“I just wanted pizza,” Ethan says jokingly, his greasy hands raised. “You were the one getting all—”
“Saucy?” Juniper offers, and I can’t help laughing.
“Punny.” I say, pointing to her. “Very punny.”
Juniper grins. “What can I say? I’m a punny gal.”
Ethan sighs, and dammit, I just know he’s gonna say something ridiculous like—
“Well, I’d say it’s more of a double entendre…”
—and there it is. “You just had to say it, didn’t you?” I turn my back to him, facing Juniper. “Once an English teacher”—I roll my eyes—“always an English teacher.”
“What?” Ethan squirms beside me as Juniper chuckles.
“Well, I do like a good double entendre. Ooh, and an innuendo!” she adds with a wink.
“Inyourend-o!” I giggle then clap my hand over my mouth. “Sorry!” I squeak, but she only laughs more.
Juniper grabs a slice of pizza and sits back, eyeing us both. “You guys are a hoot.”
I can’t help beaming back at her.
Okay, fine. Maybe having this particular third wheel won’t be so bad, if only for a little while.
Once we’ve eaten our collective weight in pizza, I suggest watching a film, and Juniper tells us she’s not sure if there’sNetflixor whatever, but there is a DVD player.
My eyebrows rise. “Well that’s a blast from the past.”
“Yup,” Juniper agrees. We both look at Ethan, who is clearly the oldest of all of us.
“What?” he asks defensively. “I’m far too young to know what one of those is.”
I swear we both give him the exact same teasing look.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll have a look and see if I can work whatever ancient doodad you two are talking about.”
Juniper and I share a grin.
“You do that,” I say. Then I turn to Juniper, lowering my voice. “I’m only thirty-two.”
Her eyes light up. “Same!”
“But Ethan there,” I say in a stage whisper, cupping a hand beside my mouth, “is just a wee bit older.”
Juniper chuckles, and Ethan narrows his eyes at us playfully.
“I heard that!” He turns back to the TV and continues fiddling with the DVD player. “Anyway, what’s a few years when you’re our age?”
“But you’re not our age!” I retort. “He’s a bit sensitive now he’s in his forties.”
“I’m only forty-one!” he cries out.
Juniper nods mock-sympathetically and puts a hand to her heart. “Bless him.”
“Yeah,” I join in. “Poor love.”
Ethan manages to get the DVD player to work, but the DVD collection itself is a little underwhelming. After rummaging, though, we discover a couple of hidden gems.
