Robin Wasserman - Envy

When she found Kane, he waved and, with a flourish, pulled a daisy from behind his back.

“What’s this?” she asked, giggling.

“A flower for the lady,” he said. “Just the beginning-follow me, please.” He led her through the park toward a picnic blanket that was laid out with a cornucopia of delicious-looking food-heaping sandwiches, cheese, fresh-baked bread, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a bottle of red wine in the center. Kane sat down and gestured for her to do the same.

“You did all this?” she asked, eyes wide.

“I’m a man of many talents,” he said, pouring her a glass of wine. “I figured it was the least I could do to thank you.”

“It’s amazing,” she breathed. And it was: the food, the warm breeze, the starry sky. “This is just what I needed-how did you know?”

“Like you said, I’m a quick study. But that’s not all.” He looked at his watch. “The entertainment portion of our evening should be starting just… about… now-”

Suddenly a low base line began booming out of the speaker propped up a few feet behind them, and a moment later a four-part harmony broke into the familiar strains of “Blue Moon,” one of Beth’s favorite oldies.

She looked up at the band shell and, sure enough, four old men in silver vests and bowler hats-the Grace Notes, she assumed-were crooning away. In the darkness Beth could barely see any of the other picnickers, and it felt like they were singing just to her.

“Did you know about this?” she asked Kane.

“I saw the fliers earlier this week,” he admitted. “Thought it could be fun.”

“I wouldn’t think this was quite your speed,” she told him, laughing-she’d been laughing so much these past few weeks.

“Hey, we can leave if you want,” he offered, starting to get up.

“Leave? Are you crazy?” She grabbed his arm and pulled him back down again, taking a sip from the glass of wine. She almost never drank-but this was, after all, a special occasion. The wine trickled down her throat, warm, sweet, and delicious. “This is wonderful, Kane-thank you.” She leaned over and hugged him. For just a moment too long.

They sat side by side in the moonlight, enjoying the food and the wine, letting the music wash over them, laughing, talking-and then, as the night wore on, quiet. And close.

And when Beth’s cell phone rang, she didn’t answer it-didn’t even check to see if it might be Adam.

And when she shivered, and Kane slowly, tentatively put an arm around her and pulled her close to his warm body, she didn’t move away.

Adam came back to the small campfire and plopped down next to Harper, who passed him a joint. “Everything okay?” she asked quietly.

Adam, who didn’t usually go for pot, inhaled deeply and hoped that if it was going to mellow him out, it would work fast.

“Fine,” he said shortly.

He didn’t know why he’d had to ruin a perfectly good day. He’d been in a great mood, tired but happy-so he’d let his guard down, called Beth to share the good news of his victory.

There was no answer.

Was she screening? Was she out?

He didn’t know, and he supposed it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was here now, free, and if he didn’t stop stressing, the moment was going to pass him by.

He looked good-naturedly around at the small group of Valley Glen high schoolers who’d gathered at the Pit. Their names and faces may have been different from the familiar Haven High crowd, but they seemed familiar-Adam had never felt so instantly at home. An old Jay-Z album was booming through the tinny speakers of an old boom box, and Adam leaned his head back, enjoying the way the driving beat enlivened the still, dark woods. He and Harper were perched on a thick log in front of the improvised campfire, next to Miranda and her new guy, who had tagged along when Harper and Adam sneaked away from the pizza bash. It was just like being back in Grace-only better, because here Adam wasn’t the center of attention, wasn’t the big man on campus, carrying the burden of everyone’s hopes and expectations. Here he could just sit back and watch the action from the sidelines.

“I’m glad you dragged me out here,” he confided to Harper in a low voice, leaning close to her ear.

She favored him with a warm grin. “Me too, Ad.”

Suddenly filled with a burst of affection and gratitude for his oldest friend, he swept her into a bear hug.

“What would I do without you, Gracie?” It was what he’d called her sometimes when they were kids, because it was funny to watch her get red in the face and throw things at him. He knew she secretly loved it.

“Good thing you’ll never have to find out,” she promised him in a muffled voice.

“Dude, get a room!” one of the random Valley Glen guys called out.

Adam looked up, suddenly realizing everyone was looking at him. Maybe he wasn’t the center of attention out here-but he wasn’t invisible, either. He flushed hotly and jumped up. “You guys think we need more beer?” he asked Harper and Miranda. “I think we need more beer. I’ll go grab some.” He jogged off in the direction of the massive coolers.

No one here knew him, of course-and it seemed unlikely that Miranda or her random guy would run home and start spreading gossip. And, Adam reminded himself, there was nothing to gossip about-he and Harper were just friends. Everyone knew that. But still, if someone got the wrong idea, and somehow Beth got wind of it… that was really all he needed, for word to get back to Beth that he’d been up here macking on Harper.

On the other hand… he pictured her and Kane back in town together, curled up on a couch, studying, ignoring her ringing phone. Maybe she wouldn’t even care.

And maybe he didn’t either.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Miranda hissed as soon as Adam was gone. It wasn’t a request.

“What is it?” Harper asked, visibly annoyed.

She was annoyed? Let her try spending the day fending off the advances of a human cactus who had all the sexual chemistry of a rock. Then she could talk to Miranda about feeling annoyed.

“Not here,” she whispered, and dragged Harper off deeper into the woods, away from the rest of the group-away from Greg. “I cannot believe you,” she told Harper, once they were a safe distance away from the group.

“What?” Harper asked wearily.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? What’s the deal with telling Greg we were coming out here and inviting him along? Like I didn’t have enough trouble staying away from him all day long?”

“I don’t know,” Harper mused, “he’s kind of cute without the cactus outfit. Aren’t you having fun?”

“No, that would be you ” Miranda said slowly. “We’re talking about me now-something I know you have some trouble wrapping your brain around.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you dragged me along on this stupid trip, when I could have been home studying-and now I’m stuck out here in the middle of nowhere while you and Adam gaze into each other’s eyes and Greg tries to stuff his hand down my shirt.”

“Well, that’s why I invited Greg along,” Harper pointed out defensively. “To keep you company. Besides, you didn’t have to come. I told you that you could stay for the pizza thing. We could have met up later.”

“Right, like I was going to spend the night with those mindless drones. I thought we were going to be hanging out together.”

“So here we are,” Harper pointed out, “together. What are you complaining about?”

She just wasn’t getting it. But she would.

“I don’t know, maybe about the fact that you totally lured me out here under false pretenses,” Miranda snapped. “Or have you forgotten your little plan,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “to make Kane jealous? Somehow, I don’t think it’s going to work-because, gosh,” Miranda widened her eyes and craned her neck around in exaggerated confusion. “I don’t see him anywhere , do you?”