Chapter 110

4 p.m. Tuesday

"Hey, Regan," Tori said as she walked out to the pool deck, "there is a guy on the phone for you."

Regan was reclining on a deck chair and she looked over her sunglasses in confusion. Andy was next to her; Chris was in the water; Elizabeth was on the way back with John Manley. Paul Manley was working late to make up for being rained out the day before and Chuck was working with him of the evenings after school. That pretty much accounted for any guy who might have a reason to call her.

"He said his name is Jase Carter," Tori explained. Regan immediately sat bolt upright in her chair – and a host of thoughts went through her mind.

"Jase Carter is calling me?" she asked. Everyone heard the undisguised excitement in her voice - and everyone saw her immediately start primping her hair. She got up and headed inside without a backward glance at anyone else.

"Who's Jase Carter?" Andy asked Joy, who had been stationed on Regan's opposite side. Joy simply shrugged. She had never heard the name before but she had seen enough to know something wasn't right. She got up and headed into the house in Regan's wake.

She found Regan standing at the phone, still running her fingers through her hair as she spoke. She was smiling broadly and looking at herself in the mirror as she tried to make her wet hair presentable. She finally gave up and nervously adjusted her bikini top to show more cleavage.

"Oh, that sounds lovely," she said into the receiver. "Oh, absolutely. It has been far too long."

She listened for a moment and then broke into a slight giggle.

"You're so sweet to say that," she said happily. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you tomorrow at eight."

She smiled to herself in the mirror again.

"No, no need to pick me up," she said. "I know where Mariucci's is. I'll see you then! Ta-ta."

She put the phone down and shook with excitement. The excitement ended when she turned to see Joy standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Did I just hear you make a date for tomorrow night with another guy?" she asked incredulous.

Regan blinked.

"No, no," she stammered. "Of course not."

"It sure as shit sounded like it!" Joy spat. "Who the fuck is Jason whoever?"

"Jase Carter!" Regan said. Even the way she said the guy's name made Joy angry. "He was a senior at McMurry when I was in ninth grade. Now he's interning at one of his father's law offices out here."

"La-di-fucking-dah," Joy said. "Here's another name for you: Andy Drayton. You know, the guy outside that is going to be highly fucking pissed about this!"

"Andy doesn't have to know everywhere I go!" Regan said. "I'll just tell him I'm going to visit with a friend I knew in New York. Jase just wants to catch up on the people we knew there. Andy will understand. It's not a date."

"Bullshit," Joy said. "You said he was a senior when you were a freshman. He went to a completely different fucking school! How many people do you suppose you have in common? Few enough you could catch up about them in a fucking phone call. It doesn't require..."

"It's not a date!" Regan said again.

"It sure sounds like one to me," Andy said. Regan glanced to the side where he'd entered. He was standing with his arms crossed, staring at her.

"It isn't!" Regan insisted.

"How many people do you really think he remembers that you do?" Andy said angrily. "Fuck, I didn't even know who Paul Manley's sister is and I saw her every fucking day for a year! Then you planned to lie to me about it. That's pretty fucked up!"

"I wasn't," Regan said - lying again.

Ashlyn had seen this was going to be too good to pass up. She had slipped in the back door and into the dining room where she could listen without being seen. It was more than she could hope for. Regan was about to get taken down without Ashlyn having to get her hands dirty.

"I'll let you two hash this out alone," Joy declared, throwing her hands up. "Andy, just remember, if you dump her, I'll be available to find you a date the next day."

"Go to hell, Joy," Regan said in a raised voice.

"Hey, you started the ball rolling," Joy replied with her typical insouciance. "I'm just letting Andy know he has plenty of options if you're stupid enough not to realize what you've done."

Andy and Regan were still glaring at each other when they heard a strangled gasp from the dining room. Joy had seen Ashlyn in the mirror and had grabbed the much bigger girl by the ponytail. She was dragging her outside by her hair despite Ashlyn's protests and attempts to get away.

"Stay the fuck out of it or you'll add me to the list of people going to kick your ass before you go home," Joy said.

Andy heard the door shut behind him but he didn't turn to see if it was Joy closing it behind her or someone else coming in.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" Regan asked in return.

"Are you planning to go out tomorrow night with a douche bag you knew in New York?" he asked.

Regan let out a heavy sigh but didn't speak.

"I saw you start to fluff your hair before you made it in the house," Andy noted in angry tones. "And it isn't like anyone could miss the fact you almost creamed your panties when you heard his name. Who the fuck is this guy?"

The anger in Andy's voice caused Regan to take a step backward. She finally understood how her mother had felt when he had lost his temper at her.

"He went to McMurry School," Regan said.

