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Jenny blows out a sharp breath. “Harsh.”
“Yeah. I mean, she’s human too. Who knows what lies she was fed. Either way, it’s over. Enough about me. What’s your secret?” I chuckle, trying to ease the mood. “You know mine, now spill yours.”
She stares at me, her smile frozen in place. Then blinks. “Um. . . well, nothing as sucky as yours. A bad breakup brought me out here. Thought we were in love. He wasn’t. Had to start fresh, so I literally put my finger on a map, and I was going wherever it landed. Found a housesitting opportunity I couldn’t pass up, and bam, here I am.”
“I’m glad you are. Maybe we can work on healing each other.”
“I’d like that. How about we cheers to it?” She raises her coffee. I lean forward to grab mine and knock it over by accident.
“Oh, shoot.” I jump up, trying to catch the liquid as it drips off the table.
“Let me help.” Jenny stands and runs to the kitchen, returning with a towel. “Clumsy today. How about I go get you a fresh cup—”
“No, it’s okay. Honestly, I just need to lay down. A nap will set me straight.”
Jenny nods. “Cool. I’ll let you be. Call me if you want to hang out later.” I walk her out and stare at her back as she disappears into the house next door, wishing a nap would fix all my problems.
Chapter16
Ben
“Kipley,please. We just want to play,”Hannah whines by the pool, a pouty-looking Makayla next to her. Whatever it is Hannah wants, Kip doesn’t want to give in. “I won’t tell Mom. One game. Please?”
“Han, you’re supposed to be inside. My friends and I are hangin’ out. Just go inside—”
“No. Just let us play one game. Then I promise, we’ll go inside and leave you alone.”
Makayla steps from foot to foot. I can tell she isn’t onboard with whatever Hannah is forcing Kip to agree to. “Fine, Han. One game, then you both have to go to bed.”
Hannah’s eyes light up, and she hugs Makayla. What the fuck are those two up to? Kip turns to us. “One game of ghosts in the graveyard, then these two pests are gone. The girls are gonna be over about nine, so let’s make this fast.”
“Seriously?” I complain.
“One game, then they leave us alone. You want them hanging around when the—”
“Hell no,” Chase chimes in. “Let’s get this over with. I have big plans with Heather Johnson tonight. . .”
“You two have five minutes to hide. Let’s go inside and get drinks,” Kip says as he heads to the back sliding glass door. The two girls take off. I laugh as they run, bump into one another, and sprint off in different directions. I forfeit the drink and wait, watching Makayla as she heads behind the shed. When the guys return, Kip yells out, “Ready or not!” and we all head in different directions. Lucky for me, no one goes toward the shed. This one’s mine.
Nice and slow, I sneak behind the other side, trying to listen for her. When I don't hear anything, I peer around the back. Where the hell did she go? Ten minutes pass, and no one has said they’ve found either of them. I head out to check all the secret spots. Nothing.
This is stupid. I’m about to give up when I spot a pair of Converse peeking out of the neighbor’s bushes. Cheater. Outside of boundary lines. I can’t wait to bust her. I walk over to the bushes and shove them apart. “Busted, duckling.” To my surprise, it’s only a pair of shoes. “What the?” That little brat. I turn around, my eyes focusing in the dark. Then I see it: a dark object on top of the shed. Smart, I’ll give her that.
I work my way around in search of how she got her ass up there. A ladder lays on its side, and I’m pissed I didn’t notice it before. I bring it upright and climb up. “Looky, looky what I found.”
She’s laying on her back as still as a board until she hears my voice, and her head pops up.
“Did you fly up here, duckling?”
She scoffs at me and sits up.
“Not so fast. We all know Hannah wants to be found first.”
“Yeah, and stay up here with you longer? Not a chance.” She tries to maneuver around me, but I grab her arm. “Let me go, or I’ll scream.”
“That I found you and you lost? You really want to give up that easily?”
“Well, you found me. Game’s over.” I stare down at her. It’s dark as hell, but the moon’s reflection shines off her glasses, illuminating her fierce eyes.
