“Okay, okay, Marie. Damn, you act like I’m as red as a lobster or something.” Danielle pouted, sliding her bikini top back in place and then resting her head right in my lap. She began playing with her phone, and all I could do was look down at her beautiful body laid out across the seat. To make matters worse, I had no idea what to do with my hands.
“You a’ight over there, nephew?” Uncle Rio could barely contain his laughter as he took a picture with his phone, which meant he and Aunt Paris were going to be joking and teasing me for the next two weeks.
“Yeah, I’m cool.” I placed my hands behind my head and sat back like it was no big deal. I noticed my dad looking at us in the rearview mirror, and once again, he had that smile on his face.
“Y’all hungry?” Dad asked as we pulled out of the park. “You wanna stop and get something to eat?”
“Yes!” Danielle quickly answered.
“Definitely,” Uncle Rio yelled.
“Yes.” Kia, the other girl Marie had brought, raised her hand and smiled. Unlike Danielle, she was quiet and reserved. I’d overheard her tell Uncle Rio that her father was black and her mother was Korean, which was probably why she looked so exotic.
“What about you, Nevada?” Kia asked. The way she stared at me was kind of creepy and sexy at the same time, and it gave me butterflies for some reason. “You hungry?”
“Yeah, I could eat, but I’d rather go home and have a barbecue than eat fast food,” I replied. Kia grinned as if I’d come up with the right answer.
“A barbecue does sound good,” Uncle Rio added. “What do you say, Vegas? You’re the grill master.”
Dad nodded. “I’ve got some steaks and burgers from last weekend, and Ma’s always got a fridge full. Why not?”
“Let me find out you can cook . . .” Marie said playfully.
“Cook, no. But grill? Baby, I can grill my ass off,” my dad bragged.
“All righty then, I guess we’re having a BBQ!” Uncle Rio cheered, solidifying our plans.
“I love barbecues. Are we invited?” Danielle lifted her head from my lap and turned from her phone. Marie looked back, cutting her eyes disapprovingly, but Danielle pressed. “Please, Marie, I want to taste Vegas’s cooking.”
“Grilling,” Dad laughed, reiterating his previous point. “And yes, y’all can all come.”
Marie glanced over at him with uncertain eyes. “You sure about this? I don’t want to upset your mother by bringing the girls to her house, Vegas. She’s just starting to like me.”
“Trust me, my mom loves a full house,” Dad said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll text her and let her know.”
“Tell her she won’t have to lift a finger. I’ll pick up everything we need,” Marie told him. “And the girls will clean up.”
“And I’ll make drinks,” Uncle Rio added.
“Yes for the drinks!” Danielle clapped.
“No for the drinks. You’re only nineteen, Dani,” Marie reminded her. “And you too, Kia.”
I was surprised to hear that. I knew Danielle and Kia were the youngest girls that worked for Marie, but I thought they were in their early twenties, not their late teens.
“What? That’s some bull, Marie. We’re not at work,” Danielle snapped.
“Rules don’t change just ’cause we’re not at work. Until you’re twenty-one, you don’t drink around me or any of my friends. You got a problem with that, then we don’t have to have a BBQ. We can go back to the house.” Once again, Marie sounded more like a mother than a boss.
“No, I wanna stay,” Danielle replied humbly.
“Okay. Now, give Nevada some space and cover yourself up. We’re not at the water park anymore.”
Danielle sat up, shifting a little farther away from me and covering herself up with a beach towel. It was nice being able to stretch, but I can’t say I didn’t like her lying on me.
Marie turned back to the front, and a few minutes later, Danielle and Uncle Rio were asleep. I looked across the van at Kia, who turned from looking out the window and smiled at me timidly.
“What grade are you in?” she asked out of nowhere.
“I start my junior year next week, but I have enough credits to graduate. Right now, I’m taking all AP classes—except for gym.”
“Are you some kind of genius or something?” She laughed. She must have thought I was a brainiac freak.
“No, not really. I’m just—”
She cut me off, giggling. “It’s okay. Smart is sexy. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” She winked at me, and I could feel the heat from my face turning red. “So, you think you can help me study for my GED test sometime? I’m having a lot of trouble with the algebra. Math’s not my strongest subject.”
“Sure. I tutor kids in math and science at my school all the time. It’s not really that hard once you learn the formulas. Most of the kids get A’s and B’s once they work with me.”
“I bet they do,” she replied, giving me that stare that caused butterflies in my stomach again. “So, here’s a question for you. If you’re so smart and can graduate, why stay in high school? Why not go off to some fancy college?”
“It’s kind of a long story, but I just came to live with my father and his side of the family about three years ago. Before that, I spent most of my life in boarding schools in California because my mom was trying to keep me a secret from her husband.”
“That’s deep,” she said. “But boarding school sounds fun. Did you have to wear the uniforms like they do on TV?”
“Yeah, and I hated it. I hated the whole experience. I just wanted to be with my mom and have a real family,” I said sadly. “I thought I was all alone in the world until I came to live with my dad’s side of
