Kiss My Sass [Books 1 & 2]

[book 2] chapter nine: late-night rendezvous

Ignoring that this woman was a bit of a loon, I glanced around at the exterior of the house. I had to admit they did a good job taking care of it. The shingles had all been replaced, the plants actually looked alive, and... Wait, that wasn't the point. Why did James lie about living here? Okay, maybe he didn't exactly lie, but why did he let me think he still lived in this house?

As I left the new neighbours' porch, I decided to call James. I really didn't want to fight since he was leaving so soon, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Hey," he answered after a couple of rings.

"Where are you?" I asked as I walked to my house. There was a lot of background noise and I could hardly hear him.

"I forgot my laptop at Penbrooke so I went to go get it," he answered over the noise, at least that was what I thought I heard.

"Are you at a party?" I didn't want to pry, but if he was going to retrieve his laptop, why was there excessively loud music in the background?

"Yeah." There was a pause. "I ran into some friends and they wanted to get a few drinks."

I took a breath before I responded. "Sounds like fun."

"It would be if you were here."

Any ounce of butterflies I got from his cuteness disappeared in a millisecond when I heard the faint voice of a girl from his end.

"James, let's dance!"

"I'm on the phone," I heard his muffled voice say. "Hey, Dani, can I call you back later?"

The butterflies in my stomach were now replaced by a sinking feeling. "Sure, yeah."

"Okay, talk soon."

"Love..."

He hung up.

"...you."

I felt a pang in my chest as I stared at my reflection on my blank phone screen. One thought led to another and I found myself looking at my unread messages.

Are you free tonight?

~*~

"Right here is good," I said.

The car pulled to a stop a few houses down from mine. "I can drop you in front of your house if you'd like."

I chewed on my lower lip nervously. The drop-offs were the worst part. "You know it's too risky." I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the car door, but I froze when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"When can I see you again?"

"I don't know," I admitted. With James back, the ongoing family drama, and my newfound personal drama, no time seemed like the right time anymore.

"Well let me know," he said. I nodded my head as I got out of the car. "I love you."

"Me too," I muttered, shutting the door behind me. I watched him drive off, not breathing out a sigh of relief until the car was no longer in sight. I was casually walking toward the house, but my eyes widened when I saw a figure loitering outside. I tried to retreat, but I knew it was too late when the person turned around.

Crap, don't tell me that was...

"What are you doing out at this hour?"

I folded my arms across my chest as I took a step forward, realizing it was too late to stay hidden. "I could ask you the same, Rollins."

"I'm here for your idiot brother," he explained. "We were supposed to go out."

It made me feel slightly better knowing Brenton was also icing out Holden and not just me. "Mom found out about the sports car and they got into a huge fight."