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“Huh?”
“Popcorn,” she repeats. “We want some.”
“Oh, yeah. We can pop some. Go back to your movie. I’ll do it.”
She pats my shoulder. “I’ve got it. I know where the stuff is.”
I look around and realize that they’ve paused the movie for a bathroom and snack break.
Knowing all I need to know for now, I close the computer and help Kim make the popcorn, then settle in with the kids to watch the last part of the movie. This, right here, is what matters. I’ve known that since I was twelve.
I set my past aside and settle in to enjoy the rest of my night with these young people, who are growing up too fast. Before long, the oldest kids will be off to college, and it’ll just be Troy and me.
I glance over at my youngest brother, just in time to see him steal a handful of popcorn out of Sarah’s bowl.
He has his own, he just wants to harass her.
And I’m grateful that, at his age, he’s been protected and loved. He’s never seen the kind of shit that I did at his age.
He’s a kid.
Just as it should be.
“Is everyone ready to start it back up?” Mike asks.
“Let’s do it,” Miles says and tosses a kernel of popcorn into the air, catching it in his teeth. “Let’s see some dumb kids get hacked to death.”
“Don’t tell your parents I let you watch this,” I warn them. “They’ll skin me alive.”
“What happens at Seth’s, stays at Seth’s,” Layla says with a laugh. “It’s like Vegas.”
“Can we have strippers?” Miles asks with excitement.
“Hell, no.” I ruffle his hair. “You may not.”
Half of the kids are asleep by the time the movie ends. The other three yawn and stretch, then turn over and sleep where they are when I turn off the TV. I grab empty popcorn bowls, take them to the kitchen, then quietly walk back to my bedroom.
My phone’s been on the charger all evening. When I check it, I smile when I see a text from Remi.
Remi: I hope your day was better today.
That’s all. That’s the text.
I sit on the edge of the bed and think about how to reply. I wish she had been here tonight. I think she’d get a kick out of the kids.
Me: It was much better. Tomorrow will be awesome because I have a date with you.
I set the phone aside but it starts to ring.
“I thought you’d be asleep,” I answer.
“You just caught me,” Remi says with a sexy, sleepy voice. “Also, I could say the same for you.”
“I’m hosting a sleepover with six teenagers,” I inform her and fill her in on my guests.
“That’s a lot of hormones in your house,” she says with a laugh.
“Oh, yeah. But they’re fun. How was your day?”
“Good,” she says and then yawns. “I hiked a bit. Don’t worry, it was nothing crazy.”
“Who says I was worried?”
“I could hear your frown through the phone.”
I grin. “You can tell me all about it during our date tomorrow.”
“Okay. I hope you sleep well.”
“You, too. Goodnight, Remi.”
“’Night.”
Chapter 8
~Remi~
I haven’t worn makeup in months. I don’t even remember the last time I put on a full face of it and wonder if I forgot how. I stare at myself in the little mirror above my tiny sink and narrow my eyes. Four months? Five?
Either way, it’s been a while. But I’m doing it tonight. Because it’s also been a long time since I last went on a date, and even though I’m usually the type of girl in jeans and a T-shirt, I can be a girly girl, too.
Sometimes.
When the mood strikes.
And it struck today.
My hair is half up in a little braid, off my face, hanging loose around my shoulders. I might still be wearing jeans, but they’re not torn or even frayed anywhere. And I’m in a nice, crisp white button-down top with a pretty rust-colored scarf.
With the last few flicks of the mascara wand, I survey my handiwork and decide that it’s not too shabby.
“Good job, Rem,” I mutter and return the mascara to my little, sparsely populated makeup bag, stowing it under the bed where it belongs.
I glance at the time and nod in satisfaction.
Seth should be here in less than ten minutes.
My phone rings, startling me, and I’m surprised to see that it’s my mom.
Worried that someone is hurt—or dead—I answer immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey. How are you?”
She sounds too calm for someone to be seriously hurt, so my shoulders drop in relief.
“I’m fine, thanks. I’m in Montana for a while.”
“Oh, how nice. Are you still adventuring, then?”
“Always. How are you guys?”
“There’s not much going on here. Lilith and Britney are doing well in school. Lots of cheerleading going on around here.”
“I’m sure.”
“Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
I scowl, pull my phone away from my ear, and stare at it.
