Blood Type: Book One of the Blood Type Series (complete)

Cross My Heart, Hope to Die

"I could use some help with the potato salad," my mother said, poking her head into my room. "I'm making enough to feed an army."

I looked at her in confusion, interrupted from my thoughts about how I was going to get my parents to leave before John arrived. "Potato salad?"

"For the Hanshaws' barbecue."

"That's tonight?"

"It's been on the calendar for a month."

I fell back against my pillow and heaved an exasperated sigh. "You're not actually making me go, are you? I don't want to listen to Dad's nerdy accounting friends cracking lame jokes while their pretentious wives try to passive-aggressively one-up each other."

"Thanks," my mother said dryly.

"I wasn't referring to you," I said. "But I'm always the oldest kid there, and I won't have anyone to talk to. I'll be bored."

At the last party, I'd had to put up with a persistent twelve-year-old who'd been hellbent on making me his girlfriend by the end of the night. Everyone else thought it was cute. I thought it was annoying.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," my mother said. "You'll have fun. You can hang out with us adults if you want to."

I glared at her. "And talk about what? Investments and portfolios and interest rates? No, thank you. I'll get stuck entertaining the younger kids like I always do."

"You won't."

"I will. But it doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going."

My mother folded her arms across her chest and fixed me with her version of the Evil Eye, though she was hardly intimidating, standing at a petite 5'2". "We made plans as a family," she said. "Everyone expects you to be there."

"Yeah, so I can babysit their kids."

"Blake."

I sat up, feeling suddenly inspired. After all, if I didn't get out of going with my parents, I'd have to cancel my plans with John. "I'll talk to Zach if you let me stay home tonight."

I knew my mother wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of me getting back together with the boy she already considered her future son-in-law, and yet she narrowed her eyes, obviously suspecting I was up to something.

"You're telling me you would rather voluntarily talk to the boy you just broke up with than go to a party for a few hours?"

If I could get her to excuse me from the barbecue, I could meet up with John and go to the concert, no questions asked. I would probably get back before my parents, which meant they would never find out that I had lied.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

My mother studied me as she considered the proposition. "Do you promise to patch things up with Zach?"

I opened my mouth to respond, and she held up a hand. "I'm not saying you have to get back together, but promise you'll smooth things over so that you can remain friends. I don't want things to be awkward."

"Awkward for Zach and me, or awkward for you and Helen?"

"Blake."

"Fine."

I made an "X" over my heart with one hand. Sticking the other behind my back, I crossed my fingers, hoping that one small gesture might protect me from whatever bad karma I surely had coming my way.

"I promise"

**********

John and Ian arrived a half-hour after my parents left for their party. I didn't know what I expected Ian to look like—I hadn't given it much thought—but the guy holding open the door of the car for me certainly wasn't it.