Once I’m dressed, I take a few minutes for some deep breaths. I want to enjoy Bailey’s party without this golf catastrophe hanging over me. I inhale and hold my breath for ten seconds, then let it out slowly, repeating several times.
Charlie pulls up just as I’m climbing back into the front seat. He parks in front of me and we meet in between our two vehicles.
He’s got a small wrapped package in one hand and a plain white card in the other. “Your mom has texted three times reminding you to sign the card.” Charlie hands me the gift and then holds up three fingers. “Three times.”
I nod. “You know how she is,” I say.
He’s shaking his head. “Yeah, I don’t know how she is. My aunt Lisa is cool. Laid-back. One of my favorites. I don’t know who this monster is.”
I lean closer to him and get a sniff. “You stopped at Nonna’s for breakfast first, didn’t you? You smell like bacon.”
“I could practically taste it from Wes’s driveway. It calls to me and I can’t deny it.”
“So you had time for breakfast but not enough time to change? You’ll be the only guy here, but you should come on in, since you’re dressed for the party,” I say, motioning to the pj’s he’s still wearing.
He pops up a little straighter and looks toward Bailey’s. Charlie couldn’t care less about being the sole guy at a girls-only party. “I could totally do a second breakfast.” Then he turns back to me. “Speaking of being dressed up, guess who showed up at Nonna’s?”
“Um, it would take me ten minutes to go through the list of our family members.”
His lips flatten into a line. “Not family. It was Leo. It’s weird he’s here.”
I’m trying to figure out how being dressed up made him think of Leo, but it’s Charlie and he probably doesn’t even know how he made that leap.
“I bet he got invited to some of the nighttime parties. I’m sure he’s kept in touch with his old friends, not just the Evil Joes,” I say, and by Charlie’s expression, I realize he’s never thought that was a possibility.
“I don’t care where he shows up, butyouknow he’s ontheirside. Might as well call him Jo-Leo.”
“Or Leo-Jo,” I add, and we both laugh.
“We should be surprised you’re here, Charlie, but we’re not!”
His shoulders stiffen as we both recognize the voice.
“Evil Joes are here?” he whispers. “It’s like we’ve summoned them.”
“Bailey invited a big group to this,” I answer.
My friend group is complicated. Charlie and Wes are my best friends at school, but I’m also close to a small group of girls, including Bailey, Mia, Bianca, and Danlee. But those girls cross over into other groups, like Bailey and her soccer friends, Mia and her drama club friends, and Bianca and her friends on the yearbook staff. Danlee is considered a floater, since she gets along with everyone and maneuvers between groups easily. The Evil Joes play soccer with Bailey, so when our friend groups collide, I cross paths with my least favorite cousins more often than I’d like.
Charlie and I wait as long as we can before acknowledging the Joes. When they stop in front of us, both girls are looking him up and down.
“Christmas jammies are a brave choice,” Jo Lynn says.
“Especially ones from two years ago,” Mary Jo adds with an evil smirk. And they would know how old they are because, of course, they had a set just like this, too.
Charlie leans closer to me. “Do they look too small?” he asks.
My forehead scrunches up and I lift my shoulders. “Uh, maybe the pants are a little short?” And now I know he’s having flashbacks of when the Joes locked him out of our condo at the beach and he was wearing nothing but underwear. Themed underwear that were a tad too tight.
Just before he turns to spit out his own insult, Bianca pops up beside them.
“I think you look great,” Bianca says.
Charlie slides closer to her. “And you look pretty good yourself.”
God, he’s such a flirt.
The Evil Joes roll their eyes and walk up the driveway to Bailey’s house. I give them a few moments to get ahead of me before I follow them.
