Page 14 of Even in the Dark

Yeah, because he’s been spending every free second outside of school and football practice with his tutor. At this point, I’msure he’s the one doing most of the “tutoring”. Only not in any subjects related to academics.

“You haven’t missed much, lover-boy,” I tell him, tracing the rim of my empty milkshake glass with the end of my straw.

We talk for a bit, and Caroline even makes an effort to join in. But the entire time, I can’t help feeling like an outsider. A third wheel watching from the sidelines as Seb leans into her every few minutes to kiss her cheek or say something in a low voice that lights up her face and makes her suddenly look way less self-conscious. They’re oddly perfect for each other, and it makes me ache with a weird blend of envy and melancholy. Which makes no sense since I wanted this relationship with Gavin specifically because it’s superficial.

When Seb suggests we head to Xavier’s house after we pay our bills, I tell him I can’t—that I made plans to have a girls movie night with my mother. Which is a lie. Obviously. The truth is, I don’t feel like being around him anymore when Caroline is present. I’m flat out jealous and I hate it. It’s not a feeling I’m all that familiar with, and definitely not one I’m okay shuffling into my carefully curated deck of emotions. I just want to be alone right now. Take a break from the performance that is my daily life for a few hours.

I can tell Gavin is disappointed. He wants to go. Not because he’s close with Seb or Xavier, but because he’s got an ongoing case of FOMO. Honestly, it’s probably the main reason he swooped in the second I broke up with Justin, and the Queen Bee boyfriend position suddenly opened up.

We barely talk on the car ride back to my place.

“You want to go park someplace for a bit?” Gavin glances over at me, then back at the road.

He means do I want to go fool around in an empty parking lot in his car. Subtlety is another one of Gavin’s lacking traits.

“No, I should get back.”

He nods, turning up the music. And that’s pretty much the extent of our conversation until we pull into my driveway, and he gets out to walk me to the side entrance. As soon as we get within touching distance of the door, I lean down and start unstrapping my pink Valentino shoes.

“What are you doing?” Gavin peers down as I grip his arm for balance.

“Taking off my shoes.” I toss them on the woven mat centered along the wide doorstep.

“Why? Your legs look killer in those shoes.” Gavin wiggles his eyebrows at me in a way that would probably be cute if I was into him, but instead just looks ridiculous.

“Yeah, well, not killer enough to justify my toes feeling like they’ve been squeezed in an angle vice for the past hour and a half.”

He laughs, like I said it to be funny, and then pulls me up against his body. “You sure you have to bail?” he pleads, his lips grazing my ear. “You know Xave’s house is always a good time. We can just go for an hour, then come back here and hang.”

I shake my head, pulling away from his embrace. “Sorry. My mom and I made girls’ movie night plans a few days ago. It’s kind of a thing.”

“Alright,” he says after a beat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He kisses me, cradling his hand around my head, fingers weaving through my hair as he settles in for a full-on make-out session. But I pull away after a couple of seconds and he makes this kind of humming sound in the back of his throat as he finally pulls back.

“You’re so smokin’ hot.” He grins.

I smile, brushing my hair back over my shoulder. And with that, he turns and walks away, leaving me alone on the narrow porch.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

Just then, the door opens and my mom steps outside. “Oh! Scarlett. You’re back early.” Her gaze glides from me to Gavin’s retreating car and back again. “Everything okay?”

Cromwell, our small fluff ball of a dog suddenly comes hurtling through mom’s legs, making her stumble forward. We both laugh as he dashes down the steps and out onto the lawn, yipping after a seagull that swoops out of his reach. Mom turns back to me. “So? Is everything okay? I thought you’d be out for a while. It’s still pretty early.”

“Everything’s good,” I assure her. “Gavin just had a family thing he had to go to.”

“Oh, well, that’s—” She stops short as she shifts to look at something over my shoulder. “Oh! Hi, honey,” she says. “I didn’t see you there.”

I turn. And there, slouched in one of the Adirondack chairs on the small, terraced seating area by the Braun’s house a few feet away, is Dylan. He’s leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees—far enough away that I get how I missed him earlier, but not far enough that he wouldn’t have overheard the entire conversation between Gavin and me. And then the proof of my lie to get out of hanging with him for the rest of the night, thanks to the brief exchange just now with my mother. Clear proof I was lying to my own boyfriend, because there is obviously no girl’s movie night keeping me home.

It gets my back up, because it feels like he’s stolen a glimpse at a side of me I don’t want anyone to see. That lie was the kind that hides a weakness, and I pride myself on never showing weakness. Especially to a guy.Especiallya guy like Dylan Braun, who, like I said, already has so many red flags flying high.

My eyes narrow on him. “What are you doing out here?”

No one ever uses that seating area; a few flat stones by the Braun’s mud room door, with a couple of chairs and someplanters. Pretty sure it’s meant to be decorative. And the guy’s got a stunning back yard to brood in, with three long tiered decks, two different outdoor fireplaces, lush couches, and views down to the rolling ocean and the horizon beyond that. Yet he chose to lurk a few feet from my house, right by the door.

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