“You’re so full of shit.” Bella lays her chin on Ruby’s shoulder so she can steer her to something we’ll all agree on.
“I’ll grab the snacks.”
As I bound down the darkened stairs, I smile for the first time in hours. Yes, I made a fool out of myself over Jake, but I’ll survive.
Singing, dancing, and chicken alfredo lasagna. That’ll do the trick. I can do without my mom’s German chocolate cake. It’s not my favorite. There’s something weird about coconut. The flavor is too strong and the texture… Gross. Now, if it were triple chocolate cake from Jolie’s Café, that’d be a different story.
As I race down the steps, my feet smack the wooden stairs. If I don’t hurry back, I’ll be stuck being the backup dancer.
The first floor is silent as I make my way through the living room toward the kitchen. The only illumination on the bottom floor comes from the front window, where the streetlight shines into the room, and the lamp above the stovetop.
I inhale. Pepperoni and sausage? The room holds onto the faint hint of pizza that the boys must’ve ordered for their all-night video game marathon. The door to the basement is closed with no sounds creeping up the stairs. Which is good because when the door is open, all kinds of screaming and yelling make their way from the lower depths, and I don’t want to hear Jerkface Jake’s mouth.
My smile slips away. Even with the two most amazing friends to ensure I get out and stay out of my bad mood, I’m afraid getting over Jake isn’t going to be as easy as I’m pretending.
After opening the refrigerator, I study the contents. The shelves are full of sports drinks, protein shakes, cinnamon roll tubes, eggs, bacon, soda, juice, and pans of leftovers–basically the necessities for a holiday break.
Where is it? I scan from top to bottom looking for the chicken lasagna. Nowhere. My teeth clench together. Kaleb, I’m going to kill you. That asshole is always taking all the food, and he knows Mom’s chicken alfredo lasagna is my favorite.
Is that it? I bend down and shove a container of butter out of the way. There it is. I clasp the platter of leftovers in one hand and close the door with my hip. This time, Kaleb is lucky. We’ve gone to war over lesser things.
Now to microwave our snack, locate the cake for the girls, and get back to the dance party.
“You need to get out of here.” A deep growl comes from behind me.
I scream while spinning on my heel and clutch the tray as it slips in my hands. My heart races and thuds against my ribs. Jake. I glare at him as he steps out of the shadows that lead to the open basement door.
“What in the fuck is wrong with you?” I gasp for breath as my racing heart slows by a beat. “Do you think it’s funny to keep sneaking up on me?”
“You need to get out of here.” He stands on the other side of the island in nothing but a low-slung pair of jogging shorts. Above his left hip is the tattoo of a flying bald eagle.
I squint, trying to get a better view. He has a tattoo above his Adonis belt. Of course, he does. His muscles have filled in, leaving him with bulging biceps and a trim, narrow waist with a trail of hair that leads to… Do. Not. Go. There.
“Hi,” I squeak as heat floods my cheeks.
“Go.” His hands curl into fists.
“What?” I blink as what he’s saying finally makes its way through the haze in my head. He wants me to leave my own kitchen? My fingertips dig into the glass plate. “I don’t know who you think–”
“Go upstairs now. Get out of here.” The heat in his eyes flares as he tips his head toward the living room and the stairs that lead to my bedroom. “Before Spencer gets up here.”
“God forbid your roommate sees me.” I glare at him but follow his command anyway. Not because he said to, but because spending another second in the same room with him is unfathomable.
The floor is cold under my feet as I leave the kitchen. My teeth gnash together as I stomp across the living room with my head held high.
“What’s up?” Spencer’s voice joins Jake’s in the kitchen.
“Nothing,” Jake mutters in reply.
“Fucker. I told you to grab the leftover cake. It’s right there on the counter. What took you so long? We waited ten minutes for you to get back before we sent out a search party.”
Fuck. I didn’t get the cake. I close my eyes and groan. And the lasagna is cold. Could this day get any worse?
“It wasn’t that long.” The refrigerator door rattles as their voices grow quieter the farther, I get from them.
“Let me guess. One of the girls was down here, and you couldn’t keep your eyes off her ass.” The smile on his lips is unmistakable even from here, and like a little girl hoping to hear what she’s getting for Christmas, I stop on the first step to listen. “Three guesses it was Emily.”
“Get off my ass about Em. You know what I think of her. She’s plain, boring, and a child. She’s going around tonight with her ass hanging out like that’s all it takes to get a guy’s attention.” Tears sting my eyes, but I can’t take that next step to start up the stairs again. “She’s pathetic.”
