“I can’t tonight, Tay. I promised Marshall I’d help him study for his bio test. Even the easier summer session is kicking his ass.”
Bleh.Marshall. “Liv, that guy’s a loser, and he’s using you. Not to mention, no amount of help will make him pass that test.”
She giggles into the phone. “I know, but Janet is beside herself with jealousy that he asked me instead of her, and you know any chance I get to stick it to Janet, I’m taking.”
“You don’t even like the guy,” I argue. “Why does it matter if Janet goes out with him?”
“Have you not been paying attentionat allthe last few weeks?” Livvy whines.
Apparently not.
“You know what, spare me the details,” I tell my little sister.
“Whatever. I don’t have class next Thursday. Let’s rent jet skis at the lake one more time before the season’s over.”
“Next Thursday? I’m going to absolutely die of boredom by then.”
“Take it or leave it,” she says.
“Fine. Go revenge-tutor Marshallor whatever-the-fuck.”
“Love you, Taaaaay,” she sings into the phone.
“You too, Liv.”
It only takes my brain about sixty seconds to pivot and come up with another plan.
The construction crew won’t be back until Monday, so as long as I’m back by Sunday night, there shouldn’t be a problem. I can fly standby from Raleigh to Atlanta for the weekend for free.
A perk of being employed by a major airline.
A change of scenery, hitting my favorite club with my friend Callum, and the possibility of working out some of this sexual tension is exactly what I need…but not with Callum…becauseno.
Maybe I should heed Livvy’s advice and dick around with someone my own age for a night.Maybeif I get laid, I’ll stop feeling like I’m a dog in heat the rest of the time Knox Bennett is at the house.
Phil and Javier leave about an hour and a half after Knox’s hasty departure, and I make sure I’m on the list for a seven-thirty p.m. flight.
I throw all the essentials in my bag: stick-on rhinestone freckles, glitter blush, my favorite clubbing outfit, travel pack of toiletries, condoms, lube, thigh-high socks, and I’m ready to roll.
“Yeah, I’m supposed to land at nine,” I tell Cal through the speakers in my BMW. “Do notbe late, Callum Deacon Jaynes. I mean it,” I warn. “Last time, I waited on the curb for twenty-five minutes, slowly dying from second-hand strawberry vape smoke.”
“I hadn’t realized your visits would be so frequent and would require me to become your on-demand chauffeur,” Callum deadpans on the other end of the line.
“Oh, please. You love it when I come visit,” I scoff.
“I hardly see you when you’re down here,” he pouts. “You don’t even stay with me.”
“Well, once you actuallyfindyour guest bed under the piles of shit you undoubtedly have everywhere, maybe I’ll consider staying with you.”
Callum and I were roommates in college. At least for the two years I was there before the walls closed in, and I realized institutionalized education was not for me. He was messy then, but it’s gotnothingon his house now. He moved to Atlanta shortly after he graduated and always offers me a place to stay, but I can’t handle his space. Cal’s a brilliant designer, but his mind and personal life are chaotic as fuck, so I always opt for a hotel.
“Dick,” he mutters lovingly.
I can’t help but laugh. “I’ll take that as the compliment it was clearly meant to be, considering we both have an affinity for the appendage.”
“See you at ten,” he says.
“Nine!” I shout, correcting him, but he’s already hung up.
