Kayla laughed again. “Can you imagine what she’d say if she saw us letting Bailey sit under a table with your dog? In public?”
“Yes, I can. And it would be the exact same thing Dad and Dustin would say. And it wouldn’t matter if we were in public or not. You never know who’s watching.”
All light seemed to drain from Kayla’s face. “I know they say that, but Dustin doesn’t seem to mind what he says when he thinks no one is watching.”
I studied her for a moment. I hadn’t asked her in a couple of years. I’d looked for signs, but hadn’t seen any. “Is he hurting you?”
She looked up, eyes wide. “Oh no. Not like that. At all. That was only that once. I truly believe he’ll never do that again.”
“Okay, but you’ll tell me?”
Kayla nodded but didn’t say anything else. She was probably right. I doubted Dustin would ever raise a hand to her again. It was the only time I’d ever seen him remorseful. He’d been the one to call me that night. He’d sobbed as he told me he’d backhanded Kayla. Bailey hadn’t even been a year old yet. She and Bailey had stayed with me for nearly a week. None of us told our dad. Or my mom.
“So.” Kayla’s suddenly cheerful voice piped up again, pulling me out of the dark past. “Who are you bringing to your mom’s event? Anyone I know?”
Fuck.
I’d not been able to get that question out of my mind for days. I swore Noah’s number was actually making my cell heavy in my pocket.
“No idea.”
“It’s barely five days away, Randall. You can’t show up by yourself. You know your mom is going to parade her gay son around to milk more money out of all her liberal rich friends.”
I gave her a withering look. “For once could you not say the ugly truth about our lives, Kayla? It’s depressing.”
She laughed, ignoring my plea. “Well, it’s true. And Maureen will not be happy if you show up without some gorgeous Ken doll on your arm.” Her smile faltered momentarily. “Your brother has his Barbie. Now it’s your turn.”
For a second, I wanted to assure her that she was more than an armpiece to my brother, but instead I took a page out of Kayla’s book and decided to let the truth be what it was. “I’m considering hiring an escort, actually.”
Kayla’s mouth dropped open for a moment. “Are you serious? You’d bring a prostitute to this thing?”
“No! Not a prostitute!” My voice was too loud. I glanced under the table again. Bailey hadn’t noticed. I lowered my volume. “Not a prostitute, an escort.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A prostitute you have sex with.”
She leaned forward. “You can have sex with an escort too.”
If she only knew. “You don’t have to.”
“You cannot bring an escort. No way that won’t get found out, and then all hell will break loose.” Kayla leaned back once more, adjusting her hat so the sun stayed off her face. “What about one of the boys you’re dating?”
“You know dating isn’t the right word.”
“Whatever. Hookup. Date. Who cares? As long as you’re not paying for it, the family won’t know the difference.”
“I did meet someone. Well, we’ve met before, but it was years ago.”
As her eyes lit up, I regretted letting that slip. It seemed Kayla’s honesty was contagious. “You met someone? Do I know him?”
I shook my head. “No. But remember the boy I told you about? Noah?”
She thought for a second, and then her eyes brightened once more. “Wait! First-kiss Noah?”
“Yeah.”
She clapped her hands, and Harper let out a little snort from under the table. “Where did you see him?”
