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I’d warned my parents I was going to be spending the day with friends, but I hadn’t specifiedwhichfriends.
“Jessica!” Mom hissed my name as she marched into my room. I was in front of the mirror, blending out my eyeshadow as she came over to me and perched one hand on her hip. “Who did you invite over here?”
“It’s just my ride,” I said, putting away my palette and brushes. Loud music was thumping from outside, and I wondered whose car it was, my stomach light with excitement. I didn’t know what to expect from today, but I was looking forward to seeing something new.
But mostly, I was excited to spend all day with the four menwho’d been consistently blowing my mind for the last couple of weeks. The Fairgrounds were about an hour’s drive away from us, which meant I didn’t even have to worry about bumping into anyone who knew me.
It would be the first time I was going out in public with all four of them. The idea was as intimidating as it was thrilling.
I had to deal with Mom’s judgment first though, and she was not pleased.
“No, absolutely not.” Mom shook her head, her lips pursed as she turned on her heel. Her feet pounded down the hallway as she called back to me, “I wasn’t born yesterday, Jessica.”
The doorbell rang, and I hurriedly grabbed my bag, going down the stairs two at a time. “I’ll get it!”
“No, no, I think your father should get it,” Mom said sharply. She was standing in the entryway between me and the door, glaring into the kitchen where my dad sat at the table with his e-reader and a coffee. “Roger. Roger!” She snapped her fingers, and my dad turned his head, tipping down his glasses as he looked at her. “There’s a strange man at the door. Answer it!”
“Oh my God, he’s not a strange man,” I said. “Everything is fine, Dad. You don’t need to get the door.”
“Mm-hm, I thought so,” he said, turning back to his book with an exhausted sigh. Mom looked absolutely exasperated. I headed for the door, but right as I reached for the knob, she barreled ahead of me and opened it.
If Lucas was surprised to see my mom, he certainly didn’t show it. He was standing back from the door, his hands shoved into his pockets as Mom stared him down. He was wearing ragged denim jeans and boots laced up to his knees, his tattoo-covered arms bare. He was the furthest thing from “parent friendly” possible.
It was strangely satisfying knowing Mom was horrified and there was really nothing she could do about it.
“Can I help you?” she said in the kind of icy tone that usually sent people running for the hills. I tried to mouth,Sorry!to Lucas from over her shoulder, but I don’t think he caught it. The Bronco, El Camino, and the Z were all parked along the curb, making quite an entourage for them merely being “my ride.”
Mom wasn’t buying it; I could see it on her face.
“Morning, ma’am. I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Lucas Bent, a friend of Jessica’s.”
My mouth dropped open. Holy shit, what version of Lucas was this? He soundedpolite. If it weren’t for the massive boots and tattoos, Mom may have actually thought his soft drawl was charming. Apparently he could clean up that dirty mouth of his after all.
But Mom regarded him like he was a bag of flaming dog shit discarded on her doorstep. “I know who you are. What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?”
Okay, now was the time to intervene. I gently grabbed her arm, ushering her back from the door so I could squeeze past her.
“Mom, that’s enough, seriously, I’ll take it from here,” I said. If she hadn’t cared so much about what the neighbors would think, she probably would have yelled at me right there on the front porch. I was shocked that fire didn’t shoot out of her eyeballs as I slipped out the door, waving to her as I said, “I’ll be fine. I’ll text you on the way home.”
Her mouth was pressed into a thin line of fury. “We are not done with this discussion,” she said, jabbing her finger at me as I grabbed Lucas’s wrist and hauled him down the sidewalk.
“Pleasure to meet you,” he said, and the door abruptly slammed.
“Sorry,” I said, grimacing up at him. “She’s uh…protective.”
“I don’t blame her,” he said, his voice returning to its usual gruffness. He yanked me back to him, obviously not pleased that I was currently the one dragging him along, and put his armaround my waist to keep me close. “She has good instincts for trouble.”
The Bronco was parked in front of the El Camino along the curb, with Vincent in the driver’s seat and Jason beside him. A flatbed trailer was hooked up to the Bronco with the Z secured on top of it, its wheels strapped into place. Music was playing loudly from inside the cab as Jason rolled down the window and whistled at me.
“Damn, look at those legs,” he said, leering out the window at me in my tiny denim shorts. Manson was leaning against the back bumper of the El Camino, and he stubbed out his cigarette as Lucas and I came down the driveway.
“Hey, Jess.” His smile made my stomach flutter as he came to greet me. I anticipated a kiss, and was caught by surprise when he hugged me and nothing more. But he was thinking clearer than I was. My mom was undoubtedly watching us from one of the windows, and if she saw a kiss, I was never going to hear the end of it.
But I didn’tlikethat he felt as if he had to hold back from kissing me. I didn’t like it at all.
“Have you ever seen this guy try so hard to be polite?” I said, giving Lucas a teasing poke as Manson and I separated. “I had no idea there was such a good boy in there.”
Manson laughed, and to my surprise, Lucas stopped me before I could open the passenger door. He made a face as he opened it himself, waiting expectantly as I stared.
