Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I hope I forget that quickly,” I tell her, and she grins. “And I don’t want to know anything about them.”
“Just saying, it could be fun.”
“I doubt it, but I’ll run it by Evan.”
“I’m sure he’s a believer,” she says happily, and I snort in disbelief.
“Highly doubt that.”
She laughs before asking, “So, things are good?”
“I think so. We’re having fun.”
“I’m glad. Did he tell you about his run-in with Nico?”
I furrow my brows. “What run-in?”
She makes a face. “So, he didn’t.” She pauses for a second and then shrugs. “You know how Nico is. Apparently he told Evan to stay away from you.”
“What did Evan say?”
“He said no,” she says as she cuts up some fruit. I hadn’t even realized she had gone to the kitchen, not that it matters. My mind is reeling from the fact that Evan blatantly told Nico no. That gives me all the feels. Everyone finds Nico scary, but I guess Evan doesn’t.
“So, he knows about Evan and me?”
“I assume so. Anytime I bring it up, he gets really pissed and refuses to talk to me.”
“How did you hear about it, then?”
“Heard him on the phone with his therapist.”
“Oh, wow,” I say, unsurprised by my sister’s eavesdropping. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him that you’re an adult and we can only guide you, not tell you what you can and can’t do. He, of course, did not like that, and he walked away. He’s been pretty tense lately.”
“Well, that sucks,” I say, feeling for her. “I don’t want to be the cause of his tension.”
“Cal, I get his reasoning—he doesn’t want you to get hurt. But my thing is, you have to love to be able to learn, not only about yourself, but about how to be a significant other. It’s not easy, and you didn’t have a normal childhood. You trained and you worked. You didn’t date or go out to parties. So, while it’s hard for me to deal with you growing up, I want those things for you. Nico doesn’t understand that stuff. He only understands that he wants to protect you. Ya know what I mean?”
I nod, and I swear, I love my sister more than life itself. “I do. I just don’t want him to cause you any stress.”
She shrugs. “If he does, he does. I’ll try to help, and it’s his choice to take what I’m giving or to continue his behavior. It’ll even out. I know it will.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll walk you down the aisle when the time comes.”
I grin. “That was a given anyway.”
“True,” she agrees, and then I hear a knock at the side sliding door.
Evan stands at it, waving at me. I beam at him and then wave him in. “Hey, Evan just got here. Can I call you later?”
“Of course. Love you. Tell him I said hi.”
“I will. Love you.”
I end the call just as he reaches me, handing me a bag of Jersey Mike’s and then the almond milk I’d asked him to get for Cameron. “Ooh, thank you.”
“Did you really cuss everyone out and order a fridge off Amazon because of them taking her milk?”
I give him a look. “Yes. You don’t treat people like that. I don’t like that shit.”
“Obviously,” he laughs. “I figured after all that smiling you had to do…” he teases, and then he pulls a rose from his back pocket. “It’s fake and from the gas station, but I saw it and thought of you. Thought it would make you smile for real.”
I turn to goo as I take it from him. “Oh, Evan, thank you,” I say, reaching for his shirt and pulling him to me. He kisses me as eagerly as I do him. Our tongues play gently before we part to breathe. “Really, thank you.”
“No problem.”
I put the almond milk and our food on my desk as he sits beside me on my bed.
“What were you doing?”
“I was taking off my makeup and talking to Aviva,” I say as I continue to get shit off my face. “I hate the glue they use. It sticks so badly in my eyes, and I have a hard time getting it out.”
He looks at what I’m doing with my eyes, and he takes the brush from me. “Come here.” He directs my head down into his lap and then proceeds to brush the rest of the glue out of my lashes. “You have really pretty skin.”
My lips curve as I feel him move the brush through my lashes. He’s so tender, so precise. “Thanks.”
“You looked really hot today.”
“A painted whore, really.”
He scoffs. “A hot painted whore.”
“The best kind.”
He laughs as he goes over each of my lashes with such detail. I open one eye to see him, his brows dented in concentration, squinting, and biting his lip as he carefully gets everything out of my other one. He even cleans my eyes with wipes once he’s done. “I think I got it all.”