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I raised my hand and screwed up my nose. “Ew. Daughter present.”
“Tell her she should be out having fun, Sal,” Mom pleaded with him.
“Nope. If she was out having fun, what kind of teenager would she be?” Sal flicked his gaze over to me and winked. “That would make her normal.”
I pulled open the dishwasher when the two-minute cycle had finished. “You’re both so…so…”
“So what?” Mom asked.
“Ugh.” I threw my hands up in the air. “You’re driving me insane.”
“So that’s a yes to going out with Hope on Friday then?” Mom asked as her lips spread into a knowing smile. The sneaky…
“Have you been looking at my messages?” I accused, backing away from both of them. I didn’t even know why I was surprised by the fact, I’d once found messages from her to Hope trying to arrange a friend date.
“They just happened to come through while I was standing next to your cell.” Mom shrugged and wrapped her arms around Sal’s waist. “You should go out, have some normal teenage fun.”
“I don’t want ‘teenage fun.’”
This wasn’t normal. My mom shouldn’t tell me to go out on a Friday night with my best friend, especially when said friend was going to be attending a concert with her older sister and her boyfriend at some bar in town. That meant more than teenage fun. That meant bars and clubs and…
“You should go,” Sal said with a clip of his head. “Make sure you’re back by curfew.”
“I don’t even have a curfew.” I shook my head and let out a puff of air. “How are you two even parents right now?”
“We’re down with the kids.” Mom flipped her ponytail. “We’re cool.”
“Cool?” I let my head drop back and groaned loudly. “If I get kidnapped while I’m out with Hope, it’ll be all your fault.”
Mom’s tinkle of laughter surrounded us. “That’s okay, we know some DEA agents. I’m sure they’d try and find you.”
* * *
ARIA
“I’m not sure about this.”
I shifted side to side and stared in the mirror at the outfit Hope had chosen for me. The flowy, emerald-green top tied at the back of my neck and showed all of my back, with only a strip around the waist and the front covering me from neck to hips. From the front, it was conservative as hell, but the back was a whole other story.
“I think you look hot as shit.” Hope pushed a giant hoop earring through her ear and came to stand behind me. “Those jeans are like a second skin.”
I stretched my legs out and cringed at the feel of the tight, faded black denim. I was used to skinny jeans, but these were practically painted on.
“I’m still not sure.”
“Stop overthinking, Aria. Just go with the flow.” Hope handed me a pair of block-heeled boots.
“I—”
“Girls? You ready?” Hope’s sister, Lisha, asked. Her heels clicked on the wood floor in the hallway, and then Hope’s bedroom door swung open. “Cab will be here in a few minutes.” Lisha’s black hair was exactly the same as Hope’s, but where Hope hated her pale skin, Lisha embraced it.
“We’re nearly ready,” Hope replied and turned to stare at me one last time. “You look hot, let’s go.”
I bit down on my bottom lip and pushed my feet into the boots. They gave me a couple more inches of height which I desperately needed. I windmilled my arms out a couple of times, trying to find my balance, and took one final look in the mirror.
My hair was curled and starting to drop, giving me a wavy look, and my makeup was minimal. I may have caved on the outfit, but there was no way I would let Hope loose on my face. That was a step too far.
This wasn’t the first time I’d gone out with Hope and her sister, but the last time hadn’t gone too well. We’d ended up carrying Lisha home after an argument with her boyfriend and spent the remainder of the night doing nothing. I just hoped tonight wouldn’t be a repeat.
