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love with you. So I m creating an excuse for her to hang out with you. Ollie was in the habit of saying crazy things as if they were common sense. She had the perfect disinterested delivery. What? Who said I wanted Wes to fall in love with me? I m not going to repeat this. I don t want to inflate your ego. Listen closely. She took a swig of soda. You are charming and totally hot. You are also an idiot, but you even make that seem sexy. You follow? You re on crack. Believe me. Even Grandma has a crush on you. Ask her. Crack. " 66 " SEX AND SKATEBOARDS Fine. Don t believe me. It s still true. She shrugged. Want to get out of here? Sure, I said as we stood. And thanks. For inviting them. Just don t screw it up. I hate when you get depressed. She slid her arm around my waist. Automatically, I draped my arm over her shoulders. Whatever. V' Ollie had invited way more people than I thought. Apparently, she told Cliff instead of me. Ollie sucked. There was plenty of food, though. Delma, Ollie s grandma, got there before everyone and harassed the shit out of us. I guess she thought buying Ollie a restaurant justified being cruel. It sort of did. She also insisted that since she was paying me she could order me to hang out with her all night instead of working in the kitchen. When I insisted on doing my job, she threatened to fire me. As people arrived, Delma and Ollie and I greeted them. Lauren got there an hour in and stayed up front with them so I went back to the kitchen. When Cliff s family showed up, I sent him out so he could give them the tour. After fifteen minutes, he came back in the kitchen and told me that Delma wanted me back. I gave him my most exasperated sigh, but he still pushed me into the lobby. There she is. Delma abandoned Ollie and Lauren at the door to grab my arm and drag me with her. I can t be alone that long. What were you doing? My job. I smiled. I thought I was going to fire you. She slid her arm through mine. At that moment the door opened admitting Wes and Theo. Wes looked around until her eyes locked onto my face. I stepped forward then stopped myself. She smiled. Theo immediately left Wes s side to shake Ollie s then Lauren s hand. Very sociable. Wes sauntered toward Delma and me. Hey, Alden. " 67 " ASHLEY BARTLETT Wes. An elbow was pressed into my side. Oh, Wes, this is Delma. She s Ollie s grandmother. And this is my friend Weston. Delma took Weston s hand and didn t show signs of letting go. Is this one of those times you say friend when you mean something else and I don t find out until two months later? Delma asked mischievously. She was evil. My jaw dropped. Literally. Wes looked straight up, shocked. I m sorry about her, I told Wes. She s getting pretty senile. We re putting her in a home next week. Wes started grinning. At least she wasn t running the other direction. Delma let go of Wes so she could slap my arm lightly. You are not. I asked a simple question. I hated when Delma teased me. She always chose the most unfortunate audience. No, Delma, I said friend and I meant it. Wes was still standing there looking a little shell-shocked. Perhaps you should do something about that. Delma smacked my arm again. She is absolutely beautiful. Delma! Thank you, Wes finally chimed in. Anything to get the old lady to stop talking I guess. You re welcome. It doesn t matter anyway, I told Delma. I tried, but when I asked she said no. Delma s eyes got big. Why? You two would look wonderful together. Delma pushed me until I was standing next to Wes, then she linked our arms together. I was pretty sure I was going to die of embarrassment at any moment. Look at you. That was when Theo walked up. Hi, I m Theo. He extended his little hand to Delma. Hello, Theo. I m Delma. She shook his hand. This is my brother. Wes let go of my arm to set a hand on Theo s shoulder. I can see that. You are very handsome, Delma told Theo. I look like Wes. You can always tell when a kid is repeating something they ve heard. You certainly do. Will you be my escort? Delma was smitten. " 68 " SEX AND SKATEBOARDS What s a escort? It means you will walk around with me and say hello to people. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |