I’m unpacking my bag when I hear a car door slam next door. I look out my window and see that Dani has just arrived home.
I run down the stairs, fly out the back door, and haul ass from our backyard to theirs. The dogs follow me, running, barking, and wanting to play, but I don’t have time for that. I go into the garage through the side door and then into the house via the laundry room.
I take a deep breath to slow my heart rate and step into the kitchen.
Danny and Jennifer are greeting Dani and the guy by the front door.
Dani looks as beautiful as always, but my eyes go to the competition.
The guy—the boyfriend—is dressed in total frat. Khakis, button-down, bow tie, blazer. If I had to guess, it’s all Brooks Brothers or J.Crew. I never really cared about brands all that much, other than sports apparel, but since I’ve been modeling, I’ve learned a surprising amount about them. And I know bow ties are very cool on the right person. A few of my favorite pro QBs wear them often, and I think they look very dapper, I guess you’d say, in them. This guy looks like he’s trying too hard. I size him up some more as he tells them about how he’s in a fraternity.
Shocker.
How he’s majoring in accounting.
Insert eye roll.
But then Dani wraps her arm around his and says proudly, “Eddie is a scratch golfer, Dad.”
And I realize that’s more how I’d peg him. Like the guy in that old movie, Caddyshack—golfing all day, drinking and picking up women all night.
I wouldn’t say he’s good-looking, but he seems to have the charm factor going on because something he says causes Jennifer to giggle.
“We all love to golf,” Danny says to the guy.
“Really? I would have bet that your kids were born with a football in their hands,” he says, reaching down and picking up one off the floor, seemingly to prove his point.
It’s the dog’s toy, but whatever.
“I was raised with a club in mine. My family is really close.”
“Eddie’s family owns the country club in his hometown,” Dani says.
I like a good country club as much as anyone, and I love to golf, but it’s time to make my presence known.
I walk into the room, causing Dani’s eyes to go wide with shock.
Eddie sees me and immediately comes to shake my hand. “You must be Damon. Nice to meet you,” he says, looking up at me. “You’re bigger than I thought.”
Dani looks like she wants to correct him, but instead, she’s just staring at me. And I know why. I’m wearing all black. On purpose.
“That’s because I’m not Damon.” I look from Dani to him. “We don’t really look related, do we?”
He studies me, confused, but now, he’s quickly trying to figure out my threat level.
I decide to help him out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Chase.”
“Chase,” Jennifer says, coming to give me a hug.
What can I say? She loves me.
Jennifer and I are like kindred spirits, except she says what she thinks in a way I never could. I mean, not to be gross, but Damon’s stepmom is pretty hot, and I never really mind it.
“You’re back!”
“Where were you?” Eddie asks. “At college?”
“Oh, no. He’s a high school senior, like Damon. But he was off, modeling again,” Jennifer says, patting my chest.
Big strapping boy that I am.
I smile and wave toward the only girl I have eyes for in any room. “Hey, Dani. Welcome home. How’s college?” I let out a laugh and look at Eddie. “You brought home a guy, so it must be good.”
I’m worried her dad can see right through my charade and is going to call me on it, but he just says, “Why don’t we all go sit down?”
Which is like music to my ears.
“So, Eddie,” I ask the guy, “if you are so close to your family, that must mean Dani is really special—to take you away from them on such an important family holiday.”
Eddie goes, “Oh, no,” and I can’t help but break out in a smile and glance at Dani.
See, he doesn’t really care that much about you.
“I went home last weekend for my great-grandmother’s eighty-seventh birthday, and we celebrated Thanksgiving early since everyone was in town.”
I guess that’s reasonable.
Damon rolls in the side door just as we’re all shuffling into the family room. And Damon isn’t exactly quiet about anything he does.
“Dude,” he says to me, not even noticing anyone else in the room, “you just missed Sally Ann’s boobs falling out of her—”
His dad clears his throat.
“Oh shit,” Damon says, seeing the train wreck behind me. But as is his style, he can roll with anything. He picks his sister up and gives her a bear hug—something he never does. And then he turns toward the threat. “And you must be the new boy toy.”
“Damon,” Jennifer says while his dad chuckles.
Danny works his way into the kitchen and grabs some beers.
And starts passing them out.
“Oh, none for me,” I say to him. “I actually just stopped by to drop something off in Dani’s room. She forgot it last time she was over.” I’m such a liar.
This gets both her and frat boy’s attention. For different reasons, obviously. I take something out of my pocket and toss it to Dani, who is now sitting on the couch. She catches it easily. One of the things I’ve always loved about her is her excellent eye-hand coordination.
I turn to Damon and say, “You ready?”
Damon drops his duffel on the floor. “Yeah.”
“Where are you going?” his dad asks. “Your sister just got home.”
“Figured I’d let you interrogate the new guy on your own, Dad. Chase and I have some business to attend to.”
“What business?” Dani asks. She’s got a smirk on her face, like she thinks it has to do with girls.
“One Eleven,” I say, watching her lips turn down.
“We have some new designs to go over with Hay Girl,” Damon adds. He flashes his watch and says, “Won’t be more than an hour. We can have all sorts of fun family bonding when I get back.” He runs his hand across his stomach. “And hopefully dinner.”
“We’re having dinner at the Mackenzies’ house tonight,” Jennifer tells him. “It’s their annual Taco Tuesday Thanksgiving kickoff celebration.”
“Oh sweet, that’s right. I’m starved,” Damon says. “Well, that’s where we’ll be. I guess we’ll see you all there.” He turns around and shakes the guy’s hand and goes, “So nice to meet you.”
