Marley’s brows quirked in surprise. “I’m in seventh grade and school let out about an hour ago.”
“Ah. Right. What should you be doing right now? Don’t you have homework?”
“Actually, no. I did it all during my study period today.”
“Wow. That’s impressive. I remember being your age and never doing my homework.”
“Really? How did you pass high school then?”
Gia’s smile fell. “Um. Well. I’m not exactly proud of this, but my brother and I used to copy Jake’s homework all the time.”
“Really?” Marley’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Obviously not something I’m encouraging, but… yeah. Jake’s the only reason I graduated.”
Marley nodded, as if it was what she’d suspected. She opened her mouth to say something, paused as if she had changed her mind, but then forged forward. “Did you and Jake have a thing or something?”
Her head reared back in shock. She had not been expecting Marley to be so forward.
“What?! No, of course not.” Gia felt her face heat. “Absolutely not. Me and Jake? Never. Ever.”
Okay, Gia. Play it cool.
Marley narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing her, but thankfully she let the matter drop, instead turning her gaze to the forest.
“I think we need a blanket,” Marley stated.
“That’s a good idea.” Gia nodded, grateful Marley didn’t push the matter further. It was a miracle she was an actress when she couldn’t even lie to a thirteen-year-old.
“I have some at the house.”
“Where do you live?” Gia asked, trying to keep the interest out of her voice.
“Oh, the big blue house across the street is our house.” Marley pointed in the distance. Gia’s eyes trailed in the direction Marley pointed.
Across the street? Jake must have moved here after I left.
“I’m just gonna run over there really quickly…”
“By yourself?” Gia’s head whipped sideways, tone sharp.
“Yeah, it’s right across the street.” Marley shrugged.
The row of charming colonials along the lake featured large windows and screened-in back porches. Stone patios led out onto the grassy turf before turning into a gravel walking path. Some houses had docks set inside the lake. Someone must have built these houses in the last decade or so, because they were not there when she was a teenager.
“As the responsible adult in this situation, am I supposed to let you walk across the street by yourself?”
“Uh…” Marley pinched her brows together adorably.
“Let’s go.”
“O-okay.”
“I’ll stand outside while you run inside.”
“Got it.”
Marley and Gia looked both ways a few times before crossing the street. She followed along as Marley led the way to the light blue two-story colonial with pale shutters. From their vantage point, she could almost make out a stone path leading to a wooden dock in the water.
