Page 15 of The Perfect Steal

“I’m eating dinner at home. Thought about watching a movie or two. Who is going to be there?” I couldn’t decide who or what would cause me to leave the comfort of my home right now.

“I’m not going to list all of them, but come. It will be no fun without you.”

That caused my suspicions to rise. Hazel was a party in and of herself, not usually needing anyone else to have fun.

“What’s the catch?” I could picture walking in and there only being her with some boy, probably Colt, her newest guy BFF, and then another guy I was supposed to hang out with. But she didn’t have romantic feelings for Colt, so maybe it was just a hangout.

“No catch. Just figured you could use some time away from homework and basketball.” My cousin knew me too well.

“I don’t know, Haze. I’ve got to figure out the details for my assignment due on Monday.” But for that, I’d have to contact Nate, something I wasn’t in the mood to do. I’d seen him when he was sick and then the couple times in class and during practice the day before, and I wasn’t up for the whiplash of trying to figure out who he was going to be today.

“Oh, come on, you can sacrifice two hours to hang out with your bestie cousin.” Even without seeing her face, I could see her expression in my mind: her lip extended in a pout, her brown eyes making me think of a puppy dog.

“Can’t we have another cousin hangout night? Maybe tomorrow night?” I asked.

“My parents have a family dinner thing planned for tomorrow night, which you can always come to if you want. But I’d rather have you come tonight. Just get your behind over here, Brynn,” Hazel said, her begging voice coming out. “It’ll be fun. When was the last time you went out with your friends?”

I’d done something with Penny, Serena, and Kate just a week or two ago, but before that, it had been forever. So much of their time now was spent with their boyfriends, on top of all the other activities they had going on.

I was happy for them, but I also hated having my nose rubbed in it all the time that they were with someone and I was still alone. But should I have been mad? I’d promised myself I would focus on school until college, not worrying about what was going on as long as I got out of this town. Away from all the memories of my sister and our family from back then that Pecan Flatts dredged up on a daily basis.

“I don’t know, Haze,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. She went around with the drama and choir crowd, so I didn’t know a ton of her friends. But in three months, the girl had managed to have a whole pack of people following her around at all times, and I couldn’t believe she’d done it so fast. Then again, she was the outgoing, bubbly type.

“I’ll come for just a few minutes. But I’m bringing John.”

“No—”

I pressed end before she could explain anything. She would try to sway me from bringing him and, and I didn’t need that right now. John was the perfect out because he would get bored and want to go home, giving me a great excuse to leave.

“Where did she want you to go?” John asked, taking a bite of his pasta.

“She’s having some people over. Want to go with me?” I pressed my palms together in a pleading motion and stuck out my lip, making sure to lay on the guilt.

John rolled his eyes. “Go hang out with Hazel? I’m not sure that would be a fun Saturday night. What would we do? Listen to show tunes the entire time?”

A laugh burst out of me at his dry humor. He always helped me loosen up, and this was the perfect example.

“Who knows?” I said, slapping him on the back. “But I’m guessing Colt will be there. You can suck up to him for a bit.”

With a scowl, John shook his head. “I’m not a suck-up. They’re just older and…really cool.” The last two words were more of a mumble, as if he didn’t want me to hear them.

“Well, fine, you can come and chat like a normal person with Colt. And then we can head out whenever things get weird.”

“Like show tunes,” we said at the same time.

I finished off my pasta and slipped on some tennis shoes to complete my casual look. With keys in hand, I waited for John to come through the door. Sometimes he took more time to get ready for things than I did, and my hair was almost to my lower back.

He strolled through the door, sporting a new t-shirt and his nicest baseball cap. His shoes looked like he’d just wiped them clean, and I was pretty sure this was the best he’d ever looked, aside from church.

“Isthathow you’re going?” John asked, motioning to my outfit of choice.

“Yep. Because I don’t need to impress anyone. I don’t think I’d make it back down if I walked up the stairs right now anyway. Coach Adams made us do wall sits and at least two hundred squats yesterday, before the ladders.” I rubbed at my quads, wishing the tightness would ease up. Even an hour of shooting had done little to loosen the muscles.

John shrugged his shoulders and walked out the door with me following behind.

“You’re so organized everywhere else in your life, so why can’t you clean up the car?” he asked once we were inside, leaning his elbow on the door and resting his head against his hand as I started the engine. We would eventually share this vehicle, but for now, it was complete with at least ten extra hair elastics, an extra pair of basketball shoes, and all my gear.

“When you’re a busy junior, running from activity to activity and trying to keep your grades up, you’ll understand that some things have to be sacrificed. That’s what happens with the car.”

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