Love Next Door (Lakeside 1)

I check the time, worried I’m going to be late for my date, but it’s only five. When I was growing up, Tawny’s family always ate dinner at four thirty because her mom didn’t like to eat after dark. “What? No. I wouldn’t have answered the phone if I was having sex. And Van the Man is a terrible nickname.”

“Not if he is the man.” I can hear her brows waggling. “So? What the heck happened? The last message you sent was yesterday night at ten.”

“We ended up taking cover and waiting out the storm.”

“In the back seat of your truck?” Allie asks, voice vibrating with excitement.

“I would not have sex in my dad’s truck!” I shout and then peek out the window to make sure no one’s around to hear me. “I’m not in high school anymore. Back seat sexing is not in the cards. Besides, it’s awkward as hell.”

“So you waited out the storm. Then what?”

“We went back to his place.”

“For heaven’s sake, Dee, will you stop making us drag it out of you? Did you or didn’t you ride the Van Express?”

“The Van Express? What is this, high school?” It certainly reminds me of the days when we used to go on dates and then tell each other all the gritty details—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the disappointing.

“Stop evading and answer the damn question,” Allie demands.

“Am I on speakerphone?” The last thing I want to do is tell everyone in town about last night’s sexcapades.

“Yeah, but we’re inside my house,” Tawny assures me. “No one can hear you except me and Allie . . . and my cat, Narbles, but your secret is safe with her since she can only communicate in high-pitched yowls.”

“I did ride the Van Express. More than once, actually.”

“Yes! I knew it! You owe me twenty bucks!” Tawny’s shrill voice forces me to pull the phone away from my ear.

“You two made a bet?” I chuckle.

“As if you’re surprised. I figured you wouldn’t make it past third base; obviously you’ve changed since high school,” Allie mutters, clearly annoyed that she didn’t win.

“Are you slut shaming me?”

“What? No! Of course not. I’m just saying, you made Tucker wait forever before you let him get past third base.”

“He was relentless, and not worth losing my virginity to.”

“But this sex was good?” Tawny shifts the topic back to Van, probably because talking about Tucker always put me in a sour mood back in the day, and nothing has changed.

“Mind-blowingly fabulous, actually.”

“Does this mean we’re getting together later tonight so you can share all the juicy details then?”

“Uh, detail sharing will have to wait; I’m having dinner with Van tonight.”

“Like a date? Is he taking you out somewhere? Are you going to the Pearl Tavern? I hear they have amazing steak, but it’s, like, sixty dollars for a tiny little piece. I mean, it’s wrapped in bacon, but they apparently don’t even have barbecue sauce or A1 either.”

This time when I laugh, I snort.

“Seriously, Allie?” Tawny chastises. “Everyone knows if the steak is really good, you don’t even need the barbecue sauce.”

“Well, obviously I’ve never had steak that good, so excuse me for liking it with barbecue sauce. At least I don’t use ketchup!”

I hear the sound of shuffling in the driveway and peek out the window. I catch a shadow, but whoever it is disappears around the side of the house. I worry it’s one of Billy’s friends. I haven’t seen my brother at all since last night, and I have to assume that he’s sleeping off his hangover. “Hey, can I call you back? I think there’s someone here.”

“Tomorrow night you have plans with me and Allie—seven o’clock, drinks at my place.”

“Tomorrow at seven. Got it.”

“And there will be details. We’ll be worse than the football team after a keg party.”

I make a fake gagging sound. “I sincerely hope not. Those guys were always gross times a million after one of their postgame keggers. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Have fun tonight!”

I end the call, smiling to myself. It’s nice to have Tawny and Allie back in my life. They were always such great friends. Even when I decided to go away to college, they were supportive of my decision.

I fling open the door to the trailer, intent on checking on Billy and getting ready for my date with Van, when Tucker, of all people, comes staggering around the side of the house. I used to think he was so gorgeous. Everyone did. He was a classic all-American football player who got good grades and was prom-king material, went to college upstate, and came home all the time to brag to his friends about all the fun he was having, and yet he still ended up back here. Ended up with my frenemy.

Except maybe appearances are far more deceiving than I first believed them to be.