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“You better believe I’m going to tell them.”
Claire was too smart to respond to that. She pursed her lips together tightly and craned her neck to see the exchange between Tom and the boy.
“Who’s your boyfriend?” Allie asked, noticing the hickie on Claire’s neck. “And don’t tell me you hardly know him because it’s obvious the two of you know each other pretty well.”
“His…name’s Adam and he’s a senior. We’ve only been out a couple of times. Mom and Dad don’t know about him.”
“Why not?”
“Dad said if I wanted to have a boyfriend then I had to bring him to the house to meet him first.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“Yeah. If it was the last century. He probably wants to fingerprint him and run it through the FBI database.”
“Oh, c’mon, Claire.”
Claire crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window with a stony expression. After a couple minutes, Tom came back to the truck. “In case you’re wondering, Adam is very sorry and won’t take Claire off again without her parents’ permission.”
“Good to know,” Allie said.
Adam lingered by his car like he was reluctant to take off. His gaze kept skittering back to the truck and Allie actually felt a little sorry for him.
“Can I go say goodbye to him?” Claire asked. “It’s the least I can do considering that I’m never going to see him again.”
“Sure, why not?” Allie said.
It was all the encouragement Claire needed. She jumped out of the truck and ran into Adam’s arms.
“It’s like they’re Romeo and Juliet,” Allie muttered.
“Don’t you remember what it was like? Being their age?”
“God, it was…awful.”
“Not all of it.”
Tom was right. First love was painful, but it was also brilliant. It was one of those bridges you had to cross in life so that you could move on. “True. Not all of it.”
He looked surprised by her admission.
The glare of oncoming headlights made her turn in her seat. A familiar looking blue minivan pulled into the grassy area a few yards away. Claire and Adam immediately jumped away from one another, like the guilty teenagers they were. The minivan had barely stopped when both Zeke and Mimi came barreling out of the car. Allie and Tom joined them by the water bank.
“I was so worried about you!” Mimi said. She grabbed Claire into a tight hug. “Please tell me you aren’t doing cocaine.”
Claire took a step back, her mouth half open in shock. “What? Oh my God. Mom, I’m not on drugs!”
Mimi took Claire’s face between her hands and stared into her eyes for a moment. “Thank God.”
Zeke took a few seconds to take in the situation. Right now he looked more cop than father, but Allie had a feeling that would be only be temporary. “What’s going on here?”
“We found her with Adam.” Allie nodded in the boy’s direction, “but before you say anything—”
“Here? By the water? Parked in that car?”
“I know it looks bad,” Allie began, “but they’re just kids, Zeke.”
It took Zeke two long strides to get to Adam. He grabbed the boy by the shirt collar. “What the hell do you think you’re doing with my daughter?”