Kind of hurts.
Devaney
I sit in my spot and don’t dare open my hand to see what Chase tossed to me. But I can feel it.
And I know what it is. A penny.
He wants to know what I’m thinking. Why I brought a guy home with me. And why we aren’t going to spend the holiday weekend in his bed.
But his timing was a little too perfect.
And also, they are having a company meeting without me. And that still kind of hurts.
Make her jealous.
Chase
Lacey calls me as I’m getting ready for bed. “I heard you have an unexpected guest.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dani brought home a guy from college.”
“How do you know that?”
“Um, your little sister is on my squad.”
“Oh yeah. And, yes, she did.”
“Can I come over?” she asks.
“Like, now?”
“Yes, Chase.”
“Well, I was just going to bed.”
“Perfect,” she says and then hangs up.
A few minutes later, she’s in my room.
She walks straight over to the window facing Dani’s room and pulls the curtains open.
“What are you doing?” I ask her as she struts toward me.
“Believe it or not,” she says, grabbing the hem of my shirt and pushing it up over my chest, “I’m helping you.”
“By taking off my shirt?” I say with a chuckle.
“By taking off your shirt in front of your window.”
I freeze. “I don’t understand.”
Once the shirt is tossed on the floor, she slides her hands up my chest and then around my neck, where she leaves them. I glance over at the window and can see that Dani is in her room. What I’m worried about is whether or not she’s alone.
“Haley seemed off today,” Lacey says. “It’s my job as captain to notice stuff like that, so I had her stay for a few minutes after practice and asked what was wrong. I figured it had something to do with Pace, so I wasn’t exactly expecting it when she started rambling about you and Dani and Thanksgiving and some guy. It actually took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on, but in the end, I said what I always say to my girls and asked if there was anything I could do to help. She flippantly responded with, Not unless you can make Dani crazy jealous. Then she said she had to get home for the train wreck.”
“The train wreck?”
“She said the guy would be coming to your house for dinner tonight. She said you got into a fight with your mom. Didn’t want the guy to be allowed in your house.”
“Yeah, I did,” I say with a sigh. “But my dad told me to embrace it. Said I should befriend the guy.”
“I just talked to Haley.”
“What did she say?”
“That the guy is nice.”
“Yeah, he is. It would be easier if he wasn’t.”
“And I’m here to make Dani jealous.”
“But why?”
“You brought me my crown. You danced in the yard with me. I know you don’t love me, and honestly, I don’t know that I ever really saw us together long-term either. But you have become one of my best friends. You’ve always given me solid advice when it comes to school, cheer, and life. And I’m going to pay you back for that.”
“What makes you think she’ll even notice you here?”
“Because your sister is slightly devious. And the guy is staying in the guest suite over your garage.”
“He’s what?”
She runs her hand down my bare chest, and I will admit, it feels nice. “Your sister arranged that somehow. But the real question is, does Dani know that we aren’t sleeping together anymore?”
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“Maybe you should have,” she says.
“I didn’t want to bring anyone else into the equation—”
“Which could be why she just did.”
I should have.
Devaney
To my horror, after dinner, Eddie was shown to his room by my dad—the guest suite above the Mackenzies’ garage. Which means he and Chase will literally be sleeping under the same roof. Which is so messed up that I can barely process it. Dad passed it off as a normal thing, mentioning something about how, with the new babies, we’re short a guest room and that he’d be a lot more comfortable there than on the couch. Which he definitely will be, but that’s not the point.
And what the heck was Chase doing at my house the second we arrived? And why did he have to be wearing all black?
And I don’t know where or what he was modeling, but they must have cut his hair for it. While it used to be longer on the top and was pushed up and back, today, the top was shorter, layered, and swept to the side. Probably some new trend.
And I like it.
I pull the penny out of my pocket.
And I feel bad.
I should have told him about Eddie.
I should have told him how it just sort of happened.
Us dating.
Him coming home with me.
I pick up my phone to call Chase when there’s a change in the light behind me, causing me to turn in the direction of his window.
Maybe he’s signaling for me. Wants me to come over—
But then I see, that’s not the case.
Lacey is in his room.
I watch as she takes off his shirt.
And I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Bit of a charmer.
Chase
Lacey spins me so that my back is to the window. “You need to stop looking over there. For this to work, you need to at least pretend to be into me.”
“What did Haley tell you about Eddie?” I say as I pick up my shirt and put it back on.
“Um, he’s a sophomore. Cute. And a bit of a charmer.”
“Like, she thought he might be sort of a ladies’ man?”
“She didn’t use those words, but I could see for myself, if you want.”
“I appreciate you coming over here. I really do. And I want to make her jealous—I do—but this just feels wrong.”
Lacey tilts her head at me and smiles. “And now, in retrospect, I suppose it could backfire. Push her closer to him.”
“And I don’t want that. But—”
“I like where you’re going with this,” Damon says from just outside my door.
“Me, too,” Haley says. “If Eddie flirted with Lacey …”
Lacey and I break out in laughter.
I lean in, give her a kiss on the cheek, and say, “Let’s get out of here.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she says flirtatiously as we leave my room.
Out in the hall, I tell my sister and Damon, “You guys are terrible.”
“Let’s go watch a movie or something,” Haley offers.
“I probably need to get home,” Lacey says.
So, I walk her out to her car.
They don’t.
Devaney
I expect for the lights to go off. For them to jump into bed together.
But they don’t.
And I am surprised when Chase puts his shirt back on.
And when they leave his room.
And when I see him walk her to her car.
And when they don’t kiss goodbye.
