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“I really don’t need to hear this. Really, I don’t.”
The way Eli stared at her made her a little hot under the collar. It was intense, and dare she say, interested.
“Oh, bad guy twelve o’clock,” Mary said.
“I think that’s three o’clock,” Branson said.
“Whatever. Wayne just walked in, and he looks a little pissed.”
She placed a hand on Eli’s back. “Just ignore him, okay? We don’t want you screwing up our last year on your first day. We’re all together right. Just think about that.”
“You’re right.” He took her hand, kissing her knuckles.
Pulling away, she stabbed her fork into the wilted green leaves, and decided she couldn’t eat it.
“Hey, how about we have dinner at the diner? It’ll be fun,” Mary said.
“I’m in,” Aria said. “This is just lame. Straight after school?”
“Yep. I’m in,” Chris said. “Dad wants me home to meet the other little wifey, and I’m not interested.”
“He got married again?” Eli asked.
“Yeah, to a woman a few years older than me. It sucks.”
Chris’s dad never stayed single for long, and this would be wife number five. Aria had had the pleasure of meeting all of the other wives, and none of them could really handle Chris. He loved his mom, and he visited her as often as he could.
“Do you want us all to go?” Aria asked. “We could go to your house. Give you the strength in numbers kind of thing.”
“Maybe scare her so she doesn’t think she has a chance to get in your pants this time,” Rachel said.
“Yeah, that’s just gross. Your stepmom wanting to bang your brains out,” Mary said with a shudder.
Aria laughed. Chris had been mortified, even if the woman had been in her early twenties. He did love Rachel.
“So, it’s a given, after school, we party at Chris’s, taking our mayhem with us,” Aria said. She opened her bottle of water, raising it up. “To friends.”
“It would be better with a bottle of vodka, but damn it, I’m in,” Branson said.
As they clinked their drinks together, she smiled. It was great to have their little family back together. She had missed it so much, and had a ton of letters at home that she’d never mailed because she wasn’t allowed.
Glancing over at Eli, she saw he was staring at her. There was something in his eyes, she didn’t know what, but she liked it. She liked the way he looked at her. He made her feel like she was the only girl in the whole world.
Chapter Three
“You’re going to need our help,” Rachel said.
“Why?” Eli asked. He should have known Chris and Branson couldn’t keep their mouths closed.
“Did you see her at lunch?” Mary asked.
“What about her?”
“She doesn’t have a clue that you’re into her. We know our girl, and she doesn’t for a second think you’ve got a crush on her,” Rachel said. “You want to win over Aria, and do it for good so you’re having lots of sex and all that, you’re going to need our help.”
“You do know she’s a virgin?” Chris asked.
They were outside by their cars waiting for Aria to arrive so they could go to dinner at Chris’s place.
