The Last One

THE LAST ONE-Chapter Thirteen--Meghan

I was confused for thespace of a moment, and then everything clicked. Evans. Ofcourse. This woman must be the sister of Ali's lost love, Bridget'sreal father. Examining her more closely, I thought I saw a tiny bitof resemblance.

And if this wereBridget's aunt, and Graham was the child of her sister ... thatmeant Bridget had a first cousin, right here in town. In her class.I blinked, wondering if Ali knew about this. Of course she had to.This was Burton. Nothing was hidden.

Maureen was speakingagain. "Nice to meet you, but I need to get the paint monster backto my mom before he does real damage. Graham! Get a move on, we'regoing to Granny's house."

The other parents werestraggling in to retrieve their children, and by four o'clock, myclassroom was empty. I finished cleaning up and lit out for thefarm. I had a date, and I needed time to prepare.

No one was home yet whenI got back to the farm. Ali had put pork chops in the slow cookerfor dinner, and they smelled delicious. I high-tailed it to myroom, where I stripped off my teacher clothes and jumped into thebathtub.

Tonight wouldn't be ourfirst time having sex, but in my mind, that night in the truck onthe side of the road only partly counted. We'd almost been animalsthat night, mad for each other, and while the intensity was stillthere in spades, tonight we'd have time to enjoy each other. So Iwanted to be perfect. I used my favorite citrus body wash andshaved every part of my body that qualified for that attention.

I had just climbed outof the tub and wrapped myself in a towel when I heard Ali andBridget get home. Ali stuck her head through the doorway. "Hey.Whatcha doing?"

"I ..." Licking my lips,I tried for a smile. "I have a date. So ... I was gettingready."

Ali's eyes wandered downmy body, and she grinned. "My brother's taking you on a date?"

"Yeah. I don't knowwhere or what. He just told me to meet him at the truck ateight."

Her eyebrows went up."Oooooh. Well, then I guess I'll just say I won't be waitingup."

My face burned, and Alilaughed. "In case you're wondering, no, I'm not going to make thisany easier on you. It's too much fun, seeing the two of youtortured with having to behave yourselves."

"Thanks." I tucked theedge of the towel in to the top, securing it against my chest. "Ihave no idea what to wear, since I don't know what we'redoing."

Ali came in and floppedonto the bed. "Around here, you can't go wrong with jeans. Ifyou're leaving at eight, he's not taking you into the city for afancy dinner. There's a movie house in Summerville, but jeans wouldwork for that, too."

"Good thinking." Ipulled out my favorite pair of soft and faded denim and flippedhangers in the closet, looking for a shirt. "Hey, can I ask yousomething?" I glanced over my shoulder.

"I'm not helping youpick out sexy underwear for tonight. Sorry, I know it's agirlfriend thing, but when it's for my brother to see-there's waytoo much eww."

"No, silly." I shook myhead. "I don't need help with that." I thought of the expression onhis face whenever he lifted my shirt and saw a new bra, and Ismiled. "I know what he likes."

"Way TMI." Alishuddered.

"Speaking of which ... I met Maureen Evans today. She came by to pick up Graham."

Hurt and sadness flickered over Ali's face. "Oh."

"I didn't make the connection at first, but then when I told her where I was livingthis summer, she got the same look on her face that you have now.She said you used to be friends."