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

not saying I’m for it, but she’s not a little kid,” Savannah said.

I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“I mean she looks twelve,” she added, making me laugh. “But she’s the same age as you and me, and if she thinks she wants some bad news wannabe rocker dude, who are we to judge?”

My mind instantly flashed back to Isla. Definitely not a wannabe rocker, but bad news nonetheless.

And yet, that didn’t stop me from wondering what she was up to right now. What she was thinking, and what was going on behind that brilliant smile and those sad eyes.

“You’re right,” I finally said. “I’m definitely not in a position to judge.”

Eight

Isla

I took in the scene before me with arched brows. “So, this is Lindale’s idea of a party, huh?”

Callie laughed. “No, this is Willow’s idea of a party.”

Willow lifted one shoulder in a move that said ‘sorry not sorry’ as she stood before the mirror in her family’s living room and swiped at the last of her makeup. She’d been Sleeping Beauty tonight so her makeup wasn’t crazy. It was actually kind of pretty on her, but she was already tying up her hair and doing her darndest to scrub away any hint of color on her face.

Callie on the other hand… I could totally see why she might want to scrub off the glitter. “I don’t get the obsession with fairies,” she said as she swiped away at her cheeks.

All her scrubbing seemed to be doing was smearing the glitter.

“You’d better get used to it,” Savannah said. “You’ve got that Tinkerbell party coming up.”

“Gah, don’t remind me,” Callie muttered.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. She just looked so...cute. Especially when she was annoyed and covered in glitter.

Callie met my gaze in the reflection. “You won’t be laughing when you have to be one of the lost boys.”

I gave a snort of amusement. “You guys realize how weird your jobs are, right?”

Savannah patted my head as she walked past. “It’s your job now, too,” she said in a taunting sing-song voice.

“Not for long,” I sang right back. But I said it under my breath. No need to explain that I had zero plans to stick around this town any longer than necessary.

And once I was back in New York, I’d be well on my way to staying there for good. My dad might be a hardass, but he would cave when I was right in front of his face. And I’d have my mom back in my corner once I was back on her radar.

And best of all, I’d be on Logan’s arm, with my crown on my head, and my life back on track.

I just had to get there, that was all.

“Is Flynn coming?” I asked.

All eyes turned to me.

“What?”

Savannah’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully but Willow answered. “He said he’d swing by. He’ll be here.”

“Do you think Roman will come too?” Callie asked.

I just barely held back a sigh. I had my work cut out for me with this one. The girl didn’t understand playing hard to get. Not that hard to get was always the best strategy, but from what I’d heard about Roman?

She definitely shouldn’t sound so eager, not even behind his back. Guys seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to desperation.

I should know. I winced. I’d been filled with desperation when I’d seen Flynn the other night, and look where that had gotten me. He’d been even more standoffish than usual at school, barely even saying thanks when I gave him back his book with a flirty comment about how we should study together for the next quiz.

It was basically an open invitation to hook up and...nothing. Nada. I might as well have offered him a flat soda for all the interest I got in return.

But I would not be distracted from my mission. He had a ride, and I had places to be.

“There’s Flynn now,” Willow said as she glanced out the window. “He’s just pulling up.”

My belly did a somersault. That was unexpected. And uncalled for. I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t even like the guy. But that didn’t stop my heart from slamming against my ribcage as he walked in looking hot.

There was no other way to put it.

He’d been hot since day one, it wasn’t like this was news. But try telling that to my pulse, which was tripping along like we were in the midst of a track meet rather than hanging out, casually, at a group hang that only losers in this small town would consider a party.

Be cool. Play it cool. Don’t freak out.

No amount of inner pep talks helped. As soon as Flynn arrived, my insides started rocketing between elation and nerves and then, inexplicably—terror.

I took a deep breath as I watched him follow Willow into the kitchen where they chatted about the party they’d just come from as they grabbed some drinks.

“Is Roman coming?” Callie asked when they rejoined the rest of us in the living room.

Flynn gave her a wince of regret. “No, sorry. He had to go to another party.”

“Oh. Okay. No problem.” Callie’s disappointment was so obvious that Willow loudly pronounced it was time for ice cream, which was apparently as crazy as this girl got. This had Callie hurrying after her into the kitchen and with one quick glance at me and Flynn, Savannah followed suit.

Flynn looked over at me too, and there was wariness written all over his features. “Hey, you ready for the Garners’ party tomorrow?”

I shrugged. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I mean, is anyone ever really ready to dress up and sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow in front of a bunch of strangers?”

His lips hitched up on one side, and I caught a flicker of a dimple. “Good point.”

“But,” I continued, “I know the lines to that cheesy script, and I memorized the song, so I’m good.”

Awkward silence fell. Where was my cool? It was nowhere to be found. My heart was still racing like I