“You’re being a baby!” Mel called as she followed me into Reb’s room. “He probably won’t even be there.”
“Aren’t we going so you can try and see Rocky again?”
It had been three weeks since Will had left my house like his ass was on fire, and I hadn’t heard a word from him, not that he had my number or anything. We hadn’t exactly exchanged them when I was riding him on my damn couch. But Will knew where I lived and where I worked. If he’d wanted to see me, he would’ve. Clearly, he didn’t want to.
“I just want to go out!” Mel sang. “And my sister said she’d watch you-know-who, so why are you telling me no?”
“Because I don’t want to go.”
“Sure you do. You love hanging out with me and you love beer.”
“I don’t want to get dressed and wear makeup. I just want to hang out in yoga pants and eat my weight in ice cream. I’m fucking exhausted.”
“Please?”
“Melanie,” I warned.
“Please? Please? Please?” Each time she said the word, she changed her tone of voice. I knew from experience that she’d just keep going if I didn’t stop her.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “But I’m not getting all gussied up.”
“Totally cool,” Mel said quickly, lifting her hands in a placating gesture. “Wear whatever you want.”
I huffed as Rebel began to laugh at something in her book.
“You want to hang out with Heather tonight?” I asked Rebel, lifting her out of the basket.
“I’m just going to go call the sisterbeast while you’re still telling me yes,” Mel said, skipping out of the room.
“You realize your Auntie Mel is annoying, right?” I asked Reb as she watched me with wide eyes. “I mean, she’s fun sometimes, but man does she drive me nuts.”
Rebel reached up to put her hand on my cheek.
“Can you say Mama?” I asked softly as Reb tilted her head to the side. “I know you can. I heard you saying it in your room the other day. You want to try? Ma-ma.”
She quickly shook her head.
“Yes. Say Ma-ma.”
Another head shake.
“Ma-ma. Ma-ma. Ma-ma.” I said over and over, my voice growing growly and making Reb burst into a fit of giggles.
“You’re so stubborn,” I exclaimed loudly, kissing her on the forehead.
“We’re set for tonight!” Mel called from the doorway.
* * *
A few hours later, Mel’s seventeen-year-old sister was pushing through the doorway, her bright purple mohawk sticking up at least six inches from her scalp.
“You changed the color,” I said with a smile, walking over to pull her into a tight hug. I loved Heather. She looked so much like Mel, but where Mel always dressed super trendy, Heather made sure she stuck out in a crowd. Hence the purple mohawk that had been red the last time I’d seen it.
“Yeah, the roots were out of control,” she said, hugging me back. “Now, where’s my baby?”
“Sisterbeast!” Mel called as she came out of the bathroom.#p#分页标题#e#
“Gerta,” Heather replied, calling Mel by the middle name she hated.
“We shouldn’t be very late,” I started, stuffing my phone into my pocket.
“Yes, we will,” Mel cut in. “Very late.”
“No worries.” Heather shrugged. “I’ve got no place to be.”
Just then, Rebel came out of her room, waddling down the hallway with a huge smile on her face.
“Reb!” Heather called excitedly, dropping to her knees. “You’ve got hair just like mine!”
Rebel giggled as she threw herself at Heather with all the force of her twenty-pound body. I’d used some of the colored hair goop that Heather bought her for her first birthday to spike up the top of her hair, so she looked like a little blue dinosaur.
“Just make sure you wash it out before she goes to bed, okay?” I said as they giggled together on the floor. “That stuff stains everything.”
“No prob, mama,” Heather said, flicking her hand at me in a shooing motion. “Get outta here.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, leaning over to kiss Rebel on the cheek. “Thanks, sisterbeast.”
I followed Mel to the car and climbed in her passenger seat, immediately turning to her once I had my seatbelt on.
“Do not leave me in the bar again,” I warned. “You can drop me off at home if Rocky decides to rock your world again.”
“Look at you with the puns,” Mel replied happily.
“I’m serious, Melanie.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just see how it goes.”