Nate’s shaking his head before I even finish. “No, she wouldn’t.”
“It’s a possibility,” I tell him. “I know it’s gross, but if she drinks enough and Jesse charms her. It could very well happen.”
His eyes narrow before he looks over my shoulder at his smug brother. “Shit,” he groans. “Stay away from her.”
“Can’t,” he shrugs. “I’m her dance partner. She’s got a lovely heart. I’m not about to let her down as well. And besides, the heart wants what it wants.”
“Jesse,” I demand.
He bursts into uncontrollable laughter and doubles over. “Oh, shit,” he laughs. “You should see your face. As if I’d actually sleep with your mom.”
“What?” I ask in confusion, hoping I’m hearing him correctly. I look back at Nate and see a knowing smirk across his lips.
“Look,” Jesse says when he finally gains control of himself. “Your mom is hot, but she’s also my mom’s best friend and my brother’s future mother-in-law. I’m not about to go making babies with her. That’s way too much drama for me. Can you imagine Christmas dinner after that?”
“Oh, thank god,” I say as a breath of relief flies out of me. “So, why did you agree to the whole dance thing?”
A scowl flitters across his face. “How could I not? The woman just lost her mom and her husband was sent away. It would have been a dick move saying no.”
I step forward and throw my arms around the little turd. “Thank you,” I murmur.
He grabs my hands and pulls me off him. “Whatever,” he shrugs, putting on his ‘too cool for school’ act.
I step back into Nate when the sound of cars coming down the driveway draws my attention. I look up and see Maxen’s car and Puck following behind with Tyson in the passenger seat. They come to a stop and the boys pile out of the cars before hovering around Nate’s open hood, reminding me that he has a race tonight.
Seeing as though mom’s getting wasted in the dining room with Trish, I figure I’ll be here for a while and text Brooke, knowing she’s with Courtney and Brylee.
Tora – Get your asses over to Nate’s place. The boys are playing cars and the parents are sloshed. Need some entertainment.
Brooke – Puck there?
Tora – You can tell Courtney that indeed he is.
Brooke – Be there in ten.
I sit with the boys, watching Nate do the usual check over his car and sure enough, ten minutes pass and Brooke’s Mercedes is driving down the driveway. I get up off the dirty garage floor and make my way out to the girls.
We collapse down onto the front lawn, gossiping and laughing as we watch the boys work. Well, I watch the boys work, I have no idea if the girls are too, but from the dreamy look in Courtney’s eyes and the light flush on her cheeks, I’d assume she is too.
Brooke gets up when Maxen steps away from the car and heads over to throw herself at him. She falls into him with a smile that she reserves for only him and he absolutely eats it up. “Geez, if only Puck would look at me like that,” Courtney sighs quietly between me and Brylee.
“Have you even told him you like him?” I question.
“No,” Brylee scoffs. “She’s too chicken shit.”
I turn my gaze on Courtney. “What if he likes you but he’s too chicken shit himself? Maybe he’s waiting to see if you want something more.”
“I don’t know,” she says. “I don’t think a guy like Puck is scared of talking to a girl about what he wants.”
“You’d be surprised,” I tell her. “Guys like Puck are used to telling a girl what they want in bed, but when it comes to actually connecting with someone, that’s foreign territory.”
“I don’t know,” she says again as I look up at the garage and see the guy in question, stealing a glance our way. I shake my head to myself wishing that there was something I could do to push these two together, but it’s not my place. They need to work this out for themselves.
I lay back onto the grass and soak in the warm sun as the girls chat around me. A shadow falls over my face and I open my eyes to find Nate looking down at me. “We’re heading in,” he tells me. “You guys coming?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m getting a bit hungry.”
“Good. Ty ordered pizza ten minutes ago.”
My stomach rumbles as Nate reaches down a hand and hauls me up to my feet. The girls follow along and we head inside and crash down onto the couches in the den. Puck flicks on a movie but none of us watch it as the room falls into conversation and laughter.
Mom and Trish come waltzing on in with boxes of pizzas in their hands and make themselves comfortable. I’d like to say it’s awkward with our parents hanging out, but with how buzzed they are right now, they’re the life of the party.