safely inside.
My mom was in the den. She looked up when I entered. “Hey, there. How’d it go?”
“We had a nice time,” I said. I was relieved when I realized she wasn’t going to scream at me for not having called her. In fact I was shocked that she said nothing about my not introducing her to Trent.
“How
nice
.” She raised her brows.
“It’s not like that, Mom. We’re just…
friends
,” I said with disappointment.
She seemed satisfied. I was surprised I didn’t have to try harder to convince her.
“Well, you can never have too many friends. How was school?” she asked, changing the subject.
“It was fine, Mom. I’m pretty tired, though.”
She switched off the TV. “Good night, dear.”
VIII
50 %
T he next morning I made sure I looked extra cute. I had to show Trent what he was missing. Bri arrived a little early, and I was glad. I couldn’t wait to tell her all about last night.
“Spill it, woman! I want the deets!” she demanded when I slid into the passenger seat of her car.
As she drove, I described the Gnarled Oak to her and promised I’d take her one day.
“OK, OK, it was a neat restaurant. I get it. Now tell me—did you two kiss?”
“He referred to me as his…
friend
.”
“Ewww.” Bri squished her face up like she’d just tasted a lemon. “The F-word. That’s rough, babe.”
“Yeah, what goes around comes around, right? I just got
Blaked
.”
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that. Maybe he’s just taking it slow. Nothing wrong with that. Heck, I’ll be his friend if you don’t wanna!”
I laughed.
“So I got some news myself,” Bri said, as she turned into the parking lot.
“About Cole?” I asked.
“No, about my new, rich daddy!”
“Your mom and J.T. hit it off last night?”
“
Big
time!”
Ms. Elliott had our names written on index cards and taped to our assigned beanbags. “Find your names, ladies and gentlemen, and have a seat,” she said as she bustled around the room. “We’re going to get to know someone else today, so chop, chop! Before this year is over, we’re going to be one big, happy family.”
Phew!
At least Lacey wasn’t going to be sitting with Trent today; she was already sitting with Kayla. Lacey was yakking ninety miles an hour, and Kayla looked awestruck as she hung on to every last word that came from Lacey’s lip-glossed mouth.
I finally found my name.
Mmm, not bad. Angel Martinez
. I looked for Bri so I could rub it in her face. She was already seated, waving at me with the silliest ha-ha-ha-ha-ha grin on her face. She spun the empty beanbag around that was next to her so I could read the name, Trent. She stuck her tongue out at me.
I smiled then discreetly pointed behind me at Angel, and I raised my brows up and down.
“Looks like you hit the jackpot,” Trent said, as he pushed past me to sit down. Sarcasm looked good on him.
I hadn’t seen him come in. Bri and I looked at each other with huge eyes. I bit my lip and quickly took my seat.
After the announcements, Ms. Elliott gave us a handout. It was a short list of questions about yesterday’s reading assignment. We were supposed to answer the questions with our assigned partners in preparation for a quiz.
I didn’t try to eavesdrop today. I had an inside spy who’d fill me in on everything. It was a good thing too, because Angel was hard to ignore. He had dark eyes and hard muscles covered in tan skin. His smile was pearly and perfect, and he had the most adorable dimples. His nose had never been in a fight either.
“You still working at the Star-Lite?” he asked me.
“Yeah. Me and Bri both.”
“I heard a lot of people quit now that school started. Do you know if they’re still hiring?”
“Mack, my boss, said there were some openings.”
Angel leaned closer to me. “You’ll have to put in a good word for me. I’m looking for a job.” He grinned. I had a strong desire to reach out and pinch his cheeks, so I did.
I felt someone
My mom was in the den. She looked up when I entered. “Hey, there. How’d it go?”
“We had a nice time,” I said. I was relieved when I realized she wasn’t going to scream at me for not having called her. In fact I was shocked that she said nothing about my not introducing her to Trent.
“How
nice
.” She raised her brows.
“It’s not like that, Mom. We’re just…
friends
,” I said with disappointment.
She seemed satisfied. I was surprised I didn’t have to try harder to convince her.
“Well, you can never have too many friends. How was school?” she asked, changing the subject.
“It was fine, Mom. I’m pretty tired, though.”
She switched off the TV. “Good night, dear.”
VIII
50 %
T he next morning I made sure I looked extra cute. I had to show Trent what he was missing. Bri arrived a little early, and I was glad. I couldn’t wait to tell her all about last night.
“Spill it, woman! I want the deets!” she demanded when I slid into the passenger seat of her car.
As she drove, I described the Gnarled Oak to her and promised I’d take her one day.
“OK, OK, it was a neat restaurant. I get it. Now tell me—did you two kiss?”
“He referred to me as his…
friend
.”
“Ewww.” Bri squished her face up like she’d just tasted a lemon. “The F-word. That’s rough, babe.”
“Yeah, what goes around comes around, right? I just got
Blaked
.”
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that. Maybe he’s just taking it slow. Nothing wrong with that. Heck, I’ll be his friend if you don’t wanna!”
I laughed.
“So I got some news myself,” Bri said, as she turned into the parking lot.
“About Cole?” I asked.
“No, about my new, rich daddy!”
“Your mom and J.T. hit it off last night?”
“
Big
time!”
Ms. Elliott had our names written on index cards and taped to our assigned beanbags. “Find your names, ladies and gentlemen, and have a seat,” she said as she bustled around the room. “We’re going to get to know someone else today, so chop, chop! Before this year is over, we’re going to be one big, happy family.”
Phew!
At least Lacey wasn’t going to be sitting with Trent today; she was already sitting with Kayla. Lacey was yakking ninety miles an hour, and Kayla looked awestruck as she hung on to every last word that came from Lacey’s lip-glossed mouth.
I finally found my name.
Mmm, not bad. Angel Martinez
. I looked for Bri so I could rub it in her face. She was already seated, waving at me with the silliest ha-ha-ha-ha-ha grin on her face. She spun the empty beanbag around that was next to her so I could read the name, Trent. She stuck her tongue out at me.
I smiled then discreetly pointed behind me at Angel, and I raised my brows up and down.
“Looks like you hit the jackpot,” Trent said, as he pushed past me to sit down. Sarcasm looked good on him.
I hadn’t seen him come in. Bri and I looked at each other with huge eyes. I bit my lip and quickly took my seat.
After the announcements, Ms. Elliott gave us a handout. It was a short list of questions about yesterday’s reading assignment. We were supposed to answer the questions with our assigned partners in preparation for a quiz.
I didn’t try to eavesdrop today. I had an inside spy who’d fill me in on everything. It was a good thing too, because Angel was hard to ignore. He had dark eyes and hard muscles covered in tan skin. His smile was pearly and perfect, and he had the most adorable dimples. His nose had never been in a fight either.
“You still working at the Star-Lite?” he asked me.
“Yeah. Me and Bri both.”
“I heard a lot of people quit now that school started. Do you know if they’re still hiring?”
“Mack, my boss, said there were some openings.”
Angel leaned closer to me. “You’ll have to put in a good word for me. I’m looking for a job.” He grinned. I had a strong desire to reach out and pinch his cheeks, so I did.
I felt someone
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