Page 185 of Releasing 10
“And he also told me to remind you that you are too fucking old to be playing dress up with girls!”
“No, I’m not.”
“Gibs, you’re twelve!”
Ignoring their exchange, I made a beeline for the girl sitting on my sister’s bed.
Christ, it was so damn good to see her laughing. She hadn’t been doing a whole lot of it lately.
The new millennium had hit my girlfriend’s family like a wrecking ball, but unlike my father, who buried his head in the sand, Lizzie climbed out of bed every day and kept fighting. I couldn’t have been prouder of her. Most grown-ups didn’t possess a tenth of the tenacity and resilience Liz displayed on the daily.
“I can’t believe they roped me into that,” Liz cackled, still thoroughly amused. “When have you ever seen me wear pink?”
“When have you ever worn these?” I mused, playfully tugging on one of her pigtails.
“Oh my God, stop.” Her cheeks flushed bright pink. “I look like a dope.”
My lips twitched. “You look adorable.”
“Fine, I’m an adorable dope,” she shot back with a grin.
“No, those two right there are adorable dopes.” Resting on my elbow, I inclined my head to where Gibs and Claire were arguing with a flustered Feely. “Youare adorable.” I retrained my focus on her face. “Minus the dope part.”
Her blue eyes blazed with warmth. “I love that you think that about me.”
I just plain love you. “Stop looking at me like that, Liz.”
Clambering onto her knees, she shifted closer until there wasn’t an inch of space between us. “Like what?”
I bit back a groan. “You know what.”
Eyes twinkling with mischief, she cupped my ear and whispered, “You want to kiss me again, don’t you?”
Nodding my head, I clenched my eyes shut and strived for calm.
Be calm. Be calm. Be fucking calm, Hugh.
“Like you kissed me in the garden last week.” She continued to torment me with whispers. “Or like how you kissed me in the cupboard under the stairs.” Grinning mischievously, she pulled back to gauge my reaction. “Do you like kissing me, Hugh?”
I cast a nervous glance to our friends before nodding. “You know I do.”
“Hmm.” She discretely reached for my hand. “Then do it again.”
“When?” I croaked out, feeling way too much all at once.
She squeezed my hand and grinned. “Right now.”
Fuck.
“We can’t,” I muttered, feeling everything inside of my body coil tight. Jaw clenched, I gestured to my sister. While I had no problem telling Claire to go fuck herself, I knew Liz couldn’t take another blow out. “She’s righthere.”
“Oh crap!” Liz gasped, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I left my phone in the treehouse!” She offered me a knowing wink before climbing off the bed and bolting for the door. “I’ll be right back, guys.”
She was so damn convincing, I almost believed her.
Almost.
Our friends didn’t bat an eyelid, too invested in their conversation to care about missing phones.
