“What about you, Zeke?” We turn and see a mound of containers stacked on the island and a practically empty fridge.
“Hmm?” He turns toward us.
“Do you wanna hit the ice?” Jere repeats.
“I wish I could, man. But my whole reputation is riding on this party. I mean, who does Brinley think she is? Telling us we’re throwing a Halloween party but not giving me any time to actually prepare for it.”
“Okay, I’ll see you guys later.” Jeremy laughs as he heads out the door.
“Are you going to clean all those?” My eyes narrow at Zeke, who opens one container after another, sniffing the contents.
“Nah. Tupperware is meant to be thrown out.”
“It’s really not, actually.”
“They expect me to clean a container that had furry stuff growing on the food?” Zeke scoffs. “Nice try.”
He tosses the container in the trash.
“Okay, then.”
I don’t look at Zeke again; I just head toward my room to put on my very basic costume, hearing the echoing sound of containers hitting the trash can as I do.
Hey.” Tate lets the door swing open before heading back towards her bedroom. I wait in the hallway for just a moment and then walk in, shutting the door behind me.
“You seem a little frazzled.”
“I didn’t expect to be doing anything tonight.” She groans. “I thought you and I would just hang out here, have a horror movie marathon, drink some booze, and eat three whole pizzas by ourselves.”
“We could still do that.” I sit down on her couch, grab the remote, and turn on the TV. “I just have to pick up some alcohol for the party and bring it by, but we don’t have to stay.”
“Are you kidding me?” she yells, and I hear the water from her shower turn on. “Brinley wouldkillme if I weren’t there tonight.”
“Why did Brinley want to have this party so bad anyway?” I flip through the channels. It’s not like Brinley to want to throw a party. Especially after the last party we had at our house ended with her in tears.
I can’t blame her, though. I think the only person who doesn’t realize Brinley is googly-eyed over Jaxon is Jaxon.
I know it’s hard to watch the person you love flirt with someone else. Or see someone else flirt with them. I’ve been there.
Many times.
I don’t blame any of the guys who flirted with Tate in high school; I mean, she’s beautiful; how could you not want to flirt with her? But it wasn’t easy.
The water turns off, and Tate walks out of her bedroom, wrapped in a towel, her sopping-wet hair dripping down her shoulders.
“I don’t know.” Tate shrugs, walks to her fridge, and grabs aDr. Pepper. She pops it open.
I can see in her eyes that she knows exactly why this party is happening. I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with Declan’s recent change in attitude.
“Maybe she wants to rub her new guy in Jaxon’s face.” Tate sits down next to me.
“New guy?” I twist my body toward hers, which causes her to turn toward me. “Since when?”
“I don’t know. We found out about him after the hockey game where Jere got injured.”
“Damn. She’s bringing him tonight?”
“Yeah.” She grabs the remote from my hand. “Another reason why I can’t miss tonight. I need to make sure he’s not a total tool.”
