“And you’re telling me this because?”
“Because I want you to come to dinner with me.”
I scoffed. “Forget it, Mom. I’m not gonna be your third wheel.”
I saw her place her hand on the pile of papers on the glass table. “June, please, be serious. It’s a very important evening for me, and I want it to be important for you too. If I sell my whole collection, we probably won’t have to move for a while.”
Is this a trap? Is the woman who gave birth to me really trying to pull one over on me?
I stared at her until a light bulb went off in my head.
“Does that mean I could graduate from my new school?”
“Of course.”
She was leafing through her sketch folder when suddenly, she looked straight at me.
“June, where are you going?”
“To the skate park with friends.”
My response seemed to throw her off guard.
“Sorry, what?” Her eyes widened. If her hands were free, she would’ve definitely used them to close her mouth.
Yeah, I made friends on the first day of school. It’s so weird, isn’t it?
“Aren’t those dangerous?” she frowned.
“Mom, the ’90s are over. You’re not a teenager anymore. Chill.” I groaned as I walked to the end of the hall and put my hand on the doorknob.
“Honey, your jacket.”
I pretended to grab my jacket and left with my phone.
“Be home by eleven,” I heard her yell.
>> <<
“Jeans and a white T-shirt. Simple but effective.”
I wasn’t expecting to hear that from Brian, especially while I was sitting next to Amelia in the back seat with him looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” I inquired, my eyes drifting from his shoulders to his arms. Tattoos that I hadn’t noticed before adorned his tanned biceps.
“This is my best friend, Blaze,” he said, as he motioned to the passenger seat.
A nice-looking guy wearing a charcoal-colored beanie smiled at me. His skin was as pale as alabaster, contrasting with his onyx eyes.
“I’m June. Nice to meet you.”
He didn’t chuckle at my name, so he was automatically okay in my book.
Amelia sighed impatiently and shook her brother’s shoulders with both hands. He still hadn’t started the car. “Are we going or not?”
We got to the skate park around nine, and I quickly realized that it was swarming with kids and families.
The sun had just set, and a cool, light breeze brushed my bare arms. I rubbed my shoulders in an attempt to warm up.
