At First Hate by K.A. Linde

Savannah

November 6, 2004

Itwirled in a circle. “I did it! I passed.”

“Good job, loser,” Maddox said, punching my arm.

“Jerk!”

“Children,” Gran said with a shake of her head. She held her old-school Polaroid up to her eye. “Now, smile.”

We got close together and smiled wide. She snapped the shot, and the picture popped out of the camera. She shook it twice and then handed it to me.

“Congratulations, chickadee.”

Gramps pulled me in for a hug. “I always knew you could do it.”

“Aww, thanks, Gramps.”

“Celebratory ice cream,” Gran suggested.

“Leopold’s!” Maddox and I cheered at the same time.

“Of course. The one and only. Marley, you can drive.” She tossed me the keys to the minivan. “It’s all yours.”

“Mine?”

She nodded. “I spoke with Melody at the church, and she sold me her Camry. I thought you needed your own vehicle.”

I clutched the keys to my chest. A minivan was the last thing that I wanted. Literally any other car would be preferable. But tears still came to my eyes as Gran handed it off to me. I had my own car. My own car. No more relying on Maddox to not be a jerk. No chauffeuring to and from dance and cheer and school.

“Thank you, Gran”—I hugged her tight—“and Gramps.”

He squeezed me too. “You deserve it with all those straight As.”

I laughed. “Thanks.”

“If only you could convince your brother to care,” Gran said, arching an eyebrow at Maddox.

“Hey, I care,” he said with a shrug. “Sort of.”

I laughed. That said all that we needed to know. Maddox was easily as smart as me. He just wanted the challenge, and if it wasn’t there, he got bored. His grades suffered from his boredom.

“All right,” Gran said. “Let’s go.”

I trailed my family out of the DMV and stopped before exiting when I heard my name. I turned around in surprise to find Derek’s stepmom, Kathy.

“It’s Marley, right?” she asked, all bubbly. Today, she was in black cigarette pants, a frilly white blouse, and nude high heels. Her hair and makeup were as immaculate as ever.

“Yes. So nice to see you.”

“Ah! I thought it was you. You’re Derek’s little girlfriend.”

I laughed and shook my head. “We’re not really dating.”

She buttoned up her lips. “I know how things go these days in school.” Which was hilarious because she couldn’t be that much older than us. “He’s been talking about his date at the marina all weekend.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I’m glad to see that he’s interested in a sensible girl.”

I kept my comment to myself as my brain started working. “Mrs. Ballentine…”

“Kathy, please, dear.”

“Kathy, do you have the address for the marina? He never sent it over.”

“You know, I think I do.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled through. Then, she wrote the address down on a piece of paper. “Have a good time! Sunset sailing in Savannah is to die for.” She clicked her tongue. “Ah, to be young and in love.”

I grinned as I waved good-bye to her and pocketed the address.

“What was that about?” Gran asked.

“Just saw someone I knew.”

“Stop taking so long. A banana split is calling my name,” Maddox complained.

“Shut it, Maddox,” I said with a laugh as we headed to the car and I plotted my revenge.

Leopold’s had an hour-long line, but it was always worth it. Anyway, it was better than waiting that time in the summer heat and humidity. At least November was sort of manageable here. But more importantly, neither me nor Maddox were grounded anymore as a treat for me passing the driver’s test. Which meant I had real freedom for the first time. So as soon as we got home, I planned to use it.

“I’m going out, Gran,” I said, grabbing the keys to the minivan with a little too much enthusiasm. They dropped off of the hook and fell to the ground. I picked them back up in a hurry. Maybe I was more nervous than I’d thought.

Gramps looked up from the biography he was reading. “Have a good time, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Gramps.”

“Wait one minute,” Gran said. “Where are you going? Who are you going to be with? What time will you be home? Do you have your phone with you?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I was going to drive around by myself. I can be home by eleven.”

“Ten,” she corrected.

“Sure. Ten, and yes, I always have my phone.”

“How are you going to pay for the gas of just driving around?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Gas. Maddox had gotten a part-time job to pay for the truck. “I’ll ask Miss Alicia if she needs help at the studio.”

Gran nodded approvingly. “That’s my girl.”

