Toe the Line(5)

“It doesn’t take much to embarrass you, does it, Dad?” Archie shook his head. “Yeah, sure. Give me his number. I’ll call him.”

“Good.”

Things once again went quiet. Archie’s face reddened, the stress seeming to emanate from him despite the silence. His father definitely had some kind of hold on him. “Dinner was great. Thank you, everyone,” he suddenly announced. His chair skidded against the floor as he got up from his seat.

Everyone watched as Archie swiftly left the dining room—even before the dessert I knew Nora had made. As expected, he’d graced us with the bare minimum of his presence. But given his father’s antagonizing nature, I couldn’t say I blamed him.

? ? ?

It wasn’t long before I saw Archie again. That night, rather than ignoring me at home, he was ignoring me in front of a bunch of people at the beach. I sat on the sand across from him, yet no one would have known we lived under the same roof.

He’d also wasted no time hooking up with some girl. A blond clung to his side, laughing at his every word. How does one step off a plane in the afternoon and have a girl at the ready that same night?

Cici’s breath smelled like alcohol as she leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Archie’s back in town, I see.”

“Yep.”

After the introduction in the bathroom and the tense dinner, I was kind of hoping I could forget about him for the rest of the night. Instead, my eyes constantly wandered over. If Archie was upset about anything that had happened over dinner with his dad, you wouldn’t know it now. He stood talking and laughing, soaking up attention from not only the blond but from everyone around him.

It was interesting how you could have a miserable personality but still attract so much attention based on looks alone.

My observation of Archie was interrupted when a couple of guys entered our space.

“What’s up, Cici? Who’s your friend?” one of them asked.

“Noelle, this is my cousin, Xavier.” Cici pointed her cup toward him. “X, this is my new friend, Noelle, from New York.”

Xavier had a full-sleeve tat, a lip piercing, and wore a knit hat despite the warm weather. “Well, hello, Noelle from New York,” he said.

“Xavier actually goes to school in Boston, too,” Cici told me as I nodded his way.

My eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m at Berklee College of Music.”

“Oh cool.”

“What about you?” he asked.

“Heading to BU in the fall.”

“Nice. We should exchange numbers before the end of the summer and meet up in the city.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

I ended up spending the next half hour chatting with Xavier. He was apparently a talented bass player. He seemed nice enough, although he got a tad touchy-feely with me, occasionally placing his hand at the small of my back as we talked. I didn’t mind it too much, but it seemed a bit forward, especially considering how close his hand was to my ass. Before he left, we made informal plans to “hang out” more this summer, although I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought about that.

I spent the remainder of the evening hanging with Cici and her friends while sneaking glances at Archie. After a couple of hours, I figured I should head back. Overall, I felt good about how my first night out had gone. I’d met new people and was already managing not to be a loner, unlike the other two summers I’d spent on Whaite’s Island. And even though Archie had never bothered to acknowledge me, he had to have noticed I was there. At one point, he’d gone off somewhere with that girl, and I’d lost track of his whereabouts.

Despite my unhealthy preoccupation with him, I went home that night in a great mood. That is, until I got back to my bedroom, turned the knob on the bathroom door, and realized it was locked.

His voice was jarring. “I’m in here.”

He’s home already? “Well, nice to see you know how to use the lock,” I said.

“And once again, you didn’t knock,” he responded. “Hey, that rhymes.”

Damn it. He was right. If he hadn’t locked it, I would’ve walked right in on him again. But I really hadn’t thought he’d be home yet.

I sighed. “Just let me know when you’re out.”

Listening to the on-and-off sound of the water running, I paced in my room as I waited.

“That guy you were talking to is a douche, by the way,” he called out.

Hmmmm… “I’m surprised you noticed me there tonight.”

“What does that mean?”

The vodka lemonade Cici had poured into my cup now granted me a bit of liquid courage. “Seriously, Archie? You’ve never bothered to get to know me at all. Mostly you pretend I don’t exist.”

“Have you bothered to get to know me?” he spat back.

I guessed I really hadn’t. I’d always assumed he thought he was better than me. But maybe that’s because somehow I believed he was better than me.

The door opened.

I swallowed. Archie was so handsome. The sight of him entering my room took my breath away for a moment. He had changed into a fitted white T-shirt and gray sweatpants. He was tall, muscular, and had the angular features Disney prince faces were made of. And let’s not even talk about that thick mane of hair or the way he smelled—freaking amazing. Very few people had this effect on me, but Archie Remington was certainly at the top of the list. And that sucks.