He looks up the stairs, probably having a silent conversation with his new husband about me, and then nods. “Sure. Let’s go.”
We climb into his purple Mustang. I refuse to check if Roan is watching us. I’m being an emotional bitch, I know, but I can’t help it. Between Kayden getting pissy with me for not wanting to go to second base and Roan throwing out ultimatums, I need a break from boys altogether. Hollis is the only boy not on my shit list, but since he’s madly in love with my brother, I know where he’ll stand on the issue, and it won’t be with me.
“You want to talk about it?” he asks when we arrive at his sister’s house.
“I want you to talk sense into my brother. Tell him he’s overreacting. I’ll see whoever I want to see.” I challenge my brother-in-law with a glare. “Can you do that?”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good luck.” I fling open the door and charge up to the house. Charlotte’s home has been a second home to me ever since she moved here in the middle of eighth grade a little over three years ago with her family. They left Vermont after Hollis came out as gay. His dad freaked and his mom, Kelsey, went into protective momma bear mode. She brought her family to stay with her sister, Karen, and they’ve been close to us ever since.
Hollis waits until I’m inside before he drives off. I wave to Karen and Penny, who are watching television, before heading upstairs to Charlotte’s room. I nearly run over Kelsey in the process.
“Hi, sweetie,” she says in her usual motherly voice that makes me love her a little more each day. “Everything okay?”
“Boy problems,” I grumble.
“Kayden?” she asks with a knowing smile.
“Yeah. And Roan.”
Her smile falls. “He’s not taking it well?”
“Nope.”
“He loves you and worries about you,” she tries, forcing a smile. “He’ll come around.”
I can’t tell her he won’t because this involves Jordy and the fact they think my boyfriend is a crime lord like his brother Renaldo. Instead, I nod.
“I hope so.”
Kelsey hugs me and kisses the top of my head. “Love you, little Roux. I’m always here to talk.”
“Love you too.”
We pull apart and I slip into Charlotte’s room. Where my room is painted navy blue, is filled with black and white pictures and poetry and random items to reflect my personality, Charlotte’s is perfect and showroom ready. Teals and golds and white. She’s the neat to my messy. Light to my dark. We’re total opposites who somehow work.
“Hey, hootch,” she says when I enter, not looking up from her textbook.
She’s also the smart to my dumb ass.
Even now, I still have to be tutored. Luckily, her brother does most of my tutoring these days rather than Ms. Frazier.
“Hey,” I mutter as I kick off my shoes and crawl into bed with her.
She closes the book, turning her intense blue eyes on me. “What’s wrong? You’ve been crying?”
“You don’t look so good yourself,” I grumble. And it’s the truth. Dark circles under her eyes color her golden skin. Her normally smiling lips seem chapped and downturned.
“Boys,” she grumbles.
I snort out a laugh. “Same.”
“What? Not my boo Kay. He’s a good boy.” Her eyes narrow. “He better be. Bestie or not, I’ll castrate him if he hurt you.”
I roll my eyes. “He’d probably rather be castrated.”
Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows hike up her forehead. “Why do you say that?”
“Because, unlike me, he’s not happy with just making out.”
“He can get over it,” she huffs. “You’ve been dating a week.”
“I think he’ll be fine,” I mutter, “but it’s more than that. It’s Roan. He doesn’t want me seeing Kayden. Says he’s bad news.”
Her brows deepen. “Because of Renaldo.”
“Yup.”
“You’re my best friend, so I’ll always side with you,” she says slowly, “but Kayden has been spending more and more time with Renaldo. I know you’re smart and you know what you’re doing. Just be careful.”
Her words hit me right in the gut. Logically, I know Roan and even dumb Jordy have a point. Kayden was born into a dangerous family. But they don’t know Kayden like I do. He’s a good person who likes me. I like him. It’ll be fine. Everyone is overreacting.
“I’ll be careful,” I assure her. “If I don’t sleep with him, he’ll probably break up with me anyway.”
Her lip curls up. “Then the asshole doesn’t deserve you!”
I grin at her. “This is why I love you.”
“I’m your favorite,” she says with a smirk.
“So why are you down? What are your boy problems?”
“Ryan.”
Ryan Cunningham is her newest flavor, but he’s lasted longer than I expected. Charlotte dates around. A lot. And it’s rumored at school that she sleeps around a lot too. But Charlotte and I spend a lot of time together. She says she’s not sleeping with all these guys and I believe her. The other girls spreading the rumors are just jealous because she’s beautiful and smart and athletic. People can’t handle when someone is the full package. They live to tear them down, even if it’s just their reputation.
“Why? What did he do?”
“He gets jealous easily.” She huffs. “Like Kayden, for instance. Ryan thinks I have a thing for Kayden.”
Uneasiness settles in my gut. “But you don’t.”
“I know that. Ryan just sees me with you and him all the time. Jumps to ridiculous conclusions.”
“So break up with him.”
She frowns. “It just feels different with him. More intense or something. I don’t know. I can see us becoming more.”
“At least we have one thing in common about our boy problems,” I say, shaking my head. “Roan apparently hates both our boyfriends.”
“Oh, God,” she groans. “If he calls Ryan or his brother ‘Cuntingham’ one more time, I’m going to punch him in his stupid fireman abs.”
A laugh escapes me. “He really hates the Cunninghams. It’s almost comical. I think it’s because he thinks Tyler is going to try and steal Hollis. We ran into him and his boyfriend at the movies last month. Roan was so pissy after that.”
“As if Hollis would ever leave Roan. They’re so obsessed with each other.” She shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “I guess Roan is just going to have to get over himself. Kayden is your boyfriend and Ryan is mine.”
“Maybe we should double date so Ryan can see Kayden’s not going to put the moves on you or something,” I suggest.
Her eyes darken. “He won’t go for it.”
“Why not?”
“He really, really doesn’t like Kayden. Bad idea.”
“Why do you like him again?” I blurt out.
Her features pinch in obvious hurt. “I just do. Same reason you like Kayden even though he’s a pushy, spoiled bastard who is used to getting his way. They’re just brats and we’re somehow attracted to them.”