“Amazing, huh?” Lincoln comes up beside me.
“Yeah, it is,” I reply, they don’t even realize we’re watching. The outsiders looking in, they aren’t worried about what they look like. The world is cut off from them doing what they do best, bond as sisters.
19
Lyla
“Bella, what do you say we go find Colt?” I ask Bella after all of us girls polished off two bags of chips, along with the salsa we poured into the bowl. Mom is so going to kick our asses, but it was worth it. It’s been awhile since the girls and I could just sit back and relax. Our girls’ night out has calmed down from our usual once a month outing. I’d like to say it sucks. It doesn’t though. It’s just the change that comes with everyone’s life evolving.
“Okay, do you think he’ll take me for a ride in his truck Auntie Lala?” she responds, her face looks up at me, softly.
“I think he’ll say he’d take his two best girls with him anywhere,” I look up and Colt is standing in the doorway to the outside deck. He’s leaning against it, his muscular arms crossed over one another, on perfect display for my viewing pleasure, and mine alone.
“I guess we should go ask your mom before we get ahead of ourselves and we also have that thing called lunch we need to eat,” I tell Bella.
“But, Auntie Lala. I’m not hungry now after our snack,” her hip is jutted out, with her hand on it.
“You’ve been outed, babe. A ten-minute ride around town won’t kill her. Go ask Callie and then we’ll go. Maybe by then she’ll be hungry, and your parents won’t yell at the two of you for eating before lunch,” he smirks as he takes Bella’s hand and guides her outside.
“I guess I’ll go talk to Callie,” I grumble, then turn on my heel heading back towards the kitchen.
I hear Colt chuckle but continue on.
“You are in so much trouble with that one. Just go ahead and move in, get married, and have babies that will look just like the two of you,” Presley states.
“He’s hell on my ovaries, that’s for sure,” I blow out a puff of air before continuing. “Hey, Callie, is it okay if we take Bella for a ride? We won’t be gone long.”
“I don’t mind, I think she devoured as much food as we did. Oh well, you only get to be a kid once, right?” she responds.
“That weasel ratted us out to Colt, chances are she’s telling all of our parents now, and all of us will get “grounded” from the kitchen before lunch for a while,” I use air quotes, the girls and the girls and I laugh until our stomachs hurt. Not to mention Callie snorting. Our parents never had any problems grounding all of us at once if we screwed up, and boy did we have our moments. Sneaking out to hang out on the roof without them knowing, while we all tried our first and last cigarette, going camping without telling them, and sneaking into a bar when we weren’t eighteen yet. Even though the bar said no one under the age of eighteen and you had to be twenty-one to drink.
I think we were grounded for months after that. The bar incident though, they were all disappointed in us and that was all we needed for us girls to straighten our shit out and fast.
“That’s it, she’s out of the girls’ club,” Presley hollers, and it has us laughing again. That’s how we spend the rest of our afternoon, well, minus a certain trip around town. Colt even let her shift the gear a couple of times. Bella was on cloud nine and my ovaries were definitely working overtime.
20
Colt
Pulling this off is going to take an act of God. Not that I mind, I don’t — not when the end goal is having my last name attached to hers. Every moment, we’ve been together, at work or at home. She’s always with me, she practically moved into my house, not that I care. I find it funny that she hasn’t realized most of her clothes and even some of decor has even made it into my home. I think the only one who hasn’t figured out she lives with me is Lyla herself.
The downfall, I’ve had zero time to help her mom, let alone my mom, get things ready. Even talking to my mom letting her know what was happening, conferencing with Lyla’s mom too, it was kept to a minimum, only getting a spare moment when Lyla went and picked us up some lunch.
It’ll all be worth it when I let her know we’re leaving in two days though. “Hey Lyla, baby?” I walk through the house trying to find her, she’s not in the kitchen, the living room, or the back deck. I walk upstairs, thinking maybe she’ll be in the bedroom. When I open it, I see she’s been here. Her clothes are strewed across the ground, a trail leading to the bathroom.