“No,” I said tightly. “I’ve got it. How about you help your girlfriend instead.”
I pushed past him with my shoulder, not giving a damn if Mom or Dad saw. They could assume I was being rude for all I cared. Mom would apologize for me like she always did, and Dad would just laugh about it and call it hormones.
I didn’t care. I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit. He lied to me. He told me she wasn’t coming. In that moment, I was being a spoiled brat and I knew it, but I couldn’t shake the feelings inside me. In my head, Cane was mine. Not Kelly’s. Mine. How could he not see how much this was killing me inside?
I leaned against the truck, my suitcase on one side of me and Frankie on the other, as we watched Cane talk to the pilot and a woman who I assumed was a flight attendant. They bobbed their heads as he spoke, paying very close attention to whatever he was saying.
“We can start boarding now,” Cane announced when he came back our way. Mom and Kelly had been mindlessly chatting about things to do in Destin, and where to catch drinks, and how they heard the water is so beautiful. Frankie was quiet next to me, like she’d sensed my sudden change of mood and didn’t want to bother me.
The only thing was…I didn’t know if I wanted to open up about it. I hadn’t told Frankie—or anyone—what Cane and I had done. Frankie knew I liked him, but that was it. We had two hookups, and I had to pretend they’d never happened for the sake of his friendship with my dad and for myself, period.
Frankie…well, in a way, she looked up to me. She would never admit it, but she always came to me for guidance and advice and always wished that her mom was into her as much as mine was into me. I didn’t want that to be ruined because of my drug of choice, Mr. Cane. I was very, very addicted to that man.
As we got on board and picked our seats, Kelly said, “Kandy, I love your dress! You look very pretty.”
I tried so hard not to roll my eyes. I hated when she talked to me like I was ten. I didn’t need her to tell me I was pretty. By eighteen, I knew how I looked. I had my insecurities, like every other girl, as well as my flaws, but I wholeheartedly knew I wasn’t ugly.
I’d purposely worn my favorite peach dress that hugged my waist and stopped really high on my thighs. Dad hated this dress, but since it was our vacation, he was giving me a pass. While on vacation it was okay to show a little skin, but wearing it out—say to school, a party, or to a boy’s house—would have given him a serious heart attack.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
I took the seats that were diagonally across from Mom and Dad. Kelly took the seats across from theirs. There was a lot of open space between the rows, so we had plenty of leg room, and also enough space between us where Frankie and I could chat without really being heard.
Dad was pleased about all the space. He sighed loudly, stretched his legs as far as they could go, and said, “Oh, yeah. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“We all set?” Cane asked when he boarded the jet. He looked at Mom and Dad. He was avoiding eye contact with me, that much was clear.
“All set, man. Ready when you are,” said Dad.
“Want some water or anything before we take off?” Cane offered.
“Nah. I’ll save my drinking for the beach. Destin isn’t ready for this liver.” Dad beat his chest lightly, like an arrogant college frat boy would after chugging beer from a keg.
Mom gave him a look out the corner of her eye and then shook her head with a smile at Cane, who returned a shrug and a half smile. Frankie laughed and pulled a magazine from her bag.
I took out the romance book from my tote bag and started reading, but I didn’t miss Cane take the seat beside Kelly. Of course he’d sit there, because where else would he sit?
Kelly smiled at him, rubbed his arm, and murmured something in his ear that made him smirk.
I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to deal with that for five whole days. Seeing Cane and Kelly all over each other was going to make my stomach hurt.
During the flight, I became more and more confused. Why would he tell me to save my lips for him if all he was going to do was shove Kelly in my face every chance he got?