3: Burgers & Temptation

 

Mistakes were made.

I tugged my cardigan over my chest and grimaced. When Mom had offered up her closet this morning, I didn’t take into account our…uh, size differences.

This dress, a black and white floral number, may have looked good on my mother, but on me…well, let’s just say the extra cup size wasn’t helping. Just what I needed. To show up in the crowded diner dressed like a Sunday school teacher with a naughty streak.

But show up to the diner, I did. Because what choice did I have? I couldn’t stand the guy up, could I? Especially considering my track record.

Plus, I had to admit, part of me was looking forward to seeing Wes again.

Last night, as I laid awake on the uncomfortable futon in the corner of what used to be my bedroom, I kept reliving the six years Wes and I were together. I had considered myself the luckiest girl in all of June Lake—make that all of Michigan—because Wes had chosen me. Quiet, shy, awkward me. Out of all the girls he could have had—and there were a lot of them—he’d picked me. He’d loved me.

Until I dumped him.

Sighing, I sank back against the vinyl booth and eyed the door. Maybe Wes was going to stand me up. A small, petty little way to get back at the girl who’d broken his heart.

I picked up a packet of artificial sweetener and began shaking it. Around me, the stares were obvious. In the corner, Dottie Daniels, founding member of the Blue-Haired Biddies, sipped her tea and sent poisonous looks my way. For a nice old lady, she sure did have the evil eye down.

From the counter, Dorothy Anderson stared my way. She’d been over here once already, asking for my order, and I’d told her I was waiting for someone. Her dark eyes narrowed as if she were trying to read my mind. Then, she just nodded and walked away.

Weird how you could spend your whole life in a place, then suddenly become a stranger. Not just a stranger, either. A full-blown villainess.

The bell above the entrance jingled. I looked up in time to see Wes enter, and just like that, all else faded away.

He caught sight of me and smiled, lifting his hand in a wave. I sat up straighter, tugged at my cardigan and wrung my hands in my lap. Was I smiling? It sort of felt like a smile.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he sat across from me. I tried not to notice how the springtime sun caught glints of gold in his hair. “Tim Richards’ cow went into labor last night, and there were complications.”

I nodded, swallowing passed the lump in my throat. “It’s okay. I…um…haven’t been here long.” Twenty minutes wasn’t really that long, right? “Everything turn out okay? With the cow?”

Wes nodded. “Calf was up and walking when I left.” His smile was sheepish. “Almost makes me feel guilty for the burger I’m about to order.”

I laughed as he raised his hand to get Dorothy’s attention. “But sometimes you just gotta give in to temptation.” His eyes lingered on mine.

 Clearing my throat, I glanced down at my wringing hands. “Yeah, well. Burgers, man,” was all I managed to say. Me no word so good.

“Yeah, burgers,” he repeated as Dorothy arrived.

“Afternoon, Handsome.” She flashed her pearly whites at Wes. “How’s your day going?”

“Oh, you know.” Wes treated her to his own trademark smile. “Birthing cows, saving lives. The family business.”

Dorothy laughed and swatted Wes on the arm. “That’s my boy,” she said, whipping her pen and pad from her apron. “I do have to say,” she continued, turning to me, “that I’m feeling like I’ve stepped back in time. Seeing you two kids together, it takes me back.” She smiled and my eyes darted to Wes.

He waved Dorothy off. “I can guarantee you haven’t.”

“Thank the Lord.” Dorothy laughed. “I couldn’t live without my Netflix.” She paused, chewing on the end of her pen. “What I wouldn’t give to have my waistline back, though.”

“You and me both,” I said, hoping to break through the awkwardness.

“Please, the only weight you’ve gained is peeking out of your sweater.” She raised her eyebrows toward my chest.

I pulled the cardigan closed again, feeling my face heat. From the corner of my eye, I saw Wes smirk.

“You’re looking good, though,” Dorothy added, her face softening. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

I nodded, relieved that Dorothy didn’t seem to have any simmering hostility toward me. “Yeah, I’ve been busy.” Guilt gnawed at my gut. I’d spent two summers working at the Backdoor, and she’d been a great boss. I should have known Dorothy better than to assume she’d jump on the anti-Tierney bandwagon.

“I hear you’re making it big in the city.” She smiled and there was a glimmer of pride in her eyes.

“I wouldn’t call it making it big.” I pictured my cubicle at Pencil Pushers and fought back a grimace. An associate editor with a small-scale publishing house wasn’t exactly what I thought I’d be doing with my life. “But I’m doing all right.”

Dorothy nodded and then poised her pen over her paper. “What can I get for you two?”

Once she took our orders, she walked off, leaving Wes and I alone. I picked up my roll of silverware and unwrapped it, twisting the napkin in my hand. “So…how’s the family?”

Wes stretched his arm over the back of his booth and the sunlight caught the sprinkling of hair on his forearm. He wore a pale blue button-down, the sleeves rolled up, and it was easy to imagine him in a white coat, doctoring up all the animals in June Lake.

Easy and nice.

“The family’s good,” he said and I forced my eyes back to his face. Oh, yeah. I’d asked a question. “Darcy’s graduating college this year. Mom’s sort of a wreck over it. Hell, I’m sort of a wreck over it. That’s my baby sister, you know? And she’s not a baby anymore.” He looked at me, his eyes wide. “Makes me feel old.”

