“She’s already gone. Sorry.”
“Where did she go?” I ask with surprise.
“Up to Wisconsin to my dad’s sister’s place. She and Pa are spending some time up there. They left this morning.”
“Oh, cool!”
“Yep, a long overdue vacation.” He seems pleased about it. “Anders is heading back here tomorrow, actually. You guys should come over and we can grill out.”
“Ooh, okay!” Bailey replies.
I’m assuming “we can grill out” is their term for having a barbecue, but more importantly,Anders is coming back? For how long?
I shouldn’t care. IknowI shouldn’t care. But fuck it, I do.
“What time?” Bailey asks. “And what should we bring?”
“Four o’clock? And just yourselves.”
As soon as he’s pulled away, I kick myself because I’veforgotten to ask him about the Airstream tires. Never mind, I’ll pay him tomorrow.
When I glance at Bailey’s face, I see that she’s glowing.
Is she happy with Casey?
Is she attracted to Jonas?
I hope that one day soon I’ll feel comfortable enough to ask.
To my relief,Anders replies to my text later that night. It’s only with a laughing emoji, but it’s better than nothing. I’m four rhubarb cocktails in—we sat out on the veranda until the stars came out—and maybe if I was sober, I’d leave our exchange at that. But I’m not, and so I tap out a message.
Saw Jonas earlier. You got your parents to go on holiday?!
I wait a minute, then head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. By the time I return to my room, he’s replied.
Yep. Still can’t believe it.
Jonas invited Bailey and me over for a BBQ tomorrow. Hope that’s okay.
It will be nice to see you.
I manage to stop myself from responding, but that damn text keeps me awake half the night.
20
Bailey arrives as I’m finishing getting ready.
“You look nice,” she says, giving me a one-armed hug.
“You too.”
She’s wearing her denim skirt with a frill-sleeved white lace top.
“This is probably the most summery thing I have with me,” I say of my black Reiss playsuit. “I really need to go shopping.”
“Where would you go?” she asks.
“Indianapolis? Bloomington?”
