Bastiana has a loving family, two amazing best friends, and a secret.
Over summer vacation, Bastiana and her besties do their best to focus on their bucket list in order to distract them from all the secrets they're keeping from one another. When a...
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"Hey, mom. Do you mind if I steal Bastiana for a moment?" Mom cuts into my grandmother's rambling about how amazing my boyfriend is, saving me from having to lie and tell her that everything is going well with us.
"Oh, of course not, Dear!" Grandma smiles at her. "I've been monopolizing her for too long, anyhow." She waves us away.
"Thank you." I exhale heavily as we step away from grandma. "That was getting to be a bit much."
"I guess I'm doing you two favors then." Mom laughs lightly. "I actually came over here to suggest you save Ryker from your cousins." She nods to where Ryker is sitting across the room on a couch.
Several of my younger relatives are climbing all over the couch around him and trying to get him to play with them. Dillon is sitting on the floor in front of him playing with a set of plastic dinosaurs that Grandpa gave him right after we got here.
Ryker has a scowl on his face, but I can see that he's trying to relax the muscles of his face so he doesn't scare the younger kids. He shifts uncomfortably as he tries to avoid eye contact with all of the children around him.
"Oof. Yeah, I got it, mom. Thanks." I smile up at her and turn to walk away but she stops me with a gentle hand on my arm.
"You know, now would be a really good time for a walk." She raises her eyebrows at me. I tilt my head in confusion, so she continues. "There's just enough time right now before we start white elephant, that if one was so inclined, it would be a good time to slip away. Maybe even put that new lighter of his to good use and relax." She pinches her thumb and pointer finger together and brings them to her lips as she gives me a pointed look. Understanding immediately dawns on my face.
"You're not a regular mom. You're a cool mom." I flash her a wide grin. I'm glad we don't keep secrets and that she was so cool about me smoking with the guys. She did, however, drill into me that that was the extent of her 'understanding'. No other drugs would be tolerated. Since I had no interest in other drugs, agreeing to her terms was easy. "I think I'll take a walk with the guys. The fresh air will do us good." I nod at her and turn to walk away.
"That's a wonderful idea, Bug." She says as I walk away.
As I approach him, Ryker must notice the movement because he looks up and his eyes quickly find mine. I can see the muscles in his body relax slightly. I give him a bright smile as I carefully step over my cousins and Dillon playing on the rug in front of Ryker and stop directly in front of him.
"Ry, would you like to go for a walk with me?" I ask him in a bright, cheerful voice.
"Definitely, B." He nods quickly and stands up. "Let's go." He wraps a hand around my waist and guides me away from the group of rowdy children.
