Page 67 of Official

“Please do, because I’d hate to use an uppercut to that weak jaw of his like we learned in self-defense class.” She sighs and rubs my upper arms. “I feel that now is as good a time as ever to tell you…”

I narrow my gaze. “Tell me what?”

“Xander got here right before I knocked on the door.” She grimaces, tucking her arms away and behind her back. “That’s what I came in here to tell you.”

“Oh.” I nod, and my heart squeezes as tightly as the oranges in my juicer.

“If you want to sneak out of here early, I can create a diversion, like kiss Hubert on the cheek. I think it would stop his heart long enough to let you escape, but not so long that it kills him, of course.”

Again, I giggle, even though my stomach is a mess. I don’t even get this nauseous after eating a bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese, which I rarely have anymore.

“I can have a bottle of vodka at your house faster than you can sayVal is a genius.” She winks.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell her and squeeze her hands in mine, then drop them and pace the small bathroom. “You know what frustrates me the most?”

“I imagine—”

“That Xander caught me so off guard that night on Maui.” Anger rolls over my chest in waves, and I scoff. “There were so many things I should’ve said to him—like the fact that he’s a dick and doesn’t get me at all like I thought he did—but I couldn’t fucking think straight.”

At some point during my flustered rambling, Val took a seat on the edge of the bathtub, from where she stares up at me. “Would it make you feel better if you told him?”

I slump against the counter, and with one flash of understanding across her expression, it’s obvious I don’t need to give her any other answer. During moments like this, it’s also very clear that she’s good at what she does for a living as an advice columnist.

“I was serious about sneaking out early.” She rises, smoothing her palms over a high-waisted faux leather miniskirt.

I make a mental note to borrow it when I’m feeling better and ready to be part of the world again. I just have a huge mess to deal with first.

“Thank you.” I expect her to follow, but Val inches toward the toilet in the corner, instead. “You coming?”

“I was actually serious about needing to pee too.” She shifts from one foot to the other in the familiar dance of a full bladder. “I’ll only be a minute, and I’ll come find you.”

As I rejoin the party, the barbershop quartet makes its way around the living room, serenading my parents and their friends, who sway and smile like they’re transported by the music.

It makes me happy to see them celebrating like this, and it’s even better that we’re reptile free for the evening since they checked Rico, Rattle, and Reggie into a boarding facility for the night. They said they take them once a month as a minivacation for them, and Teddy and I managed to hold in our laughs until we were alone in the kitchen.

Our parents’ quirks never cease to amaze us.

I come to a stop by my mom and feel a heated gaze travel over me. Sudden adrenaline courses through my body, and I don’t have to look up to know Xander’s tracing every inch of me with his heated stare.

When I turn around, I get more than I anticipate. He’s deeply tanned from our vacation, and it only reminds me of how much fun we had.

How much I miss him.

But I’m mad at him too.

So many emotions slam into me.

Yesterday morning, I forgot that I’d scheduled a picture of us to post on my Instagram, and when I saw it on my profile, I stopped and zoomed in.

It was breathtaking, and I didn’t just think that because of the waterfall in the background. It was Xander’s shining eyes that captivated me.

Then the anger set back in, and I posted five times since then just to bury the photo on my page. I never post that many times in a single day, but it was worth the break in my consistency in order to have something other than Xander’s stupid perfect grin right at the top of my profile.

No matter the motive, it was a good excuse to start posting more fitness and nutrition content again too, which is the main focus of my platform, anyway.

With Jason’s new video, I’ll have to respond or decide if I want to block him and carry on with rebuilding my business without his stink all over it.

The latter might be the way to go. Otherwise, this shit will never blow over.

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