Ghost Flowers

43. How Old?

It was getting closer to Savana's birthday, April 3rd. She was excited to spend it with Landon. It was the first birthday she had with a boyfriend. She didn't know what to expect. As long as it doesn't turn into another Valentine's Day.

Besides tutoring after school, her dad pressured her to spend more time with Jade. She and her mom, Jacklyn, spent more weekends at Gavin's house for a change. Savana and Landon saw even less of each other in the last few weeks.

Gavin explained that Jade felt left out, with Savana always hanging out with her other friends. Nobody knew that Savana used Cully and Faye as an excuse to leave and meet Landon.

It was working smoothly without anyone suspecting anything until she had to start staying home more with Jade. For the most part, Savana didn't mind her. But she was annoyed with being forced to spend time with her when she preferred Landon. They would mostly watch TV or listen to music. Jade would fill her in on gossip from her school in Sumner and the drama her other friends faced.

Jade made her laugh and had fun. And there were the other days when Savana wanted to scratch her eyes out if she had to watch another episode of Jade's favorite reality show. Or rip her ears off if they had to listen to that one pop song again while creating their own choreography.

Savana was looking up something to entertain herself on her phone when she heard Jade giggle like a little schoolgirl.

"Are you texting someone?" She heard multiple pings from Jade's phone.

Jade blushed and smiled at Savana. "It's Wade."

"Who's Wade again?" She raised an eyebrow. She remembered hearing the name before but didn't know who it was exactly. But she was intrigued since it seemed to be a guy Jade liked, and their names rhyme.

"He's the friend I mentioned before who comes to my dad's cabin sometimes. He's really funny and nice." Jade smiled as she looked at her phone.

Jade wasn't often seen using her phone, so seeing her eyes glued to it was strange.

As soon as she realized Jade had a crush, Savana asked, "What does he look like?"

"Here, I'll show you." Jade scrolled through the pictures on her phone.

Savana was nervous about what kind of picture it would be. But then she realized it was Jade, and there was no way it could be inappropriate.

Jade's grin widened, and she sat up on the couch and scooted over to Savana. She seemed proud of whatever picture she wanted to show off.

Once the screen was in front of Savana's face, she studied it. It was a picture of what she assumed was the cabin and a handsome man standing on the porch, holding a giant fish. His smile made his eyes squint, and he had shaggy red hair with a five-o'clock shadow.

"Wait, how old is he?" Savana thought the man was good-looking but realized there was no way he was still in high school like she assumed he was.

"He just turned twenty-eight and a half on March 6th." Jade grinned at herself for knowing such a fact.

"I didn't realize he was that old. How are you friends with him?" Savana sounded somewhat concerned.

"Oh, he's a family friend. I've known him since I was little." Jade continued to type the keys on her phone.

"Okay, cool." Savana leaned over to see if she could read the messages between the two but had no luck.

She then leaned back on the couch and looked at her own messages. Or lack thereof. She hadn't heard from Landon all day. Strangely, Savana began to feel jealous of Jade. Though she never thought she would ever be jealous of her for anything.