Page 42 of The Perfect Deal
All of us laughed, and I couldn’t help but give him a sheepish look. “I may have gotten myself into a situation of sorts.”
That made them laugh even harder, and even though it really wasn’t funny to me, I laughed, too.
“What are you assholes laughing about?” Our sister, Hannah, entered the room, a scowl on her face as she settled her fists on her hips.
“Hannah Banana!” Jacob jumped up first to hug her. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom and Dad said you guys were having a bro night without me! So of course, I had to come over,” she said as she took turns hugging the rest of our siblings.
I hopped up and went over to give her a tight squeeze. “Come on in, little sister. Sorry. We would’ve invited you, but we thought we might drive you nuts with all the belching and farting.”
Rather than answering, she picked up William’s beer, chugged it, and let out a big belch, making us all laugh. “Now, what did I miss?” She sat down, grabbed a slice of pepperoni, and ripped into it.
“We were just talking about how Joshua took Liberty Johnson to camp with him,” Elijah said, waggling his eyebrows.
Hannah laughed wickedly. “Tell me everything.”
Shaking my head, I tried to assure all of them that it wasn’t a big deal, but they knew me. I could talk more freely to my siblings than anyone else, so I probably said more than I should have, but at the end of the day, having the freedom to talk about the girl I loved was good for my soul, so I took advantage of it. By the time they left, as I cleaned up the mess, I knew I had to do something different. I couldn’t be without her.
26
LIBERTY
“Well, hello there, sister,” a familiar voice greeted me as I walked in the front door. Even though I knew Sophia was coming to visit Landon and me, excitement bubbled over as I dropped my purse by the door and sprinted across the living room to wrap my arms around her.
“You’re here!” I exclaimed, hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe, let alone talk. “I can’t believe you’re finally home.” I kissed her cheek and finally let her go.
Sophia stumbled back a few steps, shaking her head. “Good grief, sis. Are you trying to kill me?” She laughed. “I’m here, and I’m happy to see you, too. I can’t wait to hear all about camp.” Her smile was devilish as I knew what she was thinking.
Immediately, I felt my cheeks flame. So far, I’d been able to dodge my sister’s questions because they’d come through text, but now that we were face to face, I wouldn’t be able to be so evasive. I’d have to tell her what happened.
Not that I minded confiding in my younger sister. Besides Poppy, she was my go-to girl, the one I talked to about everything. In fact, not telling her what had happened at camp had been difficult. I’d wanted to call her up and spill my guts to her the way I always had in the past.
This was a little more complicated, though, since Joshua and I had actually slept together. It wasn’t exactly the type of conversation I liked to have over the phone. I needed to be able to read her expression to know whether or not I was going too far with everything I was telling her. After all, we were sisters, so talking about sex could be a little weird if it was too much. Also, I needed to be able to gauge her true reaction. Sophia was never one to hold back, but sometimes she actually went to the extreme with her comments, and I’d need to see her face to know if she thought I’d completely lost my mind.
“Where’s Landon?” she asked, still holding on to my arms.
“I left the office a little early because I knew you’d be here. He should be home soon, although he mentioned something about some client calling right before he left. I think he’s afraid something is going to go wrong while we are away at the beach.” I tried not to roll my eyes. My brother was controlling about more than just my love life. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been away for months. I’m dying for a sushi coma.” Sophia let go of me only to strike a dramatic pose with the back of one hand resting on her forehead.
Laughter spilled out of me as I shook my head at her and grabbed my phone out of my back pocket. “You’re such a weirdo.” I pulled up the app to order sushi from her local favorite. She always ate so much, she said it put her in a sushi coma. “The usual?”
“Yes, but get me an extra order of California rolls,” she replied.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “An extra order?”
“For tomorrow,” she fibbed, and we both giggled. She would definitely find a way to stuff all of it into her tiny body.
“I’d better order something for Landon, too,” I muttered as I tapped the pictures on the app to add items to my order. I didn’t even look at the total when I paid because I knew it would be outrageous thanks to Sophia’s appetite. “So, I have to go upstairs and pack really quickly or you know I’ll be scrambling in the morning. Wanna come?”
“Of course,” Sophia said as she gestured for me to start walking toward the stairs. “Someone has to make sure you don’t forget your bathing suit.”
Laughing, I headed up to my room with my sister right behind me. “I doubt I’d forget that on a beach trip, although there’s bound to be something I’ll forget. I wonder if I should pack earplugs.”
“Earplugs? Why would you need those?” Sophia asked, puzzled.
Shaking my head, I launched into how I had been sharing a room with Karrie at camp. Sophia plopped herself down on my bed while I went to the closet to grab my suitcase and opened it up next to her. From my tale of sleeping through a missile launch every night, I shifted to some stories about the girls, the pictures I’d taken, and the activities we’d done. I’d managed to get my suitcase packed completely before I paused long enough for her to ask the real question.