God… is he really back in town?
Zoey joins us with popcorn and gummies before my daddy issues rain on my parade. We start scrolling through Netflix. I’d rather skip the lovey-dovey and go full-on comedy tonight, but Zoey insists we watch some steamy romance movie that just came out. As for Morgan, she just wants to keep eating.
I notice all the movies in Zoey’s “Continue Watching” section are… well, hot and heavy, to say the least.
“Zoey, would you happen to have an itch that needs scratching by any chance?” I tease, and she groans.
“Give me a break. It’s the closest thing I’ve had to some action in weeks. And trust me, it’s not for lack of trying.”
“You went back to Sean?” I dread her answer.
“Fuck Sean. Sean can go suck a dick.”
I frown. “Who are we talking about, then?”
“Haze, of course.”
Here we go.
“Seriously, Zo?” I cringe. “Again?”
She fiddles with her phone, oozing shame.
“But you said you were done. You know he doesn’t want a girlfriend.”
“Don’t give me that look. Nothing happened…” She stops and mumbles, “Despite my best efforts.”
“What are you saying?” Morgan asks.
“He rejected me.” Zoey flings her hands up. “Me! Can you believe it? He doesn’t do serious, I get it, but he never turned down sex before. I showed up at his place yesterday, and he practically chased me off his porch. Didn’t even consider it. What am I going to do without my mind-blowing fuck buddy?”
Morgan snorts. “How will you ever survive?”
“Morg, I’m serious. Do you think he could…” Zoey pauses as though she’s terrified to say it out loud. “Be seeing someone? Like actually liking someone?”
“Of course not. It’s Haze,” I reply.
Truth is, as much as I’d like to soothe her worries, part of me can’t stop replaying the moment I walked in on Winter and Mr. Player in the bathroom earlier. They did seem pretty friendly. With their next-level cheesiness and “second date” rubbish. Haze’s voice echoes in my head.
Thank you for getting to know me.
Could it be…
“Really?” Zoey continues. “Because from what I’ve heard, he was with your cousin today.”
How the heck does she know that?
Does she have spies?
I shrug. “So? Probably doesn’t mean anything.”
“What does he see in her anyway? Bitch is kind of ugly. Like a four on a good day.”
Anger eats at my insides. Winter is like a sister to me. I open my mouth to tell her off, but Morgan beats me to it.
“Are you kidding? The girl’s gorgeous. She barely wears any makeup, and she looks like that? I’m sorry, but I have to disagree on this one. If Haze were to like her, I’d get it.”
Fuming, Zoey sends Morgan a nasty glare and diverts her attention to her phone. I lock eyes with Morgan and crack a thankful smile, to which she replies with an I got you nod.
“Well, then…” Zoey speaks after a few seconds of boiling on the inside. “Guess that means I’ll have to go for my plan B, doesn’t it?”
She turns to me.
“Hottie Blondie. You don’t mind, right? I know I was giving him a pass because I wanted you to jump his bones and forget what’s his name, but since you didn’t take me up on my offer…”
The mere thought of Zoey anywhere near Will makes my flesh crawl.
“Why him?”
“Why not him? He’s a total dreamboat. Those eyes, that body, those hands…” She’s practically drooling. “You know what they say about big hands.”
I press my lips together, trying—and failing—to conceal my annoyance.
“Earth to Kass?” Zoey waves her hand in front of my face. “So… What do you say?”
How about fuck no?
“I’d rather you didn’t.” I shift in place.
“Why? Is something going on between you two?”
“No, it’s just…”
“It’s just what?” she pushes.
“He’s my brother’s best friend. You know how I feel about my friends getting involved with these clowns.” I’m lying my ass off. If I’m being honest, I don’t know why I almost hurled on the carpet at the simple mention of them together, but the pit in my throat is good enough for me.
“Kass, come on. If I can’t get anywhere near him, then at least let me have Kendrick.”
“What? That’s even worse! He’s my brother. I don’t want you guys to hook up. Zoey, promise me.”
She begins to answer but hesitates, considering her options.
“Zoey!”
“Fine, jeez. I won’t touch Kendrick,” she gives in. “But no promises about Hottie Blondie.”
Backed into a corner, I ignore the irritation stirring in my stomach and sit as far away from her as I possibly can.
I don’t know what I’m madder about:
The fact that my best friend wants to get Will…
Or the fact that it bothers me.
Kassidy
I’ve always loved the rain. And I don’t mean the cute drizzle some people love to call rain. I mean the “we shall never leave our houses ever again” rain. I especially loved it as a kid because with rainstorms often came power outages.
When it trapped Kendrick, my mom, my dad, and me inside, I felt like I had a family. For that one, fleeting moment, time slowed down, the world stopped turning, and we were together. There were no pressing emails my dad had to reply to, no important phone calls he had to take, no TV. Just a family.
Playing cards in the dark.
On my twelfth birthday, remnants of a violent hurricane swept through town. We lost power. Dad and I played Go Fish for three hours with nothing but oil lamps illuminating the kitchen. Mom made us sandwiches, Kendrick picked up a book. It’d been ages since he’d bothered opening one of the novels Aunt Lauren, Winter’s mom, gifted him at Christmas.
He read it all with a flashlight that night. It was the first time he’d enjoyed something other than video games in years. I don’t think there has ever been a day where my family was happier
