Pretty Sweet - Christina Lee Page 0,19

line, he’d made me feel like there was something wrong with me. The boy who sometimes still haunted my dreams. “Promise.” I opened my eyes again.

“And if you meet a boy who isn’t nice to you, you tell him your Mama Bonnie is going to take care of it.”

Then we were both giggling again. I had no idea why, but I didn’t want to stop. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I had a crush on her son, but some quiet voice in my head told me I’d regret it if I did. That only made me laugh harder.

“Me, on the other hand, I’m gonna do it differently next time and find someone who treats me right. I’m not going to ignore the warning signs. I’m not going to take any crap. Or maybe I’ll stay single forever. I don’t need a man.” Her hand flew to her mouth, and she covered it in embarrassment. “Oh my God, I’m so drunk.”

“Me too. And boys can be so dumb. Well, except me and—”

“Hopefully me.”

My eyes darted up, and there was Jake, his big arms crossed over his chest, an ear-to-ear smile on his face, and damned if I didn’t whimper. And die. I was going to die! He was seeing me drunk, obsessively giggling with his mom while I talked about boys being dumb. How long had he been there? Did he hear me declare I wanted a boyfriend?

“Of course you’re not dumb, sweetheart,” Bonnie told her son. Then she held up her glass. “We have wine!”

I looked at it and chuckled. “It’s empty!”

Then we rolled on the floor laughing again, Jake looking down at us and grinning. I couldn’t find it in myself to be embarrassed.

8

Jake

“What sort of party is this?” I asked in an amused tone. I’d been out for a drink with Tucker at a drab little corner bar. He was meeting his girlfriend at some club, so I called it a night, even though Tucker kept hinting she was with a hot friend. Just wasn’t feeling it.

And stranger still was walking in to find Seth in my living room, because my thoughts had drifted to him a few times since I’d serviced his car. I’d considered texting to ask how his tires were holding up, but that would’ve sounded ridiculous. I was sure I’d hear about it if something went wrong, and all looked in order when I pulled into the driveway and spotted his ride. I’d admit a little thrill shot through me for reasons I couldn’t readily explain, except I somehow knew I’d be smiling two minutes after coming through the door.

“A pajama party, obviously,” Seth replied with a bit of a slur, and I couldn’t help smiling again. He and Mom were like a couple of kids having themselves a bit of fun, if the pizza and makeup and empty bottles of wine were any indication. And though normally drinking to that extent might’ve concerned me, one look at the pair of them giggling was enough for me to let it go. They were only cutting loose in a safe way, something they both might’ve desperately needed. How could I fault them that?

Seth’s hair looked a bit strange, random strands going this way and that, but it made sense once I spotted the curling iron across the room. Come to think of it, Mom’s hair was styled as well.

I smirked. “What am I going to do with the two of you?”

A flirty look passed through Seth’s eyes that made me swallow hard and turn away.

Boys can be so dumb…

Why did overhearing Seth make me want to prove him wrong? And why did it also raise the hair on my nape that he might’ve been treated badly by past boyfriends?

He was too adorable for his own good, and honestly, I’d never thought that way about another guy before. Sure, I’d considered some of them hot over the years—and that was my first sign that maybe I had an inclination toward women and men. And once I’d finally given in to my curiosity and watched a gay-porn clip, I knew with the utmost certainty. But knowing it and admitting it were two different things. I’d never acted on any attraction—except in my head when I needed to get off—and the thought of it terrified me for a variety of reasons. But this was so not the time to be thinking about Seth’s bow-shaped lips and how his innocent laugh filled me