“Don’t be so overdramatic.” As though she’s never dramatic?
She pauses and then blurts out in curiosity, “Has Lo never bitten you?”
I frown and recall the times we’ve had sex. Uhh, there are too many to remember the exact details of each one, that’s for sure. He’s probably nipped my neck before.
She drops her hand so I can speak.
“It’s not the biting that I’m surprised by,” I whisper.
“It’s the Connor biting that weirds me out.”
“Then don’t think about it,” she snaps. Good point. “In fact, while I love this newfound confidence in talking about sex, I’m not sure you should be thinking about it so much.”
She’s right. I need to relax.
“I’m just excited for you,” I tell her. “It’s like a milestone in your relationship.” The orbiting nerd stars have finally collided.
Out of my peripheral, I spot Daisy slipping on her bowling shoes while simultaneously sprinting across the carpet towards our lane.
“Babe, what the hell?” That comes from the guy behind her.
Twenty-three. Dark hair. Tanned skin. A model. And also her boyfriend. “Be cool.”
She spins around and walks backwards with a lopsided smile.
“I’m totally cool.” The moment she steps onto the slick bowling surface, her feet slide beneath her and she falls straight on her butt.
Ryke, slouched in a chair, turns his head to assess the situation and then glances back at the lane. “How’s that ground, Calloway?”
“Hard,” she banters with a mischievous smile. “It’ll probably leave a mark.”
“That’s usually what happens when your ass meets something hard, sweetheart.”
Okay, this is sexual. I know for a fact because Julian looks ticked, glowering at the back of Ryke’s head. Daisy picks herself off the ground, and Julian suddenly kisses her out of nowhere, one roaming hand gripping her butt.
Uh. This is why I don’t like him.
Ryke and my boyfriend see their spontaneous make out session, and they both end up glowering, mildly disgusted and definitely infuriated.
Everyone met Julian in the Alps, and things did not pan out so nicely. Lo doesn’t like him. Ryke doesn’t like him. Even Connor, who can find a morsel of decency in anyone, claimed that Julian was nothing short of an ape.
“You gave a speech to the guys, right?” I ask Rose. She places a teal ball back on the rack and heaves a bright pink one into her hands, cringing at having to touch it.
“Yes,” she says, “I told them if they’re rude to Daisy’s boyfriend that we’d have serious problems.” She lets out a harsh breath. “And then Connor had the audacity to tell me that the same rule applies to me.”
I don’t mention that I agree with him.
Rose has bitched Julian out far more than Lo or Ryke. But my little sister wants everyone to get along, and production wants her boyfriend in the show for more drama, so we’re all going to put on a happy face.
For her.
And so we can have one sane day.
{ 28 }
0 years : 08 months
April
LOREN HALE
I struggle with the frayed shoe string, forcing me to take an extra minute to tie them. Ryke sits beside me, his dark scowl plastered to Julian, who continues to stick his tongue down Daisy’s throat only ten feet behind us.
“I can’t be nice to him,” Ryke says, finally removing his gaze off them. “I’m not fucking created that way.”
“By using the word ‘created’ you imply that someone else made you into a barbarian,” Connor replies, almost absentmindedly as he types our names into the computer. I smile, amused by him but my brother doesn’t take the same route.
Ryke shakes his head. “I sincerely thought your personality was the product of jerking off one too many times this past year.” He touches his chest. “For fuck’s sake, I’d be a dick if I didn’t get laid for twelve months. But obviously, being a prick is just programmed into you.”
“You’re still not understanding,” Connor says casually, “being a prick is a choice. The same way you being rude to Julian is a choice. It’s not that hard to take responsibility for your actions.”
Ryke groans. “Just fucking shut up.”
“Hey,” I cut in and nod to Connor’s computer screen. “You know we’re bowling, right? We’re not signing up for Model UN. You’re supposed to make nicknames.”
Connor stares at the screen like I told him that he answered a quiz question wrong.