Page 76 of Bones

“We definitely have our moments.” Normally, I would share the big news with Lacy first, but with her announcing her big move and all, I didn’t get the chance to tell her about Wyatt asking me to move in with him. Not knowing how they’d take the news, I was a little hesitant to announce it to the girls, but before I realized what I was doing, I said, “He asked me to move in with him.”

“What!” Lauren’s mouth dropped. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, we talked about it last night.”

“So, you’re gonna do it?”

“I am.” I took a sip of coffee and smiled. “I mean, we’ll have to wait until Cotton lifts the lockdown and all that, but...”

“That’s awesome, Elsie.” Lauren sounded sincerely happy for me. “Wyatt is lucky to have you.”

“I’m just as lucky to have him.”

We continued to banter back and forth, everyone sharing something about what was going on in their lives, and it wasn’t long before the kitchen was roaring in laughter, especially when Darby and Susana started talking about how things were going at their school and how lame the college guys were. You couldn’t miss the frustration in Susana’s voice as she told us, “The last guy I went out with was a total asshat. He stayed on his phone the entire time and then got pissed when I told him I wanted to go home early.”

“Oh, I hate when guys are so focused on their phones.” Casey rolled her eyes. “I don’t get it. Why bother asking us out if you don’t plan to even try?”

“Exactly! It’s like they are wasting both of our time.”

“I’m over it.” Darby threw her hands and huffed, “I refuse to go out with another momma’s boy with control issues.”

“Oh, God. Don’t get me started on the control issues,” Casey grumbled. “I love Lewis, but if he doesn’t stop pouting every time he doesn’t get his way, I’m gonna lose it.”

“Ugh. I hate that.” Susana threw her head back with a groan. “I hate it even more when they try guilt-tripping you into doing stuff you don’t wanna do, like going to their stupid frat parties or staying the night when you’d rather go home.”

“What about when they try to check up on you all the time? It’s like they’re trying to catch you doing something.” Darby giggled as she added, “Which I usually am.”

“We’re dating the wrong men,” Mia announced. “Actually, men is the wrong word. We’ve been dating boys. Immature, spoiled-rotten boys. We need to be dating men.”

“I agree.” Susana shrugged. “Butmenare in short supply.”

“Not around here.” Mischief flashed through her eyes as Mia announced, “In fact, there is one that’s caught my eye, and I’m thinking about starting something up with him.”

“With whom?”

“Wrath?”

“Wrath?” Darby gasped. “Our Wrath?”

“The one and only.”

“You’ve got to be kidding?”

“No, I’m not kidding. Not at all.” Mia twirled a thick strand of her long, black hair around her finger. “I’m telling ya, I’ve dated the bankers, the lawyers, and the preppy college boys, and none of them have ever made me feel the way I do when that man looks at me.”

“He’s definitely hot, and he’s got that whole intense thing going.” Concern marked Susana’s face as she asked, “But what about your dad?”

“What about him?”

“If he even thinks about getting involved with you, Stitch will kill him!”

“Dad loves Wrath.”

“He likes Wrath. He loves you, and you know how protective he...” Darby stopped mid-sentence, then turned her head and started to sniff the air. “Do you smell that?”

The words had barely left her mouth when I caught the faint smell of smoke. “Yeah. Is something burning?”

“I don’t know, but it certainly smells like it.”

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