GirlNextDoor by Lyra Marlowe Page A

barest trace of
bitterness in his voice.
    “I was going to say elusive.”
    His partner’s eyebrows shot up. “You think Lucy’s elusive?”
    “Yeah, I do. I mean, not sexually, she’s not a tease about
that, except in a good way, but…” John hesitated, struggling for the right
words. “But emotionally, I guess. I mean, the minute the sex is over she’s
gone, you know?”
    Nolan’s brow furrowed. “And you don’t like that?”
    “I did, I guess,” John admitted. He could feel his cheeks
getting warm. “You know me, Nolan. I’m not about relationships or whatever. But
this is different.”
    “You’re used to being the first one to leave.”
    “Yeah. That’s probably part of it. But she just seems
so…like she’s more scared than I am.” John took a deep breath. “And that’s
pretty damn scared.”
    Nolan looked at him steadily. John felt his cheeks grow
warmer still. He liked his partner’s serious face. “You never admitted that
before.”
    “What? That I bang and run because I’m scared to death of a
real relationship?”
    “Yes.”
    “I didn’t have to. You already knew.”
    Nolan nodded. “I did. But I didn’t know you knew I knew.”
    “I always knew you knew.”
    Their eyes locked for a moment. John felt something twist in
his chest. In Nolan’s brown eyes he saw no judgment. Just compassion.
Understanding. He knew that his friend knew his biggest fear, and that he
didn’t blame him for it. It was more caring than he’d ever felt before.
    I could kiss him , John thought. I could just reach
over and kiss him.
    He shook his head firmly. He couldn’t, and he wouldn’t. Even
if he had any reason to think Nolan would like it, it was exactly the wrong
thing to do.
    Nolan’s eyes changed when he shook his head. There was a new
sadness in them. He looked away. “She was a tomboy,” he said.
    “Who?”
    “Lucy.” Nolan looked back, and his expression was painfully
neutral. “She lived right next door to me. She was a tomboy. Into everything.
Honestly, she was more like a boy than I was. But we were friends, so she
always dragged me into her adventures. You know, throw a clothes line over a
tree branch and try to build an elevator. Catch two dozen frogs and put them in
the school cafeteria. Stuff like that.”
    John looked out his own window, remembering that morning’s
encounter. “She’s still kind of an adventurer.”
    “I’m sure.” Nolan shrugged. “Anyhow. The summer before high
school she, um, blossomed. And the first day of school she caught the attention
of this jock. He was a junior. Real popular. All the girls chasing him. You
know the kind.”
    I know because I was that guy in my school ,
John thought. He simply nodded.
    “So Junior Jock got all over Lucy, and she was just young
enough to be stupid over this popular guy paying her all this attention, you
know?”
    “He nailed her.”
    “Yeah. And he—” Nolan stopped. “I’m not sure I should tell
you the rest of this. It’s kinda…Lucy’s story to tell.”
    John nodded his understanding. He expected Nolan to keep his
confidences. He didn’t begrudge that he kept Lucy’s as well.
    “Skip ahead to where he dumps her.”
    “No.” Nolan thought about it for a long moment. “No. It’ll
be okay. Because it’s you.”
    “You don’t have to.”
    “I know. Junior knocked her up.”
    “Oh nice,” John said. He’d half-guessed this part. “She was
what, fourteen? Asshole couldn’t use a condom?”
    “They interfered with his game. That’s what he told Lucy.”
Nolan sneered, then sighed. “When she suspected, she came to me. Made me go to
the drugstore with her and distract the clerk while she stole a pregnancy
test.”
    “What, jock boy wouldn’t even give her the money for that?”
    “It wasn’t about the money, John. It was a very small town.
If she’d tried to buy it, everyone would have known before we walked out the
door. Including her parents.” He shook his head again. “Besides,