He had a point. I hadn’t given him any indication that I was a rule follower before, so why would he believe me now?
“Quinn. Stop being difficult. It’s like the pink ball all over again.”
He was not impressed by my argument. “You brought this on yourself. I don’t trust you, so I’m going to stick right by your side until I get an explanation I can live with.”
He jogged off in the direction of the bus as I followed close behind. “Seriously, Quinn. Not cool.”
“I agree, Jesserella. Totally not cool.”
He cleared the two steps into the bus like a gazelle and headed straight for Delene.
Reaching a hand out, he introduced himself to her. “Hi, I’m Quinn.”
She took his hand, almost smiling. “Yes, you are.”
“Delene, Jess says there’s no room for me. Is that true?”
Her eyes rolled over him. “Baby, if you can’t find a seat, you can squeeze right in here next to me.”
My eyes widened to unsafe levels. Was she…was Delene flirting?
Quinn threw his head back, laughing. “See, Jess? Delene likes me.”
“And I like you. But that’s not what this is about.”
“I look forward to the explanation. But until then, I’m just going to make myself comfortable.”
Quinn didn’t give me a chance for rebuttal. He’d already taken his charm on the road, casually making his way down the single aisle in the bus, shaking hands and taking selfies with anyone who asked.
Delene looked up at me. “That boy is all trouble.”
“Don’t I know.”
“Um…dude?” A young woman appeared in the doorway, her eyes settling on Quinn. “What are you doing?”
“Being friendly,” he replied. “Jess, this is my sister Grace. Grace, this is my tormentor Jess.”
Our eyes settled on one another.
“You’re Jess?” she asked, totally baffled by the unexpected turn of events. “As in Jesserella Jess?”
Oh god, if I never had to hear that name again, I’d be a happy woman. “Or, you know, just Jess.”
“I’m so confused right now. Were you taking a sightseeing tour?”
“No, Grace,” Quinn butted into our conversation. “She’s the guide. She’s been rolling by the house this whole month I’ve been looking for her. Haven’t you, Jesserella?”
“Quinn, can we save this for our private conversation?”
“Wait,” Grace replied, the wheels in her head obviously turning. “So, you’ve been…”
“Ghosting your brother. That’s correct.”
Grace burst out laughing. “This is… this just gets better and better. You and me, Jess, we need to get a drink.”
“Hey, stop fraternizing with the enemy,” Quinn called to his sister.
“I’m the enemy?” I protested.
