“Well, since you were leaving onFridayand weren’t going to be in town, I didn’t bother mentioning it. Why?”
“Ishegoing to be there?”
Inclining my head, I examined Bodhi’s face. Furrowed brow. Pursed lips. And yep, a ticking jaw. He was jealous…of Brandon?
Perhaps it hadn’t been the wisest choice to fill Bodhi in on all the sordid details of the breakup. Even though there were points in my story where he’d been clutching the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, I never saw this coming.
“He’s married to my cousin, so yeah, I assume he’ll be there.”
“You should have said something.”
“Like you should have told me you were leaving on a Thursday?”
“I’m serious, Breeze. He’d better not mess with you.”
“Do I look like I can’t take care of myself?” Parking my hands on my hips, I hoped it would convey how incredibly badass I was, even though I could feel the Lara Croft awesomeness beginning to fade the more I thought about the reunion.
“Iknowyou can. I just don’t like the idea of some dude making you feel like you’re somehow… less.”
Less? Yes, that was an excellent adjective to use when it came to the love triangle I’d unwittingly found myself in. It didn’t matter how far removed I was, or how much Brandon now repulsed me, my self-esteem had taken a hit and all the memories were still fresh in my mind.
Tipping my head back, I swallowed the dread and flashed Bodhi a brilliant smile. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go inside. I want to hear all about your brothers.”
Before we’d taken a step, four cars came to a screeching halt on the street. Startled, Bodhi let go of my hand, sliding in front of me. It wasn’t until the window slid down on the first vehicle that I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just the teenage boy who lived down the street. I knew him on sight but couldn’t for the life of me remember his name.
“I told you it was her,” Neighbor Boy crowed to someone in the car. The back window slid down, and giggling floated through the air, along with a couple of gasps.
“Jeremy?” I asked, taking my place at Bodhi’s side. “No…it’s Jacob, right?”
“Josh,” he corrected. “Dude, are you dating Bodhi Beckett?”
“Josh, listen…”
Before I could finish my plea for privacy, car doors swung open and an entire pack of teens piled out, heading straight for Bodhi. We were surrounded in an instant.
Taking the interruption in stride, Bodhi said, “Listen, I’m happy to take pictures with you guys, but please keep this quiet. Can you do that?”
Although everyone nodded, snapchats were released into cyberspace and within moments their phones were chirping. It was only a matter of time before our little black hole of a house would be inundated withDayersfrom all over the state.
Not that it mattered what I thought, because I’d been unceremoniously pushed to the side. Literally—as some girl had actually shoved me out of the way to gain better access to her idol.
Muscling my way back in to the inner circle, I grabbed Bodhi’s hand. “This is getting out of control. We need to go inside.Now.”
He nodded, and together we broke through the crowd and jogged to the porch where my mother was waiting.
“What’s going on?” she asked, concern painting her features as she eyed the squealing fangirls descending on the house.
“Josh, that kid down the street figured out I was the girl in the ice cream parlor yesterday. He brought his friends.”
Her lips flat lined as she stepped aside, motioning to the door. “Get inside.” With that she marched down the driveway, fingers balled in fists at her side. “Josh McGregor, get your ass out of here right now or I’m calling your mother!”
A moment later, my hundred and ten pound mother stomped inside the door, growling like a Yeti. She bore no resemblance to the mild-mannered flower child of yesteryear.
“Ugh… that kid… “ She rubbed her forehead. “I forgave him for the whole Ding Dong Ditch episode when he was ten, and I even laughed it off when he circulated a petition to have our house declared a historical landmark, but this— messing with my daughter and my favorite pop star —he’s gone too far this time. Now, you know I’m against waterboarding, but maybe if someone just holds Josh down, I could dump a little gutter water onto his forehead and…”
Mom stopped talking when she caught sight of my droopy face and trembling lip.
“We’ll be right back,” she announced to the guys before grabbing my arm and leading me down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. Once the door was securely shut, she folded me into her embrace. She’d always known just how to sooth my tattered soul.
