Slow Twitch - Реинхардт Лиз (бесплатные серии книг .txt) 📗
Evan hopped off of my bed and pulled the shirt over her head, turning from side to side to admire her reflection in my full-length mirror. “Please tell me you’ll get one for me?”
“Definitely.” I thought about the last time Jake, Saxon, and I had been together at Aunt Helene’s.
“Mmm. I don’t need to use my amazing psychic powers to know that you completely worried about this little trip.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “And I’m gonna guess it has everything to do with Saxon?”
“No!” I said too quickly, folding the t-shirt Evan handed back to me with neat pleats. “I mean, it was just weird last time we were all together, and I think he and Jake kind of had words. He was also sort of touchy with me.” My stomach churned.
“Touchy?” Evan flipped through my iPod. “Touchy like he wanted to touch your booty?” She put my favorite mix on and danced over to me, eyes narrowed. “Touchy like he wanted your body?”
“Not exactly. First he was touchy, I think, because he wanted Cadence to get wildly jealous. Then he was touchy because…well, because he was happy. I think.” I took a deep breath and shrugged.
“That doesn’t sound so crazy, actually.” She leaned on my desk. “But I’m guessing Jake wasn’t all about it?”
“Exactly. I get it. I do. We’ve been through a ton together, and he’s got to be weirded out. I was weirded out, you know? I’m not totally sure I can trust Saxon. And I thought…I have no clue. Honestly, I thought Saxon and I could find this friend-zone place, but it’s way trickier than I thought it would be, so I don’t know if it’s even possible.
I yanked my closet door open and made a quick grab for the first shirt on top of the pile of clean clothes Mom had put in my room the day before. I started to hang them up in a color-coordinated pattern, light to dark and, within the colors, short-sleeved to long. It tripped my sprinting heart down to a jog.
“Brenna, do you have a touch of OCD?” Evan gazed over my shoulder, her eyes perfect circles.
“I just like my things neat, I swear. Look, I can hang this orange tank top right in the middle of the blue shirts! Right by this three-quarter shirt. That’s crazy, right?” We both looked at the tangerine tank top with gorgeous flower embellishments gliding along the bottom, and I finally flipped it to its rightful spot. Evan chuckled. “Shut up. I could have left it there, but it makes no sense!”
The Saxon issue remained completely unresolved. We lazed around and talked about a thousand other things, then had lunch with Mom, who found Evan adorable and hilarious in small doses. When we heard the crunch of Jake’s tires on the gravel, it was about two hours earlier than we expected him. Evan grabbed my hand and squealed.
“I feel kinda like I’m about to meet a celebrity.” She whispered for dramatic effect.
“You have no idea how much that would make Jake crack up.” I poked my head into the living room. “Mom! Jake is a little early.”
“Okay, sweetie. You guys drive safely and keep your cell on.” She got up and kissed me and waved to Evan.
Jake got out of the truck and Evan watched him walk over with a look of pure giddiness on her face. She squeezed my arm tight. “No wonder you’re all gaga. It’s like watching the Marlboro man in real life, but younger and hotter.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “He definitely makes me feel all like swooning.”
I felt a strange prick of pride, and realized now what people meant when they talked about arm-candy. Jake was, of course, so much more than good-looking…but he was so good-looking.
When he got close, he took his ballcap off his head! Like he was meeting the Queen of England. He stuck his hand out and Evan gave him her fingertips.
“You must be Evan Lennox? Brenna’s been chewing my ear off about you since Dublin. Nice to meet you.” He flashed her that smile, all roguish charm and humble adorableness, and Evan tilted her head back and laughed.
“Can I see your cap?” she asked.
Jake gave me a look, but I had no clue. Evan turned his hat inside out and pursed her lips. “Funny. I seriously thought there’d be a little golden halo stuck in here. Are you for real, boy?”
He blushed right to the tips of his ears. “I’m no angel. And that’s a hell of a cheesy pickup line, if that’s how you’ve been using it.”
Evan bounced up and down in her Greek sandals. “I knewI was going to love him. Ooh, I gotta grab my purse. I’ll be right back and then we can get outta here!”
Jake pulled me in and kissed me hard. “She’s like a ball of fire,” he said when we pulled back.
“I know,” I sighed. “I’m kinda in love.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Well, you can’t take her in a fair fight. If you think Pink is badass, you have no clue. But I think you’re safe enough.” I ran my hands up and down his arms, and his smile faded and was replaced with a worried tick. “What’s up?”
“Just, uh, my bike…” He shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck.
“That bad? I’ve got some money put away. I’d be happy to lend it to you--”
“Are you insane?” Jake broke in. “I’m not borrowing money off of you. Definitely not for a damn bike. Jesus, Bren. That’s your money for…I don’t know, important stuff you need. It’s actually kind of the opposite problem for me right now.”
“What’s that?” I tugged at his hand.
“A brand new bike got delivered this morning. I signed for it…honestly, I ordered a new handlebar set, and I just assumed that was it, but it was, like, the most expensive, amazing bike you could imagine. I guess I should have told them to take it back, but it was like my brain went dead when I saw it.”
“Are you insane?” I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “How is this a problem? Your bike is all messed up, you can’t get it working, you have a big race coming, then a new bike lands in your lap. Am I missing the problem?”
“Brenna.” Jake’s voice sounded disappointed. “Where the hell do you think the bike came from?”
Duh.
I knew exactly where it came from.
“So, is it like a peace-offering?” I asked carefully.
“I have no idea. I really don’t. But there’s no way in hell I’m taking it.” His gray eyes went fierce and serious.
I opened my mouth to argue when Evan flew over, purse in hand. “I’m starved, y’all. I can’t wait to see this place. I’ve never been to a place where they skate like that. At our Sonic, they just walk the burgers out...” She looked back and forth between us. “Are y’all okay?”
“Yeah.” Jake’s smile was polite and distracted. He walked over to the passenger side and opened our door. Evan flitted a kiss on his cheek.
“You are a true gentleman.”
Evan climbed in, then realized she was in the middle, and climbed back over me, so I could sit close to Jake. Jake started the engine and we were off. I wanted to talk more about the gift from the Macleans, but I had no idea if Jake wanted Evan knowing. Since we were both too distracted to make reasonable polite conversation, we sunk into dead silence.
For most people, the dead silence would have just been something to put up with. But Evan was on a one-week timeframe, and she wasn’t about to have even one second of the fun ruined without at least investigating why. “Y’all, what’s going on?”
Jake put his hands at two and ten on the steering wheel and looked forward with studious concentration, like he was a professional driver running a swerving course along perilous sea cliffs. I nudged his knee with mine, and he flicked his eyes over. I nudged again and he sighed with irritation.
“It’s sort of embarrassing. I have this big motocross race coming up, and my bike is shot. I’ve been doing the repairs myself, but I don’t know if it’s gonna hold up for the race.” He truncated the entire story right there in its tracks, and Evan wrinkled her forehead.
“That sucks. I’m really sorry. I got my private dance lessons pulled two months before auditions for a state ballet I probably could have danced in because my daddy used all our money laying bets at the track. It wound up being just enough time to throw me off the mark. It was between me and one other girl for understudy to one of the principles, and I lost out.” She twirled a piece of glossy hair around her finger and watched it unravel.
