Page 5 of Cross My Heart

My dad laughs.

“How do you put up with them, Mr. Milner?” Tyler asks, and my dad rolls his eyes.

“John, please,” Dad says, and I look over my shoulder to see him grinning at Tyler. “You’re making me feel old.”

“Youareold!” Scarlett yells out.

“What was that about punishment?” Dad asks slowly. “You might wanna keep doing it.”

Tyler and I begin to laugh as I kiss all over Scarlett’s cheeks with my greasy lips again.

“Gross!” Scarlett screams. “Stop! Please! I’ll do anything.”

“Anything?” I raise an eyebrow, and she nods.

I let her go with a grin.

“Lights out at one,” Dad says with a smile, and Scarlett claps her hands. Tyler’s jaw drops. I just keep grinning.

“Thanks, Dad,” I reply, and he just shakes his head and closes the door.

“Your dad is so cool,” Tyler says with wonder in his voice. “Has he always been like that?”

“Only during the summer,” Scarlett says.

“Makes sense.” Ty nods. “I’ll be back. Gotta pee.”

Scarlett snickers, “Aim into the bowl, Tyler!”

“Can I just pee in fucking peace?”

“It’s not my fault you never learned to aim.” Scarlett shrugs. “Even toddlers do it better than you. Do you need Cheerios to train you with?”

“Your alternative is watching me aim at cereal in a toilet bowl?” Tyler sounds absolutely horrified.

“At least it would teach you how to do it.” She shrugs, and I roll my eyes.

“Just let him go before he pees himself,” I tell her just as Tyler begins to hop from one foot to the other, clearly about to empty his bladder. “Or you’re going to clean up my floor.”

“Get out of here, you rat.” Scarlett grins, and Tyler shakes his head and goes out to the hallway bathroom.

There’s a moment of silence between us, and Scarlett goes back to watching the movie. I debate on what I am about to say, but then I figure it’s better to put it out there. It’s how I feel, after all.

“I like Tyler,” I whisper, and her eyes slide over to mine.

“Yeah.” She shrugs. “He’s alright, I guess.”

“No.” I shake my head quickly. “Ilikehim, like him.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widen, and she sits up in bed and faces me. “But you like everyone.”

“What?” I scoff. “No I don’t.”

“You liked Austin, Cal, and River.”

“I call dibs, Scarlett,” I groan. “I call dibs.”

“You can’t just call dibs, Noah.” Scarlett rolls her eyes. “He’s not a toy.”

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