Page 12 of Like You Know
“We’re flying to the Bahamas,” Donna interjected, picking up on my rising irritation.
“On a private jet!” Mena added, eyes so wide I worried they might fall right out of her head. Her excitement was infectious, and I couldn’t help the small smile that quirked my lips. It died just as fast when my mother turned a stern look at me.
“Amaya Ann, you can’t just leave the country whenever you feel like it without even telling me,” she chided as if she cared.
“Why? You do. All the fucking time.” I folded my arms.
Cal placed his hands on my mother’s shoulders, and whatever bullshit she was about to spit at me died on her lips.
“Take three deep breaths, love,” he whispered in her ear. “Just like we talked about.”
I resisted the urge to gag as she did exactly as he’d ordered, but I saw my opening. “OK, bye!” I called, shuffling the girls out and following after them.
“Amaya!” Mom snapped and grabbed my wrist. I spun around and wrenched it out of her grip.
“You don’t get to ghost me for my entire childhood, then decide to have an opinion on what I do with my life!” I shouted, surprising everyone with my outburst.
Mom’s wide eyes narrowed as the shock quickly gave way to anger. Cal squeezed her shoulders, and she pressed her lips together so hard they went white.
“Amaya is a smart, responsible young woman,” Cal said, and I gave him a WTF look. “I’m sure she’s going to be perfectly safe with her smart, responsible friends.”
I mean, one of them did have a secret double life for a while, another frequently did illegal shit online, and the third once joined her boyfriend in a confrontation with the man who killed his mother, but ... yeah, I was totally safe with them. I trusted my Devilbend Dynasty girls with my life.
“Perhaps if you could give your mother the details of where you’re staying and check in when you get there, it would give her peace of mind. We can discuss anything else after.” The last part was directed more at Mom, and I didn’t know what this “we” was. I had no intention of discussing anything with her—I sure as shit wasn’t going to discuss it withhim. But I was over this whole conversation and wanted to get the fuck out of there already.
“Sure. Whatever. I’ll text you the details from the car. We have to go now,” I said.
Donna stepped forward and held out a card. “This is the resort we’re staying at, and my number is on the back too—just in case.”
Her type-A shit was irritating sometimes, but I loved her for it anyway. Because of moments like these. Getting what she wanted (or had been convinced she wanted) totally defused my mom’s anger.
“Thank you, Donna.” She gave my bestie a warm smile. “You girls be safe and have fun.”
I was walking away before she even finished the sentence, and I reached the car before the others.
“I love you, Amaya!” she called after me.
I ignored her, climbing into the car and bouncing my knee. The girls piled in behind me, and I didn’t relax until we were through my front gates and on the road toward the airport.
Mena took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Are you OK?”
My friends were all wearing concerned expressions.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I squeezed Mena’s hand back and then released it. “Just another day with Vivian Ellis as my mother. Let’s talk about something else.”
I really didn’t want parental bullshit ruining our trip before it had even begun.
There was a tense moment of silence, and I could tell they wanted to push the issue, talk it out and sync periods or some shit. But I was not in the mood.
“So”—Harlow kicked off her sneakers and crossed her legs up on the seat—“Mena, how’s your butthole doing?”
We all burst out laughing, and the tension of the past fifteen minutes started to leave my body. Trust Harlow to take the conversation in a completely unexpected direction.
“Seriously? What the fuck kind of question is that?” Donna smacked her sister on the arm, even as she laughed along.
“What?” Harlow swatted her back between giggles. “She’s the one who wanted advice on anal. I’m just checking in.”
“Oh god!” Mena dropped her red face into her hands. “Do you seriously want an update, because we did actually buy some toys, and, uh ...” She peeked at us from between her fingers.