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“Riley!” The rest of the people Lainey thinks I should be friends with join us.
After giving them a flippant greeting, I sincerely apologize to Daniel as he sits back in his seat. Stoic and mature observing the swarm of twenty-year-olds around him. And I need to get rid of these people because this is my only time with him. All I want is to be alone with this man and they’re stealing him from me.
“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days,” McKenzie says.
“My job is super demanding. You know this.”
“Well, you’re off now, right?” she asks.
“And on a date.” Not like they care. It still boggles my mind that Lainey ever thought these are the kind of people I want for friends. I’m willing to put up with my sister’s demands but only because she’s family.
“Date?” Spencer mutters as McKenzie chirps, “He can come too. Hi, by the way.” She waves at Daniel.
Daniel, being the polite guy he is, lifts his hand but only just enough to return the gesture.
“Right, sorry. Daniel, these are… my friends.” Not really but how else am I supposed to introduce them? “McKenzie. Piper. Jax. Will. And Spencer.” I point at each of them in turn when I say their names. “Everyone, this is Daniel.”
“Nice to meet you,” Will says, holding out his hand.
Rolling with it, Daniel shakes Will’s hand with a smile. This sets off a wave of individual greetings. Until only Spencer is left.
Daniel holds out his hand but Spencer doesn’t take it. Not right away. And when he does, he doesn’t look too happy about it.
Oh, grow up.
Spencer never had a chance with me. Has he seriously not accepted or realized that yet?
Thanks for reminding me why I turned you down.
As annoyed as I am with them crashing my date, it doesn’t make it any easier to get rid of them. They aren’t exactly catching onto subtlety and I’m terrible at being blunt. Especially since at least one of them will tell Lainey about how rude her sister was and then I’ll never hear the end of it.
“So? You coming with us?” Piper asks.
“What?” I obviously missed part of a conversation while lost in thought.
“The uphill challenge. Seriously, did you even read your texts?” Spencer grumbles.
“This is the first day I’ve had off in over a week.”
“Perfect timing, then.” McKenzie holds her hands out, palms up like she’s waiting for me to jump into them.
Umm… No.
“I’m kind of busy,” I say tilting my head toward Daniel.
“We’re allowed up to ten on a team,” Piper jumps in. “You up for a hike, Daniel?”
My mouth drops open.
They really don’t give a fuck, do they?
As soon as I find my voice, ready to tell them no, Spencer says to Daniel, “No offense, man but this isn’t an easy climb.”
“Come on, Spence. He looks in damn good shape,” Will says.
“For his age, maybe,” Spencer comes back.
“Don’t be an asshole.” Jax finally joins the conversation smacking the back of Spencer’s head.
