“He was with Tanya?”
“Yup. He was. Are we done with the interrogation? Because I have a movie to finish before Josh gets here.”
“Nothing else happened?”
“What could possibly have happened? I’m with Joe.”
I could’ve sworn she rolled her eyes, but my eyes were so tired from trying to stay awake during the movie, it could’ve been a blink. “Okay. If there’s nothing else.” She stood, lingering for a moment. “Back to your movie then. I’m going to crash early. I’ll see Josh in the morning.”
The movie ended and Zach was right. It was horrible. But at least I had a better idea of what I was going to write my paper on.
I wanted to crash but instead I got the couch ready for Josh and waited up for him. When he arrived two hours later than expected, I couldn’t help greeting him with annoyance. How hard was it to pick up a phone?
“Good to see you too, sis,” he said when I asked him why he was so late. “Jeez, cut a guy some slack, will you? I basically sat in traffic for four hours just so I could spend the weekend with you.” He threw his hat onto the couch.
He let his duffel bag fall from his shoulder and caught the strap in his hand. “I’m sorry, but you had me worried. You should have called or at least answered your phone.”
“Battery’s dead.” He waved his phone at me.
“You could have used a pay phone.”
“If you can tell me where a pay phone still exists, I will give you a hundred dollars.”
He was right. I hadn’t seen a pay phone since I was in elementary school, but still, that wasn’t the point.
“I’m sorry. Next time I will find a way to call you even if it means risking my life and asking some shady character at a rest stop if I can use his phone.”
“That’s better,” I said. “Apology accepted.”
“Oh, good.” He rolled his eyes and dropped his duffel bag on the couch. “So what’s the plan for the weekend?”
“I actually need to talk to you about that.” I walked away and then called over my shoulder, “Are you hungry? I can make you something if you’d like. Turkey sandwich? French toast sticks?”
“Liz!”
I kept walking.
“Yeah.” I stuck my head in the fridge.
He jumped up on the counter. “Spill.”
“I . . . uh . . . kind of planned a party for tomorrow night, but it was supposed to be small just my friends you know and well . . .”
“Let me guess . . .” He drummed his fingers on his chin. “Somehow every frat house from here to Connecticut found out, and they’re going to show up expecting a rager.”
“Well . . . not from here to Connecticut.” I took my head out of the fridge and glanced towards him. “Just the entire campus.”
“Even better. Sounds like it’ll be a blast.”
I don’t know why I expected him to say it was a bad idea. He was always out looking for a party and now I was bringing one right to him.
“Good. I can’t wait. I never got to throw a party in high school. Now I have my chance.”
“It’s a shame. Our house was perfect for parties.”
My hands rested on my hips. “When did you ever have a party?”
“Remember your trips to Grandma’s my senior year?”
“Yeah, but you stayed home to study. You said it was the perfect opportunity to study for finals because there would be no distractions.” Josh shook his head, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
I smacked him on his shoulder. “You are such a liar.”
“Hey, it worked every time,” he said, raising his hands up in front of him.
“Unbelievable.”
“I know. So how about that turkey sandwich?”
“Sure, you can go ahead and make it yourself.” I said and shut the fridge.
“What? You’re mad at me?”
“Not at all. But now I have something to hold over your head.”
“We don’t live at home anymore. It doesn’t work like that.”
“True, but the disappointment on our parents’ faces when I tell them—man, I can imagine it now.”
“Touche. I’ll get my own sandwich.” He jumped off the counter.
“Good. Wanna make me one too?” I asked, sitting down on a stool.
“Now you’re pushing it.” He held the turkey out at me since his finger wasn’t free to point. I took it out of his hand, got up and grabbed two plates from the cabinet while he got the bread. Josh and I were a team. Always had been.
Always would be.
Chapter 13
Around eight p.m. the band showed up. They were there early to figure out the best place to set up. I was lucky to get a kiss from Joe before he got in on the discussion and I was on my own.
After arguing for what seemed like forever, they settled on the far corner of the living room so they were close enough to the keg. They obviously didn’t realize they were taking up most of the living room and making it difficult to access the beer. I rolled my eyes—it wasn’t worth fighting over.
Sadie walked out of her bedroom shortly after, decked out in her best party wear. I made her help me put away any valuables we forgot, which she wasn’t too thrilled about doing in heels.
“Go throw on my slippers.”
“God, Liz, what if people start showing up and I’m in slippers?” She had a point, but she couldn’t hide the wince that crossed her face when she walked away.
The night came too fast. By ten p.m.it was party time, and I had yet to even get dressed.
With the last of the valuables hidden, I headed to my room to get myself together. Why hadn’t I picked an outfit out ahead of time?
Sadie let herself into my room without knocking. Once we’d started living together, any and all boundaries had disappeared.
“Why don’t you wear that racer back top you got at the mall? The one with the silver sequins and embellished v-neck. It makes your boobs look huge. Not to mention purple looks good on you.” She walked over to my closet to retrieve it.
“I forgot about that top, I never had a reason to wear it,” I said, happy she was there to help.
“What better reason than a party—a party
Unfortunately, my hair was still up in a ponytail from when I had showered earlier and I had no makeup on. Sadie came to my rescue again and took the black elastic ponytail holder from my hair, shooting it across my bedroom before grabbing the hairspray off of my dresser.
“Flip,” she said, motioning wildly with her hand.
“Excuse me?” I cocked my eyebrow at her.
“Flip your head so I can spray. You have that natural wave thing going on. It looks really good. I just want to make sure it stays.” I did as she said and she sprayed and fluffed. “Okay, flip back.” I threw my head back and shook it until my hair fell naturally into place.
