainly hold it that long. Shaking my head, I resumed washing off the sweat I’d worked up during a game of basketball with T-Rex and the others at the street court near Brady’s house this afternoon.

When I was done, I stepped out of the shower cubicle and toweled myself dry, then wiped the terry cloth across the fogged-up mirror and started shaving. It was two days after Christmas, and Hunter had asked me to join him for a drink at Charlie’s. Apparently his girl was gone for the weekend to visit family, and he was bored as hell.

And I was sick of sitting in my room all day, waiting for a message that never came. The invitation was a welcome distraction. The text Sue had sent Ethan on Christmas Eve had caused my heart to play its own game of jump rope inside my chest. I really thought she’d be ready to talk to me after that. When only silence followed, disappointment had washed away all my hope.

There was going to be a big New Year’s party at Ryan’s house. He’d invited me a while back, and from what he’d said, it sounded like Sue would be there, too. Last night, I’d made up my mind. Susan Miller had exactly until the end of this year. Until that party. It was in four days. If she hadn’t come around by then, I was going to find her in Hunter’s house and make her talk, even if it meant I had to throw her over my shoulder, carry her out, and tie her to a tree so she couldn’t escape me. Susan didn’t have to love me; she didn’t even have to like me. But the time of being angry and punishing me with her silence was over, once and for all.

I only had to wait four more days…

Going out tonight would do me good. I needed a change of scenery or I might very well go crazy thinking about her.

Donning a white tee and jeans, I walked out of the bathroom. Whatever Ethan had wanted before, he could tell me now. Mom sat alone in the living room, and the kitchen was empty, so I headed for his room.

The doorbell rang, making me change direction. I glanced at my watch. If this was Hunter to pick me up, he was two hours early.

As I opened the door, a breeze wafted around my naked arms, giving me a slight chill after the hot shower. A girl stood on the doorstep. She wore a sunny yellow sweater and her honey-colored hair was tied back into a ponytail. Huge, gummy-bear eyes staring at me made me freeze on the spot.

Three endless seconds ticked by. Was she going to say something?

Was I?

My hand wouldn’t let go of the door. In utter shock, I blinked at her. Finally, she said, “Hey.”

“Hi.” The word was a breath, not even a whisper. Then amazement scrunched up my face. “Why—”

“Ethan,” she explained quickly, trampling on my hope that she’d actually come to see me.

I clenched my teeth. “Right.”

The sleeves of her sweater were shoved up her forearms, revealing her bare wrists. She wasn’t wearing the bracelet. So the text on Christmas didn’t mean anything. I wasn’t part of her life anymore. But obviously Ethan was. And he hadn’t even told me they were talking again, or that she was coming over today. What sick joke was that?

Keeping my crestfallen stare off her, I focused on the daisy next to the word
Welcome
on our doormat, instead. “He’s in his room.”

Susan ducked inside under my outstretched arm, because I still clasped the door so hard, my knuckles were turning white. Silently, she walked past the kitchen and down the hall to Ethan’s room. Watching her go, I closed the door, the word “wait” on the tip of my tongue. As if she’d felt it and wanted to escape, she broke into a run all of a sudden, not even stopping outside my brother’s door. Forgoing the courtesy of knocking, her body practically slammed into it, and she stumbled into his room. The door closed quickly. She was out of sight.

Why did she have to torture me so? And why couldn’t I just get over her and go on with my life? I rubbed both my hands over my face, growling in frustration. This wasn’t fair, goddammit!

With angry strides, I headed to my room and slammed the door shut so hard, the entire house shook with a mini quake. But that wasn’t the end of my rage, not by far. Heat built up inside me. Barefooted, I kicked the swivel chair out of the way and wiped my arm across the desk. Books and pens went flying everywhere.

Deep breaths, Chris,
I told myself, turning on the spot and pulling helplessly at my hair.
Deep breaths.
But they didn’t cool me down. If anything, they hurt. Really, really badly. Nothing could ease the pain inside my chest. Nothing but—

Without another thought, I stomped out of my room, leaving the door open behind me, and walked down to Ethan’s. Sue was in there with him, and I was so sick of her ignoring me. This just wasn’t right. Thoughts of charging inside and yelling at her rolled inside my head. Yes, I made a mistake not telling her about the charade, but, dammit, she was being cruel, treating me as if I had committed the worst crime ever.

What’s more, it was killing me, the way she kept me at a distance.

But I couldn’t do that.

When two feet separated me from Ethan’s door, my hand hovered. And then it sank to my side again. Minutes passed by. I stood rooted in the hallway, staring at the knots in the wooden door, exhausted and hopeless because nothing would happen. Nothing would change. She wouldn’t come out and wrap her arms around me like the last time she was in my room. And she wasn’t going to gaze at me again with those shy eyes like I was the only one she ever wanted.

Susan Miller was done with me. The sooner I accepted that, the sooner I would feel better. If that was even possible…

A silent tear trailed down my cheek.

Soft steps in the hallway behind me announced her approach even before Mom gently put her arms around me. “Come with me, Chris,” she said quietly in my ear. “There’s no need to stand here and wait.”

I swallowed hard, my head sinking low. Wearily, I gave in as my mother turned me around to face her. As if she were a mirror, my own sorrow reflected in her eyes.
A problem shared is a problem halved
, they say. But that’s complete bullshit. A problem shared means making someone you love hurt with you. And that’s what was happening here. I didn’t like to see my mom aching because of me. But the comfort she gave me when she pulled me into a tender hug was welcome.

