Page 99 of Just a Little White Lie

It’s like driving with a pack of chattering monkeys. I have three girls in my car, and they are talking nonstop. Trixi is sitting up front with me, but her body is swiveled around so she doesn’t miss a word of conversation in the back. It takes me back to high school and the group of friends I used to hang with.

I wonder what they’re all up to now. I kind of lost touch with everyone when I moved to London. I absorbed myself so completely in that life, it was like New Zealand ceased to exist. If it was in the moment and right in front of me, I wasn’t thinking about anything else.

Maybe I’ve always been a little bit like that.

But do I want to stay that way?

I resolve to try and reconnect with my high school buddies on social media. We’ve been following each other for years, but I hardly ever like or comment on anything, so I’m not getting their pics in my feed. I need to do something about that. Maybe I could even message them with a quick hello. The thought makes me feel better, and by the time we’re pulling up to the venue we’ve hired, I’m smiling with the rest of the girls in my car.

They follow me in the back door, and I greet the owner, thanking him again for giving us such a great deal.

“It’s my pleasure.” He grins. “Welcome, ladies. Come on in. Grab yourself a drink, and there’s food on a bunch of different tables.”

“Yes! I’m starving!” Alexia surges ahead of everyone and makes a beeline for one of the grazing tables. She’s decked out in baggy jeans and a crop top. Her hair is down, and that’s probably as close to dressing up as we’re ever going to see her. She has a cool, old-school 90s vibe about her. I could totally see her in an MC Hammer video, and although she mocks all that stuff, I think she secretly loves it. I heard Charlize teasing her about watchingFresh Princereruns the other day, and Alexia shrugged like it was no big deal. “That was the only thing on.” Her cheeks tinged a little red, and I could tell she was lying.

It was kind of adorable.

She grabs a paper plate and starts piling it high with all manner of snacks—chicken nuggets, steak fries, baby burgers, and mini burritos. I trot after her, figuring a quiet little word about sharing and only taking what she needs wouldn’t go amiss.

By the time I’ve said that to my group, Jack’s carload pours in the door, and I do the same with them. I’m not sure how many of them will actually listen—the food looks amazing!—but I do my best.

As soon as everyone has had a feed, I can sense the air in the room start to charge with electricity, so I get the music pumping a little louder. A dance floor area has been cleared, and Maverick and Alexia are the first to jump up and start dancing. The others quickly follow.

“Come on, Miss.” Arlo beckons me onto the floor. “This is your party too!”

I’m kind of touched by that and run onto the floor to join them, tugging Jack with me. We let loose, and it reminds me of the hours I spent clubbing in London’s hot spots. I used to love it so much, but somehow this is even better. These kids are awesome. They’re laughing, messing around with dance moves, and letting the music overtake their senses.

They’re having carefree fun in this judgment-free zone, and they deserve every second of it.

“Con Calma” is playing, and I watch Trixi and Alexia. They’re really good together. Trixi seems better with freestyling moves, more relaxed than when she’s trying to pull of the tight choreography we’ve been demanding of her.

Maverick throws his head back and sings the words of the songs he knows, and Dante laughs at him for screwing it up. They jostle in a friendly way and then drop into some break dancing moves like they’re trying to outdo each other. A quick circle forms around them, and then different Misfits step forward to do their thing and get cheered on by the crowd.

They even push me into the center at one point. I feel like a fraud around all this talent, but I jiggle my limbs and try to ham it up. I get some laughs and a few cheers and run back over to Jack.

He kisses the side of my head and wraps me in a hug just as “Here’s to the Zeroes” begins to play.

“Oh my gosh, I love this song!” I shout, raising my hands in the air. “You guys! This is for you! Here’s to all the misfits, because you guys are a-ma-zing!” I draw out the last word, and another cheer rises up.

I sing along to the chorus, and the others join in. By the end of the song, we’re all jumping up and down to the beat, shouting out the “Hey! Oh!” lyrics. It comes to an end, and they shout for a replay. So we do it all over again, singing and waving our hands in the air.

Even Bianca and April join in.

Cam watches from the sidelines with a huge grin, swinging his arms in the air and shouting out the words he knows.

I swear, it’s one of those moments when the joy is so huge and so large, I almost don’t know what to do with it.

This is happiness personified.

And it only gets better.

After dropping the kids home and wishing Sully and Monica good luck—it’s going to be a mission bringing the Misfits down off their high—we head home.

The house is quiet as we creep inside, and I soon register that Luke’s car wasn’t in the driveway, which means he’s spending the night at Mallory’s.

I spin and catch Jack’s eye. He’s worked it out too, and the intensity of his stare makes my limbs quiver… in all the right ways.

He crosses the room in three quick strides, pulling me against him. My lips are already parting before I meet his, and we dive into a hungry kiss. I’m barely able to pull away and say what needs to be said.

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