Page 96 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

I pause in the doorway. “Watch me,” I taunt before darting away.

The truth is, there might not be anything to tell after what I did once we ended our call last night.

I want to think he’ll be happy, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned that my meddling in his life is going to piss him off.

As I stand at the sink brushing my teeth, my anxiety grows.

“Oh shit,” I gasp, dropping my toothbrush into the sink with a clatter as I picture my cell sitting on the nightstand in my bedroom.

I yank the door open and race back into my room—but, proving that he is actually trustworthy, Garrett didn’t immediately grab it, hack his way in, and start reading mine and Calvin’s messages like it’s a romance novel.

“What’s wrong? Did the toilet bite?” he asks, watching me suspiciously.

“Spider,” I lie.

He rolls his eyes as I reach for my cell and check to see if Calvin has discovered what I’ve done yet.

I don’t have a message, so he either hasn’t found out yet or he’s so pissed he isn’t talking to me.

Brilliant.

“You think Mom’s started on the waffles yet?” Garrett asks.

“I dunno. Go and see.”

He watches me for a moment, I assume waiting to see if I’m going to confess anything. But when it becomes clear that my lips are firmly sealed, he finally relents, climbs off my bed, and disappears down the stairs in search of food.

I lower my ass to the bed and open my message thread with Calvin, debating what to send.

Sienna: Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful that you turned out to be my noisy upstairs neighbor.

I sit there and watch as it shows as delivered, but as the seconds tick by, it becomes obvious that he’s not sitting waiting for it, because it’s never read.

After pulling on a pair of sweats, I put my cell in my pocket and head downstairs to find some coffee. If Mom happens to be making waffles already, even better.

Calvin makes me wait hours before I get a response. And it comes through just as we’re about to sit down for our meal.

I swipe the screen as I walk toward the perfectly laid table, desperate to know if he’s mad at me or not.

“Sienna,” Mom snaps before I have a chance to open the message. “No phones at the table. It’ll have to wait until later.”

“Uh oh,” Garrett teases behind me. “You’re gonna have to keep lover boy waiting.”

“Shut up,” I hiss, having little choice but to hand Mom my cell so she can remove it from the room. But before she disappears with it, she holds her hand out for Garrett’s, too.

“Come on, you know the rules.”

“It’s fine. I don’t have a boyfriend waiting on the other end.”

I poke my tongue out at him before going to take my seat.

Meanwhile, Dad sits at the head of the small table, shaking his head at us.

“Some things never change, do they?” he mutters.

“You’d be worried about us if we weren’t bickering,” Garrett points out.

“Or giving your mother gray hairs.”