The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
And then the explanation finally came to me. He'd been buttering me up. Luke probably thought if he was extra nice to me, if he took a walk with me and fluttered his pretty-boy lashes a few times, I'd be less likely to call him Lucas again. And it'd worked. I'd slipped right into his clever scheme—for a minute there anyway.
But Jill and Liz driving by had ruined his strategy. If he'd been caught in the park with me, his reputation would've taken a severe nosedive. He had no choice but to move quickly and dodge in front of me. He'd succeeded in blocking me out of the way. No one knew I'd been there with him. But now I was onto his game. If only I were stupid, he could've had me in complete adoration of him by now, right where he wanted me, and thus I would never bad-mouth him in The Central Record again.
It was a low blow for me, but very clever of him. Too bad I was smarter. And too bad I still felt butterflies in my stomach every time I thought of him. I wish I could've hated him completely and been done with it. Instead, I felt betrayed and hurt.
I unfolded Mom's list and read the contents: milk, eggs, and flour. It wasn't too original, so I slipped a pen out of my pocket and scrawled in chocolate almond ice cream at the bottom.
Hey, if I was being forced to do her dirty work, I might as well get paid for it.
The store was fairly dead. It was open only from noon to five on Sundays and that was for just-in-case items, like someone needing extra potatoes for their Sunday dinner. The 41
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
sheriff's wife, Mrs. Bates, was shopping as I started up the produce aisle to get to the milk and the eggs in the back. The store was small, only four rows wide, so I had my list completed within the minute. Marty was at the checkout line talking to Abby Eggrow. She'd been working there about as long as he had and was showing up to school in a lot of new outfits since she'd started.
She smiled up at my brother, blushed and tucked a straight lock of hair behind her ear. Marty was half sitting on the end of the conveyer belt with one foot still on the tiled floor and one folded under him. He had a Blow Pop stick poking out of his mouth and there was a bulge in his cheek where the sucker was stashed.
He was tall and skinny as all get out, with a thirty-eight inch inseam to his Wrangler jeans. He had the same pale blond hair I did. But his neck was longer and his Adam's apple jutted out noticeably. I suppose if I wasn't his sister and didn't know he was an idiot, I might say he was attractive. Lots of girls said he looked like Leonardo DiCaprio. I thought that was stretching it. But sometimes when he wasn't bugging me, he didn't look too bad.
When he saw me he didn't stand, he just transferred the lollypop from one side of his cheek to the other.
"Hey, brat."
Abby's head spun around and her face went beet red, as if she'd been caught in the back seat of a car with him over at the camping ground—which was the major make-out spot for all Stillburrow teenagers.
"Hi, Carrie," she said.
42
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
If I kept a notebook of firsts, I'd have to scribble down her
"Hi, Carrie, " as the first time Abby Eggrow ever voluntarily spoke to me.
"Ready for the big test in history tomorrow?" she asked. Another first. Abby smiling and asking me a question, instead of treating me like I was invisible. I wondered if the apocalypse had begun.
For the sake of my brother, I pushed all rude thoughts out of my brain and nodded politely to her. I told her, in my most respectful tone, that I wasn't ready for the test at all. History with Mr. Decker was not my strong point. Neither was trigonometry for that matter. But Abby always seemed to know what questions would be on all the history tests. So on a crazy whim, I invited her to come over after supper and maybe help me study.
I never asked people to my house. And Abby Eggrow wouldn't have been my first choice. But asking her over would be like inviting Marty as well. And a little discomfort at having a guest would surely be overridden by my duty to my parents in coercing Marty to come and visit them.
Or maybe I just liked to stir the pot.
"Oh...uh, sorry, but I can't," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm going to the movies in Paulbrook tonight. But I've heard Mr. Decker asks a lot of questions about Appomattox Court House."
I had no idea what the Appomattox Court House was and made a mental note to find out.
Abby ran me through the checkout line and I paid with the bill Mom had given me. Then Mrs. Bates, by the cleaning 43
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
supplies, called for help. As Abby glided off to assist the sheriff's wife, I turned to Marty and watched him double bag the ice cream.
"Got a letter for you," I said. He stopped bagging and glanced up. "From Mom," I added and slid the envelope down the conveyer belt to him. His shoulders deflated a little but he grabbed it up and pulled out the letter as well as a twentydollar bill. He jammed the money into his pocket with one hand and unfolded the note with his other. His eyebrows instantly rose. "Walking in the park with Luke Carter, huh?"
I clenched my teeth and folded my arms over my chest, refusing to show any embarrassment or shock. Mom hadn't said anything to me last night. She hadn't even let on that she'd known at all.
Dad must've told her.
I tried to ignore the heat rising to my face and shrugged with one lazy shoulder. "I wrote an article about Homecoming for the paper, featuring the coach and quarterback." Then I got angry with myself, wondering why I was trying to explain it to Marty.
"Uh-huh. I read it." He snorted the name Lucas under his breath and went back to reading Mom's note. "And helping out the old man in the shop too? You've been a busy girl, brat."
"I wouldn't have to help him if you'd come home," I said between my teeth, since I couldn't seem to get them unclenched.
44
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
He glanced up once with a quick scowl, then back down and finished the letter. "And tell Mom I can't make it for supper." He shot a quick glance toward Abby. When he looked back at me, he was stuffing the letter into his back pocket. He wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm going to the movies tonight." My arms unfolded and my hands ground into my hips.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" He frowned and I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "She's only eighteen."
"Only?" He laughed and tugged on my hair. "That's over a year older than you."
"And five years too young for you!" He pulled back. "So what? Dad's seven years older than Mom."
My mouth fell open. "It's that serious, then? You're thinking marriage?"
"No!" He backed away from the counter and ripped the lollypop out of his mouth. "It's just a date. Nothing serious."
"Then why're you fooling around with her in the first place?" I said, lowering my voice even more. "She's leaving in a year to get a real life. What do you have to offer her, Marty? A stock boy's salary? It looks pretty worthless to me. I mean, the whole relationship is going nowhere right from the beginning."
He scoffed and pointed the lollypop at my head. "Well, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black? Or have you already forgotten about your little stroll with Luke Carter?" My jaw felt tight. I took a second to gather my thoughts. OK, I was just trying to cool my temper because I wanted to hit him—bad. If he hadn't mentioned Luke, I might've been 45