I’d been dancing at Miss Alicia’s studio since I was four. Lila had gone to another studio until we met in the second grade over our mutual love for Lisa Frank. She’d transferred studios so that we could dance together. We’d done everything together until she moved to St. Catherine’s. It sucked, not having her in school. But at the same time, I was glad that she hadn’t heard any of the rumors about me. Leigh and Danielle had spent all week tiptoeing around me, and I didn’t want that from Lila too. So, I was going to do this on my own.

The sun wouldn’t set for a half hour, but it was at least a twenty-minute drive out to the marina. Miss Alicia would have to wait. I’d ask her tomorrow during studio time if she needed help for competition season this spring.

Gran would bring Maddox and me out to Tybee Island every weekend all summer to get beach time in. Water was my happy place. I’d always been that way. The water calmed me down. But I’d never been on a boat out. That was reserved for people with money, which we never really had.

I pulled the minivan behind the Publix and down a back alley. I craned my neck, hoping that this was the right place to be on Whitemarsh Island. The directions weren’t the best. I’d scribbled them down at home, but I hadn’t wanted to study the map too long, or Gran might have noticed.

The parking lot was empty, save for a shiny black Range Rover. A smile crossed my face. That had to be Derek’s car. The fact that he had a brand-new eighty-something-thousand dollar car while I was driving Gran’s old minivan said everything about where we’d come from.

Still, I hopped out of the minivan, rolled my shoulders back, and headed for the dock. I had no idea which one of the boats belonged to Derek, but my gut said it was the biggest one at the end of the dock. I was heading determinedly in that direction when I heard a voice clear behind me.

“Well, well, well.”

Derek climbed out of a smaller sailboat. He looked skeptical. As he well should since I was here for nefarious purposes. But damn, he looked good. His whole sailing outfit fit a lot more out here. This time in navy-blue shorts and a white button-up with those same boat shoes. He’d clearly been wearing a hat because there was an indention around his almost curls at his ears.

For a second, all thoughts fled my head. The whole reason for me being here. The moment I’d been waiting for since he’d ruined my reputation and not cared at all. Because it’d been a week and it hadn’t blown over. In fact, it might have gotten worse. Now, everyone at school had heard about it, and the girls were being terrible too. Of course, they didn’t have sympathy for what I was going through; they’d rather think the worst and shun me. Fun times.

“Hey, Derek,” I said with a smile.

I’d worn something that Gran would have never let me out of the house in. I’d changed out of my jeans and hoodie into a miniskirt and tank top. She’d flip her lid, but I had a plan.

“Marley,” he said with a head nod. His eyes dropped to my legs and back up. “What are you doing out here?”

“Came to see you.”

He crossed his arms. “Yeah? And how did you know that I’d be here?”

“I saw Kathy.”

“Hmm… she didn’t mention that.”

“She might have thought that I was your date.”

He laughed. “Yeah, well, I have a date with Krista Kendrick tonight. So, you should probably go.”

That name sounded familiar, but I didn’t know why.

“She’s a St. Catherine’s cheerleader. Miss Junior Savannah,” he filled in.

I blinked. “Oh.”

Shit. Krista was one of those bombshell girls. She was in all the pageants and sometimes came into Miss Alicia’s for solo lessons. I was sure she had no idea who I was. But also, clearly, I couldn’t compete with the Kristas of the world. My plan was coming unraveled, and I’d just gotten here.

I needed to stall. “That’s your boat?”

He hardly blinked at the change of subject. His eyes lit up, and his smile went with it. “Yeah, this is Sandra. She’s a beauty, and she’s all mine.”

“Kind of small. I expected…” My eyes drifted back to the massive sailboat.

“Yeah. Well, that one is my dad’s. I saved up for three years to get Sandra here. I bought her off of a local and do most of the repairs myself.”

“You bought the boat?”

He grinned at me. “Yeah. I’ve been working out on the marina since I could walk. The only thing that I’ve ever really wanted to do is be on the water. Now that I have my own boat, I can take the Intracoastal Waterway up to Charleston and see my cousins. I could take it all the way up to Virginia and down to Florida if I wanted.”

I tried to reconcile this Derek with the one I saw when he was with other people. I’d put him squarely in the bad category. But here he was, just a guy with a passion. It was what had drawn him to me when he helped his sister and then talked about Duke versus UNC. I’d never expected him to be more than the charming playboy.

“That sounds amazing,” I finally admitted. “I’ve never been sailing.”

