Another Stupid Boy

Chapter Seven

"I officially hate you."

I laughed as AJ stepped into the McMahon's home for the first time. She and I had been texting all Saturday morning, and she was dying to get away from her cousins.

"But I rescued you from all of your chores and your cousins. You can't hate me."

"Oh, yes, I can." She twirled in the foyer. "How'd you get a gig like this?"

I filled her in on why I house sat for the McMahon's as I gave her a grand tour of the home. We ended up in the kitchen and I pulled out chips and juice for us to munch on.

"So," AJ said after swallowing a handful of chips she had stuffed in her mouth, "Nikki is using Kaitlyn to hook up with Seth."

Is that really what I had said? What I thought?

I loved Nikki but I made her sound like a heartless skank.

"I wouldn't say that, I think she really does like Kaitlyn, and they both love volleyball. I just think that Nikki is taking advantage of having some alone time with Seth." I shrugged, "Who wouldn't? That boy is hot."

"Yeah, a hot mess." AJ grinned, "I don't think I've ever met a boy so in love with himself." It was funny how she had pegged Seth after only a few encounters with him.

"True." I grinned back at her, "But he's still hot."

She sighed, "Yup. I wish I could disagree, but I can't."

"You know, Nikki's not that bad." I returned to defending my bestie and trying to be a more loyal friend. "I'm probably making her sound horrible. Really though, she's awesome."

AJ swallowed a chip before responding. "I don't know her. She can't be too bad if you like her so much. So don't worry, I'm not going to hate her for chasing a guy. Or leaving her best friend all alone while she does it."

Her words made my stomach sink. "I'm a really bad friend, complaining about my best friend in the whole world to someone I've just met."

"Well, as the someone you've just met, I'm glad you shared with me. I don't think you're a bad friend at all." She gave me a quick hug. "You're only frustrated because you can't share this amazing experience with her. Her loss, my gain." AJ stepped into the living room and twirled around. "If it means I can come over here more often, then I'd say 'Go Nikki!! Go get your man!'"

I laughed at her, "Okay, enough of this girl bonding time. Let's hit the pool."

We swam in the indoor pool for about an hour. AJ was too much of a wimp to try the outdoor one.

After drying off and changing, we settled into the McMahon's living room with a horror movie and some popcorn. The movie was kind of lame, which gave AJ points because she chose it, and we barely paid any attention to it as we chatted about everything and nothing. She told me about her old school and the friends she left behind. I told her about growing up in Canyon after moving here from England and how Nikki and I became friends.

When I glanced at the TV screen during our little talk I almost burst into laughter. Apparently, we'd missed the big emotional build-up on the stupid movie still playing. The main characters were gathered around a casket lowering it to the ground. "Wow," I pointed to the screen and wiped some tears from my eyes. "I guess I did cry at the movie. More lame points for me."

"Are we even keeping track of how many lame points we have? How do we know who's winning?"

That sent me into another round of hysterical laughter. As much as we'd gathered points over the last six days, neither one of us had kept score. "I guess we get more lame points for not knowing how lame we are."