Chapter 13 #2
When I glanced up from wiping down the table, both my siblings were looking at me, waiting for an answer.
I did have an idea, one that would knock another item off my bucket list, but if I wanted them to agree, I had to play my cards right.
I needed to ease them into it, let the idea sound like it belonged to all of us instead of something I was angling for.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” I said, keeping my tone deliberately vague. “Stella, what about you?”
“Oliver invited me to LA for the weekend.” She set a clean pan on the drying rack, then reached for another. “You guys can come if you want.”
Drew sighed. “You heard the part about it being our birthday, right? Not Oliver’s?”
“It was just a suggestion,” she said, bristling slightly. “It’s not like you’ve come up with any brilliant ideas.”
I could feel the tension building, the kind that came right before things tipped into an argument. If Drew and Stella started fighting, my chances of getting what I wanted would evaporate, so I quickly cut in. “Remember how we used to have a lake day on the Fourth?”
That got Stella’s attention. She paused, hands submerged in soapy water, a far-off look softening her face. “Who could forget those?” she replied. “They were always the highlight of summer.”
“That sounds way better than LA,” Drew added, “but Uncle Greg sold his boat, and I don’t think—”
“Hold on,” I said, cutting him off before the idea could die. “Let me finish.”
Two pairs of eyes fixed on me.
“I want to go glamping,” I said simply.
“Okay…” Drew’s brow’s pinched together. “What’s that again?”
“It means glamorous camping.”
“That,” Stella said with a snort, “is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I didn’t invent it,” I snapped, more defensive than I meant to sound.
Drew just shrugged. “Could be interesting. Where exactly does one go glamping?”
Relief flickered through me. This was my opening.
“I did some research,” I said, trying to sound casual even though I’d memorized every detail.
“There’s this place called Greenwood Preserve on Lake Gronskog.
It’s only a three-hour drive from here.” I paused briefly, letting the moment hang, then added, “Each site comes with a private dock and pontoon.”
The idea landed; I could see it in their expressions.
“That actually sounds pretty fun,” Stella admitted.
Drew nodded. “Yeah, I’m down.”
My shoulders loosened, but this was the part I really had to sell. “So there’s a tiny complication. Since it’s a holiday weekend, almost everything is booked. Right now, there’s only one site left, and it sleeps twelve people.”
“Then we’ll need a big group of people,” Drew said, rubbing his chin. “Otherwise, it’s not exactly budget friendly.”
Hook, line, and sinker. “Exactly,” I said with a satisfied hum.
Stella’s lips curved into a small, knowing. “Don’t worry. I can handle that.”
* * *
“Hi!” I said brightly the second the line connected. “I’ve called with the sole purpose of bugging you.” I was sprawled across the living room couch, watching the ceiling fan go around. “How’s touring? What’s Europe like? Tell me everything.”
“Cara?” JJ’s voice came through low and gravelly, like he’d been dragged from the depth of sleep.
“Oh crap.” Letting my head roll to the side, I squinted at the clock glowing on the cable box. Almost two. Which meant it was probably around nine in whatever country he was in. I’d forgotten about the time difference, but that didn’t strike me as particularly late for him. “Did I wake you?”
“Yeah,” he admitted, exhaling heavily. “It was a long day. I decided to crash early.”
“Then I’ll let you go back to sleep,” I said, guilt pooling in my gut. I’d only called to kill fifteen minutes before Mom got home from her shift and took me driving. “I’m sorry. I should’ve texted first.”
“No, wait.” The speed of his response caught me off guard. “What I mean is don’t bother. I’m awake now, so what’s the point?”
I smiled despite myself. “I feel bad though.”
“Want to make it up to me?” he asked, suddenly far too awake.
Something about the question made me suspicious, possibly his eager tone, and even though he couldn’t see me, my eyes narrowed in response. “How?”
“It’s easy,” he drawled. “All you have to do is tell me what you’re wearing.”
Ha! This was going to be fun.
“Okay,” I purred in my best impression of a sultry voice. “It’s really sexy.”
“Is there lace?” A note of excitement tinged his question.
“Nope.” I bit down a smile. “But there is fake fur.”
There was a pause. “Okay,” he said slowly. “That’s unexpected, but I’m intrigued. Go on.”
I had to hold the phone away from my mouth and stifle a laugh. Once I composed myself, I said, “Two words—Alligator. Slippers.”
Silence.
“Wait…what?”
“That’s what I’m wearing right now.”
“Alligator slippers,” he repeated.
Unable to hide my amusement any longer, I giggled into the receiver. “They’re green and fluffy and have googly eyes.”
“But why would an alligator be covered in fur?” he asked. “Don’t they have scales? Or, like, some kind of weird dermal armor?”
“Because they’re slippers.”
Just then, a car pulled into the driveway. I sprang up and peered out the window to see if it was Mom, but spotted a UPS truck idling beneath our basketball hoop instead.
“Huh,” JJ said. “So is that the only thing you’re wearing?”
I rolled my eyes. “Always the optimist.”
He chuckled under his breath. “You never know when you might get lucky.”
“True,” I said, flopping back onto the couch. “But I have a feeling tonight’s not your night.”
“That’s okay.” His voice turned thoughtful. “I already got lucky earlier today, and if things play out the way I expect, it’ll come with a happy ending.”
My stomach dropped.
For a split second, my mind sprinted ahead of me, filling in gaps I didn’t want filled.
When I agreed to pose as JJ’s girlfriend, I’d only insisted on one thing: honesty with the people closest to me.
We never discussed what would happen if either of us started seeing someone else.
I figured JJ would, since he didn’t strike me as a celibate type, and I had no right to ask him not to live his life.
Sure, I’d look like an idiot if one of his hookups wound up in the tabloids, but I didn’t care what people thought of me.
Besides, if JJ wanted to keep Layla at bay for as long as possible, then he’d be discreet.
What I hadn’t considered was JJ telling me about his…extracurricular activities. We were friends, but this wasn’t a conversation I felt comfortable having.
You’d talk with Willow or Trixy about this kind of stuff, a traitorous part of brain taunted, but I shoved the thought down before I could examine what it implied.
Realizing I’d been quiet for too long, I cleared my throat. “Sorry, what?”
“I got invited to hang out with this supercool girl on the Fourth of July,” he answered smugly. “Apparently, it’s her birthday.”
Relief hit me so hard my laugh came out shaky. “Let me guess,” I said. “Stella called you?” If she had, that meant our birthday plans included the Heartbreakers. Fifteen-year-old me would have died and gone to heaven.
“Actually, she spoke with Oliver,” JJ said. “He filled the rest of us in at breakfast.”
“Does that mean you’re coming?” I asked as the garage door started to rumble open.
“I always plan on coming,” he replied, no hesitation whatsoever. Based on the chuckle that followed, JJ thought his innuendo was the height of comedy.
I laughed. Not at the crude implication but at how pleased he sounded with it. “That’s awfully presumptuous of you, JJ. But can we finish this conversation later? I have to go. My mom just got home.”
“No problem,” he said. “And, Cara?”
“Yeah?”
“See you in July.”
The line went dead, but even as I stared up at the ceiling fan again, my smile refused to fade.