Free Life in the No-Dating Zone by Patricia B. Tighe

long.
    I headed out.
    “Bye!” the girls called, but I was pretty sure Claire’s voice wasn’t among them. I waved.
    Once in the car I cranked the AC to combat the oven-like heat and checked the time. I had eighteen minutes. Plenty of time if Claire could get there fast. Just then, Amy and Nyssa came out of the store and looked around. I slumped down in my seat. Could they possibly know what kind of car I drove? They headed across the parking lot. Toward me. I’d parked pretty far away, but if they kept going they were going to see me.

Fourteen
     
    Gray
     
    What could I say if they came over? I was supposed to be in a hurry. I slumped down farther in the driver’s seat. Right, Gray. Like they’re not going to notice a driverless car idling in the parking lot. There was only one thing to do. I’d have to leave, then come back and pick up Claire.
    But just as I was about to put the car in first gear, the girls veered off toward a different row. Whew . I slid the shift into neutral. Then took out my toy pull-back-and-go car and let it spin.
    C’mon, Claire, get out here.
    And, as if responding to my Jedi summons, Claire came out of the store, swinging a plastic grocery sack. A dark blue Ford honked as it drove by and she waved. Man, I hoped that was Amy and Nyssa. It’d be better if they didn’t see where she went. She speed-walked to my car and got in.
    For half a second we just stared at each other, then we both busted out laughing. And Claire’s laugh didn’t match her petite body. No delicate, feminine laugh for her. Instead, it was a loud, belly-clinching sound. Which only made me laugh harder.
    “Guess your dad really likes limes,” I said, once the laughter had drifted away.
    She held up the bag. “He’d better. I bought twenty of them ’cause I felt so guilty.”
    I suddenly realized I was sitting there with a toy car in between my fingers. No sudden moves, Gray. Just slide it into your pocket. Yup. Almost there. And—
    “What’s with the tiny car?” Claire asked.
    Great. So much for stealth. “Nothing.”
    “I’ve seen you play with it before.”
    I put the real car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. “It helps me think.”
    “Oh.”
    She inhaled sharply like she was about launch into questions. But I felt stupid enough as it was. New subject. “That was absolutely crazy. Why didn’t you come over to us?”
    “Because I couldn’t think of anything to say.”
    “That’s what I thought.”
    She covered her glasses with her hands for a couple of seconds. “I can’t believe that whole thing happened. Everything had been so perfect. Why did you let them take you into the store, anyway?”
    “What was I going to do, yank my arms away? They just wanted to buy me a doughnut.” I motioned to the small bag on the cup holder. “Want some cinnamon roll?”
    “Yes.” She grabbed the bag and ripped off a chunk from the pastry. “Watch the road.”
    “I am. Didn’t you eat breakfast?”
    “Yeah, but something about covert operations makes me ravenous.”
    I laughed. “Covert operations? What, are we spies now?”
    “And that’s another thing,” she said through a mouthful, “who goes to the grocery store to buy doughnuts? Why not Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts?”
    “Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” I said in my best Claire imitation, which was a high-pitched girly voice.
    “Ha, ha. No, really. They must have seen you and made that story up.”
    I stopped at a red light. “You don’t think they followed us this morning, do you?”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised. They probably had your house staked out.”
    “They couldn’t have. It’s too insane.”
    “I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past Amy.”
    The light changed and I drove on. “Yeah, she does seem kind of psycho.”
    We drove in silence for a couple more minutes, Claire happily eating most of my cinnamon roll. “Ugh,” she said, “now I’m thirsty.”
    I pointed to a can of Coke from yesterday.