Page 60 of Be My First

Eli checks his watch and says, “We should leave in an hour. Juno, will you be ready?”

I stir my coffee and grunt without looking at him.

“I need to get ready,” Keene says, standing up.

“Me too,” Eli says, following Keene out of the room.

Bode and I sit in silence until he says, “Listen, Juno...”

I stand up quickly and say, “No.”

He closes his mouth but looks hurt.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I start out of the room but then backtrack so I can grab a pastry. He doesn’t say a word and I just mutter, “I’m hungry.”

He holds his hands up like he’s surrendering.

“I know you’re best friends, but you don’t always have to take his side,” I say.

“Am I allowed to talk?” he says, shooting me an annoyed look.

I balance my pastry on my coffee mug and say, “No. I just needed you to know that.”

Chapter Twenty

Juno

We’ve stopped for onenight in Venice on our way to the cooking school, so we decided to take a gondola ride – me, my brother, his best friend, and two Secret Service agents. This won’t be weird at all.

Right as we are boarding, Eli gets a phone call. He answers it as the rest of us settle onto the boat. He turns his back to us as he talks, and we all just watch him without a word. After he paces for a minute with his phone to his ear, he comes back and says, “I have to take this. Go without me. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

My eyes nearly bug out of my head. I’m going to take a gondola ride with Bode – and two Secret Service agents? Perfect.

“We can do it later, Eli,” I say, starting to stand up.

Eli waves me back. “No. We’re only here for a night. We won’t have time later. Do it. Have fun. I’ll see everyone after.”

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