Page 88 of Rookie Move
“Mom is going to do backflips when she sees you. She doesn’t need a gift. You’re it.” He hadn’t told his parents that he and Georgia were an item, either. It was so new, and kind of a secret. And he hadn’t felt like answering anyone’s questions.
Georgia was awfully quiet, and so Leo turned on the radio and tuned it to WBAB. This rock station was the sound of his high school life. He chuckled. “It’s still there. Some things never change.”
She didn’t answer but he could almost hear the echo of her thoughts.Some things do change, even when you don’t want them to.
***
They pulled up to the house almost on time, and Leo parked opposite a stretch limo with a driver reading the newspaper behind the wheel. That’s how his brother’s girlfriend, an honest-to-god movie star, traveled.
He took Georgia’s hand as they strode up the driveway to the kitchen door of the two-story Tudor where he’d grown up. She’d been there a million times before. He wondered if it seemed strange to be there again after all that time.
Leo pushed open the door and stepped in. “Hey, Mom! Happy Birthday! How does it feel to be thirty?”
His mom turned around to smile at him, but when she saw Georgia, her happy expression faltered. “Georgia, honey!” She gasped. “My God.” She put a hand up to her mouth.
A few feet away at the kitchen table, Leo’s little sister Violet let out a shriek and dropped the knife she’d been using to cut up a tomato.
Beside him, he felt Georgia stiffen.
Okay—this was a lot more drama than he’d meant to cause. Obviously he should have tipped off his mom that Georgia was coming today. Now they were gaping at her.
“Guys,” he said gently. “You’re freaking Georgia out. She hasn’t risen from thedead.”
Mrs. Trevi dropped her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just...” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I’m really happy to see you, honey.” She came over and hugged the startled Georgia.
“Me, too!” called Violet, who piled on, laughing. Georgia was squeezed so hard that Leo feared for her ribcage. “You don’t understand,” Violet said. “Leo dated the mosthorriblegirls in college. They were, like, awful people...”
“God, Vi.Shut up. Jesus Christ,” he complained.
“Don’t swear, Leo,” his mother said.
Georgia disentangled herself from the Trevi women, looking more than a little embarrassed by the avalanche of affection. “Wow,” she said, glancing around the kitchen, likely measuring how much was exactly the same. There was even a plaque on the wall that she’d given his mom for Christmas one year.Raisins in Chocolate Chip Cookies Are Why I Have Trust Issues. Her gaze landed on Violet, and then finally Georgia smiled. “God, when did you get sobeautiful. It just isn’t fair.”
His sister beamed. “Stop! The last time you were here I hadbraces, for fuck’s sake.”
“Violet,” his mom said. “No F-bombs in my kitchen.”
“Hey! Guys!” His brother’s voice called from the family room. “Can somebody bring me a beer? The game is on.”
“Get it yourself!” Violet yelled.
“I’ll do it,” Georgia said. She walked over to the refrigerator and opened it.
“Get yourself something,” his mother said. “Or I could open a bottle of wine.”
“Soda is great,” she said, grabbing a beer and a Diet Coke from the rack in the door.
And now Leo had his own little déjà vu moment. Because Georgia used to be comfortable here, in the kitchen with his family. They spent a lot of time here, especially when they were younger, before sneaking off to have sex became their favorite hobby.
Georgia passed him without a glance on her way into the den. She was obviously pissed at him for forcing this weirdly emotional moment on her today. There were still sore spots between them—old wounds that hadn’t quite healed yet. He should have realized that before now.It’s exactly this easy, he’d told her the other night.
Maybe that was wrong.
Leo followed Georgia into the den, where his brother sat on the L-shaped sofa with his girlfriend, facing the TV. DJ turned his head and spotted Georgia. “Holy shit! Gigi! This is awesome.” He jumped up to kiss Georgia on the cheek. Then he gave her a big hug.
The sight of his brother’s arms around her made Leo inexplicably ornery. He cleared his throat. “Georgia, meet Lianne. She’s great in spite of her blind spot for my brother.”
DJ flipped him off, and Lianne raised a fist for Georgia to bump.
