“It’s not mine.” Curtis shuffles. “I brought it for you. You know — since you always bring me tea in the evenings.”
My mouth makes a circle as I look down at the mug, but after a second, everything clicks into place. I keep on forgetting that Kennedy has made Curtis promise to play nice too, and she must have told Curtis to bring me coffee, just like she told me to bring him green tea.
“Is something wrong?” Curtis asks when I haven’t taken a sip.
“No!” I say, bringing the cup up to my lips and taking a long sip. I swallow the bitter liquid, but I can’t help myself from wincing.
“You hate it,” Curtis says flatly.
I shake my head. “No…” I begin, but he sees right through me.
“You’re a terrible liar. Forget it, I shouldn’t have —” he tries to take the mug from my hand.
“No!” I say, keeping my hands wrapped around it and batting his fingers away. “Thank you. But next time, can you put in a teaspoon of sugar and some milk?”
“Shit, sorry. I should have remembered you drink coffee like that.”
“No, it’s fine. If you want to get into technicalities, it’s Kennedy who should have remembered.” I wink to let him know I know.
“Um. Right.” God, Curtis looks alarmed. Are my winks bad? What if I look like I’m spasming when I wink? Or like I have an eye twitch? What if I can’t even wink, and I just blinked two eyes at him?
“Anyway, thanks,” I say, to distract him, setting the mug down on the bedside table, with plans to fix it when I get to the kitchen.
Curtis nods. “You’re welcome.”
When he doesn’t leave, I pull myself off the bed and stretch my arms above me, moaning with contentment as my limbs relax. “Do you know what the plan is for today?”
“I’m not sure. I talked to Kennedy, but she said she wants to stay in today.”
“Makes sense.” Kennedy’s going to be in a low mood for a couple of days. Fortunately, I know that the new reality TV show will cheer her up.
I grab a change of clothes from my trunk.
“I thought it would be fun to go to the beach,” Curtis says. “We could play some soccer. The weather’s supposed to be nice. Sunny, but not too hot…”
“I’m in,” I say. “We can ask the cousins if they’re interested.”
“Okay. Good.”
When Curtis doesn’t leave, I walk to the bathroom. “I shouldn’t be too long. I just need to get ready and have breakfast,” I say from the door frame.
“Right. Yeah, no worries. Take your time.” Curtis takes a step back when he sees I’m waiting for him to leave. “Sorry, I’ll stop keeping you… um… see you downstairs.” Looking flustered, he disappears down the stairs, closing the door behind him.
I chuckle. Now that Curtis isn’t scowling at me twenty-four seven, I kind of understand what Kennedy means when she says Curtis can be adorable.
After getting ready, I head downstairs, bringing my mug of coffee. In the kitchen, I greet the girls as I add sugar and milk to my coffee. I take a sip — delicious and still warm.
After making myself a bowl of cereal, I take a seat at the kitchen table. “What are you talking about?” I ask the girls, who are in a deep discussion.
“The show we were watching last night,” Bonnie says. “I know it’s not your thing, but you’ve got to try it. It’s so addicting!”
I roll my eyes. As far as I know, the TV show Love Something-or-other is a mixture of all terrible romance reality shows rolled into one.
“I wouldn’t admit to watching it in a court of law,” Erin says, “but there’s something about hot people fighting.”
“And falling in love,” Kennedy says.
“Oh, that’s not falling in love,” Erin says.
