“Doesn’t that bother you?” I say. I’m a little freaked out to hear that Jared takes prescriptions, but it can’t be anything too serious. He doesn’t seem like he’s a drug addict.
“Not really. I didn’t like it when he was messing around with my babysitter. I walked in on them when they were doing it. He bought me my first camera after that.”
I stare at him, stunned. “That’s just so horrible.”
“I haven’t told any of my friends.” He’s looking at me intently. “But I trust you.”
“I’ll never tell anyone,” I say. He leans closer, gives me a gentle kiss on the mouth. I relax into the couch and we kiss for a few minutes. This time he’s slower, more cautious, and doesn’t put his hand under my shirt. After a while, he raises his head and smiles down at me.
“You ready to go to my house?” He glances at his watch. “My mom is probably waiting.”
“Sure. I just have to let my mom know.” I fire off a quick text, get her reply almost instantly. Don’t forget the laundry! Right. “I have to put some clothes in the dryer.”
“Can I use your bathroom?”
When I’m finished with the laundry, Jared’s not in the living room yet. I wait on the couch until he comes down the hall, then I say, “I have to grab my clothes for later.”
“Okay. I’ll warm up my car.”
I walk down the hall to my bedroom, noticing that my mom left her door open. She’s been trying to keep it closed so Angus doesn’t climb onto her bed. I shut the door.
I pack my things and grab my makeup from the bathroom. I’m not sure how the other girls are going to dress, so I bring a few options, my favorite black tunic I always wear with purple leggings, couple of skirts. Before I leave the house, I set the alarm and lock the door.
Jared’s car is running, but he’s not inside. I wait by the passenger door, confused. Finally he comes around from behind the house. “Sorry,” he says with a sheepish smile. “I had to pee.”
“Again?”
“Nerves.” He’s looking really embarrassed now.
“What are you nervous about?”
“You,” he says. “I want you to have fun tonight.”
I’ve never had anyone my age care so much about what I think. It makes me feel excited and pleased and confident. I smile. “Then I guess you better be really nice to me.”
“I plan on it.”
He opens my door with a flourish and I slide behind the seat, ignoring my phone, which is ringing in my pocket again. I’m not going to let my dad ruin this night for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LINDSEY
I slowly push my cart around the produce section at the grocery store, my shoulders and hands aching after cleaning two houses. They’re both having parties tonight and were willing to pay extra. I’d rather have gone straight home, but we ran out of milk and coffee this morning. I drank almost a whole pot trying to wake up from a restless night. Why was Marcus asking about Greg? It was as though he was trying to find out if we were going to break up, but that shouldn’t matter to him—unless he has feelings for me. The idea makes me pause in the middle of the aisle, staring at a row of salad dressings. Do I want him to have feelings for me?
I think about calling Jenny, but part of me is afraid to hear what she has to say. She might tell me that I’m way off base, or encourage me, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I know she likes Greg—she thinks he’s a fun guy who doesn’t take himself, or life, too seriously—but she also likes Marcus. She told me once after a meeting that some very lucky woman was going to end up with him one day. I’d said I’d be happy for him, and she gave me a look.
I really don’t feel like going to the New Year’s Eve party at the church tonight when I’m so confused about my conversation with Marcus. I wish I hadn’t agreed to bring an appetizer. I planned on making an artichoke dip, but when I wheel past a display case of assorted spreads and dips, I toss a couple into my cart and add a bag of chips and a tray of vegetables. Screw it. I’ll put them in a nice dish and no one will ever know the difference.
My arms full of grocery bags, I walk into my house and dump them on the counter. Angus usually meets me at the door. Maybe he’s sleeping in Sophie’s bed.
“Angus?” I call out. “I’m home!” Silence. I walk down the hallway. He still doesn’t come running. Did Sophie leave him outside? Tentacles of fear begin to wind their way around my ankles, pulling me faster into the house. Finally I find him sprawled on the couch in the living room, his legs hanging over the edge and his head on the pillow. “There you are!”