Page 86 of Sing Me Home
Griffin couldn’t stop shaking his head every time he looked at Bowen. “Just…ridiculous.” He slumped back in his seat. “Why? Like for what purpose other than pissing Mom and Dad off would you do that to yourself?”
I couldn’t stop staring either. Bowen had gone that very day and gotten himself a ‘vertical brow piercing’ over his left eye.
Wearing a green dealer’s visor, he let his cards fly in a shuffle that said he spent way too much time playing poker at college when he should’ve been studying.
“I have my reasons.”
Something in the air seemed to crackle as Maggie adjusted awkwardly in her seat.
Charlie and I shared a look.
“Have Lemon and Silas seen it?” I asked.
“No.” James chuckled, his arm around Sage’s shoulder. “Bowen’s too afraid to go home.”
“I am not.” Bowen pressed his lips together, but the lie was written all over his face. If Silas were my dad and I showed up with that, I’d be scared too. But unlike Bowen, I would never do that to myself.
“All he needs now is to paint his nails black,” Griffin mumbled.
“I like it,” Charlie said cheerfully. “The piercing and the man bun together.”She made a chef’s kiss gesture. “You’ve got moody and mysterious down to a science.”
I stared at Charlie, horrified, until she looked at me.
She giggled and whispered, her mouth to my ear, “Just trying to make him feel better. Don’t you ever defile your beautiful face like that.”
“Thank you, Chuck.” Bowen offered her a fist bump. She reached across the table to bump him back. “And there will be no nail painting. I’m not emo. I’m just doing my own thing.” He clicked his tongue. “Besides, chicks dig eyebrow piercings.”
“Chicks?” Maggie bristled. “They’ll ‘dig’ it until they hear you call them that. Then that’ll be the end of it.”
Theo kept glancing at the TV set up on a tray table off to the side.
“Why are you watchingThe Truth Is—on mute—while we’re playing cards?” I asked.The Truth Iswas an entertainment news show that prided itself on getting to the truth of any topic, show, or celebrity gossip. But it didn’t seem like something Theo would watch.
Theo was too busy reading the captions to respond.
James chuckled again. “It’s rumored that they’re airing a segment on the new season of Star Trek tonight.”
“Ahh,” Charlie and I said at the same time. Theo always had been and always would be a diehard Trekkie, thanks to Ashton.
“Cards in,” Theo said, attention back on us. He wore a dealer’s hat identical to Bowen’s—they’d gotten them in a two-pack. Then he opened and closed his fingers, beckoning for us to hand them over.
As soon as we slid the cards across the table, Charlie’s and my hands found each other, resting on my thigh.
“Looks like Liam finally arrived,” James said, angling his chair toward the window. His brows lifted. “And he brought a date.”
“Shocker.” Charlie snickered next to me.
The front door opened and Liam’s eyes were wide with a warning that we better not embarrass him. He may as well have painted a target on his chest. He held a brunette’s hand as he led her inside.
“What up, William!” Theo called, irritating him straight outta the gate. Nothing annoyed Liam more than being called by his full name.
“Billy’s in the house!” Bowen hooted. Except for that.
“Really?” Liam’s nostrils flared but he laughed and introduced Ella to everyone. A ‘vanilla’ girl if I ever saw one. All perfect skin, and neutral-toned clothes.
“This one won’t stick around,” Charlie whispered.
“Yup.”
