Page 9 of Unbidden

“Catch her up on your own time. Back to the Mongol Empire.”

“Oh, I will,” I hear him say to himself.

∞∞∞

“How has your first day been so far?” Victoria leads me to a table in the back corner of the cafeteria, if you could even call it one. It’s more like a large banquet room fit for the rich and famous to dine.

“It’s school. What do you expect me to say?” I take a bite of my pizza.

“Whatever. You know what I mean.” She scrunches her nose. “How can you eat something so fattening?”

“It’s delicious. Who cares how many calories it has?”

“She’s right, you know.” A new girl slides into the seat next to Victoria.

Cue girly screams. From them, not me.

“Tinsley! What are you up to, girl?” Victoria hugs her tightly.

I look to Tinsley. She’s gorgeous. Her hair is dark brown with light brown highlights and falls down her back, brushing the top of her ass. Everything about this girl screams money, from her perfectly manicured nails down to her shoes that are more expensive than my entire wardrobe.

“Coming to see you, V. Who do we have here?” Tinsley glances in my direction.

“This is my cousin, Sage. Sage, this is Tinsley Yates.”

“Nice to meet you, Sage.” She says with a friendly smile. “So, V, I wanted to confirm you’re still coming to the party Friday night after the lacrosse game. I know you said you had some family stuff, but I was hoping you could still come?” She cuts her eyes at me questioningly.

“Mom wanted to do dinner Friday. Usually I would cancel, but she thinks it’s important to have this big family dinner to welcome Sage here to the family. My mom can be dramatic.”

I groan. “Is she really planning that?”

“Yep. She thinks you need more family love.”

“Just what I need.” I roll my eyes.

“Well, I have an idea,” Tinsley pipes up.

“Whatcha got?” Victoria asks.

“How about you pitch her some cousin bonding? Bring Sage. It’ll be fun.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! What do you think, Sage?”

I find both their eyes on me. The green in Tinsley’s reminds me of the two guys I saw earlier. One who shares her last name, and I’m betting the other does as well.

So, they’re the famous Yates family Victoria told me about.

“I don’t even know what lacrosse is, and I’m not much of a partier, but I’m all for getting out of singing ‘Kumbaya’ with Alice and Richard. No offense, Victoria.”

Victoria grins. “None taken. I think she’ll be okay with it if you’re hanging out with me. All she wants is to make you feel welcome.”

“So, is it settled?” Tinsley asks.

I look back and forth between them.

“I guess so.” I shove the last bite of my pizza into my mouth.

∞∞∞

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