Page 53 of Shut Up and Drive

“Sera is perfect, just the way she is. She always has been,” he snaps in a low, thunderous voice. He stares Bradley down, daring him to speak, and the chatter around the campfire stalls. I swear, even the crickets stop chirping. I shift in my seat and clear my throat to say something—anything—to end the misery. My mother shoots me with ado something about this right nowglare, and my mouth turns to cotton. Thane leans back in his chair, perfectly comfortable to sit in the moment that has my insides squirming. Bradley stares back, doubling down on the discord, and I’m ready to snap under the pressure. The fire cracks, sending a startling jolt to my last ounce of peace. I jump so hard my chair tips backward, then folds up on me. Nobody laughs.

Smooth, Sera, real smooth.

I get up off the ground and dust myself off, trying to make a joke about what a klutz I am. Thane and Bradley don’t break eye contact, and my mother looks at me pitifully. I feel three inches high, standing under a blinding spotlight, and I’m frozen with fear. No one is coming to save me. I want to throw gunpowder into the flames and disappear like a terrible magician when fatethrows me a life preserver. I’ve never been so grateful for a moment to be interrupted by Bradley’s stupid phone ringing than I am right now. His eyes go from his current stare-down with Thane to the device in his hand. When he stands and pulls out his earbuds, I let out a sigh of relief.

Okay, boys, back to your corners for a reset.

I take this opportunity to hiss, “What are you doing?” at Thane.

“Are you kidding with this guy?” he hisses back.

“What am I supposed to do? He justshowed up!”

“Send him packing!” he blurts out.

When our mothers’ gazes fall on our not-so-quiet whisper-yelling, Thane moves his chair next to mine.

“I don’t want to cause a scene, Thane. And I don’t want to make him angry. I just need to figure out how to let him down easy.”

“Did he letyoudown easy, Fina?”

I pause. “Well, no. But…”

“…But nothing,” Thane interrupts. “Stop giving him a courtesy he never extended to you. He invites himself onyourvacation after he cheats on you, and he has done nothing but be dismissive of your feelings since he showed up. Impeccable standardsindeed. You lied to me about him. The question is,why?”

At that, I avoid eye contact and look toward Bradley coming back toward us. Thane can read me like a book, and this is not the time or place for it.

“Sorry about that,” Bradley interrupts our standoff, completely oblivious to what is going on between Thane and me. He immediately rattles off about something for work, trying to sound important, and turns his attention toThane. “I could totally get you on some supplements to bulk up a bit, Shane.”

“It’sThane,” Thane replies through gritted teeth, “and no thanks. I’m good.”

Bradley looks him up and down and says under his breath, “Suit yourself, Slim.”

I place a hand on Thane’s leg to halt him from standing, and before he can erupt, I change the subject.

“So, Bradley, how long are you planning to stay in Amethyst Lake?”

I’m hoping his answer to that question is, “something actually came up and I have to leave now,” but I know him better than that. One of his bestand worstqualities is his inability to accept the word “no.” I brace myself for his reply, but nothing can prepare me for what comes out of his mouth.

Chapter 20

RECON AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE

Thane

“Well, actually, I have two plane tickets with our names on them to the Bahamas, and the flight leaves first thing Wednesday morning. I figured we could use a fresh start somewhere amazing,” he says with a smarmy smile. “What do you say?”

Sera’s mouth drops open from what I hope is shock, but before I can stomach her reply, I jump up from my chair. “I’m going for a walk,” I grumble, and head down the path to where Bash is staying.

My blood isboiling!I cannot believe that Fina would give that guy the time of day, much less her heart. She is so much better than that jerk, and even though he treats her like garbage, she is still trying to be nice. I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her pretty little head, then tosshiminto the lake.

The whole way down to Jamie’s lake house my mindrepeats the horrible way he treated her, and I’m so worked up that Bash immediately puts down his fishing pole when he sees me coming toward him.

“What’s gotten into you? You look like you’re ready to punch someone’s face in,” Bash says as he jogs up the dock toward me.

“It’s because I am,” I say through gritted teeth.

Bash laughs. “Is my sisterthatterrible?”