Page 28 of Anyone But Her

"Honey, did you turn on the security system when we left?" my mom asks my dad.

"Yes, dear. You ask me this every time we go out of town and the answer is always yes."

"I was just checking. What about the flowers? Did you ask the neighbor to water?"

"Yes, but if you're worried about it, call and remind her."

The two of them continue to talk. Cal is focused on his phone, texting someone. I keep my eyes on the road, trying not to think about Luke being right next to me.

My dad turns a corner and I feel Luke's leg bump against mine.

"Sorry," he mutters.

"It's fine," I say, but it's actually not because now my heart's beating really fast. We're both wearing shorts so when we bumped legs I felt his skin against mine. I felt the heat of his body. The strength of his muscles.

My dad turns again and this time it's my leg that bumps into Luke's.

"Sorry," I say, giving him a quick smile.

He chuckles. "Don't worry about it." He slides his leg over until our knees touch. "How about this? I'll keep it there for support for when we turn. That way we won't keep bumping into each other."

"Is that really necessary?" I ask, jokingly.

"I'm pretty sure you bruised me on that last one, so yeah."

I laugh. "I didn't know I injured you. Sorry."

"I'll survive, although it might affect my golf game. If I don't play well today, you'll know why." He smiles and my eyes get caught on his dimples.

Damn, he's hot. Why didn't I know he was this hot? He's been friends with Cal forever. I should've looked for photos of him online. Or I should've looked at that magazine he was in. Cal has a copy in his room. He asked if I wanted to see it but I was in a hurry that day and didn't bother to look at it. Now I wish I had so I would've been better prepared for today. I would've done something with my hair and put some makeup on.

I guess it doesn't matter. Luke doesn't care how I look. He's not interested in me that way.

"We're here," my dad says as he parks. "Everyone out. And hurry up. We're late."

"They're not gonna give our time away, Dad," Cal says.

I forgot Cal was sitting next to me. Did he see Luke's leg pressed against mine? He must not have or he would've yelled at him to stop touching his sister. Or maybe he wouldn't care, knowing Luke isn't interested in me.

"On a nice day like today," my dad says as we walk to the clubhouse, "they won't tolerate lateness. They'll give our time to someone else."

"They'll hold it for someone like you," Luke says. "You're a legend. They want to tell people you golfed at their course."

My dad looks at Luke and smiles. "No need to suck up to me. I already like you, kid. I have for years."

We play the first nine holes, then take a short break. Cal and my dad go get some cold drinks while my mom takes off to find a bathroom. That leaves Luke and me waiting with the golf cart.

I'm nervous being alone with him. I'm tempted to look at my phone and pretend he isn't there but I also kind of want to talk to him, except I don't know what to talk about.

"You looked good out there," he says.

He thinks I look good? I look terrible, like I just got out of the shower, braided my hair and left for the day. How could he possibly think I look good?

No, wait. He meant my golf game, not my appearance. Duh. What is wrong with me?

"Thanks!" I look out at the course. "You looked good too."

"I struggle with my short game, just like Cal. I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I'd take any advice you could give me about putting. You're definitely better than I am at it."

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