Page 59 of After Hours Lectures

“Cammie has a boyfriend,” Dad growled.

I took a closer look and noticed a lanky teen sitting beside my sister. “That kid?”

“Yep.” Chase crossed his arms over his chest. “And I don’t like the way he keeps looking at her.”

“The way he’s looking at her is probably the least of your worries since he’s got his hand on her leg,” I advised.

“What?” Chase’s eyes widened as he leaned closer to the window.

“Oh, let them be. I think it’s adorable,” Jamie commented with a hint of amusement in her voice. It seemed she enjoyed goading them.

“That’s because you weren’t a teenage boy once. We know exactly what he’s thinking,” my dad huffed.

“When did you two get to be so old and grumpy?” I teased.

“About thirty minutes ago, when Ryan showed up.” Jamie laughed.

“So, what’s the plan? Are the three of you going to sit here and watch them all night?”

“If we have to,” Chase muttered as he kept watch over the group.

“I was going to leave, but these two”—Jamie gestured to my dads—“got all protective and growly, so I thought I’d stay for Ryan’s sake.”

Movement from outside caught our attention, and we watched as Cammie headed in our direction. When she opened the door, we tried to act as though we hadn’t been watching her, but she didn’t buy it.

“I know what you guys are doing.”

“Yeah, you might want to remind loverboy of that fact and tell him to keep his hands to himself,” Chase grumbled.

“God, you’re so embarrassing.” Cammie stormed into the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients for s’mores. “Why don’t you guys interrogate Tyler about his boyfriend instead of watching me with mine?”

“How’d you know I have a boyfriend?”

“Dylan said something to Jase when you guys came back from the breakfast from hell. I’m guessing since I haven’t heard you mention this mystery guy, that must mean you want to keep him a secret for some reason.” She smirked.

I loved my little sister, but at that moment, I was annoyed by how perceptive she was and her willingness to throw me under the bus.

“You’re dating someone?” Jamie asked excitedly.

“Have fun.” Cammie winked at me and ran back outside.

“Yeah. I told Dad about him,” I stated.

My dad laughed. “That’s not exactly true. You just said you were seeing someone. You didn’t tell me anything about him.”

He had me there. “Tell you what, if I’m still dating him at graduation, I’ll introduce you,” I offered, knowing if I had my way, Hayden and I would most definitely still be together then.

“Deal.” He grinned.

* * *

The restof the week dragged on, and while I enjoyed the time with my family, I was more than ready to get back to school and, more importantly, back to Hayden.

Dad pulled up to the passenger drop zone, and both he and Chase got out of the car so we could say our goodbyes.

“It was good having you home,” Chase said as he hugged me. “We’ll see you in a month for the softball game.”

“I can’t wait. Thanks again for all your help getting your friends on board.”