She looked on, feeling uneasy for some reason. She knew her whole family couldn’t tell that she and Flynn had just had sex for the first time last night. In fact, they would assume that they had been doing it all along.
“We’re having a bonfire. You want to join us?” her dad said.
“Sure. If Jessie wants me to.”
“Of course I want you to,” she said.
Actually, what she wanted to do was squirrel him away from everybody so that she could have him to herself. But they hadn’t really discussed the particulars of when they would do it again, or where.
Maybe he would want to make rules. Maybe she would want to make rules. She didn’t really know yet.
Last night had opened up the door to a whole bunch of things she had never thought about before. And there was still the whole situation with West.
“Then yes. I’d be happy to join the bonfire.”
The crew always got together after the show, but she didn’t always join in. Tonight, though, it seemed especially appropriate.
Her mom popped her head out from behind the tall, painted fence. “Is this Flynn Wilder?” she asked, in that soft, monotone voice of hers.
“Yes, Mom. This is Flynn.”
“You’re her boyfriend?” she asked.
Cutting straight to the chase, also a Lucinda Hancock special.
“Yes, ma’am,” Flynn said.
She felt a little bit itchy about his lying to her mom, but she had started the charade. So she had no right to be testy about it. She knew that.
“That’s good. I think Jessie is lonely.”
“I’m not lonely,” Jessie said.
“You are,” her mom said, patting her on the shoulder.
“How are your crystals?”
“Great. I got three new amethysts. Now I have thirty-seven.”
“Well, I look forward to seeing them.”
“Okay.”
Then her mom abruptly turned away and went to sit in a chair near the blazing bonfire.
“That’s my mom. She’s … her.”
“I can see that,” he said.
“I love her. Very much. But …”
“What?”
“She couldn’t exactly teach me how to make friends.”
“Right. Gotcha.”
“Well, my dad couldn’t really either.”
