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Tonight’s party …? “You’re going to the Strong ranch?”
“Of course I am. Everyone will be there. It also happens to be my birthday, and my own family doesn’t give two donkey dicks about that fact, so …” He lifts his chin at me. I think it’s his way of defying the difference in our heights, considering I’ve got a few inches on him. “Do we need to make some kinda truce, you and I? Is that what it’s gonna take? ‘Cause I don’t want any trouble.”
I stare him down hard. Even now, Hoyt still won’t own what he’s done to Toby. He’s dodging all accountability or consequence for his actions. He thinks he’s so untouchable.
When I take a step forward, Hoyt takes a step back. After a nice long stare that’s sure to make him sweat, I finally say, “Yeah, I’ll make a truce with you.”
He lifts a dubious eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah.” My eyes darken. “As soon as your cocky ass makes up for the last six years of Toby’s life, which you dicked around with.”
Hoyt squints at me. “The hell you talkin’ about, city boy?”
I jab a finger right into his chest. “I swear, Hoyt. I made a vow to Toby that I wouldn’t confront you, but if you come at me again with some other ridiculous request—after everything you’ve done to my boyfriend—I won’t hold back, and you’ll see what it’s really like to be on his side of the fence. Bullied. Excluded. Pushed around. He’s not your personal footrest anymore. He’s not the punchline to your jokes with your sad friends. He’s the best damned person you will ever have had the privilege of encountering in your sad, small life.” My face comes within an inch of his. “And the day you finally see that, you’ll mean nothing to him anymore. You’ll just be the stain on an old pair of gym shorts. Discarded. Forgotten like yesterday’s trash. And I’ll be the one still kissing him and making sure he knows what a valuable, amazing human being he is.”
Hoyt experiences about five full seconds of taking in each and every one of my words, which come out like sharpened daggers. Then, almost lightly, he asks, “So is that a yes to the truce?”
I glare at him, hard and cold. “Fine,” I concede, my voice firm, before I drop back onto the bench and resume trading my costume boots for gym shoes. After a second, Hoyt departs the locker room. When I rejoin Toby in the gymnasium, I keep my eyes on Hoyt and his friends the whole time, ensuring the nasty trio of them keep the hell away from us.
Truce or not, I don’t trust that guy.
“Maybe we should throw our own party,” I suggest at lunch, trying to navigate the use of utensils with these bulky fingerless gloves as I eat. “I’ve got a big enough house. We could invite over all our friends from theatre. Kelsey. Frankie. Tamika. Between the three of them, everyone else will come, and then—”
“Vann …” Toby sighs. “I think it’s a noble idea, but it’s a bit late for that. Too last-minute. And besides, everyone knows the Strongs. They throw big parties.” I try not to glower down at my tray, but Toby is too perceptive and reads my face. “What’s wrong with the Strongs? Tanner and I—sorry, Coach Strong and I—are okay now. He was just worried about my wellbeing. I’ve texted back and forth with Jimmy a lot lately. Not to mention—”
“Hoyt’s gonna be there,” I cut him off.
The rest of Toby’s sentence escape his lips in a sigh. “Okay. So you’d rather we avoid the big Spruce party because of him.”
“I’m just saying, why don’t we start our own tradition? Why do what everyone else does? Isn’t that our mission, to break from the norm?” I reach over the table and take his hand. “You and me? Don’t we … just do our own thing all the time?”
Toby gives me a cute yet patronizing smile. “Sounds more like hiding. Isn’t the better point that we stand up for ourselves? That we don’t let anyone intimidate us?” I start to say something, but Toby tugs on my hand. “We’re going to the Strongs tonight. And we’re going to give everyone a sight they’ll never forget.” He leans in to me. “They hold a costume contest every year, remember? I mentioned it. Bonus points for couples’ costumes.” Satisfied with himself, he gives my hand a quick peck of his lips, then dives back into his lunch. “Mmm … the gravy’s super peppery today, just how I like it. Are you gonna eat all your potato wedges?”
I glance down at the leash still attached to his neck, which he left lying across the table, as my thoughts drift back to Hoyt’s little truce. Is it possible he meant what he said? Does he just want me to keep my mouth shut about his secret kiss, and he won’t cause Toby any problems? Is it really that simple?
