Stealing Bradford

5

WELL, MAY BE DJ WAS A SUCKER, but Taylor had her hooked. Now, despite her anger at Conner, she was curious. She hurried to take a shower and then put on outfit that she knew Taylor would approve, combed her damp hair into a ponytail, and put on a little lip gloss and mascara. She was glad that Casey wasn’t around, since she suspected Casey would give her a bad time for “primping,” although this seemed pretty minimal compared to the time that Taylor and Eliza took. She wondered where Casey was; hopefully, not getting into trouble or beat up by the thug girls.

DJ hurried downstairs to where Taylor was still sitting on the porch. “So, you are interested?” said Taylor.

DJ tried to act casual. “Maybe…”

“Come on,” said Taylor as she hopped out of the whicker chair and headed down the steps. “It’s in back.”

DJ followed, and just as they turned the corner back by the garage, she saw it parked off to one side. “No way!” she shouted as she stared at the lime green Vespa. “Is that really yours?”

Taylor grinned. “Yep. My daddy had it shipped to me. It was supposed to be for the first day of school, but it got here after we left.”

“Do you know how to drive it?”

“Of course. My boyfriend in LA had one. He let me use it. I’d been begging my mom for one, but she kept freaking that I’d get in a wreck and kill myself. Part of the deal for coming here was that I’d get one. She made Dad buy it for me.”

“Man, you are so lucky,” said DJ. “I love Vespas.”

“Wanna take a spin?”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

“Is it okay? I mean do we need helmets?”

“Yeah, but we’ll just go around the neighborhood, and I won’t go too fast.” Taylor was already getting on it. “Come on.”

So DJ climbed on behind her. “Do you need a special license?” she asked.

“I have a driver’s license,” said Taylor as she started the engine. “Hang on.” Then she gunned it, and DJ had to grab her to avoid flying off the back end.

“Careful!” warned DJ as Taylor took a sharp corner.

“Woo-hoo!” yelled Taylor as she shot down the street.

And, once DJ got used to it, she had to admit, it really was fun. Of course, she didn’t want to admit that she was jealous—lime green jealous. Why was it that Taylor always came out on top? She wasn’t even a Christian. Still, DJ pushed these thoughts away as they breezed through town like a couple of celebrities. Seriously, who would’ve thought that by the end of the day, DJ would be sitting behind Taylor, flashing around on a Vespa?

Then, just as Taylor was turning off Main Street, DJ heard the sound of a siren behind them. Not a long whine, but just a couple of little pops. She looked back to see a patrol car directly behind them. The cop made a gesture that was unmistakable. “Uh-oh,” she said to Taylor. “I think that cop wants you to pull over.”

Taylor used a bad word, and then pulled over and they both got off. “Hello, officer,” said Taylor in a sweet voice. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Several things,” he said.

“Oh…” She made a sad face. “I’m sorry. I just got this Vespa today, and I guess I wasn’t being as careful as I should.”

He nodded. “For starters, both you girls should be wearing helmets.”

“Really?” Taylor blinked in surprise. “Well, I’m from out of state, so I don’t know all your laws yet.”

“License and vehicle registration, please?”

Taylor slapped her jeans’ back pocket and made an alarmed face that looked so phony that DJ almost laughed. “Oh, man,” she exclaimed, “I was so excited about taking my friend for a spin…I must’ve left my license at home. We live at the Carter House, and if you want I could go get it and—”

“Tell you what.” He pulled out what looked like a ticket book. “You give me your name and address and I’m going to write you up a warning this time. But if you ever get stopped again—without a helmet, license, and registration—you will be getting a big citation and a nice little fine. You understand?”

“Oh, you’re so kind,” she said with a big smile. “You know, I always heard bad things about policemen back where I used to live, but I think Crescent Cove must have the most helpful ones in the country. It’s really refreshing.”

He smiled now. “Just don’t let me down, little lady.”

She shook her head. “No, I definitely won’t.” Then she gave him her name and information. DJ was relieved that she didn’t try to lie to him about that. She’d seen that in a movie before, and it seemed a dumb idea.

“Now, I want you to drive your scooter nice and slow back to your house. Don’t go over ten miles an hour, you hear?” Then he pointed at DJ. “And I’m going to have to ask you to walk home.”

DJ frowned. “Walk?”

“That’s right. Do you realize that I could be writing you up a ticket too?”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah…it’s your responsibility to have a helmet if you’re riding behind someone.” He tapped her on the forehead now. “And it’s your head, young lady, you might want to watch out for it.”

“All right,” she said, nodding. “I got ya.”

“Good.”

“Sorry,” said Taylor as she swung a long leg over the Vespa and turned it on.

