That was true. It was like they’d put Miracle-Gro in Lupe’s food supply.
Beckett drummed the table with his fingers, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “You’re not wrong.”
“Yes, he is,” Ginger huffed as she turned to Leo. “You’re wrong about us shoving you out the door. That’s not what we do.”
Leo raised his brows. “You’re telling me I’m not going to be homeless the second I graduate? I could graduate early, but then I’d be out on the street by Christmas.”
Murmurs went up around the table. Leo was a pain in the ass, but he was our pain in the ass, and there was no fucking way he was going to be homeless.
“I didn’t realize that was something you’d been worrying about,” Ginger said, looking stricken. “Yes, we will need to free up the bed for someone else, but not before we’ve made sure you’re settled with a safe place to stay and a career path.”
We all nodded. Even Lovett joined in on the sentiment.
“Well, that’s good to know,” Leo said, his body language much looser than it had been moments ago. “But my issue with the bunk beds stands. They don’t have to be fancy, and it could be a project we’d enjoy.”
“Hell, Leo,” I said, sending him an encouraging smile. “You just solved my curriculum for the fall.”
“Does that mean I get an A?”
“Nice try.”
Everyone at the table laughed. With solutions in place for both my classroom issues and Leo’s housing concerns, we got down to the business of eating. Between bites of King Ranch casserole, Ozzie sent me a brilliant smile, as if he were proud of me. My face went hot, and I wondered how he managed to stay so put together while the rest of us were sweaty and unkempt. He probably had a Tide pen tucked away somewhere.
I shook my head at myself, then plowed through lunch. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.
CHAPTER6
ozzie
“Do you see it now?” Joel asked as we walked to our vehicles after lunch.
Tristan leaned in, waiting for my answer with a huge smile.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, fine. I saw it.”
Tristan did a victory dance. “Yes! Though… how could you not, with the delicious hug you gave him before sending him up that ladder.”
“First of all,” I said, plucking an invisible piece of fluff from my collar, “do not talk to me about the whole ladder situation. It wasn’t tall enough, and it swayed like he was on a fishing boat in the middle of the ocean. Nearly gave me a fucking heart attack.”
Tristan and Joel shared a smug look, which I pointedly ignored.
“Second of all,everyonehugged him.”
Joel snorted, and Tristan flat-out laughed at me. “Okay, Ozzie. You gave him a totally normal, perfectly friendly hug that literally swept him off his feet and lasted, like, seventeen Mississippis.” Tristan cackled some more. “While you proclaimed your everlasting love for him.”
I liked him a little less every day.
“I said we loved him, Tris.We.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I let myself into my car and shut the door before those two could continue to harass me. Joel was undeterred, tapping my window. “You know we’re still going to be giving you shit about this at the bar tonight, right?” he said, the glass not doing nearly enough to muffle his voice.
Sigh.
“Yes, you bastard.”
He chuckled as he walked off with his arm around Tristan.
