“Dude, let it go,” James groans.
Nope. Can’t. Won’t.
Dane fucking Murray? I’ve never liked him.
“You invited him,” James reminds me.
I swear twin telepathy is a real thing. Doesn’t mean I won’t strangle my brother.
“What are you upset at me for?” he asks.
“You’re an enabler,” I accuse him.
“I’m a what?” James laughs.
All right, that might not be the right word. I’m not the English major around here. “An enabler,” I repeat, deciding to dig my heels in on this one. “You enabled them talking.”
“I’m a facilitator,” my know-it-all brother corrects.
“Facilitate my—” I start.
“Before you find out the hard way, I should tell you that I didn’t facilitate their date on Friday,” he interrupts. Smirking, he adds, “That was all Dane.”
I’m gonna download porn on his work computer and get him fired. His password won’t be hard to guess. It’ll be something like ILoveAriana4Ever or MonogamyIsLife123.
James nudges me. “You ready to go?”
This is bullshit, but yeah. Dad is driving us into New York, where I’m sharing an apartment with Isla and my traitor brother for the summer.
We’re all interning at the real estate company my grandpa owns. Nepotism at its finest, Dad says.
It’s better than commuting into the city, but James and Isla aren’t my ideal roommates.
James and his girlfriend Ariana were due for a breakup two years ago, but they refuse to split, so all they do is argue. Can’t wait to hear James yelling at the phone all night.
At least, that’s what I figured my options were, up until I realized she might have guests of her own. If that’s the case, celibacy’s off the table.
Who am I kidding? Celibacy has never been on my table, but it’s the thought that counts.
I couldn’t stand watching that, the way he dragged his eyes up and down her body and leaned closer when she laughed at his dumb jokes.
She can’t be into him. Isla believes in fairy tales, not hookups. She’s looking for a husband, not a one-night stand.
Dane obviously isn’t eligible to be Isla’s husband. What’s he gonna do, serenade her with the piano while he’s in New Jersey and she’s at Boston College?
Nah, can’t happen.
“Shotty!” James calls, rushing over to Dad’s Tesla.
Asshole. He didn’t even wait for me to tell him I was ready.
Dad follows him around the car, opens the passenger door, and pulls him out by the ear. I don’t bother to hide how hard I crack up watching Mom snag shotgun while James massages his ear like a baby.
Wait.
If Mom’s coming for the ride, that means I’ll be squeezed in the back with James and Isla.
My mind drifts to the tiny dress she wore earlier. It hovered way above her knees, flying around dangerously when the wind blew.
More than once, she had to grab the sides to keep herself from flashing the BBQ. Dane thought that was hysterical.
I’ll kill him. I’ve listened to enough true crime podcasts to get away with it, too.
I wonder if conjugal visits are still a thing…
“You getting in the car or what?”
I shrug. Rolling his eyes at me, James ducks into the backseat. The door closes, but I still feel his stare through the window.
I pretend not to notice. It’s not like there’s anything worth watching. I’m just waiting outside for Isla because Mom raised exactly one gentleman.
Isla’s front door slams and I hear her stomping down her wooden steps. She isn’t wearing the dress anymore, probably because the temperature dropped.
We should have left earlier, not that the jeans and tee don’t look good. Isla’s one of those girls who looks good in everything.
I just wouldn’t have complained sitting close with all that leg showing. That’s all.
“Are you my chauffeur?” Isla asks wryly.
She tilts her head and raises her brows. “Is this a ploy to make me sit in the middle?”
It actually wasn’t.
Isla reads the surprise on my face and laughs into her palm. “Kidding. I don’t mind middle.”
My ass isn’t even in the seat beside Isla’s before Mom gets involved. “Really, Parker? You made Isla sit in the middle?”
“I offered,” Isla replies, shrugging. Leaning into me slightly, she adds in a low whisper, “I’m just happy not to be home.”
“You’re free for the whole summer,” I whisper back.
In the rearview mirror, I catch Mom’s smirk.
It’s gonna be a long summer.
Waking up to city views, it finally feels real. I live in New York.
Granted, a dusty AC unit blocks half my window, and the view consists of a trash-filled alley, but it beats trees, the only scenery visible from my window at home. Fuck trees. I’m a city kid now.
The apartment’s pretty sweet. It’s one of the pre-furnished vacation rentals that Grandpa bought around the city when real estate prices dipped a couple years ago.
The bedrooms are small, but he managed to squeeze a queen-sized bed, dresser, and desk, chair included, into all three.
I’ll spend most of my time in the living room anyway. Its huge windows look out onto the street, and from the couch, I can watch the craziness of NYC five stories below.
“I thought Boston jaywalkers were bad,” Isla muses, gazing out the window, mug of steaming tea in hand. She’s the only college student I’ve ever met who doesn’t drink coffee.
“New York pedestrians are nuts,” I agree. I watched a guy jump over the hood of a moving cab last night.
Her lips curl in a tiny smile, a smirk that means we’re in on a secret. “I’m happy to be one,” she replies, returning her eyes to the street.
“If you haven’t gotten flipped off by a cab driver, I don’t think you are yet,” I tease.
“What if I’m the one flipping them off?” she challenges.
I just raise my brows. Isla giving someone the middle finger? Not gonna happen.
Her arms fold across the sliver of skin visible between her orange shirt and white shorts.
She’s like a Creamsicle. A hot Creamsicle. Not a melted one. Just, like, a sexy Creamsicle. A Creamsicle that needs…
“Earth to PJ!”
Thank God the counter hides my half-chub. “What’s up?”
“You were zoning out. I asked, ‘What makes you think I don’t flip people off?’”
I shrug. She’s Isla. Isla doesn’t flip people off. “Should I be nervous?” I joke.
“About me giving you the finger?”
She pretends to contemplate the question for a moment, tapping her chin. “Nah,” she finally concludes. “You’re safe.”
I’m anything but safe. Like I said, it’s gonna be a long, long summer.
