to follow Rafe into her own room, but then pauses in the doorway, a teasing smile on her face. “Don’t worry. If I hear you guys through the door, I’ll turn on some music.”
My stomach bottoms out. I want more of DJ’s kisses, and then some. But the thought of hooking up with him is nerve-wracking, because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve never asked a guy to come home with me. It’s hard to imagine those words coming out of my mouth.
Bella winks at me. Then she gives Rafe a little slap on the ass and they shut the door. But I can still hear them talking. “You never help me pick out my T-shirts,” Bella teases her boyfriend.
“Eh,” he says. “I would just toss them on the floor. I like how your clothes look when I throw them on the floor.”
“Do you now?” Bella asked. “Show me.”
Check please . I don’t have to start up a playlist, though. Not tonight. I grab my purse and go for the door. For once I don’t need to sit alone in my room while they get frisky.
I stand on the landing for a second, another wave of nerves shimmying through my stomach. But I want this, even if it’s scary. So I button my wool coat over my carefully selected outfit and I trot down the stairs and out into the night.
6
It's Complicated
DJ
M y phone rings about half an hour before I’m supposed to meet Lianne. The caller is my little sister, Violet. She’s a senior in high school, and we’ve always been pretty close. “Hi shrimp,” I answer, even though Vi is almost as tall as I am now. “What’s up with you?”
“Danny! They scheduled my Harkness interview for February third! Dad said I could spend the night before and take the train home afterward. So can I stay with you?”
I glance around my tiny room. She could have the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch. “Any time. But if you stay with Leo, you can see the dorms. Isn’t that the point of a Harkness visit?”
“Eh,” she says. “I’ve been seeing the dorms since the first time we dropped Leo off when I was fourteen. It’s you I never see.”
This is true. I’ve been ducking her lately because of all the weirdness in my life.
“Danny, why is Dad so grumpy this week? When he talks to you, it’s in his den with the door shut. What the hell did you do?”
Nothing . “Ugh, it’s complicated. Dad is just riding me about school stuff.” It’s hard for me to talk to Vi lately, because lying to her isn’t something I want to do. But my sister doesn’t know about Annie or the case against me. When the ugly call came at the end of the summer, Vi was away at the Girl Scout camp where she’s a counselor. And when she came home, my parents chose not to tell her about any of it. “She’ll worry,” is all my mother said. But all I heard was, hopefully this all blows over before lots of people hear about it . Vi isn’t known for keeping secrets.
So now I’m stuck dodging my sister’s questions. It’s awkward, like everything else in my life.
“Do you need me to kick Dad’s ass?” Vi offers.
I chuckle. “Maybe. I’ll let you know. What else is going on?”
“Since you asked,” she says. “I have a new boyfriend. Remember Caleb? The lacrosse player?”
“Sure,” I say, calling him up in my mind. “Wears his baseball cap backward? Says ‘yo’ all the time?”
“Danny! He doesn’t say it all the time.”
“Good.” Because it was seriously annoying. “He doesn’t drink, does he?”
“Oh my God, you’re almost as bad as Dad. No. Not much, anyway. And I won’t ride with a drunk driver. I swear.”
“Okay.” I chuckle. “Sorry.” There are a hundred other Big Brother things I feel like saying, but I hold ’em in. “I used to be around for stealth pickups, that’s all.” Whenever Vi found herself in an uncomfortable situation with her friends, she used to call me. Now that I’m not there, I worry that she’ll do something dumb just to stay out of trouble with our parents.
While Leo was always
My stomach bottoms out. I want more of DJ’s kisses, and then some. But the thought of hooking up with him is nerve-wracking, because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve never asked a guy to come home with me. It’s hard to imagine those words coming out of my mouth.
Bella winks at me. Then she gives Rafe a little slap on the ass and they shut the door. But I can still hear them talking. “You never help me pick out my T-shirts,” Bella teases her boyfriend.
“Eh,” he says. “I would just toss them on the floor. I like how your clothes look when I throw them on the floor.”
“Do you now?” Bella asked. “Show me.”
Check please . I don’t have to start up a playlist, though. Not tonight. I grab my purse and go for the door. For once I don’t need to sit alone in my room while they get frisky.
I stand on the landing for a second, another wave of nerves shimmying through my stomach. But I want this, even if it’s scary. So I button my wool coat over my carefully selected outfit and I trot down the stairs and out into the night.
6
It's Complicated
DJ
M y phone rings about half an hour before I’m supposed to meet Lianne. The caller is my little sister, Violet. She’s a senior in high school, and we’ve always been pretty close. “Hi shrimp,” I answer, even though Vi is almost as tall as I am now. “What’s up with you?”
“Danny! They scheduled my Harkness interview for February third! Dad said I could spend the night before and take the train home afterward. So can I stay with you?”
I glance around my tiny room. She could have the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch. “Any time. But if you stay with Leo, you can see the dorms. Isn’t that the point of a Harkness visit?”
“Eh,” she says. “I’ve been seeing the dorms since the first time we dropped Leo off when I was fourteen. It’s you I never see.”
This is true. I’ve been ducking her lately because of all the weirdness in my life.
“Danny, why is Dad so grumpy this week? When he talks to you, it’s in his den with the door shut. What the hell did you do?”
Nothing . “Ugh, it’s complicated. Dad is just riding me about school stuff.” It’s hard for me to talk to Vi lately, because lying to her isn’t something I want to do. But my sister doesn’t know about Annie or the case against me. When the ugly call came at the end of the summer, Vi was away at the Girl Scout camp where she’s a counselor. And when she came home, my parents chose not to tell her about any of it. “She’ll worry,” is all my mother said. But all I heard was, hopefully this all blows over before lots of people hear about it . Vi isn’t known for keeping secrets.
So now I’m stuck dodging my sister’s questions. It’s awkward, like everything else in my life.
“Do you need me to kick Dad’s ass?” Vi offers.
I chuckle. “Maybe. I’ll let you know. What else is going on?”
“Since you asked,” she says. “I have a new boyfriend. Remember Caleb? The lacrosse player?”
“Sure,” I say, calling him up in my mind. “Wears his baseball cap backward? Says ‘yo’ all the time?”
“Danny! He doesn’t say it all the time.”
“Good.” Because it was seriously annoying. “He doesn’t drink, does he?”
“Oh my God, you’re almost as bad as Dad. No. Not much, anyway. And I won’t ride with a drunk driver. I swear.”
“Okay.” I chuckle. “Sorry.” There are a hundred other Big Brother things I feel like saying, but I hold ’em in. “I used to be around for stealth pickups, that’s all.” Whenever Vi found herself in an uncomfortable situation with her friends, she used to call me. Now that I’m not there, I worry that she’ll do something dumb just to stay out of trouble with our parents.
While Leo was always
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