Page 146 of Forever Defiant
I opened a group chat.
Me: So Peterson saw the pic, she didn’t freak out like I thought. She came up with a plan, a good one. She “outed” us as a couple on socialmedia. So if anyone asks you, you knew we were together and keeping it under wraps.
Me: Also, why are you both not answering? You need to communicate better, rather than throwing fists.
Me: Is Savvy okay? Noah, are you okay? Is anyone reading these?
Noah: What pic?
Me: I got a message earlier with me and Peterson in the street, it wasn’t good. It was from an unknown. We think they wanted to use it. So Peterson took one look at it, had a mini panic, and then came up with a plan.
Spence: I just saw her social media post tagging her “boo.” what the fuck is a boo and why is it you?
Noah: Tell Dante a boo is a boyfriend or girlfriend.
I rolled my eyes.
Me: He’s in the group chat, Matthews, he can read the message.
Noah: Can he? He’s a bit shit at reading the room if you ask me
Spence: You punched my girlfriend! She’s going to have two black eyes. How the fuck do I read the fucking room when I see her covered in blood and on the floor crying?????
Noah: You think “what the fuck happened here” before you swing
Spence: What? Like you did?
Silence by text message is cold. I waited another minute.
Me: So... if you’re asked, you both okay to say you knew me and Peterson where a thing?
Neither of them replied.
Fantastic.
My phone rang, and I answered without looking.
“You have a girlfriend, and I find out on social media?”
“Hey, Mom.” I closed my eyes. “How are you doing?”
“You have agirlfriend, and I find out on social media.” I heard movement in the background. “Your father said she’s very pretty, but wants to know what’s wrong with her?”
I let out a low laugh. “Nothing, she’s great.” She really was. No one else was appreciating that she’d just taken all of this in stride, spun it to our advantage, and then walked off like it was no big deal.
“Well, I want to meet her.”
My mom’s ridiculous demand brought my attention back to the phone. “No. What? Why?”
“Dustin Nathaniel Slater, you’ve never had a girlfriend in the twenty-one years I’ve known you. You have gone public. That means you are serious about this girl. You will bring her home on Sunday. We’ll have lunch.”
Fuck.
“Mom, it’s a bit early.”
“Don’t make me come down there.”
I sighed. “We’ll see you on Sunday.”
