I groaned as I pulled my car into our garage. My mother’s car was inside, which meant she was home. Why me? I thought she’d told me that she would be gone until tomorrow, but I’d apparently heard her wrong. I’d had such a good day, and I didn’t want to deal with her tonight. She’d just ruin my mood.
I slipped out of my car and walked to the door that led inside the house. Maybe, just maybe, if I were quiet enough, she wouldn’t know that I’d made it home. I crept through the house and went up the stairs to my room. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I heard my mother’s bedroom door open.
“Emma, I see you made it home.”
Damn it. “Hi, Mom.”
“How was your day?” she asked.
What’s up with that? She never asked about my day. “Um, fine. Why?” “Can’t I ask how my daughter’s day was?” she huffed.
“Well, yeah, I guess. You just normally don’t.”
There was no use sugarcoating it. We both knew that she didn’t give a damn about how my day went unless it pertained to her. “Emma! That was very rude of you!” “Sorry,” I grumbled.
“I’m sure you are,” she said sarcastically. “I was talking to Todd’s mom today. She said the two of you went out last night. How did that go?”
And there it was. She didn’t give a damn about my day. She was simply fishing for information about Todd. His parents were one of the highly influential people who she chased after. The two of us together would be like a wet dream to her.
“It was nice,” I said.
“Just nice?”
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to run to my room and lock the door. I did not want to talk about Todd with my mother. Now that she knew we’d been out together, she’d never let it go.
“What do you want me to say, Mom? We went out. It was nice.”
“I thought you had a crush on that boy. Why aren’t you more excited over the fact that you two went on a date?”
“It wasn’t a date. We just went out for a little bit. He didn’t ask to go out again, so don’t get your hopes up for a repeat performance.”
“I might not be a teenager anymore, but the last time I checked, a date consisted of two people going out. I’d consider last night a date.”
Then, you’ll be glad to know I went on another date tonight with someone you wouldn’t approve of. I would have loved to say it to her, but I knew better. She’d lock me up and never let me leave the house again. She couldn’t have her princess going out with the poor boy. She’d freak over the fact that I went to the other side of town, let alone with Jesse.
“I don’t consider it a date.”
“Well, I think Todd did. That’s how his mom took it anyway.”
“I have no idea. Maybe you should go ask them if it was or not,” I replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice.
“Don’t use that tone with me, Emma. I raised you to be polite.”
“No, the never-ending flow of nannies raised me to be polite.”
Before she could reply, I turned, walked into my room, and slammed the door behind me. I knew I was being a snotty bitch, but I couldn’t help it. My mom had no interest in being an actual mother. She simply wanted to use me to help her get in good with the high class folks of Santa Monica. Well, she could take that notion and shove it right up her ass. I had no intention of being her puppet.
––––––––
I was up and dressed before seven the next morning. I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning. I was too excited at the prospect of spending the morning with Jesse. There was a good chance that I would embarrass myself before the day was over, but I didn’t care. I was going to spend time alone with Jesse. I’d take my chances with embarrassing myself.
I’d finally decided to throw caution to the wind and see where things ended up between the two of us. I wasn’t even sure if he was interested in me or not, yet I was willing to take a chance that my mother would find out that I was spending time with him. That said a lot about my self-preservation skills...or rather, the lack of them.
I slipped quietly from my room and went down the stairs to the door leading to the garage. Hopefully, my mother was still sleeping and wouldn’t catch me to see where I was going. I had every intention of lying if she asked, but I was a horrible liar. I didn’t want to tell on myself before I even made it out of the house. If I were going to get locked in my room for eternity, I wanted to at least commit the crime.
Luck was with me as I slipped into the garage and walked to my car. I cringed when I started my car and clicked the button to raise the garage door, but my mother never appeared. I held my breath until I turned the corner, and my house disappeared from view. I’d done it. I did a small happy dance as I drove through town. I was proud of myself for escaping and making it this far. I wasn’t too concerned about anyone seeing me on the beach with Jesse. No one who would rat me out to my mom would be on Jesse’s side of town. At least, I hoped not.