Page 60 of Spicy Ever After
Or the customers.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not independent.
Does it?
Expecting to see uncertainty on Beck’s face too, I risk a peek at him from beneath my brows, but he’s not looking back at me. He’s still staring at Ms. Alicia.
On second thought, he might even be glaring now.
“She’s independent enough to consent to a first kiss. I know because she asked for my consent beforehand.”
I stand a little taller.
I did! I did ask for consent!
Ms. Alicia’s mouth falls open like she’s going to say something. Then she looks at me and closes it again.
“We’re on a date,” I blurt, my voice thick with tears but finally steady. “It’s just a coffee date, but it’s still a real date. I know because I asked on Wednesday, and Beck said Hell-Yes-It’s-A-Real-Date.”
I glance at Beck’s profile. He’s biting his bottom lip while the corner of his mouth tugs to the side.
“Mutual informed consent from the get-go,” he mutters, his gaze snagging mine.
And the look in his eyes? The look he’s giving me? It makes me feel like… like…
Like we’re on the same team.
But how can that be? I’ve never been on a team in my life.
Not one that wanted me.
Because I spent a decade in Catholic schools getting picked dead last in PE, thank you very much.
“So it’s a date you planned?” Ms. Alicia asks, blinking. “And your parents know?”
I’ve calmed down enough to stop crying, but this is the second time she’s asked about my parents knowing, and fear and anger threaten anew.
I do not want to start crying all over again. I clench my teeth against the swelling emotions.
“It’s a date we planned,” I growl. And screw Margaret and Merrick’s wedding. Screw peace in the family. If I’m not supposed to be rude to my elders, they shouldn’t be rude to me, and nosiness is R.U.D.E. “No one else is invited.”
Judging by the way Ms. Alicia’s eyes bug, I’ve said this kind of loud. Maybe really loud.
So I do try—I really do try—to lower my voice. “And since you’re not me or Beck, that means you’re not invited either. You need to go, Ms. Alicia, so we can continue with our plans.”
Beside me, Beck makes a noise that might’ve been a snort or a choke, and it turns into a throat-clearing sound. And when I look at him again, he’s smiling huge with that We’re on the same team smile.
And I really like being on his team.
I look back at Ms. Alicia, and she and her friends stare, open-mouthed.
It would be great if she walked away and forgot this ever happened.
“Well.” Ms. Alicia lifts her chin and puts on a plastic smile. “Harriet, I suppose I’ll see you soon.”
The wedding. Ugh.
Just the thought of it now zaps me like an AC current. Like I’ve tripped over a live wire, and the voltage is holding me hostage.
