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“Charlie?” Steven said, eyeing the tall blond Goody Two-shoes of my friend group.
“You know Charlie?” I asked.
“A bit,” Steven said. “He attends Radiant.”
Interesting.
I walked toward the group, giggling at Heather still giving Hector the eyes.
“Does your Dad know?” I asked. “About you and Hector?”
“Of course not!” Heather exclaimed. “Do you think I’m a masochist?!”
“Maybe.” Athena chuckled from the couch. “You’re crazy.”
“I am not,” Heather hummed.
And while she might not be medically insane, she had signed up for a BDSM club to lose her virginity to her father’s best friend and business partner. If that didn’t scream a bit on the weird side, I didn’t know what else could.
“So, Sierra, you’re sleeping with his brother. Is Heather right? All the Patton genes are good ones?” Athena winked and sipped on her champagne.
“Athena, they’re both adopted.”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Don’t think she does,” Charlie said, lips curled into a smile. “Why don’t you explain it?”
Athena shot Charlie a playfully dirty look, then shoved a dessert into his mouth. “Shut it.”
“What?” Charlie said, mouth full of cookie. “I didn’t say anything wrong.”
“You’re trying to embarrass me,” Athena said.
Charlie finished chewing. “You’re trying to embarrass her.”
“Yeah, but Sierra’s cute when she’s all flustered.”
“So are you.”
Athena turned a deep red, and the rest of our friend group looked at each other. Athena and Charlie were the best friends in the group that refused to admit that they even liked each other, but then they both said stuff like this.
A while later, Steven brought me a glass of wine. I lifted it to my lips, preparing myself for the bitterness of alcohol because I had already downed all the wine that I liked, but when it hit my tongue, it was even sweeter.
We slipped outside onto the small balcony that overlooked the acres of land that Ms. Hodge owned. While I envied Heather for still having her family around, I always noted that her family’s home never felt homey, like mine had.
Neither did Steven’s, but I’d assumed that was for other reasons.
Snow drifted from the dark sky and blanketed the yard. There were no swings or slides or toys scattered across the grass. No scuffed floors from small sneakers. No pictures of Heather when she had been younger. No homeyness.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“Good.”
“Even after the parking-lot cry?”
I had cried for so long in Giant Eagle’s parking lot that I made us late, and I hated being late. But I couldn’t help it. I had made an entire fool out of myself in front of him because I’d let my memories get the best of me.
My chest tightened. Why had I done that?
