Ashlei #2
I’m the middle child, and as much as it may be a stereotype, the whole “middle spawn is ignored eighty percent of the time” thing is pretty accurate when it comes to my family.
My oldest sister is the smart one, destined to be the next family doctor, right behind my father.
And Amanda, the youngest, is strikingly beautiful and incredibly talented in every sport she plays.
I swear the girl could pick up a broom today and play Quidditch like Harry by the time I went to bed tonight.
And then there’s me.
Crazy competitive and talented in all the things that don’t matter to my parents.
Like event planning.
And pole dancing.
Funny enough, it almost feels like I’m the middle child with Jess and Erin, too. We all look so similar and hang out all the time that everyone groups us together. Except, Erin is known for running shit and Jess is the comedian. I’m just sort of there.
It’s a curse.
Jess scrunches her nose. “That sucks, dude. Seriously. I wish I would have been there to take you out. Oh!” She snaps her fingers. “Let’s go out this Friday before the auction. Ralph’s. Break the place in before we glam it all up the next night.”
“Deal.”
We eat for a few moments in comfortable silence, which of course makes my mind drift to Bo.
Valentine’s Day is next week and I still have a few things to pick up for our date.
With everything going on with Xavier, I haven’t been showing her the attention she deserves, so I’m determined to make that night special.
I start to ask Jess what she’s doing for the holiday but pause when I look up and see the furrow in her brow. Following her eyes, I find the sexy teacher she had a run in with last semester laughing in a booth with some hot brunette.
“Isn’t that Jarrett?” I ask, turning back to Jess. She’s worrying her bottom lip and staring blatantly at their booth.
“Mmhmm.”
“Damn. I forgot how bangable he is.”
“Ten-point-two on the bangable scale.”
She makes the joke, but her eyes stay focused on Jarrett as her expression slips from confused to angry.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, leaning in. “You’re still messing around with him, aren’t you?!”
“What?” Jess snaps her attention back to me. I waggle my eyebrows and she shakes her head, grabbing her soda and taking a big sip from the plastic straw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh come on! What’s going on between you two?”
“I don’t know,” she snaps, her chocolate eyes hard on mine now as she crosses her arms. “What’s going on with you and my Little?”
The air rushes from my chest in a whoosh.
Ears fuzzy, I swallow and force a smile.
“Bo? We’ve gotten a lot closer in the past few months. She’s cool.”
“Uh huh.”
My smile falls. “Do you have something to say, Jess?”
“Do you have something to tell me, Lei?”
Jess is watching me carefully. I need to swallow, but I’m afraid if I do I’ll give myself away. It’s not that I don’t trust Jess, but Bo is far from ready to tell anyone about us. Or about her, in general. And I’m the same.
“Oh thank God I found you.” Erin slides into the booth next to me, planner in hand, highlighter at the ready. Jess is still eying me, but with Erin here, she knows the conversation is over for now, so she turns her attention back to Jarrett across the room. “I need you.”
Finally allowing myself to swallow, I plaster on my best smile, pulling my long platinum hair over my left shoulder. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“Are you busy the Monday after the auction?”
“I have class but that’s it.”
“Perfect. Can you please take the money we raise to the bank? I was going to after my morning classes but I have something that came up that I can’t get out of.”
I’m still a little too aware of Jess and her question about me and Bo, but I nod and smile wider. “Of course, no problem Ex.”
Erin sighs with relief, and it’s then I notice how tired she looks.
Her dark blonde hair is pulled back into a tight bun and she’s barely wearing any makeup, which is strange for her.
“Thank you. Okay, I have to run.” She stands, finally turning her attention to Jess.
When she does, she frowns. “Uh, J-Love?”
“Hmm?” Jess’ eyes are still on Jarrett.
“What are you eating?”
Erin points down at Jess’ last slice of pizza and I cover my mouth, trying not to laugh.
Jess glances at me, anger still evident in her features, but even she cracks a smile.
“Um… well, it’s totally not a five-hundred calorie slice of pizza, if that’s what you’re thinking.
Because we’re on the Spring Break diet. And pizza is not part of that diet.
Therefore, that couldn’t be what it is.”
Erin rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I don’t want to hear it when we go shopping for swim suits. See you girls later.”
Jess and I wait for her to walk out the front door before bursting into a fit of laughter, which almost makes me forget that she’s totally onto me and Bo.
It almost makes me forget Xavier and the deal he proposed to me just two days ago.
It almost makes me feel like I did last semester, before shit hit the fan and I fell into a hole too deep to climb out of alone.
Almost.