“Yeah, I could tell that from the first time I met him and he tried to hit on me. He has the worst moves ever. How he’s ever gotten a date is beyond me.”
Rhyland barks out a laugh, causing even more people to stare at us. “Jesus, you’re amusing,” he says through his laughter.
As the bell rings and the teacher starts to call roll, I slant forward and whisper, “Why’s that so funny?”
Tears of laughter glimmer in his eyes. “I was just picturing Blaise actually going out on a date and trying to ask a girl out.”
Confusion tap dances inside my mind. “You say that like he’s never dated.”
“That’s because he hasn’t,” he says in all seriousness. “Not really anyway.”
I think back to how he acted like such a player—my initial assumption of him. “Does he know that? Because he acts the opposite.”
He scans me over with intrigue. “Just what exactly has been going on between my brother and you?”
I chew on the end of my pen. “You should know. You’ve been there for most of it.”
“Not the first time you met.”
“That was probably the worst.”
“Why?” He’s even more intrigued.
“Um, because he called me baby and sweetheart, and then acted like an asshole when I told him a very colorful way to go fuck himself. It was like no one had ever told him off before.”
“That’s because people rarely do. It’s the curse of our last name,” he explains while struggling not to laugh. “I don’t know what’s funnier—you telling Blaise off, or Blaise trying to flirt with you? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him flirt with anyone.”
“Are you being serious right now? Because what you’re saying and what I’ve seen doesn’t match. So far, Blaise seems like an asshole.” Well, minus some parts from today.
“I think you—”
“Rhyland, please turn around in your seat,” the teacher interrupts before Rhyland can answer.
Shrugging, Rhyland faces forward, but not before whispering, “You should cut Blaise some slack, Hadley. He’s had a rough life and rarely lets people in. But the people he does let in are really lucky. Trust me.”
He leaves it at that, only adding to my developing confusion of who Blaise really is. It shouldn’t matter to me. If I was sticking to my rules, it wouldn’t. But apparently, within the course of two weeks of living in Honeyton, I’ve managed to veer off course and lose focus on what’s important. And that can’t happen. Ever. I need to stay focused, not just for my sake, but for my sisters’. That means no more thinking or worrying about Blaise.
Chapter 21
My sisters are surprisingly upbeat as we drive home from school. I assumed, since people hadn’t let up with the whole flyer incident, that they’d be mopey and in desperate need of some ice cream. Instead, they’re all giggles and jokes and chatting about hot guys.
“Speaking of who’s hot …” Payton slides forward in the back seat and rests her arms on the console. “How was your morning with our sexy next-door neighbor?”
So much for not thinking about Blaise. “I’m assuming you mean Blaise?”
“Well, sexy could describe any of them,” she says, “but yeah, I’m talking about Blaise. Unless you spent the morning with more than one Porterson?”
“Actually, Alex was with us,” I tell her, only because I already told Londyn.
Payton crinkles her nose. “God, I feel so bad for you. He’s so annoying. I’ve heard a lot of other people say terrible stuff about him.”
“He’s got quite the rep for being a douchebag,” Bailey agrees. “The rest of Portersons don’t seem so bad. Well, Rhyland and Jaxon don’t. I know you hate Blaise, even if you two did kiss the shit out of each other.”
Payton snickers. “Hell yeah, they did.”
“No, we didn’t,” I protest, knowing I’m so full of it. That kiss yesterday was hot, just like that whole licking thing that happened between us, which FYI, I am never telling my sisters about. They’d never let it go.
“Sure, you didn’t,” Bailey singsongs, perfectly in pitch.
“It’s okay if you did,” Londyn reassures me from the passenger seat. She has a soccer ball on her lap and is twisting her hair up into a messy bun. “I know I said a lot of crap about them the other day, but I think I’ve decided not all the Portersons are bad. Alex is not included in that assessment. And Blaise … I’m still undecided about him. He seemed like such a jerk when we first met him, and then that stupid bet … But I don’t know if I’m right or not.” She looks at me for my opinion.
“He might not be as bad as he seemed at first. And the bet, that was partially my doing,” I say as I speed up to pass a car. “Plus, I think he was the one who bought me the new tires.”