Slinging my arms around her, I pressed my forehead into the crook of her neck. In a loving caress, she skimmed her soft hands through my hair and down my back. “Come on, sweetie. I’ll make you tea.”

“Strawberry-vanilla?” I mumbled and sniffed.

“Of course.” An encouraging smile curved the corners of her mouth as she eased back and wiped the tears away from my eyes. With her one arm still around me, she rested the other on my forearm and steered me into the kitchen, where she made me sit at the table. She left me there with a kiss on the top of my head.

Elbows braced on the table and my face buried in my hands, I could hear her putting on the kettle and getting the remnants of our Christmas dessert out of the fridge. The piece of cake she cut for me was clearly a waste since my throat had closed and my stomach rebelled at the thought of eating. When she set the plate and tea in front of me, I leaned back and dragged in a deep breath. My chest still felt too tight to take in all the air that my lungs needed to survive.

Mom sat down across from me with her own tea and took a sip, looking at me over the edge of the cup. When she put it down, she asked in a gentle voice, “Do you want to talk about it now?”

My gaze dropped from hers. With the fork, I started picking at the piece of carrot cake. Three days old, it crumbled more with each poke. Not very appetizing. Then again, not even a Mississippi mud pie, my favorite, would have made me eat today.

Mom cut a small bite off her slice and waited patiently for me to open up as she ate it. Perhaps it was time. Ethan had told her quite a bit, but there was still my side of the story. Filling my lungs with yet another painful breath, I started at the very beginning—when Sue confused me with Ethan for the very first time…

While Mom enjoyed her piece of cake, I kept stabbing at mine. It was pretty damaged by the time I came to the part when Sue had replied to Ethan’s text on Christmas Eve. Putting the fork away, I warmed my fingers on the cup of tea and took a small sip.

“Your feelings for Susan sound very similar to what you felt for Amanda,” Mom said at the end, speaking slowly and with great concern.

I nodded, blowing out a stream of air through my nose as I put the cup back down. My eyes locked onto the flowery pattern on the porcelain. Apart from Susan, Amanda had been the only person outside family that had ever gotten a Christmas present from me. There were many similarities in my feelings between the two girls. It was how I knew I wasn’t just crushing on Susan. My feelings went much, much deeper than that.

“Everything might have started with that stupid challenge, but somewhere along the line things changed.” Chin still low, I lifted my gaze to my mother. “Now it hurts to wake up in the morning and not know if I’ll get a chance to talk to her all day.”

“If she means so much to you, then don’t give up.” Mom leaned across the table and rubbed the back of my hand. “She’s here. Talk to her
now
, love.”

At that precise moment, someone appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mom. My heart gave out for a second, and my stomach dropped to the floor. Just how long had Sue been standing outside, and how much of this conversation had she heard? I swallowed through a tight throat.

The shocked expression on my face transferred to my mother’s. Her chin dropped as she realized just who was standing behind her. She pulled her hand away from mine and jerked around. “Susan! We— I was—”

Yeah, where are you going with that, Mom? Convince Sue that we weren’t talking about her? That it’s a different girl in the house I want to speak with?
My mother must have come to the understanding that she couldn’t talk herself—or me—out of this situation, because she stopped her embarrassed stammering and instead greeted Susan with a smile as she rose to her feet.

I remained seated, watching how they shook hands, and Sue mumbled, “Happy holidays.” Her gaze, however, was fastened on me. It made breathing hard again. Grinding my molars to keep a steady expression, I glanced down, escaping her gaze.

“Why don’t you come in, sweetie?” Mom asked her in a light voice. “Have a cup of tea with us.”

Inviting Susan to sit down with us when I was close to a nervous breakdown? Had somebody screwed with my mother’s mind recently?

I lifted my chin, fixing Mom with a hard stare that she didn’t even notice. Sue, it appeared, however, had other plans than sitting with us and eating cake. As if zapped by my mother’s words, she jerked her hand back. “Sorry, but I can’t. My mom’s waiting for me. I have to go.” After a quick, polite smile, as if that would make the lie sound a little more truthful, she spun on her heel and walked away.

Ethan, who’d appeared behind her a second ago, gave me a helpless shrug and dashed after her. They stood out in the hallway, mumbling too low for me to catch. Then the front door opened, and Ethan’s sudden shout drifted to us. “Don’t forget to call!”

Mom’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. She still stood frozen in the middle of the room. Her gaze was pasted on the window behind me. If I got up and peeked out through that window now, I knew I’d see Susan walking to her car and driving off.

I didn’t turn around.

Moments later, Ethan sauntered past the door and headed for his room. I jumped to my feet and followed him. Flinging out a hand, I stopped his door from shutting on me. “Why the hell didn’t you warn me she was coming over?”

Ethan swirled around. “I did!” Crossing his arms, he gave me a reproachful frown. “But you were in the shower and didn’t find it necessary to turn off the water so you could hear me.”

“Argh.” I banged the back of my head against the doorframe. Rubbing both hands over my face, I moaned. “Shit.”

“Sorry, bro.” He sat down in his desk chair and swiveled around to me. “I really tried to tell you.”

Still leaning against the doorjamb, I rolled my eyes to the side and then stared at him with a hopeful expression. “How was it?”

“It was awkward.”

“Awkward? How?”

“Like she was totally weirded out.” He scratched his nape. “Being here made her quite nervous. Also, she refused to let me talk about you. And…”

When he broke off, I arched my brows. “And?” It couldn’t be something good he was holding back.

With a deep inhale and exhale, Ethan stalled for time.

“Go on, E.T.! And
what
?”