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“Where the hell have you been?”
Normally, a storm cloud would form over her head the second she saw or heard her sister. But that didn’t happen this time. She didn’t hide the cheeriness on her face before Joliet caught sight of it. “Good to see you too.”
“Were you out with Nathan?” No beating around the bush with this one. Tricia must have gotten the news to her as soon as she got access to a phone.
It seemed the roles had been reversed. Tully was now the one with the cocky, unbothered smirk, and Joliet was the one standing there with her arms crossed and an invisible storm cloud over her head.
Tully’s chest fizzled in glee to think that Joliet had been moodily waiting for her to come home for hours.
“Yeah, we were on a date.”
If that rattled Joliet, she didn’t show it. Her frown hardened, then relaxed. Her offensive faux-friendly smirk was back. “That’s so sweet.” Joliet passed her and walked into the kitchen, but not before leaving her last well-wishes. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
Tully’s cockiness faltered, and a nervous bubble turned the glee sour.
That was the first indication Joliet had given that she might have something up her sleeve. It wasn’t an outright threat or anything, but Joliet doesn’t say anything for no reason. There was always some underlying scheme hidden there.
Tully brushed it off as much as her conscientious mind would allow and walked to her room to finish some of her own studying for an upcoming exam, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Joliet wasn’t lurking there.
The good thing about being in a fake relationship, was that there was very little Joliet could do to break them up. When there were no feelings involved, it was more difficult to get between them.
Luckily for them and unluckily for Joliet’s scheming, there would never be any feelings.
twenty-five
tully
On Monday, Stephanie was sick, so Tully was alone.
Wait. No.
That was wrong. Shewasn’talone. Nathan was there. She noticed him chatting with Tommy, Kimmy, and Tricia on the hood of his car as soon as she turned into the parking lot.
Like he sensed her arrival, his attention shifted from Tommy, who was saying something, and caught her eye through the window as she parked a few spots away. He said something inaudible to his friends, hopped off the hood, and walked over with his hands stuffed casually in his jean pockets.
Conscious that his three friends were observing her closely, Tully got out of the car and grabbed her bag from the back seat, trying her best to not meet their stares.
There was a sudden, inexplicable urge to run her fingers through her messy curls and try and calm them more than her comb had been able to. It was strange, this feeling. Very rarely did she feel the need to impress anyone, but for some reason she was anxiously eager to make a good impression on his friends after Saturday.
Tricia was a lost cause. She already appeared annoyed for the millisecond Tully met her narrowed eyes. There was still a chance with Tommy and Kimmy though.
Saturday was their first impression of her, and a very weak one. Whatever she did now would need to be goddamn compelling.
It wasn’t like it was a real relationship, but it was still important to keep up appearances because whatever she showed them was likely to spread to the rest of the school faster than a forest fire. They weren’t known for being the subtlest students in class.
“Where’s Stephanie?” Nathan searched for Tully’s missing friend in the window. She sucked in her lip and contemplated whether it was better to keep her face straight or smile as part of the show. She flicked a gaze to his friends, who were staring, then back to him.
Smiling it was.
“She’s sick today.”
He stuffed his into his pockets and gave her a small, tilted smile. “Guess I get you to myself today.”
She blinked.
He stepped closer and leaned in with a flirty twinkle in his eyes. “Yes or no?”
“What?” She looked up at him, confused.
