Page 51 of Let's Call a Truce
Sophie rolled her eyes but obediently followed with, “May Paris come over to play tomorrow, please?”
“I don’t know, pea. It’s short notice and she might not be able to come.”
“I already asked her and she’s free.” She at least had the decency to look sheepish when she caught my flat stare. “Sorry, Mom. I won’t do it again without talking to you first.”
I knew it was a lie, but I smiled and thanked her anyway.
“She gave me her dad’s number, so here it is. Can you call him, so he knows, too?”
A groan fought to escape my throat. I already had his number, just like he had mine, and I knew he was going to have a field day with this. This was the second time we had talked about Paris’s dad, but there had been no mention of her mom. Why couldn’t it have been her mom?
“Fine. I’ll call him after dinner.”
The phone rang once, twice, a third time, and I was just starting to wonder if my luck was changing when the line clicked on.
“I knew you would reach out, but I’ll admit I didn’t think you would cavethisquickly.” The smile in his voice came down the line.
My stomach flipped. “This call has nothing to do with us.”
“So there is an ‘us.’” He laughed, and butterflies took off inside me.
“Shut up. You know what I mean. Sophie wants Paris to come over tomorrow to play. Apparently, they sorted out all the details themselves at school today.”
“Paris has a soccer game in the morning, but we can come over in the early afternoon.” He put a strong emphasis onwe.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to trouble you. You can drop Paris off, and I’ll keep a close eye on her.”
“I have a rule. I have to be there the first time Paris goes to a friend’s house. Have to make sure the family isn’t sketchy, you know? And since she doesn’t know how close we are”—he paused significantly, fighting off a laugh—“I figure I can’t make an exception.”
I fidgeted in the following silence, running through solutions and coming up with nothing. “Fine. Be here at twelve. I’ll text you the address.”
“Looking forward to it.”
I paced the length of my small living room a half dozen times before I came up with a plan to put some distance between me and Ben. “Clara, do you want to invite Olivia and Autumn over tomorrow? We can invite their parents and do a whole cookout.”
“Yes, please!” She snagged my phone from my hand and started her calls before the words left her mouth. Half an hour later, the other two families were on board and we had sorted out food.
Juliana:Our address is 342 Pine Drive
Ben:That’s less than 5 minutes away from us
Five minutes. He was so close, I probably ran by his house regularly. My stomach churned as I thought about how quickly I could get there now. To jog past in one of those running outfits he seemed to like so much and enjoy the tortured look on his face.
Damnit. No.
Juliana:Okay, well, we will see you at 12. Bring enough chips and dip for a dozen people.
Ben:Was this always a party, or do you not trust yourself around me and called in reinforcements?
Juliana:It was always a party. There is no reason for me not to trust myself.
Ben:Because you’re ready to admit the hookup in my office means you have feelings for me?
Juliana:OMG, delete that! If one of the girls sees that text and Sophie asks me to explain what a hookup is, I’m going to kill you.
Ben:That wasn’t a no.
Juliana:Stop. 12 pm.
