Page 56 of Find Me

“How was practice?” I yelled back as I plopped all the potatoes I’d just finished cutting into a large stock pot of boiling water.

There was a silence on Colt and Creed’s end. I had a feeling they were surprised to hear my voice. Not more than a second later, they walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, we were just about to come over,” Colt said as he came up to me. He gave me a kiss on the temple and rubbed his hand down my back. “What’s going on here?” Both him and Creed looked from me to Knox.

“I’m cooking you guys dinner,” I replied. “Knox requested pork chops and mashed potatoes.”

Creed crossed his arms over his chest. “Why does he get to pick?”

Knox set his phone down. “Because your girlfriend ran over here, hysterical, and begged me to remove the tarantula that got into her house.”

My mouth fell open. “I was not hysterical.”

Knox gave me a look that begged to differ.

I sighed angrily through my nose. “Because Knox graciously helped me get rid of the tarantula and I didn’t have to bribe him or anything.” My voice was chipper and my words dripped with sarcasm. “As a thank you, I offered to make him whatever he wanted for dinner.”

One side of Knox’s mouth lifted. “I would have done it for free, but I was enjoying watching you squirm with having to ask me for help.”

I counted to ten in my head so I wouldn’t smack that stupid smirk off his face with a spatula. “It isn’t wise to mess with people who handle your food. Keep it up, Knox, and I might burn your pork chop.”

His smirk only broadened as he stood from the island. “Go ahead,” he said and turned to leave. “Might be a better flavor than that jam you’re making,” he shot over his shoulder.

I had a spatula raised above my head so fast, I shocked even myself.

Colt grabbed my wrist. “Whoa, there. Why don’t we put the spatula down?” Colt took the spatula from my hand, allowing Knox to leave the kitchen safely.

Creed chuckled, his eyes filled with mirth. “You should have let her chuck at him. I would have laughed my ass off if she managed to clock him with it.”

The twins were better company to have as I cooked. Keelan got home right as dinner was served.

“Dinner is on the table right when I get home? Nice!” Keelan beamed as he sat at the table. Everyone piled food onto their plates. The guys tried my bacon jam with the pork chops, even Knox, and all of them groaned when they took their first bites.

I, on the other hand, sat back and watched Knox’s reaction. When he noticed me staring, I arched a brow. “What do you think of my bacon jam now?”

He kept his face impassive and just cut off another bite of pork chop with extra bacon jam on it.

“Thought so,” I mumbled to myself triumphantly and began digging into my food.

Keelan looked around the table, confused. “What’d I miss?”

Colt and Creed laughed, then gave Keelan a play-by-play of the verbal showdown Knox and I had had earlier.

19

“Did you see her wrists?”

“Look at her ankles.”

“Someone likes to be tied up. Slut.”

Deep breath, Shi. Just ignore them.I inhaled deeply as I tied my sneakers in the girls’ locker room. I could do this. I wasn’t going to care what they thought.

Ever since my locker had been graffitied yesterday, I’d been stared at and talked about at school and no one was very discreet about it when I walked by, either. The weekend couldn’t get here fast enough. At least today was almost over. The twins had a meet tonight, but it was at another school.

Holding my head up high, I got up and made my way out into the gym. We were spending today inside playing volleyball again. It was a record one hundred and fifteen degrees out.

Colt, Creed, and Ethan were already standing on the other side of the gym. I began walking in their direction when I was cut off by Cassy, Amber, and three of their friends.