Page 147 of Crazy for this Girl

“And for you, sir?”

Cal hands her back his menu. “The same, thank you.” My mother gapes at his not-so-subtle bypass of her suggestion, but he ignores her and lands those mossy greens back on me again.

He doesn’t have to kiss her ass anymore. Gone are the days of us having to tiptoe around my mother’s constant being of herself and unwanted comments.

And, yeah, no one ever compared to him no matter how much I didn’t like it. We synced together, and it’s unbreakable. All these years tested that theory.

“I think we should order dessert,” he vouches softly, breaking through the monotony of my brain. “You pick this time.” I only bob my head like I lost the ability to hold it upright.

I have.

Let’s just be real here, I definitely have.

“Cal, you should come up to the cabin next weekend. Jonah just passed the bar and we’re celebrating there.”

“Jonah doesn’t want to go to the cabin to celebrate, Mom,” I mutter.

“He suggested it.”

Sure. After you probably harped him to death about it.

“He’s bringing Ellie, too.”

“Ah, great.” Cal gives me a questioning look at the sarcastic tone. “Jonah’s girlfriend.”

“She’s fantastic,” Mom asserts. “She’s becoming a lawyer too. They’re going to be a power couple.”

“Do we like her?” Cal asks me as if we’re a power team. Still best friends through and through.

“We like her.” I give him a weak smile. “She’s very sweet. And she knows how to bake.”

“And such a cute little thing,” Mom continues, as if Ellie is the daughter she always wanted. “She tried to get Laynee to go to Duke, but she refused to go.”

“I think Mr. Harper has had enough of our family updates,” I leer, roughly picking apart my innocent napkin swan. “Let’s talk about you. What have you been doing, Mom?”

“She wanted to go to school for botany at first. I’m not sure what studying plants is going to do; however, she was adamant on it.”

“They only help you breathe,” I say under my breath, then pick up my volume when I say, “And the average person changes their major like seven times.”

Cal told me that, and his lips quirk as if he remembers doing so. During all those times I double-guessed myself, the ones that beat the hell out of my self-esteem, I always told Cal.

Even if he didn’t answer right away.

I always told him.

I had to.

My inner teenage girl wanted him to stay in the loop with us always and forever.

“Jonah got it on the first try.” My head slowly turns to my mother who’s ruining my lunch, my day, and trying to break through everything Cal and I related. As if she is still trying to keep us apart after all these years.

“I’m glad.”

“Honestly, Laynee,” Mom bristles, turning her frame in her chair toward me. “Be happy for him. He’s worked so hard.”

I know all of this.

Jonah and I are very close, and we’ve always been supportive of each other. He texts me on a daily basis, and I’m only paying our school debt off so we aren’t sixty still up to our asses in it.

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