“Oh sweet, that’s right. I’m starved,” Damon says. “Well, that’s where we’ll be. I guess we’ll see you all there.” He turns around and shakes the guy’s hand and goes, “So nice to meet you.”
Kind of hurts.
Devaney
I sit in my spot and don’t dare open my hand to see what Chase tossed to me. But I can feel it.
And I know what it is. A penny.
He wants to know what I’m thinking. Why I brought a guy home with me. And why we aren’t going to spend the holiday weekend in his bed.
But his timing was a little too perfect.
And also, they are having a company meeting without me. And that still kind of hurts.
Make her jealous.
Chase
Lacey calls me as I’m getting ready for bed. “I heard you have an unexpected guest.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dani brought home a guy from college.”
“How do you know that?”
“Um, your little sister is on my squad.”
“Oh yeah. And, yes, she did.”
“Can I come over?” she asks.
“Like, now?”
“Yes, Chase.”
“Well, I was just going to bed.”
“Perfect,” she says and then hangs up.
A few minutes later, she’s in my room.
She walks straight over to the window facing Dani’s room and pulls the curtains open.
“What are you doing?” I ask her as she struts toward me.
“Believe it or not,” she says, grabbing the hem of my shirt and pushing it up over my chest, “I’m helping you.”
“By taking off my shirt?” I say with a chuckle.
“By taking off your shirt in front of your window.”
I freeze. “I don’t understand.”
Once the shirt is tossed on the floor, she slides her hands up my chest and then around my neck, where she leaves them. I glance over at the window and can see that Dani is in her room. What I’m worried about is whether or not she’s alone.
“Haley seemed off today,” Lacey says. “It’s my job as captain to notice stuff like that, so I had her stay for a few minutes after practice and asked what was wrong. I figured it had something to do with Pace, so I wasn’t exactly expecting it when she started rambling about you and Dani and Thanksgiving and some guy. It actually took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on, but in the end, I said what I always say to my girls and asked if there was anything I could do to help. She flippantly responded with, Not unless you can make Dani crazy jealous. Then she said she had to get home for the train wreck.”
“The train wreck?”
“She said the guy would be coming to your house for dinner tonight. She said you got into a fight with your mom. Didn’t want the guy to be allowed in your house.”
“Yeah, I did,” I say with a sigh. “But my dad told me to embrace it. Said I should befriend the guy.”
“I just talked to Haley.”
“What did she say?”
“That the guy is nice.”
“Yeah, he is. It would be easier if he wasn’t.”
“And I’m here to make Dani jealous.”
“But why?”
“You brought me my crown. You danced in the yard with me. I know you don’t love me, and honestly, I don’t know that I ever really saw us together long-term either. But you have become one of my best friends. You’ve always given me solid advice when it comes to school, cheer, and life. And I’m going to pay you back for that.”
“What makes you think she’ll even notice you here?”
“Because your sister is slightly devious. And the guy is staying in the guest suite over your garage.”
“He’s what?”
She runs her hand down my bare chest, and I will admit, it feels nice. “Your sister arranged that somehow. But the real question is, does Dani know that we aren’t sleeping together anymore?”
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“Maybe you should have,” she says.
“I didn’t want to bring anyone else into the equation—”
“Which could be why she just did.”
I should have.
Devaney
To my horror, after dinner, Eddie was shown to his room by my dad—the guest suite above the Mackenzies’ garage. Which means he and Chase will literally be sleeping under the same roof. Which is so messed up that I can barely process it. Dad passed it off as a normal thing, mentioning something about how, with the new babies, we’re short a guest room and that he’d be a lot more comfortable there than on the couch. Which he definitely will be, but that’s not the point.
And what the heck was Chase doing at my house the second we arrived? And why did he have to be wearing all black?
And I don’t know where or what he was modeling, but they must have cut his hair for it. While it used to be longer on the top and was pushed up and back, today, the top was shorter, layered, and swept to the side. Probably some new trend.
And I like it.
I pull the penny out of my pocket.
And I feel bad.
I should have told him about Eddie.
I should have told him how it just sort of happened.
Us dating.
Him coming home with me.
I pick up my phone to call Chase when there’s a change in the light behind me, causing me to turn in the direction of his window.
Maybe he’s signaling for me. Wants me to come over—
But then I see, that’s not the case.
Lacey is in his room.
I watch as she takes off his shirt.
And I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Bit of a charmer.
Chase
Lacey spins me so that my back is to the window. “You need to stop looking over there. For this to work, you need to at least pretend to be into me.”
“What did Haley tell you about Eddie?” I say as I pick up my shirt and put it back on.
“Um, he’s a sophomore. Cute. And a bit of a charmer.”
“Like, she thought he might be sort of a ladies’ man?”
“She didn’t use those words, but I could see for myself, if you want.”
“I appreciate you coming over here. I really do. And I want to make her jealous—I do—but this just feels wrong.”
Lacey tilts her head at me and smiles. “And now, in retrospect, I suppose it could backfire. Push her closer to him.”
“And I don’t want that. But—”
“I like where you’re going with this,” Damon says from just outside my door.
“Me, too,” Haley says. “If Eddie flirted with Lacey …”
Lacey and I break out in laughter.
I lean in, give her a kiss on the cheek, and say, “Let’s get out of here.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she says flirtatiously as we leave my room.
Out in the hall, I tell my sister and Damon, “You guys are terrible.”
“Let’s go watch a movie or something,” Haley offers.