Londyn’s jaw basically ninja slaps her lap. “Seriously?”
I nod, shifting gears. “Yeah, I overheard him talking to Alex about it. I guess Alex was the one who slashed my tires and Blaise bought the replacements.” I purposefully don’t mention when I overheard this conversation, hoping to avoid talking about the bag buried in the backyard, since that will only lead to me lying more.
“Then, why did Blaise act like he was the one who slashed them?” she wonders, dropping her soccer ball onto the floor.
“I think because Alex gets into so much trouble,” I tell her. “He’s trying to protect him or something.”
She aims a purposeful glance at my neck where my necklace once was. “That sounds familiar.”
My hand floats to the base of my neck. “I guess so … But anyway …” I lower my hand and change the subject, not wanting to talk about Mom’s necklace. Or for Bailey and Payton to find out that I pawned it. “The tire thing was pretty cool of Blaise. And he didn’t really seem too bad this morning. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he still got under my skin, but he wasn’t as terrible as I thought he was going to be. I’m still trying to figure him out—if he’s really a nice guy and my first impression of him was wrong, or if he’s just putting on an act now. According to Rhyland, Blaise isn’t cocky at all. And he says he doesn’t usually hit on girls or date, so I don’t get why Blaise was trying all that sweetheart, baby flirty crap the first time we met …” I trail off as I become highly aware they are all staring at me in amusement. “Why are you guys looking at me like that? What’s so damn funny about what I said?”
Londyn slowly shakes her head as she stares off into empty space. “It’s nothing.” She then trades a smile with Bailey and Payton.
“It’s something,” I scoff. “Or else you guys wouldn’t be grinning at each other like a couple of silly Muppet babies.”
Bailey giggles. “We’re Muppet babies.”
I sigh. “Come on; just tell me.”
“It really is nothing.” Londyn pulls out a pack of gum from her bag, pops a piece in her mouth, and then props her feet on the dash as she sits back. “We’ve just never heard you talk about a guy so much. You’re usually so anti-guys.”
“Because guys are trouble.” Irritation burns inside me at her speculation. I’m mostly irritated with myself, because she’s right. “And I’m only talking about Blaise because you guys were asking me questions about him.”
“Okay.” Doubt laces her tone, which only frustrates me more.
“It’s the truth.” I turn into our empty driveway. So, Dad’s not home yet. “You guys brought Blaise up first when you asked me how my morning went with him.”
“True.” Londyn nods in agreement then glances over at the Portersons’ driveway where their SUV and Rhyland’s car is parked.
Rhyland is getting out. He throws us a wave while Jaxon hops out and scrambles up to the house without a glance in our direction.
“He was so offish on the drive to school this morning,” Bailey remarks as she slings her backpack over her shoulder.
“I think he’s just shy.” Payton’s eyes remain on Jaxon until he disappears into the house.
I slip the keys out of the ignition and ope
n the door. “How did your drive with them go this morning anyway? Londyn said not too bad.”
Bailey stuffs her phone into her pocket. “It was okay.”
“Much better than I thought it was going to be,” Payton agrees as Londyn gets out and flips up the seat to let her out. “When Londyn first accepted Blaise’s offer to ride with them, I nearly shit a brick.”
“Me, too,” Bailey says as I hop out and slide the seat forward. “I’m sure if Alex was with us, things would’ve been awful. It just sucks that you had to spend the morning with him.” She offers me an apologetic look as she ducks out of the car.
“Actually, he was pretty quiet for the most part.” I can feel all their gazes on me as I make my way up the driveway, probably wanting more of an explanation. But I promised Blaise. And while I can be a straight-up liar about a lot of things, I respect—and understand—his need to protect his brother way too much. So, I shrug when I reach the front door and see they still haven’t stopped staring at me. “What? He was.”
The three of them trade yet another glance, and then Londyn’s gaze zeroes in on me. “What’re you not telling us?”
I avoid their gazes as I unlock the door. “I’m not keeping anything from you. Why would you ask that?”
Her gaze is relentless. She knows me too well. “Because I know you, and I can tell you are.”
“I’m really not.” I’m so torn. Torn over telling her the truth and keeping my promise to Blaise. “I don’t know why it seems that way.”