Chapter 22 Lois
I just fucked up. Big, big-time. Lane is looking at me like I’m crazy, and the two brats who’ve been annoying the shit out of me for the past five minutes look devastated.
I acted on pure instinct, and if it weren’t for the salt I can taste on my lips right now, I’d swear I’d imagined the whole thing.
Shirley is eyeing Lane. “Introduce us!”
“Meet… Shirley and Rona,” I stammer.
Lane is still staring at me. He hasn’t moved an inch since I kissed him. Slowly, he blinks, and turns back to our audience.
“Lane. Nice to meet you. You guys are Lois’s friends?”
“They’re Kirk’s friends,” I say slowly, looking at him meaningfully.
“Same-same!” Rona chirps.
There’s a glint in his eye, and I don’t like this one bit.
“We were just telling Lois she definitely has to come to the party tomorrow night.”
I rearrange my face in a smile. “That’s not exactly what you said.”
Actually, they said the exact opposite. Just before Lane arrived, dear, sweet Rona had been listing all the reasons why I definitely shouldn’t come: according to her, it would be way too much for me to handle—seeing Kirk hand in hand with Rona’s cousin, the girl who spent our high school years trying to steal him from me.
Bitch, please!
“I thought you were still getting over the breakup?” She pouts, her voice thick with faux concern.
“She’s never been better.” Lane smiles, shooting me a quick glance.
Now he gets why I threw myself at him earlier. He moves to stand behind me, slipping his hands under my arms and laying them over my belly, hooking a finger in the waistband of my jean shorts. I tighten my grip on my water bottle, wincing as I hear the plastic crinkling between my fingers.
He keeps his eyes locked on the girls. “You wanna go to the party, babe?” I can feel his breath on my cheek. “I had plans, but…”
I try my best to play it cool, but his lips brushing against my neck make it hard, and it’s harder still when his finger slips lower, grazing the edge of my panties. There are butterflies going crazy in my stomach, and my senses are buzzing.
“We’ll think about it,” I manage.
Lane slings an arm around my neck, leaning into me, his cheek pressed to my temple.
“Listen, this has been fun—but Lois has a very, very busy day planned for us.” He winks at the girls. “Have a great day!”
“See you tomorrow, then, maybe?” Shirley isn’t letting this go.
“Yeah, maybe,” he says, saluting her.
In my head, I’m flipping them the finger, but instead I just wave goodbye and let Lane drag me away from the vipers’ nest.
Once we’re out of sight, I wrestle free, staring straight in front of me, pretending not to notice his sideways glances.
“Don’t say a word.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. My lips are still swollen from that passionate kiss back there.”
I shoot him a dirty look.
“I thought you were about to rip my clothes off and start grinding against me. Show your girlfriends what they’re missing.”
“First of all—they’re not my girlfriends. And second—I wasn’t trying to prove a point.”
“So you just got this uncontrollable urge to suck my tongue off?”
“I didn’t do anything to your tongue!” I throw my hands up. “Jesus! I just wanted them to back the hell off.”
“What did they say?”
“They spent way too long pretending to give a shit about my feelings.”
“Then what?”
“So before you got back—”
“Before you threw yourself at me—”
“Rona was telling me it would be ‘super lame’ of me to come tomorrow night,” I say.
“Because of Kirk?”
“Yeah.”
“They know you weren’t just Kirk’s girlfriend, right? They know you’re an actual separate person, with an actual separate personality and stuff?”
I look at him. He’s just hit the nail square on the head and there’s a knot forming in my throat.
“People here have always known me as ‘Lois and Kirk.’ ”
“Until now, that is.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Thanks for playing along, by the way. I’m sorry I kissed you without asking.”
He nudges me with his shoulder, and we spend the rest of the day hanging out.
The afternoon winds down, and we head back to base. As soon as we step through the front door, my brothers are all over me.
“You guys are going to the beach tomorrow night, right?” Kesley starts.
Can’t we be done with tomorrow night, already?
“Mom and Dad are cool with us going if you and Lane are there, too!” Jeff bounds over to join us.
“Whoa, relax, guys.” I shove them away from me.
Jarrow turns to Lane for a little male support. “It’s all about the music and the girls. And the alcohol,” he adds quietly.
“I heard that!” I warn.
He clasps his hands in prayer. “Just one drink…” He opens his eyes. “And anyway—remember how tanked you were two years ago?”
“Do Mom and Dad know about that?” Diego pipes up.
I roll my eyes and start unlacing my shoes, but Jeff is relentless.
“Lane! You and me—we’re brothers now.”
“You’ve known him, what—half a second?”
He ignores me. “You can talk this boring old grandma into it, right?”
“Excuse me?” I toss my sneaker at him, and the boys burst out laughing.
I’ve officially been overruled.
