"You have a friend?!?"
A loud noise exploded from the corner of the room. Both women turned to look at Dominic who was quickly hunting for a cloth, having sprayed his mouthful of drink over most of the floor. His shoulders shook with mirth. Gemma shot him a dagger stare. He countered with a charming wink.
Ignoring her son"s vulgar display, Penelope turned back to her youngest with narrowed eyes.
"Gemma, what"s going on?"
"Well... I took your advice and I... I"ve made a friend."
"Really?" Penelope"s surprised smile made Gemma blush.
"Yeah, I mean, it"s just recent, but..."
"Sweetheart, I"m proud of you."
Gemma returned her mother"s smile before feeling her insides turn to Jell-O.
"Well, tell me about her. What"s her name?"
Gemma licked her lips slowly and looked at the floor.
How am I supposed to tell her it"s a him?
She saw the scene play out in slow motion. Her mother"s smile would slide from her face, her brows would crease, then by some form of magic she"d suddenly be wearing a Gestapo uniform and pacing the kitchen with a horse whip in her hand, slapping it against her palm as she interrogated her daughter.
Gulping down her fear she tried to think of what Ruby always said.
"It"s not a date, Mom. I don"t even like him that way. It"s just a bunch of us going to the movies."
That excuse worked for Ruby because she defined popularity. She was pretty, teasingly evasive and could turn any situation into a party. Everyone at school liked her.
Gemma cringed. Her mother would never buy an excuse like Ruby"s from her. It was a miracle in itself that even one person was insane enough to invite her out for an evening!
"Um..." Gemma inspected her boots.
"Are you talking about Courtney?" Ruby bounced through the archway.
Gemma"s head shot up with a grateful smile.
"Courtney?"
"Yeah, Mom, Courtney Taylor. She"s a sweetheart." Ruby frowned at Dom"s clean up attempts before stepping over him and heading for the fridge.
Gemma"s insides stopped dancing as she watched her mother beam.
"Yeah, she is really nice."
"Good girl, Gem. So what are you two up to tonight?"
"Um..."
"You guys should go check out that new movie I was telling you about. Courtney seemed pretty keen." Ruby unscrewed the lid of her bottled water.
"Yeah," Gemma pasted on a quick smile. "We"ll probably do that and maybe grab some dinner?" She spotted Ruby"s thumbs up from behind her mother"s back.
"That sounds nice." Penelope squeezed Gemma"s shoulder and smiled. "I"m proud of you for being brave, sweetie."
"Thanks." She couldn"t quite keep her smile in place. Thankfully her mother didn"t notice. Instead she placed a quick peck on her cheek.
"Now remember, keep conversation light and shallow. As soon as you feel it heading in the wrong direction ask her a question about herself. Keep her talking as much as you can."
"I will, Mom."
Gemma waved her family goodbye and headed for the garage. The dancing b.u.t.terflies started up again at the idea of meeting Harrison. Underneath their playful fluttering, a thick stew began to bubble. She had just lied to her mother. Sure, it wasn"t her fault that her mother had a.s.sumed her friend was a girl and it wasn"t her fault that Ruby had jumped in with the world"s best excuse. Either way she had given her mother the wrong impression and her mother had believed her. It felt so wrong, yet she knew if she"d told the truth she wouldn"t be heading south for the evening. If her mother knew the truth she would probably be buying a dead bolt for her daughter"s bedroom door.
Harrison hitched up his jeans and pulled his jacket straight as he walked towards the small Italian restaurant. He was surprised by how nervous he felt. Gemma had been skirting him in the hallways all week. Some days she"d give him a timid smile, other days her back would stiffen and she"d walk past him like a robot. Yesterday had been one of those days and he was doubtful she"d show tonight. He had wanted to text and confirm, but he didn"t have her number.
Ignoring the brewing disappointment, he paused at the door to prepare himself and was surprised to find it pulled away from him.
"Oh." Gemma stood bug eyed in the doorway. "I... you are here."
She looked ready to go into cardiac arrest. The nerves were pulsating from her like a tidal wave. An easy smile stretched across his lips.
"You look pretty."
Her blush was fierce and she ran a hand down her ponytail. It"s not that she"d done anything extra special, he just couldn"t help saying it. It was the truth after all.
"Shall we?" He stepped into her s.p.a.ce, forcing her to turn and re-enter the restaurant. There was no way he was going to let her flee now that she had actually shown up.
He placed his hand on the small of her back as they were led to a corner booth at the back of the restaurant. Harrison smiled at Gemma as they slid in opposite each other. Out of habit, he turned to survey his surroundings.
The tablecloths were checkered red and white with low candles as centerpieces. A family of five was two booths away laughing over their meal. An old couple that looked as though they dined there regularly was settled comfortably into an intimate conversation. The waiters flittered around the crowded room serving meals with smiles that begged for good tips. It was a welcoming family atmosphere.
"I"ve never been in here before. It"s nice and cozy."
Harrison grinned. "That"s why my mom loves it so much."
Her smile was brief then lost behind the menu card. Harrison stayed quiet in order to let her choose. He always got the same thing when he came here so didn"t bother opening his menu.
The young male waiter took their order with a cheerful smile and trotted off to deliver it.
Harrison leaned back in his chair with narrowed eyes.
