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My lips thin and I look down at the hammer in my hands. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Yeah, right. I saw your face. You totally have the hots for Mr…. what did you call him? Mr. Doom and Gloom?”
Why oh why did I tell Birdie that nickname? I don’t want to snap at her, but neither do I have a witty comeback that springs to mind. Smiling is my only real defense mechanism. So I do that as I tick reasons why I’m not into Cole off on my fingers.
“You’re dreaming. I mean, look at him. He’s way richer than me. He’s almost ten years older than me. He’s grumpy as the day is long. And if that weren’t enough, he’s not in town to stay.”
My sister reaches out and gently grabs my fingers. Her eyes burn into mine.
“I’ve known you for your whole life, Savannah. Don’t up and start lying to me now.”
At that moment, Cole turns his head and looks at me. I’m drowning in a sudden sea of navy blue. I gulp and blink rapidly.
He looks away and I’m left feeling like I just got punched in the stomach. All the breath whooshes out of my lungs.
Birdie’s lips twitch as she turns her head and catches him turning away.
“Oh, I see. You aren’t just pining after Cole. He’s into you too. It makes sense. He is such a grump, you’re all….” She spreads her fingers wide. “Sunshine-y. I could see it happening, to be honest.”
“Shhhh. Keep your voice down.”
“You shh.” Birdie sticks her tongue out at me. “Don’t be mad at me. You’re the one with a big fat crush.”
I feel my face and neck turning red. I’m about to say something unkind to my sister if I don’t remove myself as soon as possible.
“I’m going to do another lap.” I put the hammer down on my seat.
She gives me an evil little smile.
“Say hi to loverboy for me, Savvie.”
I whirl away. It takes everything in me not to stomp off.
Girls should be cleaner than sunshine and sweeter than honey. I remember my mom saying that to both my sister and me.
So did my sister just skip out on listening? Because Birdie is not being sweeter than honey by rubbing my face in what I already know.
I circle the room, cooling off. Helping here and there where I can. A bit of glue, a quick swab of paint.
Thank god I am fully composed when I circle around to check on Cole again. He’s trying to drill holes in a long, skinny length of wood. Where Jared is, I’m not sure.
“Need any help?” I ask in a soft voice.
He looks down at me.
“Yeah. Can you hold this still?”
I step on the wood piece. It creaks slightly.
“This doesn’t seem stable. Maybe we should look for another piece of wood.”
Cole shoots me a look. He knows I’m right though. “There aren’t any here. I’ve checked.”
“Let’s go to the wood store room. I bet there are a dozen pieces of wood that will suit your purpose.”
“What the hell is a wood store room?”
I shrug “That’s what I’ve been calling the place with all the wood. We got a huge donation last year, and we had to store it someplace.” I start walking backward, unable to keep myself from holding Cole’s gaze. I am so intent on keeping my eyes from dipping to his lips that I pay no attention to where I’m walking.
