Page 96 of The Hookup Plan
“I like them,” she answered. “What about pairing them with these amber ones?”
“Nah.” Nina shook her head. “Those are way too old-fashioned.”
“Sorry, I guess I’m a dinosaur,” London muttered underneath her breath.
“Look for something sparkly. I think these fuchsia teardrops would be better. Don’t you?”
It wasn’t exactly London’s taste, but then again, she wasn’t her little sister’s target audience when it came to her jewelry making.
“You know your clientele best,” London said. “Pick out the ones you think will appeal the most to them.”
She checked the time on her phone and reasoned that they would have to head back to Kenneth and April’s soon. Her mom, stepmom, and Koko were all back at the house decorating for Miles’s Marvel Comics–themed birthday party. Kenneth had taken her little brother to the batting cages, because hitting several buckets of baseballs into a giant net was exactly how a nine-year-old wanted to spend his birthday. London decided that she deserved extra birthday cake for managing to keep her eye roll to herself when Kenneth carted the poor child out of the house.
Fine, she was going to eat extra birthday cake, no matter what. But at least she now deserved it.
The moment her dad and Miles were gone, Janette suggested London and Nina drive over to the big-box hobby store to buy a piñata for the party. Her mom had followed up the suggestion with a series of rapid winks that had London wondering if maybe she had an eyelash stuck in her eye before realizing Janette was trying to subtly send her a message. As if that woman had ever been subtle a day in her life.
London had set out with Nina, determined to finally discuss the incident with the nude photos. She’d made at least a dozen attempts to bring it up over the past forty-five minutes and had chickened out each time.
She was beyond frustrated with this uncharacteristic lack of gumption. London prided herself on being forthright—beating around the bush was for people with too much time on their hands. But when it came to this particular conversation, she’d danced around the subject so much her feet hurt. Her usual bluntness just didn’t seem like the best tactic.
Or maybe it was? Maybe a frank, candid talk about the repercussions Nina could have faced if she’d sent out those photos was exactly what her little sister needed to hear.
London debated waiting until they were back in the car to bring it up, but the house was only a few minutes away. This discussion warranted more than five minutes.
She looked up and down the aisle. They seemed to be the only two people interested in making jewelry today.
“So,” London started. “Oh! This is cute!” She picked up a miniature pewter owl, then cursed herself for stalling as she set it back on the shelf.
Just say it!
“So, I…umm…heard about your little photography incident.”
“Huh?” Nina’s forehead furrowed in confusion.
Great, she reallywasgoing to make her say it.
London mimed snapping a photo. “You. Buck naked. Your mom walking in.”
“Ugh.” Nina rolled her eyes. “I should have known she’d tell you. Go on and laugh. Call me names. Whatever.”
“She didn’t tell me to make fun of you, Nina. She told me because she was concerned. I’m concerned too. This isn’t something to joke about. It’s serious.”
Nina folded her arms across her chest. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Look, chick, this isn’t fun for me either, but I told April that wewouldtalk about it, so here we are.”
“I didn’t send the pictures! Mom made me delete them—and yes, I deleted them from the deleted files folder too. They’re gone. What else is there to talk about?”
London didn’t know which irritated her more, the flippant tone or the eye rolling. Both had her on the verge of losing it. But she wasn’t about to end up in another viral YouTube video, this time for being a parent who goes off on her kid in the middle of a freaking store. Especially when it wasn’t even her kid.
When Nina turned and started walking down the aisle, London caught her by the shoulder and went around her so that they faced each other.
“What if April hadn’t walked in on you?” London asked. “Would you have sent those pictures? It’s obvious you haven’t grasped just how…howdangerousit could have been for you if you’d sent those photos out, Nina! What would you have done if this boy had sent them to his friends, and then if they’d sent them totheirfriends?”
She shrugged. “Maybe that’s what I wanted.”
London’s head snapped back. “Excuse me?”