Banishing the Dark
Page 57
“Okay . . .” Jupe wasn’t sure what that meant, but he really didn’t want to think about Leticia’s sister any more than he had to.
“I’m coming with her,” Leticia finally explained. “Our grandma lives in La Sirena. She used to know the Duvals when she was grandmaster of the lodge before my mom took over. I thought maybe we could get some information from her.”
“Man, I don’t know. I’m already feeling guilty about telling you about Cady. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to bring someone else into this.”
“Look, my grandma is pretty cool. She and my mom don’t get along, so you don’t have to worry about her blabbing anything.”
Jupe thought of his own grandmother, Gramma Rose, who was ten kinds of awesome, so maybe Leticia was right. Maybe he could trust someone else. He certainly wanted to. As much as he hated to admit it, the problem seemed bigger than something he and Leticia could handle alone.
Plus, he really wanted to see Leticia again. Like, r-e-e-eally wanted.
“Okay,” he said, blowing out a long breath. “Let’s do it. Where and when?”
“She lives in the Storybook Retirement Cottages near the Village. The condos across the street from the amusement park, the ones that look like Hobbit houses.”
“Oh, yeah! I know where that is.” And the Holidays wouldn’t say no to driving him there to meet up with Leticia. Come on, a retirement home? How much more unsexy and innocent could that be? Unless you were Jupe, in which case, it was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard in his life, because he’d get to be alone with Leticia. Sort of.
“Meet me at the front gate in forty minutes.”
And he did. The Holidays were totally fine with driving him there, just as he’d suspected. But when he tried to race out of the minivan, they weren’t having it.
“Hello,” Mrs. Holiday said from the passenger seat, rolling down her window to get a look at Leticia. She was wearing her pink hoodie and jeans, but today her dark hair glittered with tiny pins shaped like pink roses. The T-shirt beneath her hoodie was a mildly disturbing cartoon image of a princess slaying a knight while a dragon looked on in approval.
“Jupiter, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Mr. Holiday said from the driver’s seat, leaning next to Mrs. Holiday to peer out the window.
“Oh, uh, yeah. This is Leticia Vega. I met her . . . through Jack,” he lied. “She’s from Morella.” He wiped his sweaty palm on his jeans. “Leticia, this is Mr. and Mrs. Holiday.”
“Nice to meet you,” Leticia said.
Jupe should have stopped there, but he was nervous. “They’re my godparents, and they live in a house on our property. They’re not really man and woman, obviously. It’s a long story. But they’re married. They’re lesbians.”
Oh, God. He was talking way too much again.
But Leticia just lifted a brow at him before saying to them, “That’s cool.”
Mrs. Holiday smirked at him. She knew he was uncomfortable—she always knew. And she loved torturing him. It was practically her hobby. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Leticia. We’re headed to the farmer’s market down by the boardwalk. We’ll swing back here in an hour to pick you up, Jupiter. Exactly an hour.” She cut him a look that clearly said that if he wasn’t standing right there, she’d take away his laptop and phone. Again.
“I’ll be here. Later.” He quickly turned his back on them and strode toward the gate with Leticia, wincing when they tooted the horn twice as they drove away. Finally.
They walked through the main gate of the retirement community. She was right; the buildings really did look like overgrown Hobbit houses, with their round windows and sloping green roofs. They’d been there since Jupe could remember and fit in with the fairy-tale vibe of the Village.
“Sorry ’bout all that,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be. They were nice.” She leaned closer and sniffed the air near his face. “Are you wearing cologne?”
“Aftershave.”
“Oh.”
He only really had to shave, like, once a month, but she didn’t need to know that.
“It’s pretty strong.” She reached up and touched the skin near his mouth that he’d nicked with the razor.
“Oww,” he said, but he was too happy that she was touching him to notice the pain all that much. And he wanted to touch her back, but when she caught his eyes wandering to her breasts—which wasn’t his fault, really, because the dragon’s eyes were positioned in exactly the right places—he decided it was probably best to keep his hands above her neck. So he poked one of the rose pins in her hair. “What’s all this?”
“I like to experiment,” she said defensively, jerking her head away from him.
“It looks nice. Kinda different. I like weird things.”
Her face scrunched up, like maybe she was unsure how to take a compliment. So he smiled at her; she loosened up and smiled back. “Thanks. I guess I like weird things, too.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?” she said with a big grin that made her cheeks plump up prettily.
Jupe’s insides twanged like an out-of-tune guitar string. His own smile slid into something that felt like it was verging on stupid, but he didn’t care. She liked him. He liked her. This was the single greatest day of his entire life. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad and Cady and his Auntie Adella. And he was even sort of glad the Holidays had seen Leticia, so they could confirm how hot she was in case no one believed him. Maybe he could sneak in a picture for good measure.
“I’m coming with her,” Leticia finally explained. “Our grandma lives in La Sirena. She used to know the Duvals when she was grandmaster of the lodge before my mom took over. I thought maybe we could get some information from her.”
“Man, I don’t know. I’m already feeling guilty about telling you about Cady. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to bring someone else into this.”
“Look, my grandma is pretty cool. She and my mom don’t get along, so you don’t have to worry about her blabbing anything.”
Jupe thought of his own grandmother, Gramma Rose, who was ten kinds of awesome, so maybe Leticia was right. Maybe he could trust someone else. He certainly wanted to. As much as he hated to admit it, the problem seemed bigger than something he and Leticia could handle alone.
Plus, he really wanted to see Leticia again. Like, r-e-e-eally wanted.
“Okay,” he said, blowing out a long breath. “Let’s do it. Where and when?”
“She lives in the Storybook Retirement Cottages near the Village. The condos across the street from the amusement park, the ones that look like Hobbit houses.”
“Oh, yeah! I know where that is.” And the Holidays wouldn’t say no to driving him there to meet up with Leticia. Come on, a retirement home? How much more unsexy and innocent could that be? Unless you were Jupe, in which case, it was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard in his life, because he’d get to be alone with Leticia. Sort of.
“Meet me at the front gate in forty minutes.”
And he did. The Holidays were totally fine with driving him there, just as he’d suspected. But when he tried to race out of the minivan, they weren’t having it.
“Hello,” Mrs. Holiday said from the passenger seat, rolling down her window to get a look at Leticia. She was wearing her pink hoodie and jeans, but today her dark hair glittered with tiny pins shaped like pink roses. The T-shirt beneath her hoodie was a mildly disturbing cartoon image of a princess slaying a knight while a dragon looked on in approval.
“Jupiter, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Mr. Holiday said from the driver’s seat, leaning next to Mrs. Holiday to peer out the window.
“Oh, uh, yeah. This is Leticia Vega. I met her . . . through Jack,” he lied. “She’s from Morella.” He wiped his sweaty palm on his jeans. “Leticia, this is Mr. and Mrs. Holiday.”
“Nice to meet you,” Leticia said.
Jupe should have stopped there, but he was nervous. “They’re my godparents, and they live in a house on our property. They’re not really man and woman, obviously. It’s a long story. But they’re married. They’re lesbians.”
Oh, God. He was talking way too much again.
But Leticia just lifted a brow at him before saying to them, “That’s cool.”
Mrs. Holiday smirked at him. She knew he was uncomfortable—she always knew. And she loved torturing him. It was practically her hobby. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Leticia. We’re headed to the farmer’s market down by the boardwalk. We’ll swing back here in an hour to pick you up, Jupiter. Exactly an hour.” She cut him a look that clearly said that if he wasn’t standing right there, she’d take away his laptop and phone. Again.
“I’ll be here. Later.” He quickly turned his back on them and strode toward the gate with Leticia, wincing when they tooted the horn twice as they drove away. Finally.
They walked through the main gate of the retirement community. She was right; the buildings really did look like overgrown Hobbit houses, with their round windows and sloping green roofs. They’d been there since Jupe could remember and fit in with the fairy-tale vibe of the Village.
“Sorry ’bout all that,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be. They were nice.” She leaned closer and sniffed the air near his face. “Are you wearing cologne?”
“Aftershave.”
“Oh.”
He only really had to shave, like, once a month, but she didn’t need to know that.
“It’s pretty strong.” She reached up and touched the skin near his mouth that he’d nicked with the razor.
“Oww,” he said, but he was too happy that she was touching him to notice the pain all that much. And he wanted to touch her back, but when she caught his eyes wandering to her breasts—which wasn’t his fault, really, because the dragon’s eyes were positioned in exactly the right places—he decided it was probably best to keep his hands above her neck. So he poked one of the rose pins in her hair. “What’s all this?”
“I like to experiment,” she said defensively, jerking her head away from him.
“It looks nice. Kinda different. I like weird things.”
Her face scrunched up, like maybe she was unsure how to take a compliment. So he smiled at her; she loosened up and smiled back. “Thanks. I guess I like weird things, too.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?” she said with a big grin that made her cheeks plump up prettily.
Jupe’s insides twanged like an out-of-tune guitar string. His own smile slid into something that felt like it was verging on stupid, but he didn’t care. She liked him. He liked her. This was the single greatest day of his entire life. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad and Cady and his Auntie Adella. And he was even sort of glad the Holidays had seen Leticia, so they could confirm how hot she was in case no one believed him. Maybe he could sneak in a picture for good measure.
