Instead of fighting against them or trying to sleep, I let myself get immersed in what I could remember.
After getting a proper look at my new tattoo and giving it a clean, I looked her up on Instagram then spent an ungodly amount of time staring at every picture. It’s lame, really, but I couldn’t stop clicking. I also looked through her baking account.
She wasn’t kidding when she said she bakes everything. There were different types of dessert, and they all looked so damn pretty and delicious.
Along with those two accounts, I found out she has a VSCO. I know Thea has one, but I’d never been enticed to download it until just a few hours ago. And doing so led me to spend a few more hours skimming through each picture she’s ever uploaded. They all look like they’re behind the scenes, the ones that didn’t make the cut on Instagram. Regardless, they’re just as pretty.
Because I spent a pathetic amount of time stalking her, I had to push Thea’s and my reservation.
“Yeah, I just woke up.” I fake a yawn.
She grows quiet, forcing me to look up at her. She’s wearing this creepy Cheshire-like grin on her face. “Does this have something to do with the hottie with the body in the green dress? The girl you told Mom and Dad isyour girlfriend?” She hikes a brow, inquisitive eyes boring into me. Thea was at the auction, so I know she witnessed Anna bidding on me. “The girl you asked out, according to Marc.”
Dammit, Marcello.
“She’s not my girlfriend. Mom and Dad haven’t shut up about Florence and me since we were in the womb. You know I’m over their bullshit; I had to say something.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. But that aside, did you really ask her out on a date? Like anactualdate where no sex was involved?”
“We’re not going to talk about it.”
“But—”
“We said we’d never talk about our sex lives. So, let’s not talk about it.”
“That was before I found out you were going to hang out with a girl in a way that didn’t involve clothes coming off,” she retorts and leans forward, her face dimming into a supportive, soft expression—or as tender as she can make it. Because she’s far from soft and tender. “Who is she?”
Thea and I usually don’t talk about these kinds of things because what person wants to hear about who their sibling is fucking? I don’t ask her, and she doesn’t ask me. Though I know she’s heard about me on campus, which isn’t my fault because people love to talk.
“How do you know clothes didn’t come off?” I arch a brow.
“I don’t, but you don’t look like you had one ofthosenights.”
“What kind of night do you think I had?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.” She pauses, taking a sip of her water. “Marc said you looked a little jealous about Alex wanting to ask her out,” she says, a lofty grin curling her lips. “Were you? Does someone have a crush?”
Fucking Marc. They justhadto be best friends, didn’t they.
I roll my eyes. “It’s—it’s not…” I stumble and hesitate. What’s wrong with me? “It’s not like that. I didn’t have sex with her last night because…because I don’t need to have sex with every girl I hang out with. I’m done talking about this. Plus, we were drunk.”
There is no way in hell I’d do anything with Anna in that state.
She snickers. “You have a crush. How fucking cute.”
My heart does that weird manic thing where it beats out of control to the point it feels like it’s going to explode. My hands sweat at the thought, and a flashback of me holding her hand when she was about to get her tattoo surfaces.
“I have to tell you a secret,” Anna whispers, but she doesn’t do a good job because the tattoo artist, Anya, side-eyes her before focusing back on getting everything ready.
“Yeah, tell me.”
“I’m a little nervous. Can you hold my hand?”
“Of course.” I immediately take it in mine, intertwining our fingers. “Why don’t you keep your eyes on me?”
She nods, then says, “I’m really glad I’m doing this with you.”
My lips feel heavy as they lift higher, my face warm and body tingly. “Me too. I’m happy it’s you.”
