I shot him the finger. “Sorry for not being the lyricist you are, Mr. I’d-Crawl-through-Broken-Glass-through-a-Lake-of-Fire-for-You. Glass melts, dumbass.”
“That song had over two million streams, thankyouverymuch.”
“Show-off,” I shot back, then went serious. “Look, I figured you weren’t still mooning over a high school crush, but if you didn’t want me to pursue this, I absolutely wouldn’t. You have to know that.”
“Oh my God, you are ridiculous.” Hen leaned out of view, and kissing sounds emanated from the speakers. He swayed back into view. “I’m about to get blown by a trio of very talented women and one very talented man.” A deep chuckle filtered in from offscreen, and Hen smiled in that direction before refocusing on me. “So, if our little Walker isn’t as straight as we thought, then go forth and conquer, cousin.”
“You’re sure?”
A brunet with a killer smile and a sharp jaw came into view. “I’ll make you forget any high school crushes, baby.”
“You already have,” Hen said, pushing the man’s head toward his lap.
“And on that note, I bid you adieu.” I saluted the screen.
“Night, cousin. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Fine. I’ll behave badly, and you’ll go get some sleep.”
“Maybe.” Raising his brows, he flicked off the connection.
God, I loved him.
* * *
Later that night, I remembered an important detail and pulled out my phone again.
Me:Hey. Your dad came into the bar a couple of weeks ago and was asking about you.
Me:Thought you’d want to know.
Three dots immediately started bouncing in the thread.
Hen:Yeah, he’s been texting me. It’s weird.
Me:Bad weird or good weird?
Hen:Good weird, I think. He’s worried I’m not getting enough food or sleep.
Me:Maybe it’s because your clothes are hanging off your body and you’ve got dark circles under your eyes.
Hen:I know, I know. Just gotta get through this tour.
Me:Okay. You know I’m on the next plane if you ever need me.
Hen:Yes, I know.
Hen:Oh, before I forget. Walker is a leg man.
Me:Thanks, I think?
Hen:
I reread the last few lines and laughed to myself. My cousin was something else. I had an uneasy feeling that things had somehow gotten worse in the weeks since I’d seen him, but pushing him would only ever backfire. I had to be patient, let him know I was here for him, and allow him to come to me.
My thoughts, as they always did, went back to Walker. I was unreasonably happy that Hen had given me his blessing to start seriously flirting with Walk. I’d never do anything to hurt my cousin, but Walker was occupying my every waking moment.
Now I just had to do something about it.
