Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,67

hot. That’s one of the things I promised myself I’d do when I got into college—spend way more time with hot boys.” She raises her brows in my direction, and, holy crap, Iz looks like she’s ready to rip her a new one. “You don’t want to stand in the way of a young girl’s ambitions, do you?”

“First, you can have all the ambitions your little girl self wants. And second, he’s not my brother.” Iz looks over at me, a smile playing on her lips. “He’s my boyfriend.”

The girl in the pigtails breaks out in a cackle. “Yeah, right.” Annie nods, and she stops cold. “No kidding, huh?” She sinks in her seat a little. “I swear, I thought you were kidding. I mean—you’re pretty and stuff, I just didn’t think you were together. You’re like older.”

“Nice.” Izzy forces a smile to come and go.

“To each his own, right?” She adds, further burying herself in the hole. “I mean it’s not a big deal. Men do it all the time. I hope when I’m as old as you, I can do the same thing. You’re an inspiration. I think we should toast.” She and her friends are quick to pick up their glasses. “What’s your name?”

Izzy seals her lips tight. Clearly she’s not up for any of their sorority girl games.

“Okay, fine”—the girl smirks—“to the older woman sitting at our table. Thank you for blazing a trail for the future cougars of America.” She laughs under her breath at the dig.

“To the future cougars of America!” Her friends chime in, and it’s a bitch-fest all around.

“We’ll be manthers.” The girl next to her howls.

“We’ll be the hottest MILFs around!” She hacks out a laugh as if she’s already wasted.

Both Annie and her friend, Marley, look stunned. It’s nice Annie has at least one friend with her head screwed on straight.

I lean into Izzy and whisper, “Let’s get out of here.” The night has already turned into crap on toast.

“No. Tonight is a big deal to your brother—Laney, too. Really, I’m fine.” The hard expression on her face says she’s not, but who could blame her for being pissed? “We just need to get used to the fact that people can be dumbasses.” Izzy says it while looking straight at the rude girls still nursing their drinks, and the smiles fade right off their faces.

A stunted silence crops up at our end of the table.

“We should never get used to that bull.” I lean in. “Come here.” I touch my finger under her chin and pull her toward me until our lips find one another. There’s not a whole lot our kisses can’t cure.

The girls break out in a round of oohs and awws and one audible eww.

Crap.

Izzy gets up and excuses herself for a minute.

Izzy is right.

People can be dumbasses.

Love Like This

Izzy

Dear Dad,

Sometimes I wish I had tougher skin. You would think between you taking off and a mother who says it like it is, I’d have my heart wrapped in barbed wire but I don’t. I’m open and exposed, all flesh, no bone. Words cut me deeper than knives, and I’m perfectly capable of bleeding out from the wounds.

Soft shelled in Hollow Brook,

~Iz

Cougar.

I make an excuse about the inability to control my bladder at my age and head to the bathroom, locking myself in the furthest stall possible—ironically the same stall Holt and I claimed for ourselves a few weeks back.

Who knew girls could act so ridiculous? Me, that’s who. I should know—half the teenagers at the dance studio create enough drama to power a nuclear reactor.

The door to the restroom opens, and two sets of heels click their way in.

“Why would she just take off like that?” A familiar voice vents in frustration.

It’s Laney.

I suck in a quick breath.

Great. Now I’ve ruined her party. My finger closes over the latch, and just as I’m about to open it, I hear her give an exasperated sigh.

“I mean, what did she think was going to happen?”

My heart sinks. This is Laney—my baby sister who I fought all those years to protect. Couldn’t she do the same for me for all of five minutes?

“It’s not that big a deal.” I recognize Baya’s voice. “She’s a big girl, and he’s a big boy. They both know it’s going to be tough at times. It’s a cruel world. You and I know that.”

Tough at times?

“Tell me about it. After all that B.S. that my mother and Ryder’s mom put us through—I know