“Ugh.” I shook my head. “That makes me feel old. How old was she when we first…um, I mean. She had to be like seven or so, right?”

Wes nodded, graciously ignoring my allusion to our history. “Eight, actually. You’d hardly recognize her now.” He smiled and the pride he had in his little sister was evident.

“Wow.” I pictured the little blond girl who followed me everywhere for the first two years of my relationship with Wes. She’d become like a kid sister to me, but once I left for college, we rarely saw each other. “I can’t believe she’s graduating from college.”

“Time flies, huh?” Wes’s eyes found mine.

The restaurant full of people faded away. “Yeah, it does.”

***

The rest of lunch passed in a blur. We talked and laughed and reminisced about the past until Dorothy brought us our checks. Wes insisted on paying for my burger, and as we headed outside, a pleasant warmth radiated through me.

“This was nice,” I said as we stood on the sidewalk, getting around to goodbye. I didn’t know what to do with my hands and so I tugged at my sweater for the one-hundredth time.

Wes smiled, holding my eyes with his. Something deep inside the golden-hazel depths flashed bright, and the ground shifted beneath my feet. “It was good seeing you,” he said, oblivious to the mini-earthquake. “Don’t be a stranger.”

I nodded, thinking that this didn’t feel like strangers. This felt like picking up where we left off. This felt like—

No.

I tore my gaze away. I couldn’t afford to think like that. The absolute last thing I needed was to go down that road again.

But it’d been such a good road for so long…

I lifted my eyes to find Wes still looking at me, his eyes warm with memory.

My heart thudded crookedly as I tumbled headfirst down Reminiscent Road. Detours from First Kiss Lane to Proposal Park had me stepping forward before logic could stop me. “I—“

“Tierney?” A shrill voice halted me in my tracks. I turned just as a talon-like hand closed around my forearm. “It is you!”

A pair of colossal blue eyes blinked at me and I instantly willed the sky to open up and strike me with lightning.

If the universe was trying to tell me Wes was a bad idea, I’d call this move a win.

“Lola, hey.” I rustled up a smile, and peeled her hand from my arm. “How are you?”

Lola “Crazy Eyes” Sparks, head cheerleader, Prom Queen, Wes’s ex-girlfriend, stood in front of me, as beautiful and unhinged as ever.  “Oh, just fantastic!” She tossed her cascade of dark hair over her shoulder. Her gaze flitted to Wes. With a lifted brow, she continued. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“What? No.” Wes waved her off with a level of dismissiveness that I would have found insulting if it weren’t for the uncomfortable number of stares we’d accumulated. If I looked behind me, I bet I’d find the noses of everyone inside the Backdoor pressed against the window.

There’s no place like home, I thought, willing myself to disappear. What I wouldn’t give for the anonymity of Port Agnes right now.

“Tierney’s in town for her dad’s birthday,” Wes continued as Lola crossed her arms over her chest and stared. “We were catching up.”

She pursed her lips and tapped the toe of one of her high heel shoes. “I bet you were.”

A stare-off ensued. Tension clouded the air around us. What in Hitchcock’s name had I walked into?

The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable number of seconds before I tapped out. “Okay, well.” Pushing between them, I started up the walk. “It was good to see you, Wes. You, too, Lola. But I really must be goi—“

“Oh!” Lola sparked to life, her talons reaching for my arm again. “I almost forgot to tell you!”

“Ahh, uh…” I spun away from her grasp. That manicure was lethal. “Yes?”

 “I’m engaged!” She held out her hand to show off a chunky, sparkling diamond.

So, that was it. Wes and Lola must have…

Wes heard my question before I asked it. The subtle shake of his head and frantic widening of his eyes gave me my answer. Relief whooshed over me. Stupid, sweet relief.

Shoving all fuzzy, nostalgic what-if feelings deep, deep down, I flashed Lola a smile. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you!” She waved her hand in the air, sunlight glinting off a rock the size of Pluto. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s the lucky one.” I took an ever-so-subtle step back. Lucky if he manages to survive.

“You’re too sweet.” She reached out and squeezed my arm, preventing my escape. Again. “Oh! And hey!”

“Y-yes?” I tensed, like a mouse when a hawk flies overhead. She was going to eat me alive. I just knew it.

“My engagement party is tonight!” she said, as if it had anything to do with…well, anything.

“Okay. Have fun.” I tried moving again, but her grip was firm. If I looked down, I’d probably find blood pooling at my feet. Like a scene from Psycho or something.

“You should come!” Her eyes were like two jumbo marbles inside her unnervingly pretty face. “Everyone will be there.” She glanced at Wes before adding, “Lots of time to catch up.”

My brain tingled, suspicion like a thousand bitey spiders. I eyed Lola. Why would she invite me to her engagement party? To say we were frienemies was an exaggeration. She straight-up hated me. Had from the moment Wes asked me out.

“You know you want to,” she sang, batting her fake lashes. “Music, dancing, free booze…it’ll be a blast!”

I looked from Lola to Wes. “I’m sure everyone would love to see you,” he said in the most unhelpful way possible.

No. No. Say no, my brain screamed, even as my mouth gave in to peer pressure. “Sure!”

As soon as I said it, I wanted to slap myself across the face. No good could possibly come of this.

But, hey, at least the booze would be free.