Free Our Favorite Days (My Favorite Mistake #3) by Chelsea M. Cameron Page A

talk to each other like it was no big deal made my stupid heart all melty. He had become part of my family, just as I had become part of his.
    After we finished lunch, Tawny and I volunteered (were told) to do the dishes while Mom chatted with Hunter in the living room. I couldn’t hear them over the rush of the water, but I hoped she wasn’t giving him the third degree after being so nice while we were eating.
    “Oh, stop,” Tawny said, elbowing me as she handed me a rinsed dish to put in the dishwasher.
    “What? I’m just looking out for him. Mom can be scary when she wants to.” Tawny just rolled her eyes.
    “She likes him now, though. Because he’s going to make an honest woman out of you and you’re going to stop living in in sin and all that.” I snorted.
    “Living in sin? Who even says that anymore? What are you, my grandmother?” She just gave me a look.
    “It’s true though. She doesn’t want us giving it up for just anyone. Which is why I don’t tell her anything about my personal life.” Yeah, Tawny had been on more than a few dates and had more her share of bed partners. Didn’t matter to me, as long as she was safe, but I didn’t think it was making her happy. The last few times I’d seen her, there had been a dark cloud hovering over her.
    “And how is your personal life, if you don’t mind me asking out of mom’s earshot.”
    Tawny sighed and rolled her eyes.
    “I just want to give up at this point. I feel like I’ve either dated and rejected, or already rejected all the possible candidates. None of them are right. There’s something wrong with every fucking guy and it’s driving me crazy.” She handed me another dish and I found a place for it.
    “Then maybe take a break from dating? I mean, I met Hunter when I was definitely not looking for someone. I think it can happen when you least expect it.” That had been true for a lot of my friends. Hell, Renee and Paul started off as a hookup that somehow turned into love.
    “Ugh, that is the same thing everyone says. I hate that shit,” she said, flinging a coffee cup at me with so much force that it shattered on the floor.
    “What happened?” Mom yelled from the living room.
    I looked at Tawny.
    “Nothing,” we said in unison.
     

     
    “S o what did my mom grill you about?” I asked Hunter as we climbed into Sassy to drive back to school. I’d been doing a ton of driving lately because he refused to give up on his piece of shit car. Even the mechanic he took it to had told him to take it to the car morgue, but he wouldn’t. Right now he was searching for a part that hadn’t been made for fifteen years and not having much luck.
    “Nothing you need to worry your pretty head about,” he said and I gave him a look. There was no way they just had a friendly chat about the weather.
    “For real. I’m not screwing with you. She really just asked about school and you and my family and so forth. It was all very normal stuff. Nothing crazy.” He put his hands up as if I was attacking him. I narrowed my eyes.
    “It’s true!”
    “Stop laughing at me!” I said, reaching over and smacking him in the chest. He just kept laughing and I growled.
    “You’re so cute when you’re mad,” he said, grinning at me in a way that made my heart want to stop beating.
    “Shut up,” I said, turning on the radio. I flipped to the country station, which was playing “Mean” by Taylor Swift and I started belting out the lyrics at the top of my lungs. Instead of turning off the radio, or telling me to stop, Hunter started singing equally loud until it became a contest to see who could irritate the other more with their obnoxious singing.
    I stopped at a red light and all the cars around us were staring, but neither of us cared. Of course, one of us started laughing and then the other started and it went downhill from there.
    “We’re ridiculous,” I said, looking over at him. The smile on his face made everything else vanish into the