Page 76 of Just Friends Forever
“I’ll go in your trunk.”
“Stevie, I was totally joking. I’m not putting you in my trunk.”
She faces me and smiles. “You don’thaveto put me in there. I’ll get in myself. It’ll be fun! An adventure.” When she sees my expression, she doubles down. “I’m serious. I want to come to the open house with you. I don’t have to stay in the trunk for long. Just until we’re sure we’re not being followed. If I start running out of air or something, I’ll call you.”
I search her face. She’s serious about this—about doing itandabout thinking it’s going to be fun. She must really be desperate to get out. That’s the problem with not living in a mansion; it takes all of five minutes to know every nook and cranny of the house, and now she has cabin fever. “Fine. But only for, like, two blocks.”
She grins and rubs her hands together like I’ve just agreed to take her to get ice cream.
An hour later, I’ve pulled my car as far back in the driveway as it can go, hoping to minimize the possibility of being seen as I load up the trunk with the essentials.
“The coast is clear,” I say when Stevie appears at the back of the house.
She hurries over to the safety the open trunk provides by shielding us from view.
“Oh, my gosh,” she says, reaching inside and picking things up one by one. “A pillow and blankets? A camping lantern? A portable charger?Two lunch bags of snacks?” She looks at me. “Exactly how long do you plan on leaving me in here?”
“Two blocks, tops,” I say, putting the pillow back and fluffing it. “You sure you want to do this?”
“Am I sure?! If I wasn’t before, I am now.” She pulls a bag of trail mix from one of the lunch sacks, throws a handful in her mouth, and climbs in the trunk.
“Wait.” I grab her arm suddenly.
“What?” She tenses, and her gaze shoots around warily.
“I’m having daymares.”
She relaxes. “I’ll be fine, Troy. There’s plenty of oxygen for two blo—”
“Not about that. About the paparazzi finding out I stuffed you in a trunk. Can you imagine the headlines? Or how I’d do in jail?” I frown and rub my head. “Do you think my bald head would help my cause or hurt it? It’s a little skinhead-y.”
She brings her foot down from the bumper and puts a hand on my arm, trying not to laugh. “I think we’re getting a little carried away here. They’ll never know, and you’re not going to jail, okay? I promise.” She glances at the setup again. “What happens if I want to stay in here longer? To take a nap on the drive or something?”
“Nope. Not happening.”
She shoots me a pouty look. “Party pooper.” As she stares at me, though, her mouth pulls up at both sides into a wicked grin. “Let’s roll.” She hops nimbly into the trunk, curls up in her spot, and pulls the blankets over herself. She’s way too excited about this.
She’s right, though. We’re not followed by anyone. In fact, there are only two people with cameras on the sidewalk at this point. They’re the fanatics, I guess, and I wave to them as I drive by. They have their cameras up and their fingers ready to click, but when they see it’s just me, they lower them.
Jerks.
Stevie begs me to let her stay in the trunk when I stop a couple blocks later, but I’m adamant, and she gives in, bringing the bags of snacks with her.
Evelyn is waiting for us at the house. As expected, she takes to Stevie immediately, and as we walk through the apartment, she loops her arm through Stevie’s. It makes me smile. She has no idea who Stevie is—she doesn’t have time for movies or celebrity gossip—but she loves her.
It makes perfect sense to me, but it also confirms what a great person Evelyn is. Stevie’s got a perma-smile on her face. I’m sure it feels amazing to be out and about, and I wish it were going to last longer.
The apartment isn’t what Evelyn’s looking for after all, but her hope persists, and so does mine. She kisses Stevie on both cheeks when we leave, sending the clear message that I’ve dropped to second-favorite.
“Don’t forget,” Stevie says when we get to the car. “I have to return to my trunk hideaway.”
I grumble while she rubs her hands together in delight. “Not yet, though,” I say. “We’re going to make a quick stop first.”
“Oh? Where?”
“That’s privileged information.” I can’t bring myself to take her home quite yet. It makes sense to maximize the amount of time we have away from the house without the paparazzi onto us, and I had an idea while she and Evelyn were chatting outside the apartment, so I stepped aside for a quick call and returned with a smile on my face.
It’s a little out of the way, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth it.
