“Yep. As long as he isn’t too busy. He’ll be home all weekend, though.”
Nora slumps backward. “Yeah, but I’ll be at a birthday party.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “Not the whole weekend. Speaking of…” I shift in my seat so I can look at him. “Salem, Theo and Hunter want to know if you’d like to go over to their house tomorrow and ride Molls.”
That gets a reaction out of him. He opens his eyes, sitting up a little straighter. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“No fair,” Nora whines. “I want to go.”
“You have a birthday party,” Salem snaps.
“Shut up, Salem. You’re not the boss of me. I can go to both.”
Scoffing, Salem turns to look out the passenger window.
“Not this time, Nor.” I glance at Salem, then back to my mirror to look at her. “This is just for Salem this time.”
She gasps. “That’s not fair.”
Salem turns in his seat to look at her. “Life isn’t fair.”
“Salem,” I snap.
What in the actual fuck is going on with him? This isn’t like him at all. Or at least, it’s not like the him I used to know. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I don’t know who he is anymore.
Fuck. What a sad thought.
“What?” he asks, shooting me a glare. “It’s not. The sooner she learns, the better off she’ll be.”
“And it’s not your job to teach those lessons. It’s mine,” I say, pulling into the driveway at home and putting the car in park.
For a second, it looks like Salem’s chin quivers, but he tightens his jaw and looks away. “Whatever.”
Without another word, he grabs his backpack and pushes his door open, climbing out of the car and stalking into the house.
“What’s his problem?” Nora asks.
I sigh. “I’m not sure, Nora bug. I think he’s just having a hard time right now.”
“Ithinkit’ssweetthat she wanted to talk to me.”
I’ve got my phone propped up on my nightstand, and I’m curled under the blankets. Alone. Well. Kind of. Jasper’s with me on FaceTime, but it’s not the same as actually having him here.
“It is. She was upset that you wouldn’t be here until tomorrow.”
He grins. “Yeah, working sucks. Wish I could just stay home with you all the time.”
I roll my eyes. “You’ve got it bad. Theo was right.”
His warm laughter washes over me, and I close my eyes, listening to it. I wish I could bottle that sound.
“Oh?” Jasper says, still chuckling. “You talk about me to your friends a lot, baby boy?”
“Not too much.” Opening my eyes, I shoot him a smile through the phone screen.
“I’m glad you survived the pickup line.”
