Kate blushes a little while Rafael smiles like a pompous idiot. Dear Lord, I need so much more time to get used to this.
“Y’all better never get anywhere near my bed. Or the couch. Or any table where we eat. Actually, only do the deed in your respective places,” I demand.
“Fine,” Rafael signs the best he can with his bottles. “But just so you know, you probably won’t want to touch the washing machine downstairs from now on.”
“Rafa!” Kate scolds him, shoving her elbow into his ribs.
“Ew, gross,” I grimace disapprovingly.
His cocky smirk doesn’t fade as Kate drags him toward the kitchen. Now that the sodas are handled, I can get back to finding my man in this mess.
My dad’s the next one to get in the way of my mission. He’s talking with an old colleague from when he worked in IT—before his teaching days. Waving his hand, he calls for me to join them.Ugh…
“I was telling George about Alexander. How good would you say he is at coding?”
I only have to think about it for long before I answer, “I’d say he’s the best coder there’s ever been. I’ve seen him work, and the only thing that could make him better is another set of hands so he can type faster.”
Dad laughs. So does George, but condescendingly. “You’re still adorable, kiddo. No offense to Alexander, but we all know there’s far better than him out there.”
“Oh, really?” I ask, frowning.
“Your boyfriend might be good at those little apps you guys make, but there’s no comparing that to a keyboard maestro like Nammota.”
It takes a lot not to smile victoriously at his answer. Alot. But I keep my composure, pretend to think about it for a second, and offer him a nod. “You think Nammota is the greatest coder there’s ever been?”
“That I know of, yes.”
“Then, I guess you’re right, George,” I say, patting his shoulder.
I don’t stay for more of this debate, back on my search for the greatest coder who ever lived. He might actually be hiding somewhere because where the fuck is he?!
Maybe he went upstairs for a quiet moment. There’s a string at the bottom of the stairs to prevent guests from wandering upstairs, so it’s possible he went there to wind down for a moment.
To my dismay, Susan Temple, our neighbor from across the street, and her obnoxious daughter, Claudia, are right by the stairs. Even though I try to sneak my way by them, she spots me.
“Oh, Andrea!” Mrs. Temple calls with her high-pitched voice.Shit.
My family has been putting up with her shit since we moved into this house, and I’m so over it. Susan Temple has turned life into a competition, and her priorities are all wrong. There’s nothing she loves more than showing everyone she’s better than them—and she passed it on to her daughter. Claudia was a spoiled and bratty teen, and she’s now a spoiled and bratty adult.
Reluctantly, I spin around and plaster a smile on my face. “Hi, Mrs. Temple. Hi, Claudia.” There’s a man with them, but he doesn’t ring a bell, so I nod my greeting to him. He’s tall and lanky, with a pair of thick glasses on his nose and what I guess is an attempt at a mustache.
“So, how has life in Seattle been?” Mrs. Temple asks.
“Um, great. Thank you for asking. I love my new job.”
“That’s adorable. Did you know Claudia got promoted at the mall? She’s now an assistant manager there.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Congrats,” I reply, unsure what else I can say.
Claudia proudly shows me the obnoxiously big diamond on her ring finger and adds, “Also, Nate and I got engaged.”
“Congratulations again. I imagine you’re Nate?” I ask the lanky guy.
“Yes, pleased to meet you, Andrea,” he shakes my hand, and I wonder if he knows he’s the third guy trying to marry Claudia. She and her mother consider it something to be proud of, which I don’t really get. Maybe that’s why my failure to have a single man propose to me is an embarrassment in their eyes.
“And you, poor girl, still no one in sight?” Mrs. Temple asks with false sweetness.
“Actually, I have an amazing boyfriend whom I lost somewhere in the crowd. I’ll return to looking for him if you’ll excuse me.”
