“She was fine. Better than fine. Pleased about the win. Why wouldn’t she be?” Reed then shoved the rest of the wiener into his mouth and licked his fingers.
We all watched him consume his food with open mouths, and my stomach grumbled.
Reed then frowned, casting another glance around us. He took in our mixed expressions, “What?” he added with his mouth half full. “Have I got something on my face?” He clearly didn’t know what had gone down tonight, which confirmed Storm didn’t either.
I leaned my head on Nix’s shoulder, which caught Reed's attention. “Cole Smith told me he saw you two sucking-face at halftime.”
Phoenix wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “And what wereyoudoing at halftime?”
Reed smirked into his beer. “You know I don’t kiss and tell.”
“You need to tell him?” Hudson said, stubbing the end of the joint out on a stone by his foot.
Reed moved the shit off the deck chair before flopping down into it. As he stretched his legs out, he winced. He’d taken some tough tackles on the field, more than usual, due to Phoenix not being on form.
“Tell me what?” he asked, removing a bag of chips from the grocery bag now by his feet.
Molly and I exchanged a look.
“Let me guess, it’s about Storm? What did she do now?” Reed asked, his brow creasing further as he narrowed his eyes at us. His expression suggested he was annoyed. Like she needed his protection. Reed acted like we were the mean girls, when that wasn’t the case.
Nix scratched his jaw. “It’s not reallyaboutStorm, but it does include her.” His reply was cryptic.
Opening the bag, Reed lifted a handful of chips to his mouth. “OK. So, spill it. She’s got a family emergency, and so we won’t see her tonight. So, rant away.”
There was an intake of breath. “What do you mean?” Molly asked.
“Her dad messaged her, saying she couldn’t come to the party as she was needed at home. She said it sounded serious.”
No doubt, so Mr. Summers could break the newsbeforeshe found out from a third party.
I turned to look at Nix, our expressions mirroring each other. And then his phone went off, and he slid it out of his jeans.
“What does it say?” The tense atmosphere was broken by one of the jocks shouting, “Heads up.” A ball then landed in the middle of our circle, spraying sand everywhere.
Michael Dexter jogged over, looking sheepish. “Sorry, guys, my bad.”
“Take it down the beach, Dexter, or the hospital can remove it from your colon,” Hudson threatened, helping to pat the sand off Molly’s white dress.
Nix explained the message was from his brother. “He’s just saying they got home OK.”
“Will you still see him?”
“I don’t really know what to do with that right now.”
“Will you two stop whispering and share the fucking wealth?” Reed said crossly. “WhataboutStorm?” He clearly thought we just wanted to bitch and moan about her.
And with a prolonged exhale, Phoenix told him what he had missed.
Reed was shocked, but he remained silent, asking the same questions the others had.
Once everyone was in the know, we all sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the other party-goers, and I started to feel tired.
And then, that silence was broken as a thought occurred to Micah. He turned to Phoenix. “It’s a good job you never fucked her,” Micah pointed out, his face suddenly aghast. This got him the death stare from Reed and a snort from Hudson. Molly looked as uncomfortable as I felt. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Did you everalmost?” he added.
Nix was unfazed. “Nope. Not in the slightest. I never saw her like that, and she was too busy throwing herself at Hudson.” He winced at his own words before glancing over at Reed. “Sorry, man. No offense.”
“None taken,” his brother replied, screwing up the empty chips packet. It was now common knowledge that Storm’s interest in Hudson had only been to make Reed jealous. And it had worked. The rumour that she’d slept with Hudson was also self-fabricated.
