She points at us again.
The whole thing catches me so off guard that I laugh.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Are you dating?” his mother says quickly. “Are you dating him?”
“Mom, stop. Yes. Okay. Don’t make a big deal of it.”
“A big deal?” She gasps. “You’ve… she’s… I… we?—”
“Mom,” Simon says again and hugs her. “Go find Grey and take a breath.”
“And a beer,” she says and walks out the door.
Simon’s dad chuckles and slaps his son on the shoulder before following her.
We both watch out the window above the sink as they join the others.
Simon lets out the biggest breath I’ve ever heard and then says, “We started talking once you moved in next door. I’d always had a crush on you as Calla’s friend and vice versa, but we never really talked much. Then you started working for me, and we got to know each other. Things happened and, well, suddenly, this is where we are. It’s new. We haven’t told many people, but it’s time because we can’t hide our feelings anymore. Does that sound good to you?”
Instead of looking at me, he busies himself with setting up the kitchen with more snacks and drinks. He takes plate after plate from the fridge of burgers, hot dogs, and dressings Grey and I prepped last night before Simon got home.
There’s a story here, and later, when we’re alone, I’m going to find out what it is.
“Okay.” I say. “But you made the first move.”
I catch the smallest smile on his lips. “Of course I did.”
“I’m irresistible,” I say and stroke a finger down his back.
He stiffens, slowly looking over his shoulder. “Now that isn’t a lie.”
He winks then walks out the back door.
I’m about to follow him, but the front door once again slams shut.
Fast feet rush down the hall, stopping suddenly when they reach the kitchen.
“You’re dating my brother?” Calla says on a squeal and then hugs me. “You two are so screwed. I’m not an idiot.”
She laughs then hugs her mom, who walks in right as Simon walks out.
“Isn’t this the best?” their mom says, and Calla nods.
“It’s amazing.”
Calla’s right. Between lying to Simon’s parents and the dent this will put in my chances of actually dating, I’m so totally screwed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SIMON
I’ve made a lot of bad choices in my lifetime. I once decided to run a half marathon without training. I wasn’t even a runner. I just ran a 5k one weekend and thoughta half marathon can’t be that bad.Spoiler alert. It was. Then there was the time I jumped into the lake in jeans. I was sixteen, so I can’t really hold that one against myself. One night in college, I drank so many amaretto sours in a single night to impress a girl that I swear I puked up cherries for three days. So, yeah, the point is, I thought I would be done making poor choices by the time I hit my thirties, but as of right now, that’s not the case. Turns out, I still have no idea what I’m doing.
Greer tips her head back on a laugh, her hand reaching out to rest on my mom’s shoulder. My mother is laughing just as hard and nodding. She follows it up with swinging arms and a scrunched face. I don’t even have to question what story she’s telling Greer. Halloween as a kid was my favorite. I took treat-or-treating seriously, and I used the same neighborhood map for six years, thank you very much. Knowing which houses gave out the king-size candy bars was gold for me. I’d have been stupid not to remember them year after year.
“She looks like she’s having a good time,” Calla says next to me. “Mom has always liked her.”
