I push the bathroom door open, keeping my head on a swivel. Justin stands at a urinal, taking care of business.
“Don’t freak out,” I say, standing next to him.
The second he sees me, he swears.
“I said don’t freak out.”
He zips up his pants. “Caleb, what are you doing here? Summer’s family is going to see you.”
“I’m here because Jordan has been trying to get ahold of you all night.”
“I have my phone turned off.” He immediately pulls it out of his pocket and turns it back on.
“Your website crashed, and they can’t access the rest of the orders. And if they don’t have the orders—”
“They can’t ship them out tomorrow in time for Christmas.” Twenty texts ding one after the other once his phone comes to life. “I have to take care of this.” He sets his phone down on the sink and starts unbuttoning his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“You need to go out there for me so I can do this.”
“No way.” I step backward, shaking my head. “You told Summer we weren’t doing this anymore. If she sees me, she’ll probably hit me.”
“Summer is not going to hit you. Besides, I’ll text her and explain everything.”
“Right, like you did the night of the Turkey Stuff. Where was her warning text that night?”
He takes his shirt off and hands it to me. “Put this on.”
“No.” I fold my arms. “I’m not doing it.”
“Don’t do it for me. Do it for Summer.”
That’s a low level of manipulation, but it works.
“Fine.” I pull my Henley over my head and grab his shirt from him just as he drops his pants.
“We have to hurry. I’m sure Aunt Carma is almost done and will be waiting.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I mutter.
“It will be fine.” He grabs his phone, typing out a text while I finish getting his clothes on. “There.” He holds the screen in front of me. “See. I already warned her.”
I turn and look in the mirror, assessing our differences. “You have a five o’clock shadow, and I have full-on stubble. They’re going to think you’re some kind of werewolf that goes into the bathroom at night and starts growing hair.”
“It will be fine. Nobody’s paying attention to me that much.”
Really? Because when I’m with her family, they pay a lot of attention to me. Never mind. This isn’t a competition, and if it were, I already lost.
“Just fix your actual hair.”
I get my fingers wet and slick my hands through my hair, pushing my waves down so they’re a little more straight like Justin’s.
“What are you doing in there?” Carma knocks on the bathroom door. “Did you fall in?”
“Crap, you better go.” Justin pushes me toward the door. “I’ll text you if I can make it back. If not, you’ll have to drive Summer home.” Before I can say anything, he opens the bathroom door and pushes me out.
Aunt Carma smiles. “Oh, you’re back.”
