Page 46 of Pinch
Out on the sidewalk, Gigi frowns, rubbing her eyes. “I was going to make coffee to go first.”
“We can stop at Rise and Grind. I’ve been wanting to check that place out since they opened.”
It’s a lie. I was there last week, but I had to get out of the house before Gavin said something. He and I have got to talk alone, in private, and decide what in the world we’re going to do before anyone knows what happened.
If anyone will ever even know what happened. I don’t even know what happened. Okay, I know what happened, but I don’t know what it means.
“What happened to you last night?” My cousin’s nose wrinkles, and I startle thinking she read my mind.
“What do you mean?”
“You ditched the party, and when I walked up to check on Peepee, you weren’t in your room.”
“You are not still calling her that, are you?” I’m carrying the little dog under my arm as we walk, since she’s too little to keep up with us.
“It’s funny, and you’re dodging the question.”
Spanky pulls us to a stop at a small patch of grass, and I put Patsy down so she can use the bathroom as well.
“I uhh… fell asleep in Gav’s room.” My ears are hot, and I wish I’d grabbed my dark sunglasses on the way out the door. I am the world’s worst liar.
“Whaaat?” Gina’s brows rise, and suspicion is in hergreen eyes. “What were you doing in Gav’s room, Princess Leia?”
“Too much purple drink.” I answer quickly. “I think I passed out.”
I did pass out, only it wasn’t from too much purple drink.
It was from too much dick.
“Well, that’s a let-down.” Her lips twist into a frown. “He was so hot as Han Solo. I thought you guys might wind up doing a little smooching before the night was over. You looked amazing.”
“Did you do any smooching? That Donovan is a hottie.” The guys’ hockey captain is a massive six-foot-four brute with red hair and flirty brown eyes. “He’s got kind of a Prince Harry thing going on.”
She shakes her head. “You know I don’t like gingers.”
“But you’re a…”
“Don’t say it!” She points a finger at me as she picks up Spanky’s poo with a plastic bag.
I laugh as I scoop up Princess Petunia. “So you can sayI’mjust like my mom, but I can’t accurately noteyou’rea ginger?”
“Being just like Raven Bradford is not an insult.”
“Neither is being a gorgeous strawberry blonde.” She rolls her eyes at me, and I quickly add, “It’s the way you say it.”
A car horn makes us jump, and we both turn to see our cousin Maverick slowing down on the side of the road in his bullet-gray Range Rover. His window is down, and he waves at us.
“Can I get some fries with that shake?” He’s teasing, and I notice Gavin in the passenger’s seat looking straight at me.
His lips tighten, and his blue eyes narrow slightly. Heatrises in my chest, and I turn to search for Patsy’s poo in the patch of grass. I guess she didn’t go.
“We’ll be in Anaheim all day,” Mav tells Gigi. “But we should be back in plenty of time for dinner if y’all want to wait.”
“You don’t want to check out the bunnies in Anaheim?” Gigi teases, and her question seriously pisses me off.
I’m being ridiculous.
“Nah, I’m tired, and I expect I’ll be even more exhausted after we play.” Mav’s voice rises. “What happened to you, Princess? Too much purple drink?”
