Still, I refuse to take the chance again when he tries to lure me into his room the following night. No way am I pushing our luck.
Beau and I have moved on to the next round in the badminton tournament, and he insists on practicing every morning for at least thirty minutes. You’d think it would be awkward considering he tried to fuck me the night of the bonfire, but things seem normal with us. He apologized the next day, said he was wasted, and went right back to platonic.
When I told Wyatt about it, he raised a brow and told me there’s no way it’s platonic on Beau’s end. “A man doesn’t want to fuck youone day and go back to viewing you as a friend the next one,” Wyatt warned, but I’m choosing to believe that Beau will let any lingering attraction he feels for me fade. At least I hope he does.
Today I’m spending the afternoon with Mom on the beach. We’ve claimed two chairs on our little stretch of sand, and I’m filling her in on all the research I’ve done this summer.
“So these Spencers,” she says, “are we sure they’re not serial killers?”
“Pretty sure, but you never know.”
“And what’s this podcast you’re doing with them?”
“Oh, I’m not officially doing it. Little Spencer won’t stop badgering me to be his cohost, but I only agreed to record a guest episode about Darlie.” I glance over with a broad smile. “I’m havingsomuch fun with this mystery, Mom. Every time I send an email request for information and they send back a report, it’s, like, the most exciting present ever.”
I can tell she’s trying not to laugh at me. “Your nerdiness knows no bounds, sweetie.”
“I know.” I shrug ruefully. “Poor Dad. I’m sure he wishes I was cooler. Or into sports.”
“Of course not. Your father doesn’t care what you do as long as you’re happy.” She smiles at me. “And clearly the summer of Blake is a success.”
I furrow my brow. “I mean, not really. I still have no idea what I want to do after college.”
“I don’t know… It sort of seems like you do.”
The groove in my forehead deepens. “What, like researching stuff? I’m pretty sure ‘research assistant’ isn’t exactly a lucrative career.”
“Hey, you never know. This podcast sounds promising too, and that’s certainly something that could eventually make you money.What if it blows up?”
I shift awkwardly. “I don’t want that kind of attention.”
She flicks up a brow. “Hmm, really. So you don’t want the world to know how smart and insightful and captivating you are?”
“Mom, chill. I’ve spent the summer researching a ghost story. You hyping that up is the equivalent of someone hanging their toddler’s artwork on the fridge.”
She laughs. “You really need to give yourself more credit.”
I shrug in response.
After a beat, Mom’s tone turns cautious. “Is there any update on Isaac?”
I sip my water. “Nope. Other than our continued custody battle over Hot Boi.”
“You know, we could just buy you another toaster,” Mom sighs.
“That’s not the point. It’s the principle of it. I bought that one, therefore it’smine. And he didn’t even want that brand,” I fume. “He’s fighting for Hot Boi, while if it’d been up to him, we would’ve gotten the dumb toaster with only two slots.Two.”
“Are you sure you’re not hung up on this boy? Because… That was a lot of passion.”
“Trust me, it is not passion for Isaac. I don’t have feelings for him anymore. I haven’t thought about him romantically in months.”
We head back to the house for lunch, which is a chaotic affair since we’ve still got a full house, every bedroom occupied and the boathouse jammed to the gills. There are so many people that we need both the dining room table and the one on the deck to accommodate everyone.
I’m at the outside table next to Beau’s sister Kate, polishing off my burger, when I get a text from Little Spencer.
I glance at Wyatt, who’s sitting a few chairs down from me.“Little Spencer says hi.”
“Did they go back to New York?” he asks as he reaches for his water glass. “We haven’t seen ’em in a while.”
