Chapter 11

Rory had done some hard thinking before going to sleep the previous night. He decided he needed a day off from work.

He’d sent a text to Sophie to see if she wanted to spend the day with him playing tourist, to which she’d agreed. He used his newly minted debit card to order them a trip to the Grand Canyon. It was an all-day tour, which he hoped would keep his mind occupied enough that he wouldn’t obsess over his father sleeping with Stacy.

When he came downstairs for breakfast, only Sophie was there.

“They went to work. I told them about our tour, and Mom was so excited she immediately said it was okay.”

“Whatcha eating?” Rory asked.

“Mom brought home some decent cereal. It’s in the pantry.”

He checked and smiled. He found Frosted Flakes, Cap’n Crunch—which he loved but his mom would never buy for him—Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese’s Puffs. He grabbed the Cap’n Crunch and noted that Sophie was eating the Reese’s. That would explain the peanut butter cereal they had to throw out the other day.

“I’ve lived here almost my whole life and have never gone to the Grand Canyon. I’m looking forward to it,” Sophie admitted.

He thought for a moment about all the attractions that Chicago had to offer. While he’d been on school trips to the different museums, there were a lot of places he’d never been. An example was the top of the Sears—now Willis—Tower. He wondered if the same could be true of other people. Did New Yorkers ignore places like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building?

“We should explore Vegas and all it has to offer. It would be sad if we didn’t,” Rory said.

“I’d like to tag along.”

They finished breakfast and got ready to leave.

The tour provided a bus that picked up at any strip hotel and took tourists to Boulder City Municipal Airport, where their trip would begin. Rory decided to drive there instead of paying for parking at a hotel. When they parked and checked in, the bus hadn’t arrived yet.

“Sit on the left side of the plane,” advised the tour guide. “It’ll give you the best view of Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. On the way back, sit on the other side. The sun will be down as we circle the strip before landing.”

“I call the window seat,” Sophie announced.

Rory was used to Chris and Katherine’s girls doing stuff like that and just nodded in agreement.

The flight to the Grand Canyon was only 35 minutes. As advertised, the views on their side of the plane were much better. Lake Mead, which they saw along the way, looked like it was in another world. All the lakes he’d seen before had trees surrounding them. This one looked to have been cut out of bare rock. Strangely, it was beautiful.

“We should go and check that out,” Rory suggested.

“Each year, kids who attend Valley Prep go for a long weekend and party. It happens the week after the Fourth of July. There are no hotels or anything, so they camp in the parks. While I’ve never gone, I hear it gets pretty wild.”

Rory wrinkled his nose.

“I’m not sure I would be up for camping.”

He couldn’t imagine being in a sleeping bag on that rocky ground.

Sophie gave him a half-smile.

“Stop and think about who I said was going. How do you think they camp?”

Rory could see her point but still didn’t get it.

“They rent motorhomes or campers. There’s a company that provides everything from food to booze to whatever else you want. It’s like an Airbnb setup. You just show up and party,” Sophie shared.

That sounded good. But if they were going to the lake, he would want to be out on the water.

“Does it include boats?”

“The lake is a few miles from the campground, but everyone talked about being on the water. They either tie their boats together or find a beach to party on. We should get one of those double-decker pontoon boats they call a party barge. We would be the center of everything.”

“Let’s do it,” Rory decided.

It sounded like a lot of fun. He imagined all the girls running around in bikinis.

“I’ll get it organized. I think each motorhome sleeps six. We’ll have to figure out how many we’re inviting so I can make the reservations.”

“I’ll ask around and see who’d want to go.”

“Can I invite friends, too?” Sophie asked.

That was when he realized he’d be paying for her to go. Rory knew his parents had cut her off, and he wanted her to enjoy the weekend, too. What he didn’t want was to become her friends’ ATM.

“Figure out how much it’ll be for each person. I’ll pay for your portion, but I’m not financing everyone else,” Rory said to make it clear.

“No problem. I’ll find out when we get back.”

Rory had paid extra to have a helicopter fly them up and down the Grand Canyon. It then landed on the canyon floor, where they took a boat ride. When they debarked, they were taken back to the top and had a late lunch.

He was spacing out, thinking about Tyler and Stacy, when Sophie decided she’d had enough of his moping.

“What exactly did you think was going to happen?”

“I don’t know. I just never thought she would do it with my dad.”

“You know what your problem is?”

When girls said stuff like that, it was never good.

“I bet I’m about to find out,” he quipped.

“You’re a nice guy.”

Rory looked at her in confusion. So Sophie explained.

“You’ve heard nice guys don’t get the girls, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to have to be a jerk to find someone,” Rory shot back.

His mom had always told him that being nice never hurt. It sounded like Sophie felt otherwise.

“I’m not saying it isn’t good to be nice. What I’m saying is that the kind of nice guy you are is creepy. Girls will be willing to be friends with you, but they won’t actually want to date you,” Sophie explained.

He couldn’t believe she would say that. He never felt like he was a creeper around girls. He might be awkward, but that was just his inexperience.

