"I want to tell him no. I'd rather be with you. Just us, without him. But then he'll know something's going on."
"Then suggest we all go. We've been doing that since I got here. He won't think anything of it."
I'm lying to Nate, my best friend, but he's forcing me to. If he could just accept that I'm dating Brad we could avoid all this. Nate should be supporting me. He's always telling me to do what makes me happy, and I'm finally doing it. For the first time in my life, I'm doing what makes me happy.
Chapter Seventeen
Nate
"Riley, where are you?" I ask when she picks up.
"At a coffee shop."
"With Brad?"
"Yeah. We had lunch here."
"Lunch? It's after four."
"We stayed for coffee and have just been hanging out."
"I didn't think you guys would be gone that long. Are you going home soon?"
"I don't know. Why?"
"I want to take you out tonight. Maybe around seven?"
"Sure. I'll tell Brad."
"Not with Brad. I want it to just be us."
"Why?"
"Because we need to talk. Something's off between us. I know it's my fault, but I want to fix it."
"Talking about it won't fix it. We just need time."
"Riley, please. It's just dinner."
"I don't think it's a good idea. It'll feel like we're on a date."
"So we can never go out together again? That doesn't even make sense. We've been going out together for years, and now we can't?"
"It's different now."
"It's not. Nothing's changed."
"Everything's changed. You see me as more than a friend, which makes things awkward."
"It won't be awkward. I promise."
"Nate, I'm sorry, but I just don't feel comfortable with us going out like we're a couple, which is what it feels like now. I'm not saying we can't ever hang out again, just the two of us, but not yet. It's too soon."
I sigh, frustrated with Riley and angry at myself for telling her how I felt. I should've just kept quiet.
"So you'll only go if Brad goes?"
"Or you could invite someone else. Maybe Tara?"
"She's busy tonight."
"Then maybe we shouldn't go out."
"I need to. I've been stuck at home all day. We'll just take Brad along, if he's good with that. We'll pick you up at seven."
A half hour later, Brad gets home. I'm in the living room flipping through channels on the TV. I'm so bored. I should've been out with Riley all day, and I would've been if I hadn't told her how I felt about her.
"How'd it go?" I ask.
"Good." He walks past me.
"Hold on." I get up from the couch. "What'd you guys do?"
"Had lunch, then coffee. How about you? Do any job searching?"
"Yeah. Didn't find much. Did Riley ask you about tonight?"
"Dinner? Yeah. Works for me. I'm gonna go change."
"Sorry about having to drag you along, but Riley doesn't want to be alone with me." I shake my head. "I really fucked this up."
"It'll get better in a week or so. For now, maybe just back off. Give her some space. You think you'll go out with Tara again?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
"If Riley sees you with someone else, you'll have a better chance of thing's going back to normal."
"Did she tell you that?"
"No, but think about it. If you're with someone else, she'll feel like you've moved on. She'll be more comfortable being around you again."
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not that into Tara."
"Then go out with someone else."
"I don't want anyone else. I want Riley. I love her. She's the perfect girl for me. Or she was."
"You have to stop thinking of her that way and start thinking about someone else. If you don't like Tara, there are plenty of other girls. Why don't you and I go out this week and see if we can find you a girl?"
"What about you? You could use a date. Then maybe we could double."
"I don't want to get involved with someone, knowing I'll be gone in a few months."
"It's no different for me. I'll be leaving too. C'mon, Brad. Do this with me. Let's go out and find some girls."
He rubs his hand over his jaw. "I don't know, Nate. I'd really rather be single this summer."
"I'm not asking you to find your future wife. Just go out and find a girl. Go on a few dates."
"Let me think about it."
My mom walks in. "Brad, you're home."
"Yeah. Did you need something?"
She goes over to him. "Have you talked to your mother today?"
"No. Why?"
"She's coming here in a few weeks. Along with your father."
"Why?" Brad asks in a suspicious tone.
"They want to see you. They miss you. It'll be nice to see them, don't you think?"
Something's going on. It must be bad news, bad enough Brad's parents have to tell him in person. There's no other reason they would come here. They're both snobby and think this town is too trashy to visit.
"This isn't about missing me," Brad says to my mom. "I've only been gone a few weeks. What's this really about?"
"Sheryl didn't tell me much. She just said they'd be coming for a visit. Oh, and she mentioned she has some mail to give you."
"Probably the packets from med school. They said they'd be sending me stuff."
My mom smiles. "I'm so excited they're coming! It'll be the first time they'll see the house!"
Our house is old and small. My aunt and uncle will hate it. They'll make rude comments that'll hurt my mom's feelings. I really wish they weren't coming.
"Maybe you should fly home for the weekend," I tell Brad. "Save them the trip."
"Don't be silly, Nate," my mom says. "It'll be nice to have them here. We can show them around town. Take them out. It'll be fun!"
She clearly can't remember how snobby her sister can be. Then again, now that my uncle gambled away all their money, maybe Aunt Sheryl won't be so snobby anymore.
"I'm gonna go call her," Brad says, taking off for his room.
When I he's gone, I say to my mom, "What happened?"
"Nothing," she says as she walks to the kitchen.
I follow her in there. "Aunt Sheryl wouldn't show up here unless she had bad news. Something she wouldn't tell Brad over the phone. So what is it? Are they getting divorced? Losing the house? Did she find out he drained all their accounts?"
My mom picks up a rag and sprays the counter with cleaner. She always cleans when she's hiding something, and not a normal clean, but speed-cleaning like she's doing now, wiping the counters in fast circular motions.
"Honey, why don't you go out and do something? You've been in the house all day."