Free Taking Flight by Siera Maley Page B

knew the cliché I’d actually been thinking of was the one about first dates, and I knew it was possible she’d make the connection. I cleared my throat and rushed to continue our conversation. “Okay. I can give you cheerleading if you give me gymnastics at age four.”
    She laughed at that. If she’d noticed my awkward comment, she’d ignored it. “Deal.”
    Her phone buzzed, suddenly, and she dug through her purse for a moment before pulling it out and looking at it. “Oh, shit. We really lost track of time. Scott wants to know where we took his truck; he’s gonna be pissed.” She groaned, and then told me, “We should go.”
    “Alright,” I agreed, trying to keep up even as Cammie quickly pocketed her phone and tossed the remnants of her ice cream into the nearest trashcan.
    We were halfway back to Scott’s truck before I realized that she’d cursed.
    Twice.

 
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Scott wasn’t happy with Cammie when we got back. I took longer to get out of his truck than she did, and so I wound up watching from the driveway as she met him on the front porch and he held his hand out expectantly. She pressed his keys into his palm a little too roughly to appear totally compliant, and he went back inside just as I reached the porch.
    “Why’d we take his truck if you knew it’d piss him off?” I asked her curiously. She didn’t seem the type to try and purposely antagonize anyone. Or the type to break rules.
    She rolled her eyes. “I don’t get my family sometimes. They say they want to make you feel welcome, but when I actually try to show you around, I’m in the wrong. It’s so stupid.”
    We went inside, then, to find David and Wendy waiting in the living room. David swept Cammie aside without so much as a real greeting, and Wendy and I stood together awkwardly. I tried to pretend I couldn’t hear them arguing in the other room, but their voices carried through the wall just loudly enough that I could make out a few bits and pieces of their conversation.
    “…confidential information,” David’s low rumble of a voice explained as my eyes found my feet uncomfortably.
    Cammie’s retort followed a moment later, a little louder and easier to hear. “Well, she seems fine to me!”
    I cleared my throat and looked at Wendy. “Can I use your phone, please?”
     
    *   *   *
     
    Caitlyn answered on the sixth ring. “Hello?”
    “Oh, thank God,” I sighed out, forgetting for a moment that Wendy was listening to my end of the conversation. “Hey.”
    “Lauren!” she practically shouted when she realized it was me. “Oh my God! Are you okay? What’s going on there? Are they listening to you right now?”
    “Um… kind of, a lot of stuff, and yes, but not your end,” I answered hastily. “I’ve had the weirdest weekend of my life.”
    “Are you acting like a little shit?” Caitlyn asked knowingly. I could picture the grin she’d have on her face as she spoke.
    “I went outside to a stable yesterday,” I admitted, ashamed of myself. “And rode a horse. But no church! I put my foot down on church.”
    “Girl, what foot? Because from where I’m standing, both of your feet are missing, along with your spine . Why’d you ride a horse? Gross.”
    I glanced to Wendy, who wasn’t looking directly at me and pretended to busy herself with inspecting one of the kitchen countertops. A small frown was visible on her lips. “I got talked into it.” I could feel my face reddening slightly; I knew Caitlyn well enough to realize what her next question would be.
    “By who? Definitely not the dad. One of the kids?” There was a pause that stretched on for a little too long as I struggled to formulate a response, and then Caitlyn was laughing so hard that I was worried for my eardrums for a moment. “Oh my God! Oh, Lauren. They have a daughter, don’t they?”
    “Shut up!” I hissed, throwing Wendy another nervous glance. “I didn’t say that!”
    “You didn’t have