JEREMY
Being grounded sucks major balls.
I hate not being able to stay over at friends’ houses, not being allowed to play video games or watch TV. I hate the fact I have to be home for dinner every night.
The worst of it though, by far the worst, is not having my own phone.
I tried convincing Dad to give it back to me when I got to his place this evening, but he laughed me off.
It means my nightly calls to Suzy have to take place over the landline. And boy if that doesn’t hinder all the phone sex we could have been having!
Not that we’ve ever actually done that before. But if I hadn’t got caught with my pants down, that might have been a possibility. Now we’ve barely seen each other. I think she’s freaked out about meeting my parents, and I can’t say I blame her. I worry my mum might start up the whole Golden Condom Rule with her too.
I wouldn’t put it past Mum to bring out the bananas the first time I invite Suzy over.
I check my clock radio. It’s eleven at night, and Dad’s already in bed. Now’s the perfect time to sneak into the dining room and grab the phone.
I snatch it and haul ass back to bed. Once I’m in, I press the phone’s on button—
I’m surprised to hear Dad’s voice coming down the line.
“I like these calls.”
“Me too.”
“But I want to see you again.”
There’s a short silence, and then Luke’s choked response. “I do too.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
I roll my eyes. These two really need a good kick up the butt. Why can’t they just get it together finally?
I hang up and wait ten minutes before checking if the line is clear. It is.
But it’s not Suzy’s number I end up dialing. It’s Steven’s.
He sounds sleepy. But he wakes up pretty quickly when I tell him Dad and Mr. Luke are in love.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. They’re just acting like teenagers about it.”
“What does that mean.”
“They’re overthinking things. Look I’ve got this idea. A ruse of sorts. And I need your help with something.”
Steven grumbles. “The last time you said that, I had to kiss you in front of your mum.”
“Don’t sound like it was a chore. You know you loved it.”
“Just tell me, does this ruse of yours involve kissing.”
“Hopefully. But not us, so don’t get your hopes up.”
He laughs. “Damn.”
“No, that’s a good thing. I think Simon would beat me up at practice if he ever found out I made you kiss me.”
Steven goes strangely quiet, and I twist onto my other side, the sheets tangling around my legs. “What has Simon got to do with it?”
“Jesus. Are all of you blind or something? I’m not everyone’s Matchmaker Mary.”
“Just your Dad and Luke’s?”
“Shut up. Look, Luke’s been good to me. And I was a bit of a shit to him recently. I figure I owe him one.” And also, maybe I want Dad to get everything done from his list too. “Now, forget that, and let me tell you my plan . . .”
* * *
Dad’s staring blindly at the weights lying next to the writing desk in the dining room. Just standing there. Staring.
I’m holding back a bark of laughter—’cause there never was any way in hell Dad could have gotten “crazy, nasty” fit.
I pour myself some chocolate milk, and debate how I should go about the first step of my evil, genius plan. I’ve spent all morning and early afternoon sussing out the finer details. Now to get the ball rolling . . .
I glance at Dad over my shoulder. “So did he tell you then?”
Dad startles, and shifts over to the table. “What’s that? Who tell me what?”
“Luke, of course.” I shake my head, and aim for a bitter tone. “I can’t believe he’d move again so soon after coming back.”
“Move?” Dad looks quickly out the window. “What are you talking about?”
“Just something he said in passing. Thought he’d have told you already.” Now to the next step of the plan. . . . “Dad, I need your help with something. Something important.”
He turns his pained gaze on me. Excellent. “What’s that?”
“I need you to help me convince him to stay. I really don’t want Luke to move.”
He swallows hard.
I don’t give him time to think, I plow on. “You need to put on some sneakers, and drive me down to the local park . . .”