“What? It’s the best feeling in the entire world. I should take you out sometime.” Then, he frowned and glanced back to the marina entrance just as a car door shut. “Just not right now. What are you doing here anyway?”

But I didn’t get a chance to tell him.

“Derek!” Krista Kendrick called. She was in a flowy dress and tall wedges. Her hair was down, as if the humidity didn’t affect it at all, and a full face of makeup. She stepped onto the dock and scrutinized me. “Who is this?”

“Hey, babe. This is no one. Just a friend.”

Krista looked doubtful. “Just a friend,” she drawled. “I know you, Derek. You don’t have any female friends.”

I shot her an innocent, wide-eyed look. “I should be going. Sorry.”

“Wait,” Krista spat. She looked between us and saw Derek’s reputation and not what was reality. As I’d suspected she would. I didn’t even have to say anything. His reputation would do its work for me. “Did you forget about us today?”

“No, of course not,” Derek said hastily. He glanced over at me. I smiled sweetly at him, and he narrowed his eyes. “Marley, you should go.”

“Right, yeah.”

Krista held her hand out to stop me. “Are you double-dipping, Derek? Did you already take her out?”

“What? No.”

“Oh my God,” she said with a shake of her head. “I ignored all of my friends who said this was a bad idea. I said that you were different with me. But I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

“Krista, babe…”

“God, I’m an idiot. We all know who you are, Derek. That you’d do this to me is beyond stupid.”

I tried to inch around her. “I didn’t mean… I’ll just get out of here.”

“Were you here for a date with him?” she demanded.

“I… no…” I told the truth, stumbling over the words, as if I had no idea what she was talking about.

“Tell her, Marley,” Derek demanded.

But I just smiled at him. And it was that moment that he realized what I was doing. Why I’d shown up. It was as if all the pieces slid into place in his mind.

Krista snorted. “Well, Marley… he’s all yours.”

She turned and stomped back down the dock. Derek followed after her, trying to explain. But how could he explain my presence? His reputation had worked against me… so why shouldn’t it work against him too?

I waited with a smile as he tried unsuccessfully to salvage his date. But Krista got back into her car and peeled out of the parking lot without a backward glance. Derek jogged back onto the deck. He looked mad but mostly shocked that I’d gotten him back at his own game.

“What the fuck was that?”

“Oh sorry,” I said, batting my eyelashes at him. “Would you like me to go after her and tell her that we didn’t sleep together?”

His jaw set. “So, that’s what this is about.”

“What? Did you think I’d stop caring about all this?”

“It’s not my fault that people are talking about you at school.”

“It’s your reputation,” I snapped. “You clearly knew how people would see it. You get off scot-free, and I have to suffer the consequences. I decided if you wouldn’t do anything about it, then I would.”

He shook his head. “You’re insane.”

I laughed. “No, I’m brilliant.”

He tilted his head again, giving me that look that I hadn’t been able to decipher at the party. “You could always let me take you sailing.”

“What?” I asked, stunned by the offer.

“You could make it up to me,” he said with a panty-melting smile.

I blinked. “Have you lost it? I just fucked up your date.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m a make the best of any situation kind of guy.” He patted Sandra. “So?”

“You know what? You could make all of this up to me by telling people we didn’t hook up.”

He sighed. “Are you going to keep showing up here and sabotaging my dates?”

I grinned devilishly. “Yes.”

“Then, yes, I’ll do it. I don’t think it’ll change anything, but fine. Are you happy?”

“Yep.”

“So… sailing?”

“You think I’d get on that boat with you?”

I checked my watch. Technically, I didn’t have to be home until ten, which was unheard of, especially since I’d been grounded. And yeah, I wanted to go out on that boat. I’d never been before, and God, I loved the water.

But one look at his smug face told me exactly why I couldn’t. He expected me to say yes. He knew his charm worked on everyone, and then he could get away with murder. I wasn’t going to be another one of his girls.

“No thanks,” I said and then strode down the dock away from him.

“You’re really just going to walk away?” he asked disbelievingly.

“Yep!” I called back. I popped open the door to the minivan. “Have fun out on the water alone, Derek.”

“Aww, Minivan, you’re breaking my heart.”

I waggled my fingers at him. “Get used to it!”

Then I hopped into the van and left him behind.