“The girls and I are throwing a party.”
“Seriously? Why? But most importantly, where?”
“Calm down, not here. It’s to celebrate June moving here.”
I was glad June was fitting in, but it didn’t seem like a good enough excuse to raise hell. Also that would mean that Ari would drag me to something I had no interest in being at. “Not at his place,” I clarified.
Amelia poured cold milk into a steaming cup of coffee and looked me up and down.
“James has the biggest house out of—”
“Not at his place,” I said, putting my foot down. “Besides, he and June can’t stand each other, so I doubt he’d be up for it.”
I turned around suddenly to hide my rage. “Did you already talk to him about it before telling me? Don’t you understand why you shouldn’t talk with that—”
I clenched my teeth.
“Brian, chill. I’m not talking to James. I just want June to understand that she’s fully part of our group.”
My sister talked a big game about being a rebellious, nonconformist bad girl, but she was actually very naïve.
“It’s just an excuse to make trouble. And we’ve had enough of that.” I shook my head as she scoffed loudly.
“Let’s go. We’ll talk about it later. Is Ari coming this afternoon?”
“I don’t know,” I said curtly.
“All right, let me know, so I can give you some privacy.” She made a mischievous face that I pretended not to see, because there was nothing mischievous about my relationship.
“Cut it out.”
“You were fun once upon a time, Brian.” Once.
>> <<
The bell hadn’t rung yet. Blaze was fiddling with a chain between his fingers as I stared into space. We were sitting on the lawn enjoying the morning peace and quiet when the rumble of a sports car caught our attention. I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. Hunter and his friends were making their grand entrance.
“Did you just see a ghost?” I asked as I saw Blaze’s facial expression suddenly change.
“No, forget it.” He shook his head.
“Can’t we move on with our lives and pretend he’s not back?” I complained, noticing that he was staring at Hunter’s group.
“We’ll just not go, Brian.”
“Of course. Are you gonna be the one to tell my girlfriend that?”
“Sure, I’ll tell her. But be careful. Soon your reputation will beat mine.”
“Meaning?” I scowled.
“That you’re getting boring.”
“Is that what the girls say about you?” I teased.
He shrugged and went back to staring at the gate.
“Who’s the lucky girl?” I asked.
