“Food that way,” Ross says, pointing toward the tent. “And there’s a keg hidden behind those bushes,” he adds, pointing in the opposite direction, then he moves on to greet another group of people who just got here.
Charlie spots Bianca and off he goes, while Wes and Sophie head toward Judd, who is already on the dance floor. I make my way to where Bailey and Mia are hanging out.
Their faces are identical when they see my sunburn.
“That looks painful!” Mia says.
“So painful,” I agree.
Yep, main topic of conversation.
The sky is just getting dark and the fire pits everywhere are throwing off a pretty cool glow. People are pouring in now, and it’s obvious most have discovered the keg in the bushes.
“It sucks you had to work today. You missed what happened at Sarah’s party!” Bailey says.
Sophie told me about the excuse she texted them. Now I’m in the awkward place of not being able to tell them what I’m doing this week because then I’ll have to admit Sophie was pretending to be me on the phone and lied to them. There’s already tension now that Sophie is here all the time, and it just feels like I’m too far down this hole right now. My mom used to repeat this dumb saying to my brother all the time (usually when he got busted trying to lie to her):Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.It’s embarrassing that it now applies to me.
“What happened?” I ask. Part of me is scared they’re going to tell the story of Sophie falling out of the front window.
“Mrs. Woods leaned forward to grab a tea sandwich off a tray and the feathers on her hat caught fire from one of the centerpiece candles,” Mia says. “Three people threw their tea on her to put her out!”
They’re laughing reliving it and I’m laughing picturing it. Really hard. I’m sorry I missed that.
Something behind me catches Bailey’s attention. “Who’s the cute guy with Mary Jo and Jo Lynn?”
I spin around and see the Evil Joes strutting in. Their togas are short and fitted and made out of some shiny fabric that practically glows. Of course, Aunt Maggie Mae probably had them specially made.
“Yeah, who’s the hot friend?” Mia asks.
I let out a squeak and push Bailey in front of me. As I peek over her shoulder, there’s Leo following the twins. And he looks really good in a toga.
Like ridiculously good. Who knew all those muscles were hiding under those golf shirts.
“That’s Leo Perez. Do y’all remember him?”
“That’s Leo?” they both repeat in unison.
It’s like speaking his name somehow caught his attention even though he’s nowhere near us. His eyes land on the three of us and he excuses himself from the Evil Joes and heads this way.
“He’s coming over here,” Mia says, a little breathless.
But he’s not the only one. When the Evil Joes catch on to where he’s headed, they pivot and follow him.
Great.
Leo and I barely get along when the Evil Joes aren’t around. I can’t imagine it will be any better when they are. And what if he mentions seeing me today? Maybe he didn’t take me seriously when I asked him to keep it a secret.
So I panic. “Where’s the bathroom?” I ask Bailey.
She looks from me to Leo and back again, then points toward the house. “Inside.”
And I’m all but running away. I can’t get stuck talking to Leo in front of them, especially with the Evil Joes hot on his trail.
Instead of going inside, though, I spot a staircase tucked away on the edge of the porch that leads to a balcony. It’s dark; I’m sure whoever owns this house doesn’t want this space discovered so the party doesn’t move up here. I take the steps two at a time, nearly tripping twice on my toga.
There are a few chairs up here and a perfect view of the party below. I find Leo immediately—he’s talking to Mia and Bailey. The Joes are moving toward the keg in the bushes. Scanning the crowd, I see the golf group, which reminds me of the text Sophie said Locke sent. Pulling my phone out of the waistband of the shorts I’m wearing under this sheet, I open up his message and save his contact underLocke. As I read both of the messages, I try to figure out how it makes me feel. Should I text back? Will it be weird that I’m responding after I just saw him? Maybe this is why he was trying to talk to me earlier.
I decide to go for it.
