Page 59 of Betting on You

I had no idea how to put it into words without making her feel bad about Scott.

“I get it, Bay,” she said, and I could tell that she did. Which made me hug her, because as much as I didn’t dig Scott, I also loved my mom and didn’t want to makeherunhappy.

It was a fucking terrible tightrope of guilt to walk.

I grabbed my phone and texted Nekesa as soon as my mom left the room.

How would you like to go to Colorado?

I was getting whiplash from my own emotions, but as I waited for her response, I realized that if she was able to go, I was actually a little excited for a Colorado getaway.

Only if she can go.

Yes, Scott would be there, but Nekesa always made everything better, and I knew this would be no exception.

Nekesa: I am packing my plaid shirt and Docs as we speak.

That made me smile as I walked over to my dresser.You think I’m kidding but I’m not. Scott is taking me and my mom to Breck for a weekend and they said you can come.

Nekesa: I thought we hated Scott.

That response made me feel like garbage, and I texted:We don’t hate HIM, we just hate the way he’s weaseling into our lives.

Nekesa: That doesn’t sound very different from what I said.

I texted: So are you coming or not???

Nekesa: Let me ask my mom. BRB.

I held my breath as I dug for mountain-wear, and then I squealed when Nekesa came back with:When do we leave??

The next morning, even though the sight of Crew Socks in the kitchen made me as irritated as ever, I thanked him for the trip.

“It’s nice of you to invite us and to let me bring a friend,” I said, genuinely meaning that. My mom was the one who threw out the Nekesa option, not Scott, and he easily could’ve said no or been a dick about it.

Instead, he smiled and said between bites of his everything bagel, “The more the merrier. Only… no more. That’s plenty. The four the merriest and no others…”

“Rolls off the tongue,” I said, which made him laugh.

As he walked out the door, he texted me a link to the condo on Vrbo so Nekesa and I could look at the pictures, which led to an hour-long FaceTime where we discussed outfits, activities, and logistics.

We had to work on Saturday morning—just a half shift, so Scott and my mom were going to leave early in the morning, and we’d drive out when we got off. In my opinion, this was a total best-case scenario, because we wouldn’t even have to spend any time in the car with him.

As long as something insane didn’t happen, like Scott proposing to my mother on the slopes, this could actually be a great trip.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURBailey

The night before we were supposed to leave, Nekesa called me, crying.

“Oh my God—what’s wrong?” I asked, sitting on my bed, watching a rerun ofMonk.

She was sniffling and trying to keep it together, but the moral of the story was that she’d come in an hour late the night before (because she’d fallen asleep at Aaron’s house) and gotten into a fight with her parents, and now they wouldn’t let her go on the trip. She was grounded indefinitely, only allowed to leave the house for work and school.

I knew the proper response would be something nurturing, words to make my best friend feel better.

Butoh my God, I couldn’t go without her! I just couldn’t.

“What if my mom calls your mom?” I asked, desperate. “Do you think that might help?”

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