Page 44 of Where It Begins

She’s not wrong. It’s not like my parents are all that old. I was barely in my twenties when I had Violet and they had me in their early twenties, but my dad loves sauerkraut, so the house always smells like bad gas. “Let me talk to Sidney.”

Violet throws her arms around me. “Yay! Thank you. I’m responsible. And if anything goes sideways, I can always defect to Grandma and Grandpa’s.”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll hold my gratitude until after you’ve talked to your boyfriend.”

* * *

“No parties,” Sidney says sternly.

“No parties.” Miller gives his dad the thumbs up.

“No parties.” Violet pushes her glasses up her nose.

“There’s a three-friend limit. And under no circumstances are you to invite Cliff over.”

“I know, Dad. He’s still grounded anyway and probably will be until he graduates.” Miller tucks his thumbs in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.

“There’s money in the junk drawer if you need to order food. I picked up half a dozen pizzas and two of them are lactose free for you, Violet.” Sidney smiles at my daughter.

“Thanks, Sid.”

“And we packed ramen in your overnight bag,” I remind her.

“I remember, thanks, Mom.” She glances between us. “If you forget to tell us something, you can always text. Or call us relentlessly and leave messages. We won’t set the house on fire.”

“Don’t forget to set the timer on the oven if you cook anything,” I say. Violet and I often miss that step.

“Your grandma and grandpa will stop by sometime this weekend,” Sidney warns.

“It’s on the list on the fridge.” Miller inclines his head toward it.

After another fifteen minutes of reinforcing rules, Sidney and I are in his SUV, driving toward the lake district. It’s only a couple hours away. The perfect distance for a weekend getaway. Far enough that we’re out of reach of the city, but not so far that we can’t come home in case of an emergency.

“They’ll be fine, right?” Sidney asks.

“Of course they will. Violet is exceptionally responsible.” And Miller isn’t even remotely her type. Violet isn’t into hockey playing jocks. And she’s mentioned more than once that she thinks he might be part yeti with how much fuzz he has. I hadn’t noticed, but then I’m pretty preoccupied with his dad. I did notice, however, how tough it is for him not to stare at her rack whenever we go over for a swim. Although, boobs have hypnotizing powers where teen boys are concerned.

“It’s not Violet I’m worried about,” Sidney mutters.

I run my fingers through the hair at his nape. Goosebumps rise and he makes a deep, appreciative sound. “Violet is good at keeping things under control. It’ll be fine. And your parents are checking in on them.”

My phone buzzes with a message. From Violet.

House is still standing. Miller drove me to tutoring which was nice. He went the speed limit and stopped completely at all stop signs. He also drives with his hands at ten and two and stopped for two rogue squirrels. All is well. Enjoy your weekend. Leave all the doors open if you want.

I squint at my phone.

I can feel you giving me the stink eye. YOU left the door open and I will never let you live it down. Ever. Or until I do something similar in half a decade or possibly longer, depending on when guys are no longer idiots. Gotta go. Tutors be tutoring.

“Everything okay?”

“Yup. Miller drove her to her tutoring and stopped at all the stop signs. We’re good to enjoy a weekend without teens.”

“Great.” He taps on the steering wheel. “As soon as we get there, I vote we have sex on the first available surface.”

“I am fully on board with that plan.”

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