Dad pretends to be horrified. “You want to send me to an early grave?”
“No way. Think of the state of my drains,” says my mother, the traitor.
“Lane’s our guest,” Dad reminds me. “Let him call the shots.”
My brothers gather around Lane, begging and pleading and whining for him to give in, until, eventually, he does just that.
“Beach party it is,” I grumble, stomping up to my bedroom. “I can’t wait to hang out with mybest friends.”
And watch Kirk parading around with his basic bitch.
I WOULD GIVE AN ACTUALovary to be anywhere but here right now. I take in the scene, feeling sorry for myself. The beach is teemingwith people, and why the hell did I wear a skirt, anyway? It keeps lifting with the breeze, and the temperature has dropped. Actually, scratch that—why the hell did I even come? I could have just left Lane to party alone with his new buddies.
“Stick around!” I call out to my brothers, watching them race ahead of us.
Lane laughs. “Come on, let me buy you a drink.”
He pushes me forward, and I obey, dragging my feet and muttering to myself as I go. He clamps his hands on my shoulders and steers me through the crowds.
“If I leave you here while I run to the bar, you’re not gonna split, are you?”
“Alcohol. Now.”
“I’m on it.”
Lane vanishes, and I stand there waiting for him in the same spot, until somebody rams into my back.
“Hey!”
Oh God. I take it back—I’d give two whole ovaries to be anywhere but here.
“Lois? Is that you?”
I stay put. Maybe if I pray hard enough, I’ll evaporate in a cloud of smoke. I keep my back turned, until suddenly he’s standing right there in front of me.
I slap an Oscar-worthy smile on my face. “Hey, Kirk!”
“You okay?”
“Yep. You?”
He frowns. “What are you doing?”
I just asked you how you were?
Suddenly, there’s a nasal drawl whining in my ear.
“Oh, there you are! I was looking for you.”
Enter Emily, Rona’s skin-crawly cousin. I puff my cheeks out to hide how hard I’m clenching my jaw.
“Oh, you’re here, too?” Her tone has shifted.
There’s nothing I want more than to walk away and dig a huge hole in the sand—whether for me or her, I can’t tell.
“I didn’t think you’d be brave enough to come alone.”
She blows cigarette smoke in my face.
