Page 60 of Risky Little Affair
“I can see you,” I state as Dec takes the last curve, the campsite coming into view. Finn turns around, tosses a wave in the air, and hangs up without another word.
Max is the first to the truck, dropping the tailgate before Dec even cuts the engine. The sound of a beer can being cracked open echoes over the low hum of the music floating on the breeze as I open the door and hop out.
Julian and Colton are already unloading the bed of the truck while Finn and Kane are watching Max chug his beer.
“The gang’s all here,” Max announces as he tosses his can toward the garbage can, missing by a foot but not bothering to walk over and pick it up. “Let’s get this party started.”
After everyone’s tent is set up and the fire is stoked, Finn and Max set up two folding tables side by side and we settle in for an early game of poker. Instructed to bring three rolls of quarters, I bust open the first one and stack them in neat rows on the table in front of me. Everyone else follows suit except Dec. He’s on the other side of the fire, pacing back and forth with his phone pressed to his ear.
When he finally joins us, there’s a look on his face that only Finn and I can interpret.
He’s ready to blow.
Whoever he was talking to—more than likely Kendall—said something that has him wanting to flip the table and tear shit apart. Knowing he’s not going to spill whatever it is in front of everyone else, I tap his leg under the table and nod my head to the side before standing.
“We’re gonna get some more beer on ice and grab snacks. Anyone need anything?” I ask, looking around the table at our friends.
Every single one of them picks up their beer, gives the can a shake, and promptly requests another.
As soon as Dec and I are out of earshot, I start interrogating him. We’ve played this game before, so he knows exactly how it’s going to go .
“What happened?”
“Kora is being a bitch to Kendall. She was upset.”
“Anything we can do from here?”
“No. They need to work that shit out.”
“They haven’t seen each other in months. You’d think they would be attached at the hip and gossiping or some shit. Isn’t that what twins do?”
“That’s not exactly how Kora operates from what I’ve gathered. Her and K are like night and day. K is laid back and chill. Kora is uptight and likes to remind Kendall that she’s one step ahead of her in life.”
But is she?
I don’t know much about her. Kendall doesn’t talk about her sister often. I’ve met her a few times at parties. She’s a bit of a pill. Likes to flaunt all her achievements. Make people jealous of what she has or does. She’s the kind of girl that’s so insecure she needs to say shit out loud to make herself look and sound better than she actually is.
But if she shares DNA with Kendall, she can’t be that bad.
Which tells me she’s insecure.
And that means I know exactly why she’s being a bitch to Kendall this weekend.
“Just a thought,” I start as Declan begins handing me beers to stock in the cooler, “there is one thing that Kendall has, Kora doesn’t. Something that would make her act like a jealous bitch.”
“Me?” he asks, sounding caught off guard by my assessment.
“Yeah. A boyfriend. Someone who loves her.”
“Which means that this won’t end after this weekend. Not until Kora finds someone to put up with her.” Closing his eyes, he shakes his head. I watch as Declan processes the fact that Kendall is going to be put through hell for longer than he anticipated. And there’s nothing he can do to stop or prevent it.
This is one situation he has no control over.
“Maybe we should hook her up with Max. They can be miserable together,” I joke, tossing the last beer in the cooler and slamming the lid shut.
“They would kill each other.” He chuckles, snagging two bags of chips and half the cold beers I set aside.