Page 89 of Talk Nerdy To Me
Chapter 26
BASE
“So…Britt Sterling. That’s one of those fancy Sterling Shore names, isn’t it?” my mother asks Britt the second Britt gets seated in the kitchen.
Britt just nods, and I shoot my mother an incredulous, what-the-fuck look. Hell, I’ve barely just made introductions.
“I like your house,” Britt states as she looks around.
“Subtle,” Mom snorts with some serious attitude.
“Sorry, did you suffer a concussion or something before we got here?” I ask her, genuinely worried, as Britt opens her mouth and closes it again.
Krysta shifts beside Britt at the table, having just sat down as well. She makes a silent whistle as she looks around the room.
“Very nice,” Krysta chimes in. “Decorate it yourself?”
“You say you won’t get sucked into Tag’s world and all the pressure that sort of goal would put on you, and you bring home two Sterlings who expect the moon. Which one are you dating? Is it the blonde? You know that’s not her natural color, right?” Mom asks, pointing a deliberate finger at Krysta.
I…I…I…have no idea what is going on right now.
I glance around, wondering what fucking rabbit hole I fell down, and then I immediately go to the stove.
“What are you doing?” Mom snaps as I start wedging the unit away from the wall.
“Looking for the gas leak that’s made you lose your motherfucking mind,” I call over my shoulder.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Sticks booms as he comes in. “How’s things in here?”
I turn around just as Britt looks over at a gobsmacked Krysta and asks, “Increasingly uncomfortable?”
Krysta gives her a firm nod, staring at my mother like she’s worried about looking away. “I’d say that sums up how things are. Yep.”
Sticks looks from me to them to mom and fucking grins.
“The red isn’t natural either,” Mom goes on, only adding to my horror.
Sticks stops Taylor from walking in, still grinning, as Mom taps her foot and swings her gaze to Britt.
“I’m naturally red, but my natural isn’t this color of red,” Britt says unsurely, like she feels she needs to explain.
“There’s absolutely no reason why I should have seen this coming. Have you really lost your mind?” I ask Mom again, who ignores me as Britt quickly continues.
“But my brother took me to get it changed when I first told him I wanted it, and I’ve just kept it up ever since,” Britt adds. “I’m sorry if it offends your culture or beliefs in any way—I wasn’t aware. I’ll cover it if I need to,” she offers so sincerely.
Mom’s hard look wavers, almost like she’s getting confused.
“Well, no, I was just…” Mom’s voice trails off like she doesn’t want to point out she was being ridiculous and scrambling to be an asshole when she’s never an asshole. At least not when she’s being sane.
Britt stares like she’s waiting patiently on my mom to recover.
“Which one of you is the attention-starved rich girl turned hot mess?” Mom asks, gesturing between Britt and Krysta, only adding to the growing list of things I need to apologize for.
“That’d be me,” Krysta says tightly, pointing at herself.
“Which one are you…you know?” Mom asks me as she points between Krysta and Britt.
After seeing my life pass before my eyes, I scrub a hand over my face as all three of my fucking bandmates choke back a laugh.
