Brazen Girl by Ali Dean Page 0,59

start to finish.”

“And you haven’t dumped my brother?”

“Not yet,” Jordan teases.

“We should celebrate,” I propose.

“Celebrate what? Me not dumping you after watching Shred Live?”

The girls snicker in the backseat.

“No, you joining Brazen again, competing again, and you watching the entire season of Shred Live and being able to laugh about all of it.”

“Oh, don’t forget rejoining social media! I want to do that today while I’m on a roll.”

I’m less excited about this particular mission of hers, but I understand it.

“We can party!” Naomi calls. “We have the day off from Stargaze. Wait, you must already know that because you’re driving toward Summerside.”

“Can we hit up the pool at your complex? Invite Griff and the guys over? Lucy and Ellie said they’re off early afternoon today and Zora has the whole day off.”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

We swing by the grocery store on the way back, loading up on hot dogs, chips, drinks, and whatever random crap Naomi and Summer throw in the cart.

I know Griff is stressed and I should be helping him with everything going on, but he’s told me to take this time as a vacation. In a way, I’ve been more or less working around the clock since filming started in early January, but he knows I don’t see it like that. This is his way of thanking me for Brazen and letting me get quality time with Jordan.

Griff’s been working around the clock too, but he takes a break to join us this afternoon. Moses, Taylor and Brie come too. While they’re all working for Brazen in some capacity now, they won’t have regular hours until the offices open. It’s kind of like summer vacation for all of us, I guess. That’s definitely what it feels like on a hot July day at the pool, everyone in a celebratory mood. For Jordan, definitely, but also for me winning the house, and the Brazen crew moving in there with me soon. Griff signed the lease for the place in downtown Jay Beach this morning, so we’re toasting to that too.

“All right, I’m doing it,” Jordan declares from her lounge chair when I take the one beside her after getting out of the pool.

“Doing what?”

“I downloaded the Instagram app. I’m making a new account though, deleting the old one.”

I want this for her, the whole pro skateboarder dream. But my chest fills with tension thinking about the messages and comments she was subjected to before. My fame, Griff’s fame, it’s only gotten bigger since then.

But Jordan’s no fool. She knows what she’s going to face.

“Okay, I’ll follow you so you have at least one follower,” I tease.

She tells me her new profile name, and I open the app from my phone to follow her.

A few seconds later I hear her gasp.

“What is it?” I’m leaning over my chair to look at her screen. She’s got my profile up.

“Beck, you have over three million followers.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s three times as many as you had last time I was on here, seven months ago or so.”

“It’s just because of Shred Live.”

I watch her click on a few things and study her reaction. It’s the same thing I did last night throughout the Shred Live viewing. I kept expecting her to freak out, but I should have known better. It’s not so much that she doesn’t have a jealous streak, but I guess she knows me well enough to know I wasn’t into any of it. In some ways, she’s twenty years wiser and tougher than her eighteen years.

In other ways, she’s still this sensitive little girl. I love both parts of her and I don’t want her to change, even if her sensitive side can be painful for her. As I watch her continue to scroll, clicking on images and reading comments, I know that she’s come a long way since we first met. The cruel parts of fame still bother her, but instead of hiding from it, she’s facing it. She knows she’s strong enough, and I need to believe in her too. I’m scared the anxiety will hit at a bad time again, a panic attack will set in when she’s skating or driving or swimming or… no. She’s got this. She’s totally got this.

Her roommates hop out of the pool and soon Naomi, Summer, and everyone else are sitting around warming up in the sun.

“Okay, this is weird, why are you staring at your phone?” Zora asks Jordan. “You’re never on your phone.”

“I told you last night! I’m back