“Why?” Savannah asks. “What’s so scandalous about spending your summer back in your hometown?”
I look at her kind, innocent face and it feels pointless to do anything other than tell her the truth. “The fact that I didn’t want to,” I say.
“Ohh.” Savannah draws in a breath. “Are you here as a punishment or something?”
“Preventative measures,” I correct.
“Okay. I’m on it!” Savannah says confidently, straightening her shoulders. “I’ll head out and do damage-control.” She holds up her pinky finger to me. “I promise I’ve got your back. I’ll make sure everyone stays cool and collected, and I’ll bodyslam any crazy, obsessed fans out of your way as and when required.”
This finally gets a smile out of me. I guess I can understand now why Savannah Bennett was my best friend in grade school, because she looks out for others and still makes pinky promises at the age of sixteen. That, and the fact she believes her tiny frame could ever bodyslam anyone.
With a nod of agreement, I interlock my pinky around hers.
6
The party draws to an end an hour or so later. I watch as everyone gathers up trash and stacks away chairs and coolers. Tori shuts down her music and packs away the speakers, and soon people climb into trucks and disappear. There’s not a single trace left behind of anyone ever having been here tonight.
All this time, I have remained in Blake’s truck. I’m exhausted from this morning’s flight, so it’s actually been a welcome relief to sit in silence and close my eyes for a half-hour (mostly in fear of seeing an angry text from my parents or Ruben pop up on my phone). And now, finally, it’s time to head back home.
Savannah and Myles climb into the truck first, the pair of them bickering loudly about something. I sit up and rub my tired eyes.
“How was the rest of the party?” I ask, taking a wary peek at my phone. Still no calls or messages. That’s a relief.
Savannah yanks her seatbelt around her, annoyed. “Great, except Prince Charming over here wanted to sneak Cindy back to the house with us. So gross.” Myles scoffs in the passenger seat, but Savannah ignores him and turns to me instead. “And I made sure everyone knows to stay cool about the fact that you’re here.”
The driver’s door swings open and Blake slides into the truck, whistling a low tune to himself. Even the mere sight of the back of his head annoys me. He starts up the engine, turns on his country pop, then drives off school property.
“So, Miss Mila,” he drawls, eyeballing me in the rearview, “do you think you’ll be around for the July tailgate?”
“Hopefully not,” I say through clamped lips. Why is he still bothering to even speak to me?
“What – you didn’t have a good time?”
“Blake, shut up,” Savannah snaps. “Can all of us in this truck right now please agree to make Mila feel comfortable while she’s here?”
“Sure,” Blake says with a stifled laugh. “I promise to be nothing but nice to Mila.”
Savannah shoots me an apologetic glance. “Thanks,” I mouth. I appreciate her effort, but it seems her cousin is determined to be a jackass. At least he turns his attention to wisecracking with Myles and doesn’t say anything more to me as we head back along Fairview Boulevard and north into the spread-out landscape of the town.
It’s nearing midnight, so there really is no one else around by now. We don’t pass a single car on the ride back to the ranches, and there’s nothing to look at besides the dark void. Eventually, we turn down the twisty road I recognize from earlier, and I spot the lights of the Bennett farmhouse appearing in the distance.
Which makes me realize that Blake is dropping his cousins off first, meaning I’ll be left alone in the truck with him. Why, why, why? I assumed I would get dropped off first, because that makes sense, right? You always drop off the people you know the least well first, so that this exact problem is avoided. I don’t want to be alone in the truck with Blake and I’m surprised he’s willing to be alone with me. I don’t need him antagonizing me, especially without Savannah there to put a stop to his fun.
My mouth feels dry and I try to focus on the crunching of dirt beneath the tires as the truck bobs its way down Willowbank’s dusty driveway. Blake pulls up to a stop outside the house, and Savannah and Myles climb out.
“Blake will drop you off,” Savannah whispers, her hand resting on the door. “You’re only five minutes down the road.” Then she raises her voice and directs her attention to Blake. “Be nice to Mila.”
“Order received,” Blake says firmly, saluting her.
The Bennetts say their goodbyes for the night and creep inside their house, wrestling silently with their elbows to be the first through the front door. They disappear out of sight, and Blake does a U-turn, driving off the property and back onto the road.
I feel ridiculous being in the backseat while he’s up front, chauffeuring me, so I unbuckle my belt and climb over the center console.
“Hey!” Blake protests when I accidentally whack him in the side of the head with my elbow.
I collapse into the warm passenger seat that Myles has just vacated, then pull my seatbelt on. Now that I’m alone with Blake, I have two options – I either act like a loser and allow him to walk all over me, or I stand up for myself.
“So, what’s your deal?” I shoot at him, arms crossed, body angled toward him.
Blake flashes me a look of disdain, unimpressed with me clambering all over his upholstery. “My deal?”
“Yeah. What’s your deal?” I ask again, firmer this time. “Because you seemed to love watching me squirm out there tonight. Are you the class bully or something? Who crowned you King of Fairview High?”
Blake throws his head back and softly laughs. “You’re the one being a drama queen. I introduced you and I got you involved in the game by offering you a talking point. Tell me again how that makes me a bully?”
“You weren’t doing me any favors. Why did you have to tell everyone who my father is?”
“Well, personally, I reckon your dad’s acting skills could do with some fine-tuning. The Flash Point movies majorly suck, but a lot of people think otherwise,” he says, shrugging. He drives with one hand slung over the top of the steering wheel, the other mindlessly fiddling with dials on the center console. “So, it seemed a shame to keep everyone in the dark. Besides, I didn’t know it was some kind of big secret.”
“Oh, give it up, Blake!” I nearly spit his name at him. “Don’t act like you didn’t know exactly what you were doing. You’re a jerk. You ruined my night.”