Page 55 of The Very First Night

“I wasn’t, but my brother broke the garage door, and given how pissed my dad was, I figured it best to dip out a little early.”

The memory of his family’s love and kindness at Thanksgiving fills me with so much joy. Despite the present issue between Tanner’s brother and dad, I know with certainty they’ll bounce back. I long to experience that kind of family, where you know without second-guessing that any sort of fight or argument will be resolved because they love you.

I know my mom loves me, and in most cases I know she’ll come around if we get into an argument. However—and this has nothing to do with my mom—there is still always that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that one of these days I’ll manage to do or say something that wakes her up to the fact that maybe she’d like to leave too.

I wouldn’t blame her if she did.

“You should come downstairs and hang out,” Tanner says as he releases me from his grasp.

Mentally recoiling, I look up at him. “I will…but right now I just need to get unpacked.” It’s a disingenuous response and we both know it, but he doesn’t call me out.

“That’s fine. We can hang out in here!” He then proceeds to jump onto the bed that I just made with about as much grace as you’d expect from a baby deer.

“You want to hang out in my bedroom?” I pose the question with a barely stifled laugh. “You don’t think that’s a little weird? Just the two of us hanging out in my bedroom…on my bed.” I raise a brow and he laughs.

“Why? Are you worried you can’t resist my natural charm?” he says as he lifts his hand to his chest in mock affront. “I am but a gentleman—I would never. Besides, I’m saving myself for marriage.”

Given the three girls who have very boastfully and enthusiastically shared with me that they’ve slept with Tanner, I know this isn’t true. I throw a pillow at his head.

“Idiot,” I say, and we both erupt into laughter, me collapsing onto the bed next to him.

Just as we are adjusting to sit on the bed, there is a knock on my bedroom door.

“Come in!” I yell.

The door creaks open to reveal Jenna holding a giant pizza box and a two liter of Coca-Cola.

“Room for one more?” She smiles as she sets the pizza and pop on my dresser.

“Jenna!” I shriek before I leap off the bed.

We embrace each other tightly, our laughter filling the room. Finally, my two favorite people are together with me.

“What the hell? You told me you weren’t coming today!” I smack her arm, then approach my dresser to investigate the pizza.

She just shrugs. “I only managed to survive a few days at home after my internship before wanting to strangle my mom, so I decided to come early.”

I fight off the urge to call both her and Tanner out on their answers that are almost undoubtedly excuses to be here the day I get in, but I know that it comes from a protective place. How can I question it when that kind of love is all I’ve ever wanted? Even if it only ever comes in the form of friends.

“Thank you,” I say sternly to both of them, fighting off the emotion venturing into my words.

“For what?” they ask in unison.

“For coming today. It helps.”

Jenna nods in response, recognizing my appreciation while still managing to hold onto her plausible deniability.

However, when my eyes meet Tanner’s, he just stares back at me with an unreadable expression on his brow. As quickly as it’s there, it’s gone, and he breaks into a smile. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about—I just wanted to get away from the crossfire between my dad and Theo.”

“Who’s Theo?” Jenna asks.

“His youngest brother,” I say as Tanner says, “My youngest brother.”

Jenna’s brows lift, but she shakes off her confusion as she steps to my side. She gently lifts the lid of the pizza box and a tempting smell wafts through the air, making my mouth water. The rich, melted cheese stretches and oozes over the smoky pepperoni slices, the tangy tomato sauce peeking out between each piece. My senses are overwhelmed by the delicious scent.

We each grab a piece—or, in Tanner’s case, three pieces—and sit cross-legged on my bed.

Jenna fills us in on how her summer internship went and Tanner tells us about what actually happened to the garage door. Apparently, Theo gravely misinterpreted the difference between the gas pedal and the brake.

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