Crash

“Nonsense,” he said, handing over a bucket sized sundae. “Ice cream makes any situation, especially this kind, at least fifty percent better.” The cashier handed him a spoon which he jabbed into the mountain of whipped cream, waiting for me. Cars were lined up behind us, but he obviously wasn’t moving until I took a bite.

I rolled my eyes and dug in. It was just a spoonful of whipped cream, with a smudge of fudge, but Sawyer was right. I felt better, not jump out of your seat and raise your hands to the heavens better, but enough so it counted.

“Better?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. “Better.”

“Well, my mission is done here.” With that, Sawyer punched the car into gear and sped out of the drive-in like we were cruising down Rodeo Drive.

Carving out a spoonful of ice cream, I glanced over at him. He noticed.

“What’s on your mind, Larson?” he asked, trying to sound like he was talking to one of his buddies, but he wasn’t looking at me like one of his buddies.

“You don’t want to know,” I answered around a mouthful of ice cream.

“Sure I do.”

I took another bite so I could come up with something tactful to say. Yep, nothing was coming to mind.

“What I meant by you don’t want to know is that I don’t want to tell you.” Why did I have to be so bluntly honest?

“Oh,” he said, turning down Sunrise Drive. “Moving on, then.”

He was silent for another mile or so, not pressing anything. Any other high school student would have pressed for every last detail of tonight’s drama fest. Another point for Sawyer. He’d scored a lot of them tonight, and I started to realize I’d been quick to judge him, like everyone else had me. He wasn’t the cliche jock slash prep. I mean, he did play sports and wear a lot of name-brand polos, but he was also thoughtful and kind and helped a girl out when no one else would.

Sawyer Diamond was in danger of being labeled a good guy in my book.

We pulled into my driveway another minute later and I was surprised to find I’d finished almost half the tub of ice cream. I’d be dancing my ass off tomorrow morning. Literally.

“Thanks for the ride, Sawyer,” I said, turning in my seat. “I’m sure there are about a thousand other things you’d rather be doing on Homecoming night, but it means a lot to me.”

“Right now,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning towards me, “there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

I forced myself not to roll my eyes at that line. One point forward, one point back for Mr. Diamond.

“Good night,” I said, reaching for the handle.

“Hold up, Lucy.” Sawyer’s hand grabbed mine. “I’ve been going back and forth the whole drive here on whether or not to say anything to you, but I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t.” He took the melting vat of sundae from me and set it on the backseat floor. “I know you like Jude, and maybe that’s in the past tense after tonight.”

That pit in my stomach returned, the ice cream be damned.

“Sawyer,” I began, wanting to stop him because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know everything that was Jude because then I might not have any excuses to stay with him.

“He’s not the right guy for you, Lucy,” he started, but something about the look I gave him or the anger starting to radiate off me stopped him.

“I’ll decide who is and who isn’t right for me, Sawyer,” I said, making another push for the door.

He didn’t let my hand go. “No, wait, don’t leave like this, Lucy,” he said, taking a deep breath. “You’re right. I have no business telling you what to do or who to stay away from.”

Damn straight, my inner voice replied.

“But do me this one favor. Next time, if there is a next time, you see Ryder,” Sawyer paused, looking like he was fighting a battle he was about to lose, “ask him about Holly.”

That prickly feeling was my hackles standing on end. “Holly who?”

“That’s Jude’s history to tell you about, not mine.”

And women were supposed to be infuriating creatures? It was time for another census. “Then why did you bring her up?”

“Because you have a right to know what you’re getting into.”

I knew I had the right, but I wasn’t sure it was one I wanted to claim. There was nothing else to say. “Good night again,” I said, stepping out of the car. He let me go. “Thanks again for the ride.”

He grinned up at me. “Thanks for letting me give you a ride,” he said. “I’ll see you Monday?”

I slid into my sweater. “Unless the west coast falls into the ocean.”

“So, all natural, personal, and economical disasters aside, I’ll see you on Monday?” His boyish grin was making me smile, it was impossible to resist.

“Just get the hell out of here, Diamond,” I said, covering my smile as I shut the door.

Flipping a salute, Sawyer turned around in the driveway and waved as he pulled out.

I watched his car go until its tail lights were eaten up by the night, trying to decide how I felt about Sawyer. By appearance’s sake, he was a shoo-in for the young man of the year award, but something else, something I couldn’t yet pinpoint, made the hair on the back of my neck stand a bit on end when he was around. It was nothing more than an instinct, but it was something I couldn’t ignore.