“Donna, hold this,” my stepsister, Alexis, ordered. I sighed as she shoved her sparkly pink suitcase into my hand and walked across the driveway to the Bookers’ pickup truck. Only when I shifted my gaze did I realize why she was making a beeline for it. Colin Booker was loading his luggage into the bed of the truck, wearing a simple blue t-shirt with khaki pants.
Alexis flirtily said, “Hey, Colin,” just as she reached his side. He flinched, almost dropping the duffel bag he held, and I had to stifle a laugh.
“What’s up?” he asked while casually placing his tan arm on the open tailgate. At the same time, he glanced over Alexis’s shoulder and scanned the area until he found me standing on the stone walkway leading to my front door. I’m not exactly hard to miss, with my round glasses and yellow shirt. Letting go of the suitcase handle, I gave him a thumbs-up with one hand and a quick wave with the other. He smiled, turning his attention back to Alexis.
Alexis twirled her dyed platinum-blonde hair around a perfectly manicured finger. “I was thinking,” she said, “since we’ll be spending all summer together, we should hang out all the time.”
Colin laughed nervously. “I don’t know about that… I might be hanging out with someone else for a while.” When Alexis’s full lips curled into a pout, he quickly added, “But I’m sure we can meet up a few times.” I felt my face sour at his amendment.
Immediately, Alexis brightened and quipped, “Cool! See you soon!” She spun on her heel and marched back to where I stood. “Someone’s jealous,” she said at the sight of my expression.
“You wish,” I mumbled. She grabbed my wrist, her fingernails digging into my skin.
“Excuse me?” Her glare could melt ice cream in a freezer. “Did you just offer to put my luggage into the car? Because I could easily tell Dad what just happened, and he could just as easily leave you behind.” Alexis raised an eyebrow and released my wrist. She pointed to the silver SUV parked in the driveway and when I didn’t move, she barked, “Go!”
Defeated, I rolled the suitcase over and hauled it into the open trunk.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsbnPywTgZ
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