Misunderstood (A Neighbor from Hell YA #1) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,63
opened her purse and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill for Mikey.
“Probably read,” he said, shrugging it off since that’s what he normally did when Mikey was at practice.
“That sounds exciting,” Aunt Kasey said, making him chuckle.
He held up the twenty for her approval. When she nodded, he slipped it in his pocket and grabbed the ice cream only to notice the curious look that she was sending him.
“If you’re interested, I could use some help around here,” Aunt Kasey said with a casual shrug that had him going still.
“Really?” Sebastian asked, trying not to get his hopes up.
“I’ve got more orders than I can handle and I could really use the help,” she said, going back to mixing whatever it was that she was making.
“Definitely, but what about Mikey?” Sebastian found himself asking because he’d always assumed that Mikey would end up working for her mom when she was old enough.
“She’s going to be helping after baseball season is over,” Aunt Kasey assured him.
“Does she know it yet?”
“Not yet,” she said with a devious smile, making him chuckle because he could only imagine how Mikey would react to the news.
“When do I start?” Sebastian asked, eager to have something else to look forward to besides hitting the library every day.
“How does Monday sound?” Aunt Kasey asked, throwing him a questioning look.
“Perfect,” Sebastian said, unable to help but smile as he headed for the door. “Thank you, Aunt Kasey.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” she said with a warm smile as he reached for the door and–
“How bad is it?” Aunt Kasey asked, stopping him.
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand as he looked back at her. “Right field.”
“Damn.”
Chapter 26
“How long are you planning on pouting?” Sebastian asked her as they headed for the bench just outside the mall entrance while they waited.
“Probably until you buy me popcorn and a large drink,” Mikey said, making his lips twitch as she dropped down on the bench with a pathetic groan, still wondering how she was going to do this.
“Now I’m buying you a large drink?” Sebastian asked with a teasing smile as they watched Jonathan take Mathew down in a headlock only to suddenly drop him to the ground when he spotted a group of teenage girls heading toward the mall.
“I’m worth it,” Mikey said, nodding solemnly as they watched Jonathan step over his little brother, ignoring his pained groan, and rushed to catch up with the girls.
“Are you though?” Sebastian asked only to chuckle when she leveled a glare on him. “Fine,” he said, making sure to sound put out. “I’ll buy you a Coke.”
“Then I forgive you,” she said with a heartfelt sigh.
“For what?” he asked, sounding distracted as Aunt Haley’s SUV pulled up to the curb and they watched as Cole climbed out followed by Joshua, Elizabeth, and–
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sebastian said as they watched as Braxton, who didn’t look any happier to be here than he had at the party last week, climbed out of the car. “What’s he doing here?”
“Spending time with his cousins, same as us,” Mikey pointed out as she reluctantly got up and joined them, noting that Cole looked miserable.
“What’s wrong?” Mikey asked, stepping over Mathew to join them.
“Nothing,” Cole said, sounding distracted as he rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh.
Nodding, Mikey said, “Good talk,” as she shifted her attention to find Braxton standing apart from the rest of the group, looking like he would rather be anywhere but here. For a moment, she considered ignoring him but…
She couldn’t do that.
“Ready for a rematch?” Mikey asked as she moved to join him.
Lips twitching, Braxton said, “I may need more time to recover first.”
“I should probably apologize,” she said, nodding solemnly.
Chuckling, he said, “But you’re not going to.”
“I’m really not,” Mikey said, unable to help but notice that he actually had a nice smile when he wasn’t glaring at everyone.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure I had it coming,” Braxton said, still smiling.
“You really did,” Mikey promised him, easily returning his smile.
“I don’t think your boyfriend’s happy that you’re talking to me,” Braxton said with a pointed look at something behind her. Frowning, Mikey glanced over her shoulder and found Sebastian glaring in their direction.
“He’s my best friend, but he does look uncharacteristically pissed at the moment,” Mikey agreed, biting back a sigh when she looked back at Braxton to find him returning Sebastian’s glare with one of his own.
Great.
Resigning herself to the long night ahead, she sighed with relief when everyone headed