“Couldn’t you guys have adopted girls?” I holler into the living room where my parents are watching TV.
Dad pretends to be horrified. “You want to send me to an early grave?”
“No way. Think of the state of my drains,” says my mother, the traitor.
“Lane’s our guest,” Dad reminds me. “Let him call the shots.”
My brothers gather around Lane, begging and pleading and whining for him to give in, until, eventually, he does just that.
“Beach party it is,” I grumble, stomping up to my bedroom. “I can’t wait to hang out with my best friends.”
And watch Kirk parading around with his basic bitch.
I WOULD GIVE AN ACTUAL ovary to be anywhere but here right now.
I take in the scene, feeling sorry for myself.
The beach is teeming with people, and why the hell did I wear a skirt, anyway?
It keeps lifting with the breeze, and the temperature has dropped.
Actually, scratch that—why the hell did I even come?
I could have just left Lane to party alone with his new buddies.
“Stick around!” I call out to my brothers, watching them race ahead of us.
Lane laughs. “Come on, let me buy you a drink.”
He pushes me forward, and I obey, dragging my feet and muttering to myself as I go. He clamps his hands on my shoulders and steers me through the crowds.
“If I leave you here while I run to the bar, you’re not gonna split, are you?”
“Alcohol. Now.”
“I’m on it.”
Lane vanishes, and I stand there waiting for him in the same spot, until somebody rams into my back.
“Hey!”
Oh God. I take it back—I’d give two whole ovaries to be anywhere but here.
“Lois? Is that you?”
I stay put. Maybe if I pray hard enough, I’ll evaporate in a cloud of smoke. I keep my back turned, until suddenly he’s standing right there in front of me.
I slap an Oscar-worthy smile on my face. “Hey, Kirk!”
“You okay?”
“Yep. You?”
He frowns. “What are you doing?”
I just asked you how you were?
Suddenly, there’s a nasal drawl whining in my ear.
“Oh, there you are! I was looking for you.”
Enter Emily, Rona’s skin-crawly cousin. I puff my cheeks out to hide how hard I’m clenching my jaw.
“Oh, you’re here, too?” Her tone has shifted.
There’s nothing I want more than to walk away and dig a huge hole in the sand—whether for me or her, I can’t tell.
“I didn’t think you’d be brave enough to come alone.”
She blows cigarette smoke in my face.
That settles it—the hole is for her. And Kirk can go in there, too. He hasn’t made a single move to put her in her place.
I’m racking my brain for something to say when a cup appears in my hand.
“Your drink, m’lady.”
Lane is standing behind me, and I breath out a sigh of relief as he throws an arm over my shoulders, turning to face the other two.
“Hey, Kirk.” He keeps his voice steady and smooth. “What’s up?”
My ex’s eyes dart back and forth, from me to Lane and back again—he’s clearly surprised to see him here, a whole world away from Sycamore Heights.
“Nothing much.” He scratches the back of his neck.
Lane leans into my cup and casually sucks on my straw. You could cut the air with a knife. I’m getting a real kick out of the look on Kirk’s and Emily’s faces.
Emily peers at Lane. “And you are?”
Back off.
“Lane,” Kirk answers for him. “He’s at school with us. The others are back that way,” he says darkly, with a nod. “You coming, Em?”
The pair drift off into the night.
Em? Gross.
Lane shoots me a knowing look. “Drink up.”
I don’t need much encouragement. In fact, I drain my pina colada in one go.
Whoa. I wince at the hit. I’m not a big drinker, and I make a mental note to keep myself in check—I don’t want a repeat of two years ago, when I nearly threw up right in Kirk’s lap.
Though now that I think about it, I regret not doing it.
Lane peers at me with concern. “You’re not gonna cry, are you?”
I shake my head. “Shut up. I’m just pissed, sad, and basically speechless. Oh—and also not drunk enough.”
“Did you see his face when I interrupted you guys? I’m pretty sure I wrecked his night.”
“You think so?”
I may be stubborn, but I’m not stupid. It’s been four months since he dumped me, and he’s already on his second rebound. Game over.
“Not sure. But I’ve got an idea for you.”
I sigh, tucking my hair behind my ears. “What kind of idea?”
“This won’t be easy, but I think you can handle it.”
“Now you’ve got me worried. If you’re thinking skinny-dipping, think again.”
“Damn it. Okay, well let’s go for option two, then.” He pauses. “I’m going to kiss you.”
Haha. Good one.
“What’s option three?”
He shrugs. “There isn’t one.”
I peer at him. “Are you wasted already?”
“Nope. I just think Kirk needs to be taught a lesson.” He frowns. “It’s like he feels he can do whatever he wants, and it’s starting to really piss me off.”
I’m feeling uneasy about this whole situation. “It’s not a big deal, Lane. Okay?”