Nick rolled his eyes. “He means you’re a big deal in our group. At least among the girls.” His eyes went to Peach then, who still stood watching the exchange. “Hey, Ryan’s little sister.” He tossed a smirk at Tom, who seemed flustered.
Tom went into the kitchen, and Nick lounged back against the wall, his eyes sliding from Peach to the rest of us.
Ryan ignored all of it, asking around a clenched jaw, “You guys knew about this?” He nodded to the backyard, and I turned to inspect what was happening.
A bunch of girls stood around the pool, clad in bikinis, and there were a few other guys with them. I recognized Erin and assumed those were her friends, but there was a separation out there. Some girls were in the pool and playing a game with a bunch of guys while Erin and her friends stood on the sidelines.
“Yeah. Your sis put the word out. Pool party at the Jensen household. Everyone’s coming.” Nick was still salivating over Peach’s uncomfortableness.
She looked down at her fingers, picking a nail.
I felt Ryan’s gaze and looked over, meeting his eyes. I saw the apology there and knew our hangout had been replaced with a party with a bunch of his friends. I shrugged, trying to give him a small smile to let him know I was okay.
I didn’t want to be there with them, but I wanted to be there with him. I’d take it how I could get it. This was better than an empty house, and I wasn’t going to turn my phone on. An hour ago, Gianna had sent me a text asking why I left, but she was almost twenty-four hours too late for me to respond.
“So,” Nick said. His grin was wicked. “Peach. Do anything fun last night?”
She turned and fled.
As soon as she closed the patio door, Tom was across the room and punching Nick in the arm. “You’re such an ass!”
“What?” Nick laughed, rubbing at his arm as he moved down the wall, closer to where Ryan and I stood. “It isn’t my fault you were texting with your buddy’s little sister.”
Ryan’s eyes clamped shut, and his hands moved through his hair. He pulled them out, leaving his hair sticking up in an adorable mess. Swinging stormy eyes over his friends, he grabbed Tom and shoved him against the wall. “You’re into my sister?”
“No!”
Nick snorted. Even I knew that protest was too much.
Tom’s shoulders slumped down. “I don’t know. We were texting last night. She asked where you were, if you were hanging with us, and it kept going from there.”
“He texted with her for three hours. I heard the damn phone beeping the whole fucking game.”
Tom shot Nick a glare. “There’s no way you could hear my phone. We went to the summer league basketball game. The entire gym was loud as hell.”
Nick shrugged, his wicked grin still there. “I stand by what I say.” His eyes were hard. “It’s wrong, and you know it.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He pushed Tom back against the wall again, but there wasn’t much heat in the action. “Don’t fuck with Peach unless you’re going to marry her. Got it?” He tapped Tom’s cheek and then swung his gaze my way.
The third friend grunted, his hand in the air. “Uh . . .” He cleared his throat. “You’re insanely hot.”
Tom and Nick grinned, and the tense moment was gone.
“Hands off. Ryan laid claim long ago,” Nick said.
Ryan pointed between the newcomer and me. “Pete, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, Pete.” He added, “Pete’s Nick’s cousin. He visits when he wants to get high.”
“Yeah,” Nick drawled, throwing his arm around his cousin’s shoulder. “He comes to the cool table then.”
Pete shrugged off his arm. “Hate to break it to you, cousin, but Ryan’s the cool table. He’s the basketball star. Not you. You aren’t good enough”—he began edging backward, his arms already in the air as if to ward off a hit—“at anything!”
“Shut it.” Nick went after him, delivering two quick punches to Pete’s side. The two wrestled before Nick ended up pinning Pete. Only then he flicked him the forehead and got up. “Loser.”
“Asshole.” But Pete was grinning.
They were both grinning, and when both were on their feet, I waved to Pete.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too, and I go to Frisberg. It’s a few hours away, so I’m not around that much, but if I do show up, it isn’t just to get high, Ryan.”
Ryan only grunted in response. He didn’t seem to care too much.
Nick added, “We call him Peepee sometimes. Feel free.”
“Hey!”
Peepee rounded on Nick, and soon insults were flying back and forth. But Nick eased up on the jabs at Tom.
After everyone raided Ryan’s kitchen, we headed upstairs, drinks and snacks in our arms. I was thankful we’d made the bed before leaving, and I was doubly glad I hadn’t left anything behind, putting my suitcase in Ryan’s truck, where it still was. No questions, just the way I liked it. And finally, I was glad the guys continued giving each other shit as they sat to play Warcraft.
They weren’t watching me because of Willow, and unlike the movie night, as I sat in Ryan’s room and listened to his friends joke, I felt normal. It was small. And I knew it’d be gone soon, but I felt it, and I savored it.
“Hey! Fuck no, man!”
“Ah!”
Tom and Nick had the video controllers, and as Tom bent to the side, trying to get his car to turn all the way left, Nick jumped up and down. He bit his lip. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, and I knew at any moment the room would explode in cheers or curses—probably both.
I glanced to the door and saw Ryan watching me. He gestured with his head to follow him out, and I scooted off the bed as Nick won the race.
He dropped the controller and thrust his arms in the air in victory. “YES!”
“NO!” Tom shook his head.
Pete stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth and reached for Tom’s controller. He mumbled around a mouthful, “My turn.”
I slipped out of the room.
Ryan waited at the end of the hallway, nodding for me to keep following him.
I trailed behind. He led me down a back way to the basement. We could hear footsteps above, along with giggling.
I arched an eyebrow. “Let me guess, the female brigade is above us?”
Ryan ducked his head as he opened a refrigerator. “We’re out of drinks in the room, and I know my parents keep more booze down here. The guys will want more to drink. Peach and her friends can have the main floor.”
I gazed around, noting the more casual-looking décor. It was one large room with a living area on one side and a kitchen on the other. There was a pool table in the back, along with a basketball game, two couches, and three super-sized beanbags in front of a large television screen. Two wooden tables sat in the kitchen area.
It looked like every teenager’s dream apartment. The only things missing were a movie projector, a popcorn machine, and maybe a stage for karaoke.
Willow would’ve salivated over the room.
Ryan pulled out some more rum, and I slid onto one of the barstools.
“Is this where you guys really hang out?”
He nodded. “Tom’s too.” He looked at me. “Well, you know that.”