“It was good advice,” she mumbles against me.
I wrap my arms around her. “Yeah…but you didn’t ask for it.”
“Yeah,” she agrees weakly, lifting her head to peer up at me, “but I think I needed to hear it anyway.”
She just keeps staring up at me for a few seconds, and I’m not sure what to say as I stare back. I’m scared of saying the wrong thing; I don’t want to mess this up. But as her eyebrows start to slowly tug together, I realize she’s waiting for me to speak.
Crap.
“D-Did we just…have our first fight?” I say weakly, trying my best attempt at a joke, but it comes out more like I’m frightened or something.
But it seems to work in my favor because she rolls her eyes despite the wide grin spreading across her lips, slapping at my chest as she pulls away.
“Funny guy, you,” she teases. “Let’s go get this truck packed up, yeah?”
I let Maeve mingle with her family for goodbyes as I take a few trips out to my truck, loading our luggage inside, insisting when Annalise tries to get the twins to help that I’m okay. I want Maeve to squeeze in as much time as possible, knowing how much it meant to her to get to see her family for Christmas.
When I step back in the house after my last trip outside, Annalise is waiting there to pull me in for another hug.
“It was so nice to meet you, Tate.”
“It was nice to meet you, too.”
When she pulls back, she lowers her voice so only I can hear. “Take care of my girl.”
Does she mean…?
She does. The twinkle in her eyes says so.
Are my feelings for Maeve that obvious? I guess they might be, to everyone else but her. I really try not to stare for too long or gawk at her every time she walks into the room, but I can’t help it. Sometimes I catch myself a little too late. She’s just too beautiful not to look at, especially when she’s smiling at me, or looking at me in a way that only we would understand. We do that sometimes. There’s a look that we share every so often, and I don’t know how to explain it, but it just feels like…ourthing.
“Yes,” I croak. “Yes.”
She smiles at me before handing me off to Maeve’s dad, who shakes my hand before giving me a firm pat on the back. He’s not a man of many words, but neither am I, really.
Maverick intercepts me next, reaching his hand out between us, like a peace offering of some kind. “Sorry about the interrogation tactics, bro. You know…just looking out for her and all.”
I shake my hand with his. “S’okay, I get it.”
“See you next time?” he asks.
The question hangs in the air, and my heart stutters in my chest. He’s giving me his acceptance; he wants me to know I passed the test.
“Yeah,” I clear my throat, “see you next time.”
The talk of a “next time” has so much hope blooming in my chest that I know it’ll be crushing when it inevitably doesn’t come true.
When Mateo makes his way around, he does the same, sticking his hand out for a handshake the same way. “We usually rent out a beach house for the summer up in Laguna Beach. You know, if you wanna tag along with Mae again.”
“Thank you,” I manage to get out, despite my throat getting choked up again. “That sounds fun.”
Petite hands grab my biceps from behind me, turning me slightly as Maeve’s head pokes out from around me with a big smile. “It’s so fun. You have to come. But fair warning, the beer pong challenges get a little crazy.”
I know I’m smiling, I can feel my cheeks straining up from it, but for some reason, my head is still so far away. Even their voices sound muffled, like they’re outside instead of standing right next to me. There’s so much talk of seeing everyone again, and while that makes me happy, that also terrifies me to death. Because what if she’s just agreeing for right now? Because everyone is staring at us? Because she feels pressured into it?
What if she doesn’t want me there for real?
Or what if she changes her mind later?