“I call bullshit. I think that eventually, all girls want a nice guy to settle down with.”

“You mean a doormat?”

Rory’s cheeks flushed at that comment.

“Before you get all indignant, I was a nice girl at one time. I didn’t realize it until my mom pointed it out.”

“Your mom told you not to be nice?” he asked.

“I think we’re getting caught up in semantics. And just so you know, you weren’t the first one she taught. I had my first vibrator when I was twelve.”

Twelve sounded awfully young, but he’d always heard that girls matured faster than boys.

“I’m assuming she didn’t take you to porn class,” Rory worried.

Sophie chuckled.

“No, our sessions were one-on-one. She would never have had me practice on a live boy.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Back to semantics. I’m not talking about being kind; I expect you to always be that. What I’m talking about is what I’ve seen since you got here. You took a job with my mom. I’m betting that you felt a sense of obligation, and that’s why you agreed. Am I right?”

Rory hated to admit it. He would have been happy working on pools or doing yard work. It wasn’t until later that he discovered he’d hit pay dirt.

“But that turned out way better than what I was planning,” Rory said to defend himself.

“Hang on to that thought,” Sophie said, pausing before continuing. “Let me ask you a question. Before they asked you, did you ever think about going out with Summer, Julie, or Alice?”

“No, but I thought they were all good-looking. I just wasn’t in the frame of mind to date someone.”

“This is just speculation, but I suspect they targeted you to join their group. I include Sean and Jace in this. I think they’ve intentionally courted you to be in their circle of friends. If you knew that was their intention up front, would you be hanging out with them now?” Sophie asked.

He contemplated what Sophie was saying. It sounded calculating and made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t get that feeling when he thought of his new friends, though.

“I’ve come to like them. I think you’re just letting your past experiences cloud your judgment.”

Sophie shrugged as if to say it was only speculation.

“I could be off base, but I’ve known them most of my life. Summer and I used to be best friends, so I know how they think. I suspect your crew wants you in their group because it’ll help them with their status when school starts. Having the hot new guy, who just happens to be Tyler Luv’s son, wrapped up will shoot them to the top of the junior class’s pecking order.”

“There’s only one problem with your theory: I’m not a hot guy. I’m just a nobody.”

“That was before you were Tyler Luv’s son. The same Tyler Luv who owns most of Summerlin. You’re the new prince of the kingdom.”

“But I’m still not hot,” Rory pushed back.

“I disagree. While you were taking care of your mom, you were too busy to notice how girls looked at you. I bet you grew up. I challenge you to look in a mirror. You might be on the skinny side, but you have a fantastic body, and you are Tyler’s son where it counts,” Sophie said, waggling her eyebrows so he would catch her meaning.

He felt himself becoming uncomfortable. Rory knew he wasn’t hideous, but he’d never considered that he might be good-looking.

“Okay, fine. But what does this have to do with me being a ‘nice guy’ or ‘doormat,’ as you called me?”

“Let’s go back to my original question. How would you feel if they had strings attached to their friendship?” Sophie asked.

“It would make me uneasy, and my guard would be up,” Rory admitted.

“Remember that. Now, let me ask you a hypothetical. If Summer asked you to be her plus-one at some swanky dance, would you say ‘yes?’”

“Of course,” he said without having to think about it.

“What if it was the same night of some big MMA fight that you had tickets to?”

Rory thought about it for a moment.

“I would still say ‘yes.’”

“Even though you’d feel out of place rubbing elbows with Summerlin’s elite? Having to watch what you said and how you acted the whole evening?”

“I would,” Rory said, “because it was something she wanted to do.”

“And why is that?” Sophie asked. “I want you to be truthful and tell me the real reason.”

Her question made no sense to him.

“She asked me, and I would want to be there for her.”

“Even though you had something you would much rather do?”

He thought for a moment. There would always be MMA fights to go to. How many times could he be Summer’s knight in shining armor?

“Yep.”

Sophie gave him a sad look.

“It’s my turn to call bullshit,” Sophie said.

“What do you mean?”

“You would do it because you think Summer will be grateful and have sex with you.”

“No way. I would never expect that,” Rory said emphatically, without thinking.

“Dude. You’re a guy. You’re always thinking about sex. The only reason you’d pass up kick-ass tickets to an MMA fight was to get laid. Don’t lie to me.”

Rory stopped and thought about it.

’Could she be right?’ he wondered.

“Let’s say for argument’s sake that you’re correct in your assumptions. What does that mean?” he asked.

“It’s creepy. And you know it’s true because you so forcefully denied it. Girls get the same feeling you just did when I pointed out that your new friends may have certain expectations.

“Girls aren’t stupid. When they have a guy around them who’ll do their bidding, they’ll never sleep with him because they know what he’s up to. That’s why nice guys fall into the friend zone. It’s also why if you continue like this, you’ll never truly end up with Summer,” Sophie said.

“She gave me a hand job. I would say that shoots a hole in your theory,” he said.