Page 43 of Genesis

“Hey, a guy came by here looking for you.”

“A guy?” I ask.

“Yeah. Danny was his name.”

“Oh,” I say, looking for the cordless phone.

“Oh?” he repeats. “You don’t sound too enthused.”

“Kinda mad at him right now,” I say, spotting the phone by the candy dish on the bar.

“Do I need to kick his ass?” Hale says.

I laugh. “Nope. Thanks, though.” I grab the phone and run up to my room, shutting the door behind me. I dial the O’Briens’ number, and then I freak out that Samuel might answer so I hang up.

Crap. I can’t ask for Danny if Samuel answers.

I sit down on my bed, looking at my reflection in my vanity mirror. What the heck am I going to do here? I bite my lip, lifting my hair from my neck. If Samuel answers, then I’ll just talk to him. If Ma answers, then I’ll ask for Danny, and if Danny answers, then great.

I roll my eyes at how ridiculous this is. I should tell Danny to fuck off and forget about it all. But like an idiot, I dial the number again. It rings three times, and then a voice sounds on the end. I exhale in relief.

“Hey,” I say.

“Where have you been?” he asks.

“Out,” I reply. “You came all the way to my house?”

“Yeah. You didn’t call me last night. You could have been dead somewhere.”

I smile at myself in the mirror. “You were worried?”

“Shut up,” he says. “Let me come get you.”

“Fine,” I reply. “Come get me.”

_____________

The movie theater shouldn’t be a place to get physical, but somehow, I find my lips on Danny’s again. We sit at the top in the very back corner. There’s hardly anyone in here, and I’m dying to leave.

“Let’s go back to your place,” I say.

I know his answer before he even speaks.

“Why not?” I ask.

“I don’t want your uncle to get the wrong idea,” he says.

“Huh?”

“I picked you up, Bexley. I can’t bring you home late.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No. You didn’t see the way he looked at me earlier.”

“I didn’t think you gave a shit what people thought of you.”

“When it comes to you, I do.”

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