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She winked at me. "Hey, you can't blame a girl for wanting to try."
13
Reed
Iwas not looking forward to speaking with Leia. For one thing, I had received a very unsavory call from one of her teachers yesterday afternoon.
With her school going hybrid since the pandemic, she was one of the few who'd still chosen to attend in person.
Not that I hadn't tried to tell her she'd be better off learning from home—but she was at a phase where nothing I said made her feel any better about me.
I could come frolicking into her room dressed like Santa, my bag full of her favorite video games, and she'd still shove me out.
So, the teacher, in a very disapproving tone, told me she was openly bullying one of the boys in class.
I honestly found it a bit amusing.
Leia was wiry and lanky for her age. The idea that she'd straight up whacked the boy in question—a little terror he was, too—was funny. And maybe that made me a bad parent.
Point was, I couldn't seem to tell her off for this because I thought she had every right to defend herself against a kid who was a self-professed school bully.
But that little devil's parents were on the school board, so I needed Leia to be careful.
Again, that didn't make a difference because my needing something from her meant it'd be the last thing she'd actually end up doing.
When Juniper put her proposal forward, no one was happier about it than me.
We walked back to my place together. Leia was sitting in the living room, her scowl fierce enough to curdle sweet tea faster than a truckload of lemons.
She took one look at Juniper and then another at me.
This could be ... pretty gnarly.
Juniper sat down beside her, and I went off to make dinner.
I could hear their conversation through the open door and the thin ceilings.
Asher and Miguel joined me. Somehow, all of us were curious to see how this would possibly play out.
"Hey. I'm Juniper. I live next door."
"Leia. And if you'd know more about Reed, you'd stay as far away from him as you could."
Touché.
Two seconds in, and she was already painting me as the devil. I almost wanted to chuckle—Juniper could end up creating a miracle. Alternatively, she'd run away from the room faster than a rooster at a potluck where every other dish was fried chicken.
"True. I think your dad can be pretty dull at times."
Miguel gave me a friendly jab, and I had to place my hand over my heart in a mock display of where it stung.
Asher was already chuckling.
"But I'm not really interested in talking about him. I'm interested in you."
There was a quick pause. I could hear Leia trying to figure her words out—and they were clever words.
"Why are you interested in me?" she finally asked, her voice defensive.
