Free Debutante Hill by Lois Duncan Page A

walking across the parking lot to the car. The air was
clear and cold. There were stars.
    Lynn shivered a little, wishing she had brought her coat She asked, “What did Brad mean about your borrowing his car? Is this his?”
    Dirk nodded. He opened the door on the driver’s side and Lynn got in, sliding across the seat to the opposite side.
    â€œWhy did he lend it to you? Is he a special friend of yours?”
    â€œIn a way.” Dirk got in, shut the door and started the engine.
    He backed the car out of the driveway and turned onto the main road. He drove slowly now and carefully.
    â€œHe’s not like that all the time,” he said. “Just when he’s been drinking. Sometimes he’s a neat guy. He’s smart. Plenty smart in lots of ways.”
    â€œIf he’s so smart,” Lynn said shortly, “why does he let himself get into the condition he was in tonight?”
    â€œWhat’s that got to do with being smart?” Dirk asked. “Everybody has too much to drink once in a while.”
    Lynn did not answer.
    They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they pulled to a stop in front of her house, Lynn knew she should break the silence, but it was hard to think of something to say.
    If it had been Paul, there would have been no problem. It was wonderfully easy to say good night to Paul, to say “Thank you for a lovely evening,” and “I’ve had a wonderful time.” But with Dirk it was difficult, because it had not been a lovely evening. It had been strained and uncomfortable and at times very unpleasant. And yet Dirk himself had seemed to be trying to give her a nice time. There had
been no sarcasm, no smart-aleck remarks. He had treated her with respect in front of his friends, he had protected her from Brad’s advances and when she was frightened at his driving, he had slowed down as she asked him.
    She could feel him looking at her in the darkness. She forced herself to turn to meet his gaze.
    â€œDirk,” she began, “thank you so much for a nice evening. It was a lot of fun; I had such a nice—”
    â€œDid you?” His voice was low and gruff in the darkness, and there was a touch of warmth in it she had not heard before. “Did you really?”
    â€œYes,” Lynn said, hoping she sounded convincing.
    â€œThen what about kissing me good night?”
    â€œKissing you good night!” Lynn stared across at him, trying to see his face. Surely he was not serious. “But, Dirk, this is our first date. Besides, I don’t just kiss everybody good night. Not just to say thank you for a nice evening! It has to be special, to mean something.”
    He was silent a moment and then he laughed, a funny, hoarse little laugh. When he spoke again, he sounded like the old Dirk.
    â€œSo you think you’re too good, is that it? Too good to kiss Dirk Masters. This whole evening has been kind of a joke for you, hasn’t it? Lynn Chambers, Princess of the Hill, going slumming.”
    â€œWhy, no,” Lynn exclaimed, “that’s not true! It wasn’t like that at all!”
    And even as she said it, she felt a flush of guilt because it had been like that. Exactly as he said it.
    â€œOh, no?” Dirk slid forward across the seat until he was beside her. He put both hands on her shoulders and she
could feel his warm breath against her face. “Well, you’re not any better than I am. Not one bit better, and your wishy-washy Paul Kingsley isn’t either. I bet you kiss him, don’t you? No being coy or pulling away from him .”
    â€œThat’s different,” Lynn whispered, wondering desperately how she could get away from Dirk and out of the car with his hands so strong on her shoulders. “Paul and I—well, Paul is special—he’s—”
    â€œYeah. He’s from the Hill.”
    And then he kissed her. It was a hard kiss, a determined kiss from a boy who had