“Five-three. Show those three inches some respect.”
We walked through a path of trees to the nearest exit. It took exactly four minutes, so Noah should be thanking me for saving him a late fee. We could have made it in three, but Noah must be in more pain than he originally let on. That, coupled with adjusting to a new wrap, made him slower than usual.
In the distance, a sleek black car honked at us. I waved at the driver and felt a little like a divorced parent dropping their kid off.
“There’s your ride,” I said.
“You’re not coming?”
“Unfortunately for you, we don’t live together.”
He flushed again. Teasing him was really more entertaining than it should be. “No, but he can drop you off at your apartment.”
Pass. I knew I shouldn’t be embarrassed about where I lived or the apartment itself—Kira and I had turned it into a comfortable home—but compared to his, it was tiny. I didn’t need to make it any more obvious that as a large influencer, he made considerably more money than me.
“It’s fine,” I insisted. “It’s not too far a walk back to my place.”
Actually, it was. Thankfully, Chicago public transport would get me there fast.
Noah blinked a few times, his eyes casting down. He was debating how much he wanted to reveal, watching me from beneath long lashes. My heart hammered in my chest.
“What?” I asked.
“No one…no one’s taken care of me in a long time,” he finally admitted. “Thank you.”
Satisfaction and pride flushed through me. I didn’t think I was particularly good at taking care of people—the only person I’d ever taken care of was myself—but maybe there was a part of me buried deep down that instinctively knew how.
The Uber driver beeped again.
“You better go,” I said. He waved a hand goodbye.
Later that night, when Noah posted the photo I took of him and gave me photo credits, I smiled for a full minute.
8
NOAH
When Nathan showed up at the crack of dawn in his Bentley, I struggled to believe he was doing me a favor by driving me to the airport. Don’t get me wrong, we were family, but it was never something for nothing with my cousin. When we were fourteen, he once covered for me when I was out past curfew, and in return, he made me do all his chores for the entire summer.
But whenever I needed him, he’d been there. When Daphne started college, and I was ