See Me After Class(35)

“Fine.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Then tell me that this food fanfare you worked on for the better half of the day isn’t for her.”

“The fuck it is.” I walk over to the pantry and grab a bag of sour cream and onion chips, thinking maybe I should put out one more side. “Just making sure people are fed.”

“Uh-huh, we’ll see about that.”

The doorbell rings and I glance over at the clock—ten minutes before people are supposed to arrive, which means that’s Gunner and Romeo. Thanks to the strict regimen they went through as student athletes at Brentwood University, they’re programmed to arrive ten minutes early to every function.

Moving past Coraline, I answer the door to my two friends, finding nervous looks on their faces. They should be nervous. I haven’t spoken to them since the nipple twisting.

“Hey . . . buddy,” Gunner says, waving his hand.

“Best friend of all time,” Romeo says, arms wide, walking toward me.

“I dare you to hug me right now.”

Romeo’s arms automatically fall to his side. “Maybe another time.”

“Might be a good idea.”

“Are we, uh, allowed to come in?” Gunner asks, holding both hands over his nipples as a shield.

“Not if you’re going to walk around like that all night.”

He drops his hands and I let them in. Coraline catches them in the hallway and starts slow clapping. “Really, boys, valiant job with the pranks. I know you were just doing the grunt work and you weren’t the masterminds, but still, well played.”

“Maybe we don’t talk about that,” Romeo says from the side of his mouth.

“Smart man,” I say, walking past them and into the kitchen. They follow.

“Holy shit,” Gunner says, taking in the island. “This looks fucking good . . .” His voice trails off as his eyes land on the melon. “Dude, you separated the cantaloupe for me? You know I hate the taste of it all mixed together.”

“Oh, you’re right, you do.” Picking up the melon bowl, I dump it in with the rest of the salad and then mix it all together. “Couldn’t remember who it was who didn’t like melon. If it’s just you, then who cares?”

“Dude,” Gunner says, hands falling to the island. “You did that on purpose. That’s cold.”

“Want to talk about cold?” I ask, brow raised.

“Drop it,” Romeo says. Pointing to the ambrosia salad I know Romeo loves, he says, “I’m going to guess you put mandarin oranges in that because you know I hate them and they ruin the dish completely for me.”

“Oh, that’s what I forgot.” From a drawer in the kitchen island, I take out a bowl of canned mandarin oranges and dump them on top of the ambrosia salad. “There, better.”

Coraline chuckles from the side. “It’s the simple things that can truly ruin someone’s day.”

“That was the point.” Pointing to both of my friends, I say, “You know better than to fuck with me. Do it again and the consequences will be way fucking worse. Got it?”

Romeo lowers his head to the island, his forearm acting as a pad between him and the marble. “I can’t believe you added mandarin oranges—in front of me. That’s fucking cruel.”

Gunner pats his back. “We deserved it, man.” Gunner clutches his heart. “I’m just glad Dylan and Lindsay didn’t have to see me go through this.”

“Were they going to come?” Coraline asks, picking up a chip and shoving it in her mouth. I told her about Gunner and Lindsay a few weeks back and she couldn’t have been more excited to meet them. She’s been wanting Gunner to bring them over for a while, more to drill Lindsay about Gunner’s inadequacies than anything.

“That was the plan, until Thursday went down. I, uh”—he pulls on the back of his neck—“told her maybe it wasn’t the best time to come over, given Turner’s mood.”

“Good call. He’s been very unpredictable lately,” Coraline says.

“Pot calling the kettle black,” I mutter next to her.

“My whereabouts have been unpredictable, not my attitude,” Coraline counters. Coraline turns to my friends, Romeo still nursing the loss of his ambrosia salad, and asks, “Do you guys know if there’s anything going on between Arlo and Greer?”

Gunner’s eyes flash to mine and I silently tell him to tread lightly, not that he knows anything.

There’s nothing to know. Nothing is going on.

“Uh, not that I know of.”

Good, he’s teachable.

“Even if there was,” Romeo bemoans and lifts his head up, “I wouldn’t say a goddamn thing at this point.”

“Ugh, you all are annoying.”

The doorbell rings and before I can take off to get it, Coraline walks to the front door.

From the hallway, I hear, “Greer, hi, we were just talking—”

“Where’s your brother?” she snaps.

Gunner and Romeo’s eyes both widen and travel to mine.

“Oh shit,” Gunner mutters.

“What the hell did you do to warrant that tone of voice?” Romeo asks just as Greer steps into the open kitchen and living room space.