Page 71 of Lemon Crush

16

AUGUST

Wade: M is upset about the race.

I’d had a feeling.Morgan hadn’t been that responsive for the last few days after texting that she’d “gotten my message but needed time to decompress.” I figured it was about the car. It could also have something to do with Wade renting the apartment from me. She’d put on her “I love that so much for you” face when I’d told her on our FaceTime chat, but I could tell she was still suspicious that I was leaving something out.

I absolutely was, but I wasn’t ready to alleviate those concerns, no matter how much it seemed to bother her. What I was still omitting—the sexy mischief Wade and I had been up to—really wasn’t any of her business. I refused to feel guilty about something I was enjoying so much. Something I was going to enjoy more tonight, as soon as I tied him to my bed and finally had my way with him.

Go ahead and laugh, but I was seriously considering it at this point. The man was making me crazy.

“Bernie, hang—Gus?”

I looked up from my phone to see Wade and his sister staring at me from the end of the driveway. Bernie was decked out as if she were going on a date, and Wade?

He cleaned up really nice. Not a speck of dirt or grease to be found on his clean-shaven jaw. His hair was free of his usual ball cap, thick and dark and framing his handsome face so perfectly I wanted to run my fingers through it to mess it up.

Or drag him back home and make him finish what he keeps starting?

Right. Or that.

Bernie stepped in front of her brother, distracting me with a glare that practically breathed fire. “I made you godmother of my child,” she started without explanation. “AndI kicked Sidney Straus’s ass when she teased you about your period.”

She was clearly upset about something.

“I remember both of those things,” I answered carefully. “I also remember taking your English final and covering for you when you borrowed Wade’s car for a joyride around the block when we were twelve.”

Because whatever this was about, I had ammunition too.

Wade turned to his sister with a horrified expression on his face. “You did what?”

Bernie didn’t spare him a glance, holding up her hand as if to block him from view. “The point is, you owe me, August Retta. That means if you’re entering the race, I am too. I’m not being excluded by the bro club again. Where you and Jiminy go, I go.”

It seemed that everybody knew now. Which was fine with me. And Bernie wanting to be a part of the race wasn’t remotely shocking. Whatwasshocking was that she hadn’t joined them years ago. Had she been deliberately left out of it?

I turned accusing eyes on Wade. “You excluded your own sister?”

“I never excluded anyone,” Wade said defensively, lookingvaguely pissed about the entire situation. “I didn’t know she wanted to be a part of it. I didn’t know youwanted to be a part of it.”

I believed him since, based on what he’d said the other night, he didn’t even want to be a part of it. But we did.

“But we do,” Bernie said, staring me down and unknowingly echoing my thoughts.

“Yes, we do.”

“Well, there’s no hope for it now, is there?” Wade said in resignation beside us. “If memory serves, whenever you two decided to tag-team on a thing, nothing could get in your way.”

Bernie blew out a breath, a grin starting to emerge when she realized I was on her side. “So, if they want the car…?”

“They’ll be getting two drivers and Chick, who’ll be rooting for us on the sidelines.”

“The guy you’re moving in wi—” Wade stopped and glanced at his sister. “The guy coming to stay with you wants to join the team too?”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t drive. He only wants to participate and cheer us on. And write about it.” And hide from a lovelorn wrestler.

“Chick?” Bernie asked thoughtfully. “That’s the screenwriter, right? He wroteMutant Bounty, didn’t he? Phoebe made me watch it once.”

“Lord love a fucking duck,” Wade muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. “Kingston wants to film it. Your sci-fi buddy wants to write about it.”

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