Page 11 of Shine For Me

June

“So what does that mean?” I ask Fox, pointing to a large banner strung up over the patio. It looks to be hand painted, the letters a little wonky. Bright rainbow colors spell out the wordsCONGRATULATIONS, LITTLES!But someone has taken black paint to cross out the wordLITTLESand addedFIERCE FIVEunderneath.

Fox chuckles and I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me for a minute, there. All confused and concerned. There was something pitying in his expression that made me feel panicky.

He seems to have forgotten whatever he’d been worried about, though, his too-pretty blue eyes sparking with amusement as he looks up at the banner. “The twins were born just a few months before Vega, Cadence, and Cecelia,” he explains. “My dad and his brothers are competitive about like, everything.”

“Including their family planning?”

“Definitely.” He gestures around at the party. “That’s why we ended up with so many kids. As soon as one couple got pregnant someone else would decide they needed another baby, too. The Littles are the youngest in each family and they were born a few months apart. They’ve been an inseparable force of mayhem and annoyance ever since.”

I actually already know all that. Fox talks about his family pretty much constantly, and I’d definitely heard him call the kids the Littles. The Fierce Five part is what I was asking about.

But I don’t say any of that, because it would probably make me sound like a crazy stalker, remembering all these details about his family.

“And now the Littles are all grown up and graduating,” I say instead.

He groans. “Don’t remind me. It’s terrifying to imagine the five of them out there in the world without supervision. They’re going to the same school in the fall—they’ll probably burn the whole place down.”

But there’s an unmistakable fondness in his eyes as he looks up at the garish poster. I look at the crossed-out word. “I take it they’re not a fan of the nickname?”

He rolls his eyes. “They pretend not to like it but I think they secretly do.”

“We do not,” a stern voice comes from behind him, and I watch as Fox turns, his entire face lighting up at the teenage girl.

“Hey, Vi.” The words are barely out of his mouth when she throws herself into his arms.

“I missed you,” she cries.

“It hasn’t been that long.”

“It’s been two weeks,” she argues, squeezing him tight.

“Oh, please. Mom said you’ve barely been home since school ended.” He pulls back and looks down at her, a suddenly serious expression taking over his face. “Who’s this kid that took you to prom and why are you spending so much time with him?”

She rolls her eyes. “Spare me the big brother act. Like I don’t see all the models you hook up with plastered all over the internet.” She notices me standing behind him and her eyes widen, her voice coming out in a squeak. “Um, hi, Juniper.” Fox elbows her and she yelps. “What? I’m not fangirling! I literally said hello!”

“You had a tone.”

“She had no tone.” I push him aside and hold out a hand to her. “Congratulations, Violet!”

Her cheeks go pink as she shakes my hand. “Thank you!”

“You must be so excited. Fox said you’re starting college in the fall?”

She opens her mouth once, closes it, opens it again. “You know about my school plans?” she finally gets out.

“Violet.” There’s a warning in Fox’s voice and his little sister throws up her hands.

“Juniper Cain is at my graduation party and she knows not only my name but the fact that I’m starting college. Do you seriously expect me to be calm about this?”

He looks annoyed but I just laugh. “I’m really not that interesting,” I assure her.

“Would you come over and meet some of my friends?” she asks in a rush, ignoring the warning glance from Fox. “They didn’t believe me when I said you might be here.”

“You really don’t have to,” Fox argues.

“It’s fine,” I tell him in an undertone. I turn my attention back to Violet and smile. “I’d love to meet your friends.”