“It’s a phone that’s hardwired,” Phillip clarifies.
“But! I’ll die!” Haley says frantically. “I’ll miss everything!”
“You’ll have so much fun, Haley, that you will forget about the boy drama here,” her mother counters. “Besides, it’s only three weeks.”
“I love marshmallows. I can’t wait!” Madden, the youngest Mackenzie son who everyone calls Crusher, adds.
I finally decide to pipe up, “I have cheer practice, and the boys have summer training. And we’re supposed to spend time with Mom.”
“We’ve spoken to your coaches and assured them that you will all continue your workouts during vacation and will return in top form. The house has a beautiful home gym, and there is a more commercial version on the resort property. And when I told your mother about the trip,” Dad says, “she and Dick—Richard decided to holiday in Europe.”
I guess that settles that.
“When do we leave?” Chase asks with a grin.
I look at him, surprised he’s on board.
“Tuesday,” his mom says. “And we have a lot of prep to do before we go.”
“But, Mom, this Tuesday?” Haley pouts. “We can’t. We absolutely can’t. We have to reschedule. It’s Kassie’s birthday party, and I can’t miss—”
“Sorry, honey,” her dad says. “We leave on Tuesday. And to add to the fun, we’ve decided to make it a road trip.”
“Just like we used to do when we were kids,” my dad says proudly.
Baby Weston starts to wail, causing Winger and Angel to howl, too.
I lean over and whisper, “I feel ya, girl. I feel ya.”
Monday, July 13th
Life complete.
“I can’t believe you’re ditching me for a whole month,” Hunter says.
We’re sitting in his car outside my house, saying good night. Well, more like he’s been kissing me and looking to score.
I’ve mostly been fending off his advances. And who could blame me? It hasn’t been that long since he and Taylor broke up. They’ll be seniors this coming fall, and they were expected to be the it couple. Their breakup was such a shock, and the high school rumor mill has been flying ever since. I’ve been getting kept up-to-date on all of it by one of my friends, Shaylie, who is on the cheer squad with me. Her older sister, Meredith, and Taylor are BFFs. She says the breakup was not mutual, regardless of what Hunter is telling everyone. She says that Taylor dumped him for some really hot college guy she’d met at work. Since then, Hunter’s been talking to a senior girl from the dance team who lost the co-captain role to Taylor; the captain of the girls soccer team; and me, who, although I’ll only be a junior this year, was voted head cheerleader.
We’ve been fine with him talking to all of us because, I mean, it makes sense. He hasn’t been single in years. And I assume none of us wants to be just some rebound.
My brother, who hears all boy gossip during summer conditioning, says that Hunter would be a fool to immediately move from one relationship to the next. That he should play the field. So, while Shaylie’s sister thinks that Hunter is only trying to make Taylor jealous so she will want him back, the guys on the football team say he won’t take her back anyway because he’s having too much fun.
And fun with Hunter has been fun.
He has been a longtime crush of mine.
We’ve been hanging out. I’ve kissed him.
Life complete. Right?
At least, I thought it was.
But then, last week, he told me that I was the only girl he wanted to talk to, which is typically a precursor to dating. To a relationship.
And that news spread fast, too.
The football team’s consensus is that he made a good choice. But Shaylie’s sister thinks Hunter thinks if Taylor hears he’s in a relationship, she will be more jealous than if he played the field and, again, that she will want him back.
Which leaves me where I am now.
Fluctuating between worrying if I’m going to get hurt while dreaming about dating the hottest senior guy this year.
In between kisses, Hunter says, “Don’t forget to call me right after conditioning. We’ll talk from eleven to noon every. Single. Day.” He suggestively runs his hand down the front of my shirt. “You’d better not get so wrapped up in all the family fun that you forget.”
“I’m going to go crazy without my phone, and I promise I won’t forget.”
“Just so you know,” he says, sweetly moving his hand across my cheek, “I’m serious about you, Dani. I can’t wait for you to come back home, and I can’t wait to have you cheering for me on the sidelines this fall. I’ll be a team captain, and you’re the head cheerleader. It will be perfect.”
I remember what my friend told me about his and Taylor’s dream. That she would be captain of the dance team, him a football captain, and how they’d be homecoming king and queen their senior year.
And I wonder if he really is doing this just to make Taylor jealous.
But when he kisses me again, I disregard all the gossip.
Tuesday, July 14th
Diamond-Mackenzie Summer Camp.
I throw a duffel on the bed. Even though we are staying for a month, there is supposed to be a big laundry room, so we don’t have to pack for much more than a week. We’re going to be out in the sticks, so I’m just taking a bunch of bikinis, jean shorts, tank tops, sandals, and workout clothes. I carefully fold up a few cute outfits, a couple dresses, toss in a pair of wedges, and call it good.
I peek out the window and see that Chase is doing the same thing as me. And I’m pretty sure he has some sixth sense that tells him when I’m standing at the window because he turns around, winks at me, and then motions for me to come over.
It’s not the first time I’ve wished for a little bridge that connected our rooms together.
I zip up my duffel and carry it downstairs. The front door is open, and I can see my dad hoisting a bag up into a rooftop carrier.
When I get outside, I find three generations of Mackenzie and Diamond families—all wearing stupid matching baseball shirts, like the one I have on. I mean, really, who wants to wear the same shirt as their grandma?—sprawled across our neighboring front yards in an attempt to pack up all our shit.
The grandpas are bitching that their fishing poles are going to get crushed under all the baby gear. The grandmas are chatting away about food they are going to make, obviously disregarding the chaos around them. The dogs, Angel and Winger, are chasing each other, dodging bags. Ryder and Madden are rolling across the lawn, either play-wrestling or fighting for real, and the littlest Mackenzie, baby Emersyn, is holding Haley’s hand and screaming bloody murder as Haley furiously taps something into her phone.
My dad and Phillip along with the grandpas are staring at a growing pile of cargo to determine how it and all of us are going to fit.
I toss my bag on the pile and make my way up to Chase’s room.
“I’m surprised you aren’t out there, helping,” I tell him, coming through his door.
He’s standing by his bed. A duffel is sitting on it, and he’s folding a pile of laundry. I plop down on his bed and watch, amazed at how perfectly he folds his clothes.