She stared into the distance, eyes slowly widening, before she said, “I… don’t have a key.”
“You… don’t have a key.”
“To get in the house.”
I stared at her. She stared back.
Finally, I broke—I snorted, and she buried her face in her hands when I laughed.
“I’m such an idiot,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry, I’m wasting all your time.”
“Relax,” I said. “How did Daniela not get you a key yet?”
“Well, you know. She’s been busy.”
“She’s forgetful.”
“It’s that too.”
I laughed, settling back in my seat. “Do you… want me to drop you off here to wait, or do you want me to take you back?”
“God, I don’t know,” she mumbled. “You can just drop me here, I guess. There’s a nice backyard spot where I can… lie down and watch the stars.”
“Lie down and watch the stars. Alyssa, that’s a cute dress and all, but you’re going to freeze lying down and watching the stars in it.”
“I’ll be okay,” she said with a forced nervous laugh. “I used to play barefoot in the snow when I was a kid! I like the cold. I run warm. I’ll be cozy and warm.”
I sighed, turning the car back on. “Do you want to come stay at my place?”
“Oh—Jesus, I can’t possibly intrude on your house too after all this.”
“You’d be doing me a favor,” I said. “I could use your input on a candle I’m trying to balance.”
“Um…” She stared wide-eyed. “Yeah?”
“It’s a gift for Nayla. She loves peach, so I’m trying to work peach scent into a candle, but I can’t get it to balance right. You think you could come around and offer some input?”
“I’m no… scent expert.”
“All the better. I want someone who would approach it more like Nayla would.”
She softened into a small smile. “Let me just text the others. Um… thank you.”
I should have just taken her back to the Birdhouse. I’d be driving past it anyway, and then she’d find out I’d lied about my place being on the way. But I found I just… didn’t… want to. Maybe I was just so friendless that I wanted to cling to what I could get.
How embarrassing.
Chapter 12
Alyssa
Jade’s house was exactly like I would have expected from her, the coziest thing ever, a little bungalow out in the woods with beautiful wood paneling and a gable roof crowded in with the pine boughs around the eaves, nestled in the woods where I could see sweeping views of the mountains behind the house before I even got inside. It was dark this far out at night, but a small, rustic streetlamp emerged from the bushes at the front of the house and cast a soft glow through the driveway as Jade put the car in park and pulled her keys from the ignition.
“Well, here we are,” she said.
“This is your house?” I sounded like a kid at a candy shop.
“No, a stranger’s. Fancy breaking in with me?”
