Cheyenne bit the inside of her cheek. “I texted Cash last night and I still haven’t heard back from him.”
Nadia stabbed her pitchfork into the hay, so the handle was sticking straight up and wiped her forehead. “Okay, I have to know, what is the deal with you two?”
Reagan, Isabella, and I all turned our heads toward Cheyenne.
Cheyenne looked at all four of us and shrugged. “I don’t know. I wish I did. I feel like it’s a two steps forward ten steps back situation.”
“I blame Billy.” Nadia looked over at Reagan accusatorily.
“I’ve done my best to distract him.” She wiggled her ring finger. “If a wedding doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will.”
“Have you told him how you feel?” I asked.
“Yes. I mean, I’ve dropped a lot of hints.”
“She has,” Reagan agreed.
“Well, maybe you need to drop something more than hints. Like your pants.” Nadia suggested. “Maybe mooning him will jumpstart things.”
We all chuckled when Cheyenne blurted out, “I think I’m the oldest virgin alive.”
Everyone stared at her, I couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not.
“A few months ago, that would not have been the case.” Isabella lifted her water bottle to her mouth and squeezed its sides.
“Really?” Cheyenne questioned. “You?”
“Yep. Jimmy was my first, and I hope, my last.”
“Does Cash know that you’re a virgin?” Nadia questioned.
I wondered the same thing but hadn’t voiced my concern that maybe he was nervous about being her first. Some guys liked the thought of that, but other guys felt a lot of pressure about it.
“I mean…I’ve dropped hints about it…”
“Hints? What is your deal with hints? Hints are useless when it comes to men.” Nadia interrupted. “You have to hit them over the head with the facts. Unless you’ve said to him ‘Cash, I’m a virgin and I’d like you to help me change that status’ believe me he doesn’t know.”
“That’s true.” Isabella nodded.
“Is that what you told Jimmy?” Cheyenne asked.
“Basically.”
“See!” Nadia pointed at Isabella. “And it worked!”
“It did.” Isabella confirmed. “It worked really well.”
“Gross.” Cheyenne’s face scrunched up. “That’s my brother.”
“Well your brothers’ prowess is legendary,” Nadia stated as if it was general knowledge.
“Maybe in their own heads,” Cheyenne joked.
“I’m serious. Besides the three Fs and the curse, the Comfort brothers are known for their strong jaws, washboard abs, being able to kiss like the devil, and their sexual skills,” Nadia listed on her glove covered fingers. “Jimmy and Billy have let their freak flags fly since they were teenagers, but I’ve always wondered about the brooding eldest brother Hank.”
As soon as she said Hank’s name, everyone’s eyes shifted toward me.
My cheeks weren’t just hot now, they were burning up.
“Look at those cheeks!” Nadia pointed at me. “I knew it! I knew he could throw down in the bedroom!”
Not knowing how to respond I took a page out of Hank’s book, I remained silent. Instead, I just kept bailing hay. There was a burst of laughter at my response or lack thereof. Nadia gave me a fist pound and then the conversation turned to a plan for Cheyenne to become devirginized.
This wasn’t the way I’d ever thought I’d be spending the early morning hours of a weekday, but there was honestly nowhere else I’d rather be. Well, except maybe in the bedroom with Hank. Because Nadia was right, he could throw down.
CHAPTER 38
Hank
Luna sat between Skylar and me in my truck as we drove through downtown Firefly bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement.
When I’d shown up on Skylar and Luna’s doorstep and invited them to go to a drive-in movie, Luna had practically jumped through the ceiling—the one with the fan I’d installed the week before—with excitement. Skylar seemed excited, too, although she hadn’t quite jumped for joy like her daughter.
I’d hoped to get her mind off what had gone on the night before. Having her ex show up like that couldn’t have been easy. I just wanted her to have a night of fun and relaxation.
Before she’d agreed to go, she’d asked what movie we’d see and when I told her The Goonies she looked a little uncertain. I realized then that I hadn’t given a second thought to which movie we’d be seeing. Neither of my parents paid much attention to the content we were exposed to. I’d seen Scarface when I was Luna’s age.
“Can we get popcorn?” Luna asked.
“We can get whatever you want,” I easily agreed, but then felt the heat of Skylar’s stare on the side of my face. I continued looking forward but added, “Within reason.”
“Is Milk Duds with a reason?” Luna asked adorably changing the ‘in’ to an ‘a’. My eyes were on the road but, I could hear her puppy dog eyes. The force was strong with this one.
I glanced over at Skylar for the stamp of approval and she gave me a quick nod.
“Well…” I looked back at the road pretending to give it a lot of thought. Between us, Luna vibrated with anticipation. “I ’spose it is.”
“Yes!” Luna threw her arms up in a victory cheer.
And the questions didn’t stop at snacks. On the short drive Luna was shooting them at me rapid fire.
When did the movie start?
How would we hear it?
What if someone with a bigger car parked in front of us and we couldn’t see?
Could she sit in the bed of the truck?
Had I ever gone to the drive-in before?
Who did I go to the drive-in with?
I was pretty sure that question had gotten Skylar’s attention.
By the time we pulled into the parking spot, I would’ve thought that I’d answered every question there was to answer about drive-ins but I would’ve been wrong.
“What happens if a bird flies into the screen?”
It probably doesn’t end well for the bird.
“Um,” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Would it die?” Luna asked, sounding more than a little concerned.
Skylar shifted toward her daughter. “Remember when Miss Milly walked into her screen door and she fell down and then she started laughing?”
“Uh huh.” Luna nodded.
“Well, the same thing would happen if a bird flew into a movie screen.”
“Oh.” Luna seemed perfectly content with that explanation.
I was going to give Skylar a covert high five for her badass parenting when her phone rang.
She pulled it out of her purse. “Oh, it’s Ash. I need to take this.”
Figuring she’d probably like some privacy so she could talk to her sister about the incident the night before, I asked Luna, “Do you want to go with me to get the snacks?”
“Yes!” Her hands flew up in the air.
“Thank you,” Skylar mouthed to me before answering the call.