“See ya,” called DJ as Taylor slowly pulled away, even using her turn signal as she slowed for the corner. The policeman nodded as if he was impressed.

Then DJ started walking home—for the second time today. As if she hadn’t had enough exercise! And, if she thought she’d been hungry earlier today, now she was running on fumes. Not only that, but at this rate, she would probably be late for dinner, and she didn’t even have her cell phone to call her grandmother. And she could’ve gotten a bite in town—something full of carbs and fats—but she didn’t even have her bag. If DJ didn’t know better, she’d think that Taylor had planned this whole thing. Maybe she had. Maybe this was just a big setup. Taylor probably had connections with the local cops and had orchestrated that they would arrive just as—then DJ jumped as the sound of a beeping horn startled her back into reality.

“Hey, DJ,” called Conner from the driver’s seat of a red pickup on the other side of the street. “Need a lift?”

She frowned as she considered this. She really wanted a ride—would love a ride—with anyone but Conner Alberts.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“Please,” he begged. “I really want to talk to you, DJ.”

She looked at his old Chevy pickup and, despite herself, smiled. It was actually a really cute rig in a funky old-fashioned way, and she’d thought it was sweet that Conner and his dad had been working to restore it. Also, her feet were seriously tired now.

“Okay,” she said with an air of reluctance. “Just this once.” Then she checked for cars, dashed across the street, and hopped in. “The only reason I agreed to this is because I’m starving and if I’d walked home I’d be late for dinner.”

“You’re starving?” he said hopefully.

“Yeah, I sort of missed lunch.”

“Let me take you to dinner, DJ.”

She considered this. All she’d have to look forward to at Carter House would be healthy, nutritious, low-carb, low-cal, low-fat, low-taste kinds of foods. Still, having dinner with Conner…after what he’d said to her?

“Come on,” he urged. “Please, DJ, that’s the least I can do, okay?”

DJ could tell that her stomach was going to win this one. “Okay, but I’m really starving, Conner. And I don’t have my bag, so it has to be your treat.”

“No problem.”

“But I might need something like a T-bone steak,” she warned.

“You can have steak and lobster if you like.”

She laughed. “And I don’t have my cell phone either. I’ll need to call my grandmother.”

He handed her his. “No excuses.”

So she called, and thankfully it was Inez who answered. “Please, inform Mrs. Carter that I won’t be home for dinner,” she said politely.

“Will do,” said Inez, like she was in a hurry. “But as soon as you get in, you better go see your grandmother, Desiree. She’s been looking for you.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, you better talk to her as soon as you get home.”

“Great,” said DJ in a slightly dejected tone. “Thanks, Inez.” Then she closed the phone and handed it back to Conner.

“Trouble on the home front?”

“Maybe…” She sighed and tried to think of what she’d done wrong today. Or at least what she’d done wrong that her grandmother was aware of.

“Oh.” He nodded, but his expression was still curious. “So, where do you want to go? You name it, and I’ll take you there.”

Part of her was tempted to request an expensive restaurant—in an effort to punish him—but what she really wanted was something simple and good. “How about the Hammerhead?”

“Really?” He turned and looked at her. “You really like that place?”

“Yeah,” she said with irritation. “Are you too good for it now?”

He laughed. “No, I would think that maybe you were.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing…” He pressed his lips tightly together and turned at the next corner, heading back toward the docks.

“Okay, I admit it,” she said. “I’m really grouchy. And I’m really aggravated at you, Conner Alberts.”

He nodded. “Yes, yes…it’s good to vent. Go ahead.”

“I can’t believe what you said to me—all that crap about me being the one who, who—well, I can’t even say it. But it just really ticks me off!”

“Understandably.”

“And I cannot believe you thought that. That is totally absurd.”

“Okay…okay…” He nodded again. “Do you want to discuss this before we eat? Or are you so ravenous that you won’t be able to think straight?”

“Both.”

He laughed as he pulled into the graveled parking area by the Hammerhead Café. “At least you’re honest.”

“At least,” she mimicked as they got out.

“By the way, I’m curious…how is it that you got stranded in town with no phone and no bag?”

“Taylor.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope, I’m not,” she said as she sat down at the same picnic table they’d used the last time they’d been there.

“This I gotta hear.”

“Can we order first?” DJ picked up the menu and scanned it.

“No problem.” He waved through the window of the café to get the attention of a waitress, and she came out and asked if they knew what they wanted.

“I do,” said DJ eagerly. “Fish and chips with coleslaw and a root beer float, for starters.”

“You want the small portion fish and—”

“No way,” said DJ. “I want the full-sized deal.”

“I want the same,” said Conner.

“Everything?”

“Yep.” He handed her the menus and she left.

“Mr. Congeniality,” teased DJ.

