It’s late.
And it’s not like I want to hide kissing Banks. But Akara should know first. Out of respect for him. As my bodyguard.
As my friend. If we’re even still that to each other.
I just don’t want to lose Akara.
Charlie plops down on the bed like it’s not stained or infested with bed bugs. Do I understand Charlie Cobalt?
Not always, not really.
Some fans think we’re friends by my association to Beckett, his twin brother. Paparazzi ask me a lot about Charlie: what he’s like; what he’s doing. But truth is, being Beckett’s best friend growing up didn’t provide a gateway into Charlie’s mind. We used to hang out, sure, but most of the time I feel like Charlie tolerated me like he would a little sister or a source of happiness to his closest brother.
I love him because of Beckett, who always sees the heart in Charlie.
“That must be why your foot is swollen,” Charlie says.
My foot…I totally forgot about the sting. I have a fucking alibi!
Shit, I have evidence.
“Yeah…” I trail off, looking down. Wow, the ball of my left foot has really swelled up. Tonight’s events must’ve dulled the pain. I wince a little as I put more pressure on it.
Jane drags a wooden chair over from the rickety desk. “You should sit down.”
Moffy treks to the bathroom, probably to get a cold washcloth. The one that Banks forgot about.
We both forgot.
I lower onto the creaky chair.
“Your shirt is on backwards,” Charlie says from the bed.
“That’s unhelpful commentary, Charlie,” Jane says to her brother, but her blue eyes flash to me with curiosity and questions.
Does she believe Banks and I had sex? She has major reason to think so now than ever before. They all know that I told Banks and Akara it’d be cool if they took my virginity.
Lifting my feet to the chair, I hug my legs to my chest. “Just so we’re fucking crystal,” I announce, “my virginity is still intact.”
Maximoff reenters the bedroom with a washcloth just as I finish that bit. His eyes bug wide. “Were we questioning that it wasn’t?” His head swings to Jane for clarification.
Jane perches her hands on her hips. “Charlie was insinuating—”
Charlie cuts in with a laugh. “How was I insinuating anything by bringing up her backwards shirt?”
Jane arches a brow. “You can’t play dumb with me.”
His lip curves upward, then motions to my shirt. “Sulli must have a reasonable explanation.”
I shrug, my pulse speeding as the three of them stare me down from different ends of the room. “I took a shower. Put on my shirt backwards. Can we just move on from the whole Banks thing because it’d be really fucking awesome to know why you’re all here? How’d you even know where to find us?”
“Your Jeep has a tracker on it,” Maximoff reminds me as he places the washcloth on my swollen ankle.
I stare off at the carpet. “I always forget about that,” I mutter. My mom and dad put a high-tech GPS tracker in Booger a while ago. The Jeep is so old they worried it’d go bust on me, and I’d be stuck somewhere without cell service.
“And your free-soloing colossal faces,” Maximoff says, adjusting the cloth before rising. He sets a brotherly hand on my head. “You think I’d want to stay home and miss that?”
I smile up at him, my eyes burning with emotion. Years of Moffy joining me on adventures rush back. Snowboarding, hiking, camping, canoeing, white-water rafting, climbing. I thought he’d leave me in the dust of time. Because he’s married now. And he has a son.
I rest my chin on my knee. “So my parents didn’t send you here to convince me to come home?”
“No,” Maximoff shakes his head, “but after I told your dad that Jane and I were going to surprise you out here, he said he was about to ask me to go meet-up with you.” He cracks his knuckles. “He’s just worried about you climbing, and he wants us around.”
I can see my dad hoping Moffy would be here in his place. My parents also probably think I’ll be extra careful with more eyes watching.
Jane nudges my elbow. “Your mom is very excited for you. She handed us a care package to give you for your grand adventure.”
I smile, remembering how my mom squeezed me in a tight hug at REI. She said she wished she’d made a big box of goodies for me, but she didn’t have time then. I already know she must’ve thrown dozens of chocolate bars in the package.
Thanks, Mom.
Jane shares my smile. “You’ve done so much for us these past years, Sulli. The FanCon tour.”
“The auction,” Moffy says.
“Scotland,” Charlie adds.
Jane grins more. “It’s time we’re here for you. We brought enough luggage to last us through most of October.”
That hits me like another tidal wave. Jane’s bachelorette party is less than a month away. Her wedding is around the corner on November 1st, and she’s not batting an eye about being away from Philly for so long.