“I dare you to finish that sentence,” I challenge, stepping closer.“Go ahead.”
“—man I have ever had the misfortune to meet!”she finishes with a flourish.
Before the argument can escalate further, Megan clears her throat loudly.
“Um, excuse me?Hi.”She waves at both of us like we’re children having a tantrum.“I hate to interrupt this...argument, but it’s freezing out here, and your unconscious friend over there is probably going to wake up soon.”
Eve and I both turn to glare at her, but Megan just raises her eyebrows.“So, Eve, right?Do you need a ride somewhere?Because my brother here has a car, and despite having a few screws loose occasionally, he’s mostly harmless.”
“I don’t need—” Eve starts, but then she sways slightly, and I see the fight go out of her.Her shoulders slump, and suddenly she just looks exhausted.“I don’t need a ride.My apartment’s not far.”
That’s when I notice it.She’s only wearing one shoe.
“What the hell happened to your shoe?”I demand, my worry spiking as I take in her disheveled state more carefully.
Eve glances down at her stockinged foot like she’d forgotten about it.“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?You’re walking around in twenty-degree weather with one shoe, no coat, and no phone.That’s not nothing.That’s?—”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”Her voice is flat now, devoid of the heat and anger from moments before.She just sounds tired.Defeated.“My apartment is six blocks away.I’ll be fine.”
Something cold settles in my stomach.This isn’t the Eve I know—the one who fights tooth and nail over everything.This Eve looks fragile in a way that makes every protective instinct I have flare to life.
“Do you even have your keys?”I ask quietly.
“I have a spare hidden by my door.”
“Absolutely not.”I shake my head.“You’re not walking six blocks in this weather like that.”
“Caleb—”
“No.”I step toward her, and she takes a step back.“You’re getting in my car.”
“I don’t want?—”
“I don’t give a damn what you want right now.”Before she can protest further, I bend down and scoop her up, throwing her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Caleb!Put me down!”She immediately starts struggling, her fists pounding against my back.“You jerk!This is assault!This is harrassment!This is…”
She trails off for a lack of a better word momentarily, and my sister offers helpfully: “Kidnapping.”
“This is kidnapping, you neanderthal!”Eve regains her momentum.
“Sue me.”I start walking toward my car, Megan trailing behind us with obvious delight.
“I’m serious!Put me down right now, or I’ll?—”
Smack.
My hand connects with her ass, the sound sharp in the cold air.Eve goes completely still.“Behave,” I warn, fighting the urge to do it again when I feel how perfectly she fits against me.
“Did you just—” Her voice is strangled with outrage.“Did you just spank me?”
“Keep struggling, and I’ll do it again.”
Megan snickers.
“This is kidnapping!”Eve protests, but there’s less fire in it now.“And harassment!And-and?—”
