“I’m going to teach you to stick up for yourself.”
“Yes, because your stick did you so much good,” she says with a quiver in her voice.
My foot stumbles over something as I extend my reach..
Not something.Someone.
Shit. I stepped on Aulie’s foot.
“Sorry!”
She wraps a hand around my back to keep me from wobbling. “It’s fine. Just a six-three hockey player clamping down on my pinky toe. No big deal.” She glances up at me, and tears rim her eyes.
Fuck. I hurt her.
“First lesson, Dessy.” I put my hands on either side of her on the counter, leaning in with a mischievous grin. Seeing her cry is like a deep slash to my heart. I need to make her laugh or smile before I bleed out. “Milk that pain for all it’s worth. If you played your cards right, I would have waited on you hand and foot today.”
“Is that so?” She quirks a brow at me, a small smile tugging on the tips of her lips.Bingo.“I think it was one of those delayed pains, but my foot might be bruised after all. There may even be some residual pain radiating up my legs and arms. I don’t know how I’ll finish sorting the mound of boxes in my room on my own.”
“I guess I could help you with that.” This close, my gaze betrays me. It flickers over her soft, light brown hair tied high in a messy bun and lingers on her hazelnut chocolate eyes searching mine.
Sparkle or not, she’s still Aulie.
And she’s still Gus’s little sister.
I repeat the mantra that’s drilled into my mind for whenever I find myself in this situation.
Gus and I are like brothers.
So, logically… Aulie is…
She runs her teeth over her lower lip.
Yeah, maybe I could find a hypnotist that could convince me she’s a bad idea once and for all.
I step back, clear my throat, and glance out the kitchen window. Aulie sidesteps me and heads to the stove, grabbing an onion to chop up.
Outside, Gus is standing by the pond, draping his arm around someone affectionately. It looks like it’s their third roommate and Aulie’s best friend, Emy, with her long brown hair and tiny frame, but…
She faces him with a massive smile.
That’s definitely Emy. I’ve seen her enough to—
Gus grabs her face with both hands and lowers his head, pressing his lips against hers.
“What the fuck?” The words fly out of my mouth louder than necessary. That’s not—they shouldn’t be…
Metal clatters in the corner of the kitchen. “Ow. Fudge nuggets!” I glance at Aulie. Blood is flowing out from her finger.
I rush over, grabbing a towel and wrapping it tightly around her finger. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“It’s fine.” She breathes out.
Like hell it is. My gashed out heart hemorrhages in my panic.
“Seriously? It’s not fine. It was pretty deep.” I frown. She might need stitches. “You need to be more careful.”
“Okay, Gus.” She snorts. “But I’m not the one shouting next to someone with a knife. What was that about?”