“No, it’s what I really wanted.” He smiled. “See, we still have a few things in common.”

She frowned and wondered what he meant by still?

“Okay, I have to hear how it can possibly be Taylor’s fault that you got stranded downtown.” He chuckled. “I can tell this is gonna be good.”

So she quickly retold the Vespa story, the joy ride, the cop stop, and how he wouldn’t let her ride back without a helmet. “To be honest, I actually started to think that Taylor might’ve planned the whole thing as a setup.” She sort of laughed as the waitress set down their floats. “But that’s pretty paranoid.”

“I don’t know,” he said as he stuck in a straw. “Taylor is a real piece of work…and she does seem to still have it out for you.”

“But that could be changing,” admitted DJ. Then she told him about how Taylor had been almost friendly during PE. “Although, I was on my guard,” she said. “I figured she was about to jerk the rug out from under me.”

“She might be…”

DJ frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, for one thing, I don’t trust her.”

DJ shook her finger at him now. “Yeah, that’s another thing, Conner. If you feel like that about Taylor, why were you dancing the night away with her at the beach-house party?”

“To avoid dancing with you.”

DJ had no response to this.

“It’s a long story…you want to hear it or not?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Okay, how about if I give you the condensed version?”

“Go for it.” She took a long sip of her float and imagined how good those fish and chips were going to taste.

“You knew that I liked you…I think I made that clear. The thing is I liked you the way you were, DJ. I liked that you were just a regular girl, that you were into sports, and you seemed comfortable being you. And then you took me by surprise when you did that whole makeover biz. I felt like I’d been tricked—like a bait and switch.”

“But I—”

“Let me finish first. So I was sort of in shock when we went out—like, who is this girl anyway? And why had DJ turned herself into an Eliza clone.”

“That’s what my roommate called me too.”

“That night it seemed like things changed between us. You acted so formal and proper at that restaurant. It seemed like Eliza was controlling your every move…and then that whole parking scene—which I am taking total responsibility for now. I don’t even know why I tried to blame you…except to say that things got out of control and that ticked me off. But I know that I had more to do with that than you.” He looked at her with sincere eyes—still the color of the ocean. “Here’s the truth, DJ. I’d never even kissed a girl before I kissed you. And then it seemed like you were so sophisticated and experienced and that just irked—”

“Wait a minute!” She held up her hands. “I was not experienced. For your information, you were the first guy I’d ever kissed. And then things started moving so fast, and I felt kind of swept away, sort of like being caught up in a tidal wave—”

“Exactly.”

They just sat there looking at each other in silence. Suddenly DJ felt uncomfortable. What had she been thinking to make a confession like that? But then so had he. Still, it was awkward. Fortunately their food arrived and they could both focus on eating.

“Man, this tastes so good,” said DJ.

“Oh, yeah.”

After a while, it seemed safe to return to their conversation again. DJ decided to initiate it. “Okay, I still have some questions, Conner.”

“Go for it.”

“If you were so convinced that I wasn’t who you thought I was, what made you change your mind?”

“A couple of things.”

“Such as?”

“For starters, I still liked you—or the old you—and I was kind of questioning myself. Plus Harry kept telling me I was acting crazy. But then when I saw you hugging that weird-looking girl in the courtyard today—”

“That’s Casey.”

“Well, that just seemed like the old DJ to me. I didn’t think an Eliza clone would reach out to a loser chick like that.”

“She’s not really a loser, she’s just mixed up…and she happens to be my roommate.”

“Yeah, that’s what Taylor pointed out…that and something else that wasn’t too nice.”

“I can only imagine.”

“But Eliza actually came to your defense.”

“She did?”

“Yeah, she said that Casey was pretty unhappy, and that no one at Carter House had been able to get through to her. She thought it was nice that you were trying.”

“Eliza said that?”

“She did,” said Conner.

“Wow.”

“Then, not long after that, I saw you with Rhiannon, and I could tell you guys were still friends, and it made me think that I really was wrong…that you really hadn’t changed. You weren’t a superficial snob. You might look like a rich witch chick, but you were still the same sweet DJ on the inside.”

“So my looks are a problem?”

“No, not like that. But I suppose it was kind of intimidating. I mean the DJ I’d been into was just a regular girl. Not a high-maintenance fashion diva.”

“I am not a high-mainten—”

“No, I didn’t mean that you were. I only thought that you were. What I’m trying to say is that I was wrong, DJ. I was wrong—wrong—wrong. And I’m sorry.”

She nodded as she picked up another piece of cod. “Okay, then…”

“Okay, then…” Conner repeated.

“I’m sure you didn’t mistake me for a fashion diva after practice today,” she said as she picked up a fry.

He laughed. “No, and that was the moment I knew I needed to win you back.”

“Go figure.”