Page 32 of Tell Me You Need Me

"No, not the game. I just meant to do some of the things everyone else is doing. We never even went to one party."

"We can." The parties never sounded fun to me, but if that’s what she wants to do, I’ll go. Willa and I tend to hang at home, read, or watch reality TV. We keep to ourselves. I enjoyed that, but she might want to blossom. Find new or more friends. "You do know that I'm not going anywhere, right?"

“Yeah, I know that, but things will be different. It’s life.”

I suppose I can’t argue with that.

“So are you and my uncle up to things?”

“Up to things?” I laugh.

“Oh my God, you’re turning red.”

“I am not.” I touch my cheeks.

“I don’t think I have ever seen you blush before.” Willa laughs. Liza drops off the rest of our food.

“What do you want to do after this?” I ask, leaving it open for her.

“I don’t want to go to the party, so relax. The boys at our school aren’t my vibe.” Thank God. I would have gone and faked it, but I’m glad we’re not.

“So you’re looking for a guy?”

“Yes, I want my romance. We don’t really read all those dirty books for no reason.”

“Touché.” I laugh.

“I do know about something else that is going on tonight.”

“Really?” This is an island, and there are only a handful of things you can do.

“Yeah, it’s over at the docks.”

“Which docks?” There are two docks here, at least public ones. There is one for the ferry that travels on and off the island, sharing space with a few warehouses that handle incoming and outgoing shipments. Then there is one for anyone to use.

“Warehouses.”

“What’s going on there?” The last ferry returns at ten. At least if you want to bring a car back over. There is a smaller ferry that only allows people; it goes later, but it’s over at the public dock.

"I think my brother is going to be there tonight, in fact."

"At the warehouses?"

"Yep." Willa pops the P. "He thinks I don't know what he's up to, but I do, and now I want to go see."

"I don't think he'll want us there."

"I don't think I have to ask him." It makes sense that this fighting thing, whatever it is, would be there. After ten, it's dead down there.

"All right," I agree. I'm not getting in the middle of a sibling fight, let alone twins. My cousin isn't my sister, but we were super close before her smarty-pants ass went off to college, and I wouldn't want someone getting between her and me.

We finish our dinner before we head out of the diner. I make my way toward the warehouses. “Do you know which one it's in?” I ask when we pull in, not seeing much.

“The back?” I pull down and around. When we get around to the other side, we see all the cars. The docks back here are also filled.

“Expensive.” I gesture toward a boat that stands out from the others. It’s a speedboat. When the lighthouse light circles around in the distance, I spot a yacht not too far away.

“I didn’t think it would be this big.”

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