Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Three

Grady pulled up and Mac ran down the walk and hopped in. She gave him a quick hello kiss and looking toward the house, said, “Hurry up and go.”

“I thought you said it was okay?”

“Well, it’s easier to say ‘sorry, thought I could’ than give them a chance to say no.”

Grady pulled away from the curb and headed east toward town and the reservoir beyond. Mackenzie loved how every time Grady finished shifting gears, his hand automatically went back to holding hers.

“Grady?” Mac said. He glanced over at her and smiled. God, he was gorgeous. Sometimes she couldn’t believe he loved her. Her stomach flipped over. Mackenzie wanted to know who was at his swim meet but didn’t want to come off as one of those naggy jealous girlfriends. But she had to know.

“So who else was there today?” She said it lightly, like, just making conversation over here Grady, I could actually care less, Grady. Yep, just curious is all.

It worked, too, because he said, “You know, the usual people. A couple of guys who want to try out next year, the kid I’m coaching this summer for the town team, my family.”

She was relieved, though she’d never admit it to him. There were a lot of swim team groupies and she was happy he hadn’t made any comment about them, which meant he wasn’t paying attention to them. 

He drove through the village, and nudged Mac when they went by I Scream Ice Cream. Mac shook her head even though she knew Grady never met a double toasted almond he didn’t like. They’d passed the multi-colored row of Victorian buildings that housed the other exclusive shops in town by the time she spoke again. 

“Cool that your dad could come.”

“Yeah, they had a good time.”

“They?”

Grady gave a half-smile. It looked more like he was fighting a painful gas bubble. Mac stared at him, waiting.

He cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, he brought Julie. This is top secret, but they’re uh, they’re getting married.”

Mackenzie waited for him to crack a joke, but none came.

“Ew,” she said finally.

“Nice, Mac,” Grady said. He shifted gears. His hand stayed on the gearshift.

Mackenzie said, “Well, it’s just kind of weird, you know, considering the only reason they met was cause you went out with Sophie.”

“So?”

“So your dad is marrying your ex-girlfriend’s mom. Which means your ex-girlfriend will be sleeping down the hall from you. As your sister. I can just see you all having family dinners together,” Mackenzie laughed, but she choked on it and it came out more like a cough.

“You don’t have to be jealous, Mac. Soph and I are just friends. And don’t tell anyone, because it’s supposed to be a secret still.”

She didn’t like how he called her ‘Soph’. Nobody called Sophie “Soph’. Just like nobody called Mackenzie ‘Mackenz’. Except Grady.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they got there, Grady parked by the side of the road and they walked through the woods to the water’s edge. He untied the line and held the boat steady while Mac climbed in. They pushed off from the shore, and glided out a ways before Grady picked up the oars. It was quiet; the earth was dark, but above, it glowed. The crickets were starting up, and birds flew in swoops and turns, silhouetted against the still-light sky.