“Thank youso much,” Rhett said. He was beautiful with his jet-black hair and cheery smile, but his eyes were full of malice. He reminded me of a snake or a shark. When the waitress had gone, he leaned back in his seat. “I’ll bet that’s Ford’s mom.”
I stiffened as if someone had kicked me in the stomach while Elowen and Tucker burst out laughing.
“Probably,” Tucker said. “We should make sure to tip her extra. If he makes the crew, he’ll need the cash.”
Rhett keeled into Aria who wore a sly smile while Gideon rolled his eyes with an uneasy chuckle.
“Bloody hell,” Orion said with a tight laugh. “You’re monsters, the lot of you.”
“Or maybe we shouldn’t tip her,” Tucker said, growing serious. “Maybe it’ll keep him from stealing Brent’s seat.”
“I humbly dissent,” Orion said. “As two seat, I can tell you Ford is loads better than Brent. Xander’s good. He’s stable and smart. I could feel the difference, having him at my back.”
“Traitor,” Rhett said. “I’m going to tell Brent you said that.”
“The fuck do I care?” Orion said. “Do you want to win, or do you want to defend your boyfriend?”
Under the table, Gideon’s leg jumped, but no one felt it but me. Rhett laughed and tossed a packet of salt at Orion who deflected it back with a grin.
“So he’s good?” Elowen asked, her gaze grazing me on the way up to Orion. “He’s a major nerd, from all accounts. Not a jock.”
Orion shrugged. “He can’t be both? And yes, he’s bloody good.” He waved a hand at Tucker and Rhett. “And both of these knobs know it.”
“We’ll see,” Tucker said. “The roster isn’t finalized, anyway.”
The waitress came back and set down baskets of fries, onion rings, burgers, and salads. “Can I bring you anything else?”
Tucker tilted his chin. “Yeah. Tell your son to stick to playingDungeons & Dragonsor some shit—ow!” He gripped his side, where I’d elbowed him. Hard.
The waitress wore a perplexed smile. “I’m sorry?”
“Nothing,” Aria said with syrupy sweetness. “You may go now.”
Rhett was laughing into his napkin while Gideon shook his head and focused on his burger.
“Damn, Em.” Tucker rubbed his side. “I’m just playing.”
Elowen’s clear green eyes were like sharpened knives. “Are you okay, Emery? You seem so on edge lately. Not yourself.”
All focus turned to me. I threw a lock of hair over my shoulder. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just think there’s no reason to be complete assholes to our waitress,” I said, deflecting from defending Xander to defending her. “It’s barbaric.”
“Here, here,” Orion said. “Monsters, I tell you.”
Tucker chuckled and gave me a jostling hug. “That’s my girl. Always looking out for the little people.”
The others laughed, but I didn’t miss Aria and Elowen exchanging glances as we dug into our food—the boys with bacon cheeseburgers, the girls with their salads but pinching a fry from the guys now and then.
The conversation turned to Gideon’s gymnastics team, and my thoughts wandered to last spring. Five months ago. To the afternoon my dad called me into his study to discuss November’s election. If Senator Jerome Hill were reelected, he would consider striking down some environmental regulations that would make Wallace Industries hundreds of millions of dollars richer.
“It’d be beneficial for us to foster good relations with the Hills,” Dad had said. “I believe his son, Tucker, is in your class.”
By that time, Tucker had been circling me for weeks, cajoling me to let him take me out. He was too loud, too full of himself, too much of everything I didn’t want in a boyfriend. But I understood the assignment.
And one night late last spring, I told my father, “I’m going to junior prom with Tucker Hill.”
His head snapped up, and something happened that was so rare, so unexpected, it stole my breath. Like a comet that only comes around once in a decade or dawn breaking after the longest, coldest night.
“Emery…” He came around the desk and took my face in his hands. “My girl,” he said, and patted my cheek. “Family first, yes? I’m so proud of you.”
