She makes that suspicious and regretful face, and I lament.
“Who is he?” I cross my arms and arch an eyebrow, and she gives me that fake white teeth smile.
“I swear I didn’t mean to find someone, I just- I’m not choosing them, they’re choosing me!” She abruptly turns defensive, and my head falls into my hands.
I love that Allison is a casual dater and can have funwithoutdaydreaming about someone for the remaining five years. But the guys she usually dates/hangs out with are all trash.With no exception.It’s probably rooted in the lack of attention she gets at home, considering her dad is a hotshot lawyer full of rich talk, her mom is the CEO of a hardware company, and her heart is somewhere close to hardware. But I don’t tell her this, like she doesn’t tell me that I have abandonment issues due to my skanky mom. I don’t bring up hers, and she doesn’t bring up mine.
“Well, now I have to meet him. You’re spending too much time there instead of spending time here. With your family. Who owns you.” I point around, and my dad calls me out for being annoying.
The drive was excruciatingly long, and I just wanted to be even more annoying and askAre we there yet?
But when we, in fact, do get there, I wish I had never wanted to find out in the first place.
“Oh no.Why?” I whine.
“Girls, I’ll be needing your phones. To make it an immersive experience, Madelaine,stop doing that face.” He warns, and webegrudgingly pass our phones to him. Nowthisis the greatest form of torture.
We’re standing just outside of Mailview, in a preserved forest where humans built paths and created a space where animals and people could coexist as one. Basically, we’re going to a place where you walk more than three and a half miles and have to live with wild animals crossing in front of us.
“Speaking of wild animals.” I mutter for only me and Allison to hear.
Jake West struts out of his car with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen, aimed at me and my disdain.
“Stop giggling, I was tricked into this.” I excuse myself, towards him.
“I didn’t say anything.” His hands fly upwards so as not to show any guilt on his end.
“But you thought it.”
“I think lots of things, Brown, and you like none of it.” He walks closer, and he quickly whispers in my ear. “You wanna know what I think about?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway.”
I’m such a liar, and I’m starting to be like every other girl who bends at his words…But you didn’t hear that from me.
“You. Me. Mailview’s chapel. Bring a dress, and I’ll offer the rings.” He winks, and to mask how much that affected me, I scoff, disgusted.
“How generous of you.”
“I know.” He smuggly brushes off, like he’s god-almighty.
“Could you two stop flirting with each other for one second?” Riden pops into the conversation.
“Why the bad mood, Riden?” I ask, obviously already knowing the answer.
“As if you didn’t know already.” He spits out.
Oh my god,he confirms it. That should make me happier, but it only makes me sadder. Poor Riden pining after Allison while she’s with another train wreck who doesn’t deserve her.
“Would it be too bad if we locked them in a nearby shed together and let them…” I whisper sideways to Jake, and he laughs.
“That’s not very PG-13 of you, Brown.”
I roll my eyes.
“One,youmade it dirty. I was gonna say let them talk, and two, if what it takes for them to get together is walk out of there with Bridge-Matten babies, then yes, fuck PG-13.”
He whistles in a surprised melody.
