Page 36 of After Midnight

“Why?” I ask. “What’s up?”

She shrugs one shoulder, then reaches up to tuck a strand of blond hair behind her ear, the diamond on her wedding ring catching the light. “Nothing. They’ve just been weird lately.”

I want to ask what she means, but River decides she’s comfortable enough now to approach me, and I get distracted with petting her while she pants and smiles that big pitbull smile at me.

Dogs are so awesome.

Jordan wanders off to talk to Nora, and Michael comes over to greet me.

“How was Vegas, man?” he asks. “You went back there this week, didn’t you?”

As I straighten from scratching River behind her floppy ear, a smile tugs at my mouth. “It was sweet. Next time we go there, I’ve got to show you this local pizza place Remi took me to.”

Michael smiles, his dark eyes crinkling in the corners. “Remi, huh? Jordan keeps asking me about this girl you met. At least now I’ve got a name to give her.”

I guess I’ve been pretty secretive about it all, though I haven’t meant to be. It just feels . . . fragile right now, like Remi could take off running from me at any second, leaving nothing but footprints in the desert sand. Talking about her feels like I might be jinxing it or something.

River trots off to join Nala in sniffing around the deck, and Alisha appears in the doorway, her waist-length braids twisted up into a knot on the top of her head. She smiles at us as a chorus of greetings go out to her, then moves across the deck to join Jordan and Nora on the couch near the firepit. Jordan hugs her, then puts a cold beer in her hand.

A moment later, Lucas steps out onto the deck, hands in the front pockets of his ripped jeans, mouth pressed into the firm line that means he’s probably in one of his Lucas moods.

Great.

Dex greets him, clapping a hand down onto his shoulder, but Lucas shrugs him off and walks to the ice bucket to get himself a beer.

“Is something going on with him?” I whisper to Michael.

“Who?” He turns to look over his shoulder as Lucas pops the cap off his beer bottle, then looks back at me with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

I’m not surprised. Michael stays out of all the drama.

Lucas stares at the beer in his hand, hesitating for a moment, then downs half of it in a couple swings.

I’m still watching him when the smell of burning burgers reaches my nose.

“Shit!”

I whirl around and hurry back to the grill, and I’m in the middle of flipping the Beyond patties when my phone buzzes. Reaching into the pocket of my sweats, I grab my cell and pull it out. And my lips immediately curl into a smile when I see the name on the screen: Remi.

How’s your hand? Hope you can still hold your drumsticks, rock star.

We’ve been texting on and off since I flew home on Tuesday, and every time a message comes through from her, my body reacts with a wave of heat and a tingle of excitement.

I hold out my hand, with my palm mostly healed up after my crash on the skateboard, and take a quick photo, sending it into our message thread.

It’d be better if you were here. C

The text whooshes away, and I slip my cell back into my pocket, still smiling to myself.

“Those done yet or what?” Dex sidles up next to me. “Dude, you’re burning them!” He takes the metal spatula from my hand and elbows me out of the way. “Go get the buns. Hurry up.”

“Okay, okay.” I obey, jogging across the deck to grab the buns from where I left them in the kitchen. On my way into the house, my cell buzzes again, and I pause at the kitchen counter to pull it out.

Guess you’ll have to come see me again.

Under the text, a photo comes through, and my throat goes tight when I see it.

It’s a photo of Remi sitting in front of a vanity mirror, makeup halfway done, black hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. It looks like she’s getting ready to go to the club.