Page 30 of Brazen Mistakes

“Why? Don’t tell me you never actually talked to her until you blurted out you liked her.”

I huff out an almost laugh, keeping my head from moving. “No. We talk. She likes me too. But, God, I don’t know if I can explain what’s going on without it being super weird. And I want you to like her.”

“Ominous.”

“It’s not like that. She’s amazing, Trish. Smart and driven and quick on her feet. She feels big but thinks big too. She’s, I don’t know, she’s just, she’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed.”

“But you’re not dating her?”

“I am.”

Her squeal ricochets in the small space and I try not to cringe and mess up whatever she’s doing. “Oh my God! I’m so excited for you! This is so big. So so so big. You’re dating someone. An actual, real, in-person human. Really, RJ, I’m struggling to see where the ‘it’s complicated’ comes into play.”

I resist squirming. “You don’t need to know the details.”

“RJ, I’m not some kid anymore. You can’t pull the big brother card forever.”

“Try me.”

She thumps the back of my head lightly, a partial braid tight in her other hand. “Keep that up and I’ll make it all lopsided. I bet that would make thingscomplicatedfor your girl.”

Chuckling, I rub my middle fingers down the seams of my pants. “There are just some things I don’t want to share with my sister, Trish.”

“Ew. If this is some sex problem, you’re right. I’m not on board with hearing about that.”

That’s close enough to the truth that I don’t want to correct her. She finishes the left side of my head in blessed silence. “Break?” she asks.

“Yeah. You went with box braids?”

“I’m not here to fix your hair every few weeks this winter. Jade still can’t part in a straight line to save her soul. And we both know Mama would try to shave your head if you let her near it. So this way, you can just rebraid when you need to. Or I guess your girl Clara can help.” Trish pushes my shoulder with a grin, and I roll off the pillows and to my feet, shaking out my nearly numb limbs.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll pay someone to do it.”

“Like you could afford something as nice as what I do for free. Unless you’re secretly a millionaire.”

“Nah. Not a millionaire.”

“Just a nerdy kid with a full ride to college. What are the odds we’d both get full rides?”

Nope, not that line of questioning. Time to redirect. “I’m running to the bathroom, then we can finish up.” I rush out of my room, my head feeling breezy and weird on one side.

Returning, I find an empty room. Wary, I inch down the steps, only to stop halfway down, where my sister is talking Clara into coming upstairs with us.

“He can fix his front braids okay, but he’ll need help in the back. I can teach you. It’ll be fun.”

Clara freezes halfway up the stairs, and I see the laugh trying to escape her.

“I know I look a fool. I’m only half done,” I gripe, leading the way to my room.

Chapter 12

Clara

Trish chatters the rest of the way into RJ’s room while I try not to laugh at what I’m looking at. He’s just so adorable and awkward right now, with half his head divided into perfect square braids and the other half his usual poof. If he were in a better mood, I might risk a giggle, but not tonight.

It’s obvious that he’s scared for me, and it’s making him angry. But Bryce isn’t RJ’s problem. He’s mine. I just have to figure out a way to get him behind bars and keep him there. For real this time.

RJ folds his long legs onto a pile of pillows and Trish motions for me to sit in the chair behind him. “Okay, you know how to braid, right?”

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