"Yeah," Andy cut in. "I got that. He was a senior and you were a freshman. Does he mean something major to you? Is that why you're willing to throw away what we're building to go out with him?"

"I'm not going to throw away anything," Regan declared.

"The hell you aren't," Andy retorted.

"It isn't a date!" Regan yelled.

"Joy's right, you know," Andy replied. "You don't go to a ritzy restaurant for dinner if you just want to chat about old friends. You meet for coffee or maybe lunch. But a late-night dinner is a date."

"You don't trust me!" Regan said, her voice becoming brittle.

Andy shrugged.

"He was 18 when you were 14," Andy said. "That means he's 21 and you're 17. Whether I trust you isn't the issue. I don't trust him. It would be no different than me asking Noel out for a date. Aren't you the one who said seniors date freshman for one reason only? Well, this isn't any different!"

"You don't get to tell me who I can be friends with," Regan stated.

"No, and I'm not trying to," Andy countered. "I'm just pointing out that making late-night plans with a guy you barely know and then planning to shade the truth to your boyfriend is a problem. But, know this, it will only be a problem for me one time. After that, you can go and do anything with anyone your little heart desires."

"So that's it?" Regan said. "I let you choose my friends or you break up with me? Well, maybe you should do it now. Because I'm never going to let you decide who I can see or when I can see them!"

"Have it your way," Andy said. "But you stop and think for a minute how you'd react if the situation were reversed before you do something you can't undo. I've had enough of this entire family for one day so I'm going home. Let me know if you want to go out with me or with him. Right now, I'm almost hoping you'll choose him."

Andy headed upstairs to get his belongings from the room he'd stayed in the night before. He saw his cell phone sitting there on the bed. He picked it up and carried it over to Regan's room where he deposited it on her dresser with his sunglasses. She had bought them for him and he really didn't want anything she'd given him at that point.

Regan walked out into the bright sun without her shades - which were sitting on the table beside the phone. The only person who wasn't staring at her like a bug under glass was Ashlyn, who was sitting off to the side pouting.

"Seriously?" Ruth said, shaking her head sadly. Chris didn't even speak. He just gathered up his shirt and shoes and headed inside. He wanted no part of whatever was about to happen in Regan Riley's life.

Elizabeth saw Andy storming out of the house as she walked up to the door with Lupe and John. Her eyes widened when she saw the look of rage on his face that she had never seen (or even imagined).

"Andy?" she asked. He ignored her and walked right past John and Lupe without even acknowledging their existence. Elizabeth turned to watch him go - and saw Chris storm past her, too.

She hooked his arm to get him to wait. He roughly jerked his arm free.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Talk to Regan if you want to know," Chris hissed. "No, better not. She'd just lie to you, too. Joy will give you the story if you really want it."

Elizabeth was still pondering her options when Ruth came out of the house.

"Wait for me," she yelled to Chris. "I'm through with her too if that's how she's going to be."

"Ruth!" Elizabeth said loudly. "What is going on?"

"Some guy from New York that Regan had the hots for called her," Ruth said, glancing to make sure Chris wasn't driving off without her. "She made a fucking date with him tomorrow night."

"Oh, no she didn't," Lupe said.

"Oh, yes she did," Ruth declared. "She says it's not a date. It's just two old friends who barely know each other having a late dinner at a nice restaurant - then probably spending the night together if he wants to."

Elizabeth's mouth dropped and she blinked to clear the confusion.

"I will bust her up if she hurts Andy," Lupe declared.

"No, you won't," Elizabeth said sharply.

Lupe tilted her head quickly in a "just you wait and see" gesture.

"Uh, that sounds like a date to me," John said. "But, I mean, come on. Regan is way into Andy."

"Apparently Andy can't compete with Jase Carter," Ruth said. "I've got to go. If I stay here and talk about this, Lupe is going to have to stand in line to bust her up."

Elizabeth had her hand in front of her mouth in despair. Two of the people she liked the best in the world were about to come undone.

"Ruth, I hate to impose but could you take Lupe and John to my house?" she asked. "Chris knows where I live."

"I want to stay here," Lupe declared with her hands on her hips.

"You won't help anything," Elizabeth said.

"I don't plan to help anything," Lupe stated.

"Just go with Ruth," Elizabeth said in a tight voice. "You and John can hang out at the house until I get home. I'm going to try to talk some sense into her."

"Good luck with that," Ruth said. "And I'm not sure it will matter. She can be stubborn as hell. I know it for a fact."

"I can be pretty stubborn, too," Elizabeth said. "Just let me give a shot. If it doesn't work, at least I've tried."

"Then you're a hell of a lot nicer person than I am," Ruth said. "I'm going home and start lining up dates for Andy before you get the chance."