Chapter 6

I passed on the party after the movie. No one protested when Nick took me back to my house, and I suppose it was partly because they all had the same survival instinct as I did. No shock there. Heads would roll if I went to that party, and I wasn’t sure if it’d be mine or Erin’s first.

Joe crawled out right behind me, and I turned around. “Wha—”

He ignored me, shutting the door, and tapped twice on top of the car.

Nick rolled his window down, but before he said anything, Joe leaned close and smirked. “Don’t be reckless, kids. Use safe drinking protocols. You know, lick the salt before you shoot the tequila. And no backwashing.”

Nick flashed us two fingers. “Peace.” His eyes slid me up and down. “Use a condom, children.”

Tom started laughing, and the car shot forward.

Cora was in the back, her face resembling a sad owl’s as she watched us until they turned onto the next street.

“That one is Tom’s house.” Joe pointed to the house to the left of mine. A lamp was still on inside. “We were all out at Nick’s, and Tom told me about his new neighbor, asked if you were the same girl who’d crawled in my bed.” His hands slid into his pockets, and he hunched his shoulders forward. His shirt strained against his form, showing off those muscles again. “I’m glad you came to the movie. I thought it was a shot in the dark.”

I was glad he’d texted too. And I was surprised at that, but I was. Even dealing with the ex was a good distraction.

I tilted my head to the side. “Did you really not know how mean your ex is? She seems like the resident bully.”

He hesitated before letting loose a long sigh. “Guys don’t see that stuff. I’m not using that as an excuse, but we usually focus on the good stuff about chicks. Boobs, you know. Other stuff.” He gave me a half-grin. “I’ve heard rumors, and Peach told me a few things, but seeing how she was with you tonight—and how you handled it—that was eye opening.” He chuckled softly. “It’s the same with girls, you know. You don’t see the shit guys do to each other.”

“Is that supposed to make it better?”

He shrugged. “No. Just the way it is. And for what it’s worth, I feel like an asshole for not knowing how bad Erin is.”

A brief flicker of anger had sparked, but it fanned out, and I shrugged. “I think I was spoiling for a fight. I can’t take it out on my parents like a normal teenager. They’re in this thing called mourning.”

I bit back a grin, but Joe saw it. His right dimple showed.

“Did you want to come in?” I gestured to my house. It was completely silent and dark.

The other dimple winked at me. “I was hoping. If you don’t want to go in right away, we could sneak into Tom’s house. His parents are in San Diego, and he’s staying at Nick’s tonight.”

I eyed Tom’s house. “He’s okay with you sneaking in there?”

“Yeah. We’ve done it before, use someone’s house if it’s empty, you know.”

I suddenly didn’t want to know any more. “You know how to get in there?”

He nodded, watching me. He was waiting.

The thought of going somewhere that was not my home had my mouth watering. And that place was empty. No parents. No Peach to stare at me weirdly. No crazy ex girlfriend. No little brother in the room where my sister wasn’t. No worrying if he’d hear me crying when I couldn’t sleep at night.

“Let’s go.” Decision made.

“Yeah?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Sounds good. We should go to the back. It’s easier not to set off the alarm there.”

Joe led me to the backyard and pulled the hidden key from under a plant. Unlocking the door, he keyed in the code and returned the key a second later. I slipped inside, and he turned the system back on.

I rolled my eyes. “Tom’s parents must be geniuses.”

“Eh. They’re no Robbie Malcolm, but I’m sure they do okay.” He gestured to a picture where a couple stood with one of the older living former presidents. “They go golfing with that guy.”

And I was reminded that Portside was not Schilling, Arizona. Cripe’s sakes. They knew one of the presidents.

Yeah. So not Schilling, Arizona.

Joe chuckled. “We aren’t any better. We use the fake frog, though the alarm system is the real backup.”

“Yeah.” I joked. “Remind me tomorrow to tell my parents to install infrared security system. I’m thinking we could use a handprint machine. Fuck the fake frog.”

He laughed, leading the way inside.

As we walked toward the kitchen, a different feeling settled over me. We were alone. I’d wanted to get away, but maybe I hadn’t thought this through.

I hadn’t been thinking anything through, not for a whole month.

Joe nodded toward the kitchen. “You want a drink? I know where they keep the good stuff.”

My stomach rumbled.

He heard and flashed me a grin. “Or something to eat?”

“You know where they keep that stuff too?” I teased.

“I can make an educated guess.”

I ended up sitting on a stool by the island while Joe scored leftover pizza. He popped the pieces into the microwave and pulled out two glasses.

I lifted an eyebrow. “You and Tom must be close.” He acted as if this were his house.

“Since second grade.” He ducked down to pull out a bottle of whiskey. “He won’t care. Trust me.”

“You bring girls to his house often?”

He laughed, pouring some lemonade to mix with it. He took a sip before pushing it my way. “No, but he brought a girl to my place once. More than once. My family was on vacation, and he asked, so since then, it’s a given. If one of us has an empty house, it’s an open invitation if we want to use it.”

“You’ve done that before?”

“I haven’t, no.” He looked at me, his eyes darkening.

Our gazes caught and held, and I felt a tickle at the bottom of my stomach. It was a good feeling, a thrilling one, and I held my breath for a moment because I didn’t want it to go away. The knot next to it relaxed, and maybe this was what I’d wanted since Joe texted. I wanted to be around him. I could sleep.

I could feel normal, just for a while.

He took his glass and gestured to mine, the pizza in his other hand. “Let’s head downstairs. Feels weird going anywhere else.”

I followed him down to a large sectional couch that formed half a square. It looked like one large bed, and Joe crawled onto it, scooting to the rear. He placed his glass on the back of the couch, which looked like it had been made for that purpose. I hesitated, but he patted the spot next to him, picking up the remote.

“I can grab us blankets and pillows too, in case.”

It felt so weird, but it also felt so right, and that made it even more jarring. For whatever reason, I was becoming addicted to this boy.

When I still hesitated, he lowered the remote. “What’s wrong?”

“This.”

“Us?”

I shrugged. Yes, but I felt stupid saying it. “I don’t know.”

He frowned and tilted his head to the side. “We’re hanging out.”

Okay. I nodded. I could do that. Hanging out. “You’re right.”

“That’s it.”

I nodded again. “Yeah.”

“So.” He looked at the spot next to him, and I climbed onto the couch, scooting to sit beside him.

After that, no words were needed.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk, but Joe put on a movie and seemed content to eat his pizza, watch the show, and sip his drink. When mine was emptied, he went upstairs for refills, but the same thing happened. He returned to the couch, scooted back, and started the movie again.

It was my second movie of the night, but I couldn’t remember either of them. The only thing I remembered was relaxing. That was it. Willow, my family—they were all pushed to the back of my mind, and I felt everything start to unravel inside me.

I fell asleep during the movie, scooting down to lay next to Joe. And at some point, I felt him get up, but he came back. He placed a blanket over me, and I curled into it, once again falling asleep.

When I woke, he was on his back beside me, one of his hands on my side.

He had fallen asleep like that, like he was protecting me.