Night Road(13)

Only Zach held back.

He didn’t like Lexi. That was all there was to it. He never stayed in a room alone with her longer than was absolutely necessary, and he hardly ever spoke to her. When he did say something to her, he looked away, as if he couldn’t stand making eye contact. Lexi didn’t know what she’d done to offend him, and no amount of reparations had helped. The worst part was that it hurt her feelings every time. Every time he looked away or walked away, she felt a little pinch of loss.

But it was a good thing; that was what she told herself. It was good that he didn’t like her because she liked him too much. And one thing she knew for sure, had known from the beginning: Zach Farraday was off-limits.

At just past nine, she heard the Mustang drive up outside. She whipped off her multicolored apron and ran to the employees’ bathroom for her purse. Snagging it off the wall, she glanced in the mirror just long enough to see that her makeup was still okay, and then headed for the front door, waving to Mrs. Solter as she passed.

“Be good,” Mrs. Solter said with a happy little wave.

“I will,” Lexi promised. She ran out to the Mustang and climbed into the backseat. The stereo was blaring so loudly that no one could talk.

Zach backed out of the parking stall and headed out of town. In no time at all, they were turning onto a long gravel driveway. At its end sat a quaint yellow Victorian, with a pitched shake roof and a big white wraparound porch. Lights hung from the eaves, illuminating baskets of flowers.

When they got out of the car, Lexi could hear the distant buzz of conversation and the music, but there were very few kids visible. They were probably down at the beach, where the neighbors were less likely to see them and thus less likely to complain to the local police.

Zach came around the car and stood by Lexi. She tried to act casual. As usual, she couldn’t manage it. She turned slightly and caught him staring down at her.

Before she could think of anything cool to say, Mia came up beside Lexi, held her hand. “Will Tyler be here?”

“Probably,” Zach answered. “Let’s go,” he said, walking off.

Lexi and Mia followed him through the tall grass. When they reached the front yard, they saw the party. There were probably seventy-five kids in the yard; most were gathered around the fire. The sweet smell of pot filled the air.

Mia grasped Lexi’s hand, yanked her to a stop. “There he is. How do I look?”

Lexi scanned the crowd until she saw Tyler Marshall. He was a tall, gangly kid with skateboarder hair who wore his baggy pants so low on his hips he was constantly yanking them up. Mia had had a crush on him since the end of junior year.

“You are beautiful. Go talk to him,” Lexi said.

Mia’s cheeks turned bright red. “I can’t.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lexi said, squeezing Mia’s hand.

“You, too, Zach Attack?” Mia said.

Zach shrugged, and the three of them walked deeper into the party. They made their way past a pair of silver kegs and walked up to Tyler.

“Hey, Mia,” Tyler said, giving her a bright grin. He held out a half-empty bottle. Raspberry vodka.

Mia reached for the bottle and took a drink before Lexi could even react.

“I guess that makes me the designated driver,” Zach said. Then he added, “Be careful, Mia.”

“You wanna walk on the beach?” Tyler asked Mia.

Mia gave Lexi a wow look and followed Tyler toward the beach.

Lexi was acutely aware of Zach beside her. He stood there, saying nothing, and yet she felt something in the quiet between them. Unable to help herself, she turned and looked up at him. “Why don’t you like me?”

“Is that what you think?”

She didn’t know how to answer. There seemed to be something going on she didn’t understand. She wished she’d never asked the stupid question in the first place.

“Lexi—” he started.

Amanda Martin appeared in front of them as if by magic, holding a half-empty pint of Captain Morgan spiced rum. She was a leggy redhead with full lips and eyes that slanted gypsylike. Zach’s latest girlfriend.

“There you are,” she purred. “Took you long enough.” She wrapped her arms around him and melted against him.

Lexi watched them walk away, all tangled together—he was kissing Amanda now—and felt a familiar sense of disappointment. Sighing, she wandered down to the beach. There, she met up with some of the kids from the drama club. For years, Lexi had been hanging out with these kids, watching them all rehearse with Mia. They sat around on the sand, talking. Of course, college came up. It was the big topic these days. From the very start of senior year, they’d been talking about deadlines and applications and admission stats. Every day, another university representative was in the library, talking to any senior who was interested. Weekend campus visits were becoming the norm. And the students from Pine Island didn’t just go to downtown Seattle to check out schools. Oh, no. Their parents flew them all over the country.

“Lexster!” Mia’s voice rose above the noise.

Lexi turned and saw Mia lurching toward her.

“I doan know how I got this drunk,” Mia said, swaying dangerously. “Lexi, how did I get this drunk?”

“Drinking, maybe?” Lexi got up and put a steadying arm around Mia.

“I love you, Lexi,” Mia whispered, but it was a drunk’s whisper, stagey and slurred. She put an arm around Lexi. “You ’n Zach Attack are my bess friends.”