Like Bees to Honey | gxg

9. An Ancient Family Feud

In the end, they were late for curfew, and it was kind of Sabina's fault.

Most of the group was still having fun cliff jumping. Riley was feeling chilly, though, so after they dried off, Sabina went back to the fire with them.

"Why were you flirting with Otis?" she asked, as soon as they were out of earshot.

Ahead, Riley lifted their shoulders. "I wasn't?"

"You do remember that he's my worst enemy and we're literally in a life-altering competition for the Best Vendor Award right now, right?"

"Relax, Bina. It was just a little friendly competition." They chuckled and skidded down a steep stretch of hill with a puff of dust. "Besides, don't think I didn't see you getting cozy with Mel."

"We were not getting cozy. I don't like her, and she doesn't like me."

"Whatever you say."

She frowned at their back and kicked a rock off the path. She wanted to say more, to remind them that her best friend couldn't get involved with a Verger. But she didn't want them to think she didn't trust them, so she let it drop.

Back at the bonfire, someone had set out a bag of marshmallows. Riley grabbed a toasting stick and loaded it up with as many marshmallows as they could squish on the tines. Sabina sat beside them and rested her head on their shoulder.

The flames had settled into a low dance over the blackening logs. The heat on her face made her eyes droop. She was asleep before the first marshmallow crisped.

By the time Christina found them, it was past eleven. Riley had eaten toasty marshmallows one by one until they'd passed out, too, fingers still sticky, their head drooping onto hers. The party was still going, and there was even a big group of people dancing, but the three of them were more than ready to go.

It was a quiet drive home through the dark, peppered with a chorus of yawns. When she dropped them off, Riley stumbled into their house with a wave over their shoulder. At home, Sabina half-expected to find Mom or Dad in the living room, waiting under a single lamp with a reprimand for being late, but they were already in bed. Apparently, she was the only one who had been concerned about the curfew.

The next morning, she slept uncharacteristically late. Still rubbing sleep from her eyes, she helped Mom pack up the honey cakes for the church picnic.

"Thanks for looking out for your sister last night," Mom said, stacking plastic containers one by one after Sabina put their lids on. "I hope you had fun at the party."

Sabina considered that. Other than that one lonely moment, the party had gone better than she had expected. No one had teased her about her humiliation at prom. She hadn't turned into an embarrassing mess in front of Mel. It had even been kind of nice to not worry about the market for a few hours.

"Yeah," she said, finally. "It was okay. And you probably don't need to worry about Chris if she goes to another Pebble Beach party. There wasn't anything too wild going on there."

"You're growing into such a mature young woman, Bina."

"Mature enough to join the family business?"

Mom ruffled her hair, and Sabina made a face.

"You know how your father and I feel about that. Get your degree first. If you're still interested when you've graduated, then we can talk about it." She hefted the stack of containers onto her hip. "Which reminds me. Have you sent off your deposit to accept your admission yet?"

"No."

"Well, deadline's coming up. Don't forget."

Sabina didn't tell her she had been thinking about simply not sending the deposit. She'd only applied to one university, and she had sort of hoped they just wouldn't accept her. Unfortunately, they had. Worse, they had offered enough scholarships to remove any chance she could use financial burden as a way out. If she let the admission offer expire, though, she could buy herself another year to change her parents' minds. Plus all that scholarship money could go instead to someone who needed it and actually wanted it.