The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,62
help you?” I ask him.
His eyes widen at my tone as Sophie suppresses a grin.
“Sophie texted me to say you were here. She knew I was coming down. I didn’t just show up—”
I start to laugh at his fumbling just as Sophie joins in and throws her arm around him. “She’s messing with you, Jess.”
“Oh.” He smiles, looking at me quizzically. It’s like he would never expect me to joke around with him. I guess that’s because I never have before. “Cool. Well, it’s great to see you guys.”
I offer him my sweetest smile. “You can stay as long as you don’t try to hit on me again. We are not doing each other any favors, sexual or otherwise.”
His jaw falls open and he turns to Sophie accusingly. “You told her?!”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re about as subtle as a brick, Jess, and you drooling every time you see her kind of gives it away.” He’s gone bright red, and I can’t help chuckling along with the rest of the table as he jabs her in the ribs. “Ow!”
“Oh hey!” Sasha’s looking at someone over my shoulder, and I turn in my seat to see Brett standing there with his two friends. “How are you guys?”
“Good, good,” Brett replies, stepping closer. I watch him carefully, noticing how he looks completely casual to most people right now, but I can spot a certain tension in his shoulders as he looks at Sasha and the rest of the table. Wow, I guess I’ve gotten to know him better than I thought.
I look at his two friends hovering in the background, and I turn to face my friends. “You guys know Dane and Jason, right?” I ask them.
Everyone smiles and says their hellos, and it makes me realize they all know each other a little, at least in passing, which makes me feel even shittier about never really noticing or making an effort with anyone outside of my immediate group.
“Do you guys want to sit with us?” I ask, shifting over closer to Jennifer on our side of the booth to make room for them. There’s a moment of total silence from everyone, as though my offer is so startling they all need to take a minute to process it.
“Yeah, sit with us,” Sophie says, shifting over nearer to Sasha, and Jessie does the same to make space.
Brett cocks an eyebrow at me. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting the invitation, but he slides in next to me nevertheless, having to sit close so Jason can get in on his other side, and Dane grabs a spare seat and sits at the end.
We all kind of sit there for a moment, unsure what to do, since I’m pretty sure none of us have hung around socially with Brett’s friends. I’m just thinking maybe it wasn’t the best idea to have them join us when Sophie leans forward and looks at Brett seriously.
“Tell me, Brett…is Abigail as much of a pain in the ass to tutor as she is to bake with? Because that girl will let me do all the work and take all the glory all day long.”
I attempt to kick her under the table, but instead I get Jessie, and Brett starts to laugh. Just like that, the tensions ease and everyone seems to relax.
“So what do you guys recommend?” Dane asks.
“Recommend?” Jennifer asks, surprised. “Don’t you come here so much you have favorites?”
Jason shakes his head. “No, we’re usually over at BD’s.”
“BD’s?”
“Bernie’s Diner. Where Brett works.”
“Oh, that’s where you work?” I ask. He’s never offered that information, and I didn’t think to ask. “Isn’t that kinda far?”
“Nah.” Brett shakes his head. “It’s only twenty minutes away.”
“The burgers aren’t as good as here,” Jason says.
Brett rolls his eyes. “Quit bitching. The food is fine, I give you free stuff, you never tip, and you get to stare at Selena for as long as you want.”
Who’s Selena?
Jason laughs. “Yeah, that is pretty cool.”
“The tips suck there?” Sasha asks.
I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but it feels like Brett’s body stills slightly when Sasha speaks to him, and I would know since his whole right side is pressing against my left.
“Just right after school, and especially on a Friday. I guess because everyone comes here.”
The waitress appears and they place their orders, with Jessie ordering and both Sasha and Sophie getting extras, making me realize no one is in a rush to leave. Strangely enough, neither am I. this might be an unlikely group,