Page 40 of A Class of Her Own

This time it was me clamping down on a laugh because that had been hysterical when it wasn’t aimed at me. I can be a hypocrite, but so can everyone else. “It’s a weekend, so did you already have this stuff or did you, like, contact him on his private line to discuss?” I asked.

Aryn’s lips pinched. “You already know Wesley and I went to school together. It’s not that strange that I’d have his phone number and know he’s into electronic gadgets.”

“This is true,” Ruby said, scratching at her jawline. “But I’d never heard of him until this year when he showed up at school, so pardon me if I’m suspicious of your alleged longstanding friendship. Is there, maybe, a recharged flame happening in our midst?”

“Rubes?” Aryn muttered.

“Yes, pal?” Ruby replied sweetly.

Aryn shot her a look over her shoulder that said we would not be discussing any of that. “Zip it.”

Brooks, for his part, was watching our discussion with interest, and I’d nearly forgotten he was there. Well, sort of. He’d done a fantastic job of blending into the background, at least. But when I looked his way, it felt peculiar to have him there, like he’d stumbled into something personal. He was in my house, with my friends, participating in one of our many oddball shenanigans, and I wasn’t having an easy time keeping up with this transition.

“So, what do we do while we wait?” Ruby asked as Aryn took her seat in a side chair. “We could play a game.”

“Pass,” I replied.

“You don’t like games?” Brooks asked.

“I like them, we just don’t have time tonight, and we need to be paying attention to the monitor.”

Aryn smiled easily. “Meredith is competitive, and games can take a long time when she plays.”

“I like rules. And following them,” I stated.

His expression warmed. “Finally, someone who gets me. I’m going to read that rule book from cover to cover and make sure we play correctly. Drives my brother and sister-in-law mad. They’ve decided they’ll never play with me again.” He chuckled as my eyes lit up. “But this is interesting information coming from the twerking turkey, Rudolph woman. I could have sworn you tore up rule books for fun.”

My friends laughed, but I playfully scowled. “I only break dumb rules.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“She follows all the rules she believes in, though, to the letter,” Ruby stated, obviously trying to have my back.

“I’d be interested in hearing about your system of deciding what to follow and what not to follow,” Brooks said, crossing one leg over the other to rest his booted foot on a knee.

“That’s easy. It comes down to logical versus illogical,” Aryn replied. “It’s not a bad system. I borrow it sometimes myself.” Aryn gave me a fist bump, and I smiled at her.

“Okay, let’s have an example,” Brooks said.

“You’ve had several recently,” I replied. “Yard decor mandates are illogical. Not parking my car on the curb during winter months is logical.”

“Hmm. How about the rule that your lawn can only be three inches tall?” he asked.

I frowned. “There’s a rule about that?”

He nodded. “I didn’t know either, but I’ve recently become very interested in what the codes are. I had a feeling Hazel was getting a little ticket happy, so I’ve been doing some light reading of the bylaws in the evenings.”

“Talk about downer reading. You must be sleeping like a baby,” Ruby stated. “I’d never make it through the first page without it making me conk out.”

“You made it through nursing school,” Aryn replied. “Give yourself some credit.”

Ruby giggled. “Because bodies are interesting. All that blood and fluid and muscle and tissue.”

“You literally sound like a serial killer right now,” I stated with a smile.

Ruby smiled big. “Really? Maybe creepy could be my new thing.”

“It suits you,” Aryn laughed.

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