No Place Like Homecoming, Dallen, Maggie [beach read book .TXT] 📗

I watched the two of them closely, a feeling that need not be named slithering in my gut and making my skin crawl.

“I’m gonna help with setup and cleanup, but he’s got one of the other guys working the actual party. I’ll help him out when I can.”

“Which one?” Callie straightened. “Roman?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He shrugged, not seeming to notice that Callie’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Maybe?”

“So wait, you’re working two jobs at the party?” Willow asked with a wince. “That sucks.”

“Double the work, but triple the cash,” he said, a rueful amusement softening the voice I’d come to think of as hard and gruff.

I couldn’t stop staring. This was...different. This was a far more laidback Flynn than the guy I’d been coming to know at school.

Around these three, he seemed almost relaxed. And not nearly as broody. He shot me a sidelong look. “You want me to be the lion too?” He shrugged. “I’d be down with trying if it meant more money.”

“How are your mom and brothers doing?” Mrs. Messner asked.

I took a step back. This whole scene felt too weird. Intimate, like they were all friends or even like...a family or something. And I was some stranger coming along and crashing the party.

Again.

Though this time not literally.

“They’re okay.” The way he said it made it clear—to me, at least—that they were not okay.

“When do they get back?” Willow asked.

“Uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck and feigned an interest in the camera. Like it was his first time seeing one.

“Are you still planning on visiting them next month?” she asked.

Savannah was watching Flynn with a little more intensity than was absolutely necessary and once again I felt this wave of...something.

Whatever it was, it made my chest tighten, my stomach turn, and my fists clench.

I was not a fan of this feeling.

Mrs. Messner was frowning, and I suspected this was the first time she was learning about Flynn’s trip. “How long will you be gone? You’re not going to fall behind on schoolwork, are you?”

“Um…” Flynn was fidgeting with that camera and glancing around like he’d rather be anywhere but here.

I could totally relate.

He outright ignored her questions as he shuffled toward the exit. “I actually need to head over to the restaurant. I’m on dish duty until closing. Mrs. Messner, if we’re good here…”

“Go, go. We’ll see you at the party.” She waved him off as she fitted a straw-covered hat on Callie’s head. “There. If we take in the overalls at the bottoms, you’ll be a perfect Scarecrow.”

“Uh huh.” She frowned down at herself as Mrs. Messner headed toward a back room. “All the boys will come a runnin’ for sure if I wear this.”

I blinked in surprise at the bitterness in Callie’s tone. I’d probably spent more time with Callie than anyone else this week—including my aunt, who I only ever saw over dinner, and those conversations were stilted, at best. But in all the time I’d spent having lunch with Callie and hanging out with her between classes, I’d never seen her anything but cheerful.

This jaded tone was kind of alarming. I could see Willow and Savannah were caught off guard too, and Willow took a hesitant step toward her. From what I knew of Willow, she wasn’t exactly the go-to in an emotional crisis.

Savannah looked just as wary. “Look, Roman’s just blind, that’s all.”

Callie nodded, but she picked at the straw on her costume as she mumbled, “He’s not blind when it comes to you.”

Savannah opened her mouth and shut it. For all her attitude, she looked strikingly upset at the accusation. “I didn’t...I mean, I never tried…”

“I know you didn’t,” Callie said, and I let out a relieved breath at the hint of a smile on her face. “It’s not your fault you’re hot.”

Savannah struck a pose that was just ridiculous enough that even I laughed along with the others. “Jealousy is a disease, Callie.”

Willow patted Callie’s shoulder awkwardly. “There are other guys out there.”

I winced. She meant well, but it was clear she had no idea how not helpful that comment was when you had your heart set on one guy, and that one guy had no idea you were alive.

Or that one guy finally noticed you were alive but you had to leave and so now he probably forgot you ever existed.

I shook off the thought and broke the awkwardness in the room by moving toward Callie with crossed arms. “Who is this Roman and why did he bum you out?”

Callie’s smile was bittersweet. “It doesn’t matter. I’m used to it.”

I scoffed and realized that all eyes were on me. Callie was the only person who’d made an attempt to make me feel comfortable in this awful town, and I didn’t have to pretend to be offended on her behalf. “Whoever this guy is, he’s an idiot.”

Callie’s eyes arched up. “He is?”

I nodded, pulling up every last vestige of self-assurance that always managed to get me through. “You’re adorable—”

She looked like she might interrupt.

“And with my help, you’re going to be undeniable.”

Her lips quivered and then she grinned. “Undeniable, huh?”

Savannah was giving me a weird look I couldn’t quite interpret, but I ignored her.

“Yes, undeniable.”

Callie gave a short little laugh. “That’s gonna be hard considering he doesn’t even know I exist.”

“Here’s the thing,” I said, getting into my new big sister role. “Most boys are really basic. They believe what they see. So if you want this guy to think you’re something different, just show him something different.”

Willow was staring at me like I’d spoken a foreign language. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It is.” I shrugged, and managed to shrug off some of my own doubts while I was at it. “Callie, you could have this guy eating out of the palm of your hand if you really wanted. The question is, do you want that.”

She frowned. “Yeah. I do.”

I shrugged again. “In my opinion, most guys aren’t worth going to so much trouble.”

Logan being