Page 15 of Under the Waves
Though, Jakson acted like a child half the time so he could definitely come under that label too.
Lia rolled her eyes at me, lightly smacking me back on the shoulder. “Yeah? And I could build a castle with all the sarcasm you throw at me.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I said melodramatically, “You can’t throw aNew Romanticsreference in there and expect menotto sing the rest of the song.”
Lia, of course being Lia, held me to that comment, and proceeded to sing the rest of the song. Occasionally, I joined in on the chorus, and obviously on the bridge because who didn’t like that part?
I loved it when she sang, her voice was heavenly—not that many people would know. Jakson, her siblings, and I were the only ones granted access to her Disney sing along nights—mostly because I knew that her youngest sibling, Hudson, could only fall asleep at night if she sung soft melodies to him. I didn’t blame the little guy. If I was two, I would definitely want her voice to be the last thing I heard before sleep claimed me.
“Oh, remind me to drop off the new recipe I found in my mom’s old cookbooks tomorrow before practice,” I said, after she’d sung the final lyric.
Her eyes lit up from my words, “Can you trade me for it at practice instead?”
“And, say, what would I get in return?” I teased, hoping she would say brownies.
Please say those delicious triple chocolate brownies.
“I happen to have some of your favorite brownies lying around at home.”
Fuck yes.
Now, it was my own eyes that lit up. “Deal.”
Abruptly getting up, she dusted the sand off her clothes before looking at me. “You know, I think you should talk to Poppy.”
“Lil—” I started, but she cut me off.
“No,youlisten tome, Jasper Ridge. You might not see it, God knows everyone else in this stupid town doesn’t see it, butIdo.I know there is more to her than what you guys’ whisper behind her back. So please, trust me on this.Talkto her.”
As she walked away, I kept my lips tightly shut, because if I didn’t, a lie would roll off them and I refused to let that happen.
Especially to her.
Deciding that sulking wouldn’t get me anywhere, I jumped up to my feet and meandered my way back into Sonny’s house. It only took me a few minutes to find him, and to no surprise whatsoever, three different girls crowded around him. One blond chick held a dark ice pack just under his eye, whilst the other two brunettes sat perched on either side of him, draping their long legs over his.
“Look who has finally decided to apologize ladies,” he drawled, twisting a string of brown hair around his finger, to which the chick giggled and licked her bottom lip. The other two sent blazing stares in my direction.
I didn’t waste any time returning their glares.
Instead, I directed my gaze at Jakson.
“Well, go on,” he drawled, “I don’t have all day.”
I groaned, running my hand through my brown curls.
This idiot.
As one of Jakson’s many servers came by holding a tray full of beers, I pinched one from her tray and threw it at Jakson. Catching it in one hand with a smirk, the girls ogled him with fierce lust in their gazes.
“Don’t drink too much, coach wants us at practice at five.”
I didn’t wait for the idiot to respond before walking away, though I managed to hear him say to the girls, “alright ladies, you heard the man, we better get a move on. Don’t wanna be late.”
My pace sped up, not wanting the show of hearing him shove his tongue down their throats.
Fuck. What the hell was I doing?
I looked around for Lia, but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I pulled out my phone and shot her a quick message asking her where she was, but after half an hour and still no response, I decided to sit down on the couch and put the TV on.