"You"re not one of those girls who lives on carrot sticks and low fat cottage cheese are you?"
She smiled. "I"m afraid so."
"But why? You"re skinny... in a good way. You don"t need to count your calories."
Her teeth grabbed her lip as she fiddled with her cutlery. "It"s not that. I"m not allowed to eat junk food."
His brow wrinkled with amused confusion as he leaned on the table.
"My mother"s really into nutrition. She"s a doctor scientist person and spends all day studying diseases and genetics and stuff. She keeps harping on about how a lot of illness can be controlled by diet. Food is fuel. Her motto is, the better the fuel, the better the engine will run." Gemma shrugged. "It"s a car a.n.a.logy."
His smile grew as he watched her throughout the explanation. The way her nose twitched, the way her long fingers fidgeted with the fork then abruptly stopped to smooth out the tablecloth. She was adorable.
"Well, I think I feel sorry for you."
"Don"t. I haven"t been sick."
"Ever?"
"Never ever."
"Not even a cold?"
She shook her head with a grin that disappeared when the waiter arrived. She looked down at the table as he placed iced water in front of her and a soda in front of Harrison. Her mumbled thanks was only just audible.
He wanted to ask what made her so afraid of others, but took a sip of his drink instead. Gemma placed her gla.s.s back on the table and fiddled with her straw.
"So." She cleared her throat. "Where were you born?"
"Boulder, Colorado."
"Oh cool. It"s pretty there, right?"
He nodded. "I think so. I can"t remember. We only lived there for two years. That"s bordering on a record too. My mom likes to move a lot."
"I wonder why."
Harrison shrugged. "Who knows. She..." He paused the way he always did when broaching this subject. One look at Gemma"s sincere interest had his lips flapping before he could stop them. "My Dad died before I was born and it really screwed her up. She"s a great mom, but I don"t think she"s ever fully gotten over his death. We never talk about him and when I was little, things would set her off real easy. She"d go into this funk for a like a week and then we"d move."
"Man, that sucks."
"It"s gotten better since she met Bryan. He"s helped slow her down a little."
"Do you like him?"
"Yeah, he"s awesome. I love having them around, although Rosie can drive me crazy."
"Sisters do that."
They both grinned. Gemma shifted in her seat as the waiter appeared with their meals. Harrison looked at her chicken salad with no dressing and grimaced. He"d take his fully loaded pizza over vegetables any day of the week.
Gemma glanced at his pizza. He thought he glimpsed a tinge of envy before she prodded her salad. Part of him wanted to offer her some, but tempting her seemed a little unfair. Although, it would be a good chance to see how strong her will was.
He was just opening his mouth to offer when she interrupted his train of thought.
"So I overheard Rosie say that her dad"s a mechanic. He"s trying to start up his own business or something?"
"Yeah." Harrison took a large bite of pizza and answered around his food. "He"s opening a garage to restore old cars. He helped me restore mine. He"s got a thing for cla.s.sics."
"Well, you have to love the cla.s.sics." Gemma"s eyes lit giving Harrison another reason to like her.
"What condition was the Stingray in when you got it?"
"Total junk, but Bryan had faith. It took us eight months to get it road worthy."
"Wow. That is so cool. I"d love to do that one day. Your car is so s.e.xy." She grinned then blushed. "What"s her name?"
Harrison stopped chewing and pulled a long string of cheese away from his mouth.
"Her name?"
"You haven"t named your car? She"s beautiful! How could you not name her?"
"I... I didn"t pick you for a name your vehicle kinda gal. You saying you"ve named your Ducati."
Her eyes went dreamy. "He"s my black stallion. I usually call him Beauty. Dom always refers to him as the beast."
"Black Beauty." Harrison nodded. "Nice."
Gemma crunched her lettuce and took another sip of water then gave him a pointed look.
"Okay fine. I call her Cory, but if you tell anyone that, I"ll have to kill you."
She giggled. "Good luck with that."
"True." He shook his head with a chuckle and took another bite.
"I wouldn"t say anything."
Her voice was serious and Harrison couldn"t help feeling that there was more to her statement than he was catching.
Not wanting to lose the tone of their conversation, Harrison launched into an animated story about the first time he took his car for a spin and nearly crashed it into a tree. Gemma was in fits of giggles before long.
The dinner had gone better than expected. Conversation seemed to come easy for them, although Harrison could still feel a quiet caution in his companion. Leaving the restaurant had been ridiculous with Gemma insisting they go separately to avoid being seen together. He tried not to let the request bug him, but was irritated nonetheless. He"d just had dinner with the coolest girl he"d ever met, what did he have to hide?
She did allow him to drive her to the beach instead of following him on her bike. That had taken some persuasion, but he was glad he put the effort in. She spent the whole trip in the car telling him about her sixteenth birthday and buying her Ducati. He loved the animated Gemma and wished others at school could see her like this. Their vicious gossip was so off the mark.
Harrison pulled the car to a stop and let the engine rumble as Gemma finished her story. He flicked off the ignition and they sat in sudden silence.
The breezy casualness that had floated them through the evening disappeared as expectations began to build. Harrison took his time to study the girl beside him. She was so beautiful. The urge to reach across and slide his hand over her shoulder and up her long neck was intense.
He knew the move would destroy all progress made, so he clenched his fist tight and looked out the windscreen.