Maddie nodded. “It’s secluded out there, not a lot of shopping to bring random people through the neighborhood, and the houses are nice.”
“Right—so I was thinking that he might live in that neighborhood.” Clover chewed her lip. “Is it weird if I drive around and look for his car?”
Maddie nodded. “Yes. It is.”
Clover groaned and dropped her face in her hands.
Maddie rubbed her back. “Sweetie, you’re cute enough to pull off weird. I say go for it.”
Clover’s muffled laugh was interrupted by Jeff’s return. Maddie and Clover gathered their things and quickly left. “I’m not waiting up for you, but I want a full report,” Maddie called as she unlocked her car.
“I shouldn’t be long.”
“Unless it goes well.” Maddie pumped her eyebrows.
Clover’s face heated. For once she was thankful for the dim lighting in the parking lot. “It won’t.”
“Uh-huh.” Maddie waved goodbye and ducked into her car.
Clover did the same. She stared at the steering wheel, gathering her courage and trying to find the right words to say when she found Dustin.Ifshe found Dustin.
Maddie honked as she pulled away.
“Okay.” Clover started the car. She made her way onto I-15. Traffic was heavy going the other direction because of the game, but her lane was clear. St. George wasn’t that big of a city. They had a lot of suburbs that wrapped around bluffs and beautiful red rock statues carved by wind and time. There were still places a cell signal couldn’t be found. St. George had a four-year college and shopping districts and the Redrocks. It was a good place to live. A happy place with loads of families and singles.
The closer she got to the stadium, the more jittery she became. To calm herself, she practiced what she would say to Dustin. “I’m sorry I didn’t play catch with the lettuce.”No, that wasn’t the real issue.
“Dustin,” she began again, “I think we got off to a rocky start.”
Duh. Figured that one all out on your own, did ya?
“Think nice thoughts,” she admonished herself. “He’ll be too surprised to see me to be rude.”
She took the stadium exit and hung a left in the roundabout. In a few minutes, she was meandering down the street, admiring the houses. The beautiful French-inspired homes rimmed a golf course. Golf courses abounded in St. George, so she wasn’t surprised to see one in this posh neighborhood.
What did surprise her was that there weren’t any cars in the driveways. All the houses were shut up tight with the garage doors down and the shutters drawn. Several had lights on, and she guessed those belonged to Redrocks players or fans getting home from the game. She looped the area twice. Parked at the top of the street, she contemplated turning her lights off and waiting for a while. With a shake of her head, she pressed the gas. She might be cute enough to pull off weird, but she wasn’t sure she could make stalker look good.
She sat at the ornamental gate into the neighborhood, waiting for an opening in traffic. Did being willing to apologize count in the world of self-improvement? She’d made a huge effort to make amends tonight. It wasn’t her fault Dustin was a no-show. She slumped into the steering wheel. That wasn’t how life worked. Unless she actually spoke to Dustin, none of this counted. She scrubbed her face and checked the clock on the dashboard. 12:23.
Bright lights filled the cab as a flashy car turned the corner. She blinked to save her corneas from certain death. When she opened her eyes, she saw the back end of a red Camaro flash by the window.
Desperate to have the night of semi-stalking pay off, Clover slammed on the horn to get his attention and flipped around in her seat to watch his car.
Dustin tapped on the brakes and kept going—completely ignoring her.
Grrrr. Slamming the car in reverse, she managed a five-point turn in two points, scraping her tire against the curb in the process, and took off after the Camaro.
The garage door cranked up on a two-story red brick home with black shutters and a cobblestone driveway. Dustin slowed down to wait for the door to go all the way up before pulling into the three-car garage.
Feeling panicked that she was losing her chance—again!—Clover threw her car in park on the curb, yanked out the keys, and dashed across the driveway as the door started to go down. With each inch, it lowered her adrenaline shot up. In an act of total craziness, she threw herself under the waist-high door, triggering the sensor and sending it back up.
Triumph filled her and she threw her arms in the air. “Yes,” she laughed.
“What in the …” Dustin had spread his legs apart and hunched down, ready to attack.
Clover’s smile faded right along with the sense of urgency. “H-hey.” She brushed her hands down the front of her shirt. She’d been so caught up in catching Dustin that she didn’t stop to think things through all the way. “I guess I could have used the doorbell.”
Dustin continued to stare at her like he wasn’t sure what to do. His hair was still wet from the after-game shower, and she knew if she got closer that he’d smell like zingy soap. The awkwardness lengthened like a long fly ball to right field.
