Everything goes quiet for one…two…three seconds. I’m actively thinking of how I can jump through this phone and punch my friend in the face until…
Hannah’s feral grin blooms, eyes crinkling at the corners. “That old thing? Nah, it got ripped to shreds five years ago.”
Dubs howls in glee, the screen going blurry as he does a diabolical happy dance and sprints down the hall.
I squeeze Hannah’s hip, whispering a soft apology in her ear while we wait for my friend to pull himself together.
She turns, our faces inches apart. Soft hazel eyes dip to my mouth. Her teeth graze her bottom lip. “You talked about me, huh?”
Her gaze locks on mine. And it’s right there. The time to lean in, to take what I’ve wanted since the moment I laid eyes on her. To taste the strawberry chapstick on her lips she’s reapplied a dozen times. To throw this phone down and pull her body flush against me.
“Tess! Tess!” My friend’s voice breaks the moment and I look back at the screen. Hannah adds an inch of space between us, but I hate it and immediately pull her back.
Dubs continues to shout my mom’s name, screen jostling as he ambles through the house. I see walls in motion, a bedroom door, then an abstract lopsided shot of our living room rug.
Hannah snorts at the chaos. I lower the phone so we’re alone, press my mouth against the shell of her ear. She sucks in a breath.
“Do I have permission to kiss you?” Her head swivels a bit, my lips now dragging over her temple. I trace the request against her skin. “When the time is right, will you let me kiss you?”
She turns a little more. Goosebumps break out down her neck, breaths slow and heavy as she leans into me. Eyes closed, her reply comes out on a hot puff of air as she whispers, “Who decides when the time is right?”
Dubs shouts through the phone, “Shaw! Come back here. Your mom wants to talk to you!”
I take my time and sweep a few wisps of hair crisp with dried paint behind her ear. “I do.”
My hand lowers back to her waist, squeezing it once before I smooth on Mom’s favorite smile and lift the phone.
“Hi, Mom,” I say, deceptively unaffected by the woman next to me whose skin is flushed, radiating heat. “This is Hannah. Hannah, this is my mom, Tess.”
“Hannah,” Mom coos. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
She clears her throat behind a closed fist, the corner of her lips quirked the tiniest bit. The quick sidelong glare she throws me is a promise for payback later. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Rowan, honey, did Walker tell you he fixed the ball cock?”
Speak of the devil plops down on the couch beside her.
“He did,” I say.
Dubs smiles. “At least someone appreciates my ball-cock skills, right, Tess?”
Bri mumbles something unintelligible in the background.
“Sorry, everyone.Testiclepenisskills,” my friend corrects. Mom snickers.
My stepsister lobs another middle finger from the kitchen. Dubs throws one of his own over his shoulder. “Love you too, London Bridge.”
“Loathe you most, Chuck,” she volleys, this time with a grin she thinks we don’t see from here.
“Shhh,” Dubs whispers, face moving in closer. “Don’t scare it away.And, Shaw, totally unrelated, but you wanna go ahead and give me your marital blessing now or…”
“Children,” Mom pipes in. “Anyway”—she fixes her attention on us—“how’d you two meet?”
Hannah and I trade twin grimaces that send us both into a full-bellied laugh.
“Mom, that’s a long…”
“…weird,” Hannah adds.