Page 12 of No Place Like Home
And he’d only seen her perform live that one time.
“Dude.” Noah scoffed as they scooted into the guest room, minding the newly painted doorframe. “You’re just now realizing Rosalyn is beautiful?”
“Beautiful?” Linc’s eyes narrowed. “Oy. I’ve been accused of living under a rock, and even I realizebeautifulis not the word you’re looking for here.”
“Hey, I’m taken. I’m being respectful.” Noah shot him a look. “Besides, even if Rosalyn does have red-carpet vibes, she’s classy about it.Beautifulfits.”
“Wait a second.” Cade narrowed his eyes back at Linc as they set the bed down. “How do you even know what she looks like? You were a few grades ahead of us in school, and you”—he switched his glare to Noah—“haven’t seen her since before you moved to Shreveport in high school.”
“We looked her up.” Noah offered a sheepish grin. “Social media, her website, newspaper articles. Her name got a lot of hits.”
“With photos.” Linc raised his eyebrows pointedly.
Cade’s phone burned a hole in his pocket. But he didn’t need to google Rosalyn. He had plenty of memories, both from a lifetime ago as well as from a few hours ago.
“I remembered her from school, before I moved.” Noah rested his hands on his hips.
“What was she like back then?” Linc asked.
“Smart.” Noah and Cade answered as one.
“She gave Cade a run for his money.” Noah grinned.
“She gave everyone a run for their money.” Cade shook his head. “But she wasn’t just a brain. She had her fun moments too—when that Amber girl let her, anyway.”
“Oh, I remember her.” Noah grimaced. “She hated every male in the school—maybe Cade the most.”
“Definitely the most.” Still didn’t know why. “Anyway, one night, Rosalyn and a group of us snuck out after midnight for senior prank.”
Rosalyn had tucked her blonde hair up into a beanie, like this elegant ninja in a black leotard and leggings. Again, probably not a detail the guys needed to hear.
He cleared his throat. “We met up with our group of upperclassmen on the front lawn, but she and I both changed our minds last minute.” He smirked. “Well, she did because she realized it wasn’t worth risking valedictorian status, and I did because I didn’t need my father to bail me out of somethingelse.”
“So what happened?” Noah asked.
Cade shrugged. “We did what any self-respecting senior would do with their parents’ money.” He grinned. “Got ice cream and spent an hour debating whether audiobooks counted as reading.”
Linc nodded. “They count.”
“They definitelydon’t,” Noah said.
They glared at each other.
“I know.” Noah snapped his fingers. “You should tell her you’ve been in a movie.”
“Are you kidding?” Linc scoffed. “Don’t you remember how incorrigible this guy was as an ‘actor’?” He jerked his thumb toward Cade. “Don’t encourage him.”
“What are you talking about?” Cade lifted his chin. “Imadethat movie.”
“Sure. Crowd Scene Bro Number Three—five stars.” Linc hesitated. “But yeah. You could tell her—chicks like that.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “How doyouhave any idea what chicks like? You’ve never even had a girlfriend.”
Linc’s face darkened. “You don’t know?—”
“Can we not saychicks? Women aren’t poultry.” Cade held up both hands. “Also, I’m not trying to impress Rosalyn.”
“Thistime.” Noah’s grin took a knowing quality.
