My eyes must bulge as wide as his does, because he hastily amends, “The children of Sparrow Nook, of course! Notourchildren, like ones we make together—”
My eyebrows stretch so high, it feels like facial Pilates.
“—but the proverbial, royalOur, as in—” His cheekbones have colored a bright red, and thanks to his skimpy ass T-shirt, I can see the blush travel down the planes of his neck and collarbone.
I shake my head in disbelief. “What, exactly, do you think goes on at a dispensary?”
“People making bad decisions about their health, money, and well-being.” He folds his arms. “And maybe sex. In the back.”
“What?!”
“I listen to rap, Nomi, I’m not naive!”
The single, wild laugh that escapes me quickly morphs into a groan because heisthat naive. “Listen, zoning complaints take months to reconcile—you might not even be here by the time they set the hearing date!”
“So?”
“So, what is your end game here? Swoop into town to piss everyone off, burn everything I’ve worked for to the ground, ruin my life, and then leave again? You don’t even live here!”
“I’m not ruining your life, Nomi. I’m saving youandSparrow Nook from marijuana.”
“Don’t lie to yourself—you’re not saving anyone!” I take a step forward, hating the vulnerable confession I’m about to share. “Listen, Julian. I need to open Stranger Drugs immediately, or else my savings will be wiped out by the time this zoning hearing resolves. Your scheme will make me go broke.” I pin him with my gaze, imploring him to listen. “Do you understand?”
“See?” Julian huffs, completely unmoved by this declaration of my impending doom. “A terrible business idea.”
Tears unexpectedly sting my eyes. I guess a small part of me thought hearing the very real consequences of his actions would have some effect on him, but the demon’s at Julian’s wheel right now, and it’s happy to ram me over a cliff. “Why are you so desperate to turn me into the loser you’re so sure I am? Is this about high school? Some pathetic need to get back at me for what—what happened?”
The stern, sneering set to his brow softens, his whole face falling, like it’s me pushinghimover the cliff right now. “No, I—that’s not it at all! I—”
Just then, the front door swings open, making us both startle back. “Julie? Is my son that I am not talking to home?” Gisella calls as she tramps in, her arms full of stuffed grocery bags.
Julian lives with his mom? And she’s mad at him??
Gleefloodsthe caverns of my petty, petty heart.
“Nomi! Great to see you.” Gisella shoves the bags at Julian, who stumbles back beneath the sudden weight of them, and then throws her arms open and wraps me in a big, lung-compressing hug. She holds me back to look at me. “You did great at the city council meeting, sweetie. How’s your baby-maker—all healed up?”
And just like that, the glee is gone, replaced by absolute mortification. My eyes dart to Julian. “You told your mother about my—area?”
Julian looks like he’s about to faint.
“No, of course not, your mother did,” Gisella answers for him, frowning. She pauses, looking between the two of us like guilty children, before her eyes widen. “Noooo… it wasmyJulian that sewed up your vagina?” She caws out a laugh. “Oh, he must’veloved—”
“Mother!” Julian finally splutters out, and one full bag slips out of his grip, sending clementines rolling across the floor.
“Clean those up,” she orders him, then blinks at me. “Well? Did he do a good job at least?”
“Um,” I whisper, unable to fully breathe. “Yes?”
“Ha!” Gisella sashays into the kitchen. “Now that’s a ringing endorsement. As long as it still works, right, sweetie?”
I grab the wall for support, physicalandemotional, while Julian gathers up clementines, cursing. He eyes the last one that’s rolled in front of me. He plucks it cautiously, as though I might knee him in the face.
Fair.
He slowly rises all the way to standing, the bottom of his gray shirt now cradling twenty small fruits, revealing his vicious abs beneath. We stare at each other, both drowning in this abyss of mutual horror. “I’m so sorry,” he mouths silently, eyes pleading, “for my mother.”
Butnotfor ruining my dreams? I laugh once, shaking my head, then take a menacing step forward. “Withdraw that zoning complaint, Julian.Immediately. Or you’llreallybe sorry.”
