“Aubree.” Her words knife right out of me. “I’m not sure what to say. Of course, I will. I’ll make it a point to live each day to the fullest.”
“Don’t overdo it.” Aubree’s features melt with grief. “All I want is for you to appreciate all of the wonderful things going on around you—fall has always been my favorite season. Take a deep breath for me in the middle of campus. Take a walk over to The Row and soak in the sights. Steal a kiss from a cute boy.” She winks, quickly bouncing back to her old self. Just the thought of Grant’s mouth covering mine has me heating ten degrees.
“No stealing kisses.” Owen frowns at our sister with disapproval. He’s never been big on the idea I might actually grow up one day. The more time I spend with Owen, the more I feel like a pet rather than a human—a pet he deems cage-worthy.
“Okay, what gives? What’s the big surprise? You got a boy hiding under that orange uniform for me? Let me guess, you want me to date one of the guards for you?”
“Hell no, I’m doing that myself.” Aubree winks at a scraggly uniformed man in the corner. Gross. “Owen, tell her before she figures it out. She’s a smart one.” Her lips expand in my direction. Whatever it is, it’s something the two of them have cavorted over.
“All right, kid”—Owen pulls my hand in once again—“your sister and I are going in halves. We’re pitching in to get you some wheels.”
A slap of shock hits me. “Wheels? You mean acar? Something vehicular that might actually be street legal?”
“Yes”—Owen gives my fingers a tug—“it’ll be street legal. I promise.”
“What!” I squeal so loud three security guards storm our table. Once Aubree assures them everything is fine—not that they actually leave—I continue to hyperventilate. “But, but how? W-w-why?”
“I still have money stashed away in my checking account.” Aubree sits straight as a pin at the declaration. “I’ve finally clawed my way through all that red tape and made Owen a joint manager of my finances. I offered to pay for the whole thing, but your stubborn brother wouldn’t hear of it. I also voted for something brand spanking new.”
“And I vetoed that as well.” Owen is right back to frowning. “It’ll be a great first car. In fact, the reason we’re telling you about it now is because I want you to think about what you might want. This gives us a little time to hunt down the perfect deal. Come your birthday, I’d love to find you behind the wheel.”
“You’re actually going to let medrivethe car, too?” It comes out just as incredulous as I meant for it to sound. Owen can’t stand the fact I use a bicycle as a mode of transportation, let alone the bus. “Let me guess. You’ll have a state-of-the-art homing device hidden inside.”
He belts out a laugh. “Only the best for my baby sister.”
We wrap up our visit, and I offer Aubree a heartfelt hug.
“Steal a kiss for me, would you?” she whispers as we pull away, and now it’s my turn to wink.
I might just do that.
In fact, stealing a kiss from Grant is the next thing on my list.
Actually, theverynext thing on my list turns out to be an impromptu trip off-campus with my two new besties. Harper drives like there’s an entire fleet of police officers in hot pursuit, and judging by the way she’s straddling eighty, that very scenario just might be in our future.
“Would you slow down?” I shout from the backseat of her lumpy, dumpy old run-down Jeep. “I’d like to stay alive!” So I can properly steal that kiss from Grant when the time arrives, and if my calculations are right, they’ll arrive the very next time I see him. Who am I to let my big, incarcerated sister down? It’s not like she has anyone to steal kisses with in her free time. That greasy guard thumps through my mind, and I thump him right back out.
“Relax, girls.” Harper takes her hands off the wheel long enough to flip the hair off her shoulder. It’s a nervous habit I’ve seen her do about a thousand times and preferably would love to live to see again. “We’re here.” She screeches into a parking spot, and the three of us jolt forward with a violent thrust.
“Wow.” Lucky pulls down the sunshade and checks her face in the mirror—“we arrived in one piece. Looks like I owe Ava ten bucks.” She winks back at me.
“You guys are terrible.” Harper catches her purse in the door as she tries to slam it.
We pile out and stare up at the party supply store with its overdressed window display featuring a clusterfuck of costumes, children’s birthday party supplies, and an odd array of naked mannequins that look as if they’ve been abandoned in the corner.
“Don’t worry, girls.” Harper clicks her red glittery nails together, her wide eyes already deep inside the store. “I’ve got Daddy’s credit card burning a hole in my Roberto Cavalli pocket. We’re about to trick ourselves out like the vixens we are deep down inside. My treat.”
The three of us let out a series of catcalls as if the sexiest man alive just materialized in our midst. Now it’s Grant thumping through my mind, but this time I don’t fight it. That boy is welcome to stay as long as he likes. For a second, I envision him stripping off his T-shirt, nice and slow, his thumbs hitching in his Levi’s.
“Earth to Ava?” Harper yanks me into the store with them, and just like that, the sexiest man alive evaporates right out of my mind. Who am I kidding? Grant stays. He’s set up shop and refuses to leave. He’s the ever-present thought each and every day, and a part of me knows this level of obsession is anything but healthy.
Owen and Piper seem to be obsessed with one another. Just how fine is the line between obsession and love anyway?
Lucky races us right down to the slutty-everything aisle, and both she and Harper dive in headfirst, rifling through the whorish collection.
Harper and that part-time boyfriend of hers snag in my thoughts, and every last part of me wants to grill her on the subject.
“Hey, Harp?” I pull up a clown costume and pretend to marvel at the rainbow stitching. “So, what’s going on with you and Justin? You know, do you love him?”
