Page 10 of Beautifully Used
“Not anymore,” she said softly and twisted her fingers together. For some reason, my insides swelled with giddiness and excitement.
“You broke up?” My voice cracked a bit, making me sound like an eager fourteen-year-old.
“Yeah.”
“How come? Or is that top secret information?”
She sat silent for a moment, staring out the window as though she searched the air for the answers. Shit, maybe it was something she didn’t want to talk about, especially if he had dumped her.
“No, it’s not a secret.” She brushed a few stray hairs off her face that the air conditioner in the truck kept blowing there. “He didn’t want to leave Oregon when I moved back to San Diego last year, so we decided it was better to just part ways. We weren’t all that serious to start with, and he did too many drugs for my taste.”
“Why’d you go camping with him then? I mean, if he did drugs and you didn’t like it.”
“I’d gone to appease my girlfriend. She sort of begged me to go because she wanted to be with her boyfriend and didn’t want to be the only girl in the group.”
I had a hard time keeping a straight face. I wanted to smile about her breaking up with her boyfriend. I decided a change of subject might be a good idea. “Why English?”
“What?”
“Why are you majoring in English? I thought you were studying music.”
“I was. Am. Music is my minor. But I love writing. I realized that when I tried to write a song and it turned into a short story instead. So, I decided to make English my major with music as my secondary.”
I wondered what sort of stories a girl like Gabrielle might conjure up. Would they be sweet and innocent like she seemed to be, or would a wild side come out on paper, allowing her to be someone completely different? We rode in silence the rest of the way into town, my mind on the girl sitting beside me. I knew I’d blown my chances with her last year, but for some reason, I was still pleased as peach pie on a summer evening that she no longer had a boyfriend. I turned the truck into the parking lot, feeling a little better about being stuck with Gabrielle now that I knew a little more about her and we’d cleared the air. I didn’t know much, but I knew some. And that was a start.
Chapter 8
Gabrielle
* * *
I stared out the window, remembering the real reason Don and I had broken up. It didn’t have anything to do with me moving back to San Diego or him doing drugs. He’d gotten tired of never getting anywhere with me. At least that’s what he’d said. Doing nothing but kissing all the time had lost its appeal. I didn’t want to give myself to anybody until I was certain about how they felt about me, or how I felt about them, and I just hadn’t felt all that much for him.
I wanted to think about something else, and as I continued to stare out the window, my thoughts drifted back to the way I had betrayed Lena when I’d slipped up about her whereabouts to Troy. Sometimes, the guilt from that was very overwhelming, and I wondered how she could possibly still want to be friends with me. I was thankful and so very glad that she did.
Caught off guard when Brodie turned into a parking lot, my body accidentally fell against him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to turn so sharply,” he said as he helped me straighten. I quickly righted myself, noting the gentleness of his hand against my arm. A tingle ran down my spine, and I remembered how it had felt when he’d laid his hand over my breast that time he’d kissed me. It had been a completely different feeling then. The way I’d reacted, you’d think he’d grabbed me somewhere else. It wasn’t that it was bad. It did happen while he was kissing me, but it had been completely unexpected. I hadn’t been ready for it. I knew from what Lena had told me that most girls jumped at the chance to be with Brodie. I suppose I shouldn’t have been so hard on him, knowing that’s what he always expected. Why would he treat me any differently? I still felt a little embarrassed about that virgin remark I’d made. Of all the stupid comparisons I could have used, why did I have to pick that one? So what if I were a virgin? I mean, I technically was. But the fact that it had been practically stolen from me a long time ago was something he didn’t need to know. Nobody needed to know that.
“You have that list Lena gave you?” Brodie asked after we’d gotten out of the truck and he’d locked it up.
“Yeah, right here.” I pulled a slip of paper out of my purse and waved it at him.
“Let me see.” Brodie stood a few feet away from me studying the list. This was really the first time I’d gotten a look at him since earlier in the kitchen. His now dry hair hung down close to his eyes, and he pushed it back with this hand. It didn’t help though as the curls settled back onto his forehead. He wore a black t-shirt that said, “Bass. Like a guitar but cooler.” His charcoal grey shorts hung low on his waist and stopped just below his knees. He’d donned black leather Reef flip-flops, and I bet they had a bottle opener on the bottom side but I didn’t ask. He glanced up from the list and scanned the area. “This way,” he said, pointing to his left and starting to walk quickly in that direction. His stride was twice as long as mine, so I practically had to run just to stay close behind him. Then he suddenly stopped walking and turned his head toward me. He didn’t say anything, but when I caught up, he faced forward and began walking again. This time a bit slower.
It wasn’t a particularly large downtown area, certainly not as big as I had expected, but the sidewalk was busy with people window-shopping and eating ice cream; or frozen yogurt I guess since we’d just passed a “Yummy’s Frozen Yogurt” store sign a few feet back. The sun kissed my cheeks and warmed my skin. I suddenly wished I’d worn another one of the sundresses I’d brought with me instead of the capri jeans and tank. Except for the issues when getting in and out of Brodie’s truck, the dress would have been a much better choice as far as keeping my legs cool.
We came to a store opening and stopped at the entrance. The sign outside read, Lucy’s Party Shop. The window decorations held an array of frilly, lacy things perfect for topping tables for weddings and parties.
I looked at the list I held. “This is the first store on her list. I think we might find some of those things for the tables here.”
Brodie made some sort of grumbling noise and stepped through the door. We came to a table covered with lace, ribbons, and pearls.
“Ooooh. I think Lena would love something like this on each table.” Brodie’s eyes went to the vase I was admiring.
“Maybe.”
“Oh, and look…” I couldn’t help cooing at the display we stood in front of with all the lace and stuff for decorating tables.
Brodie laced a string of pearls through his fingers. “Pearls. Yes.” He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I felt my cheeks flush pink, remembering yesterday and the underwear encounter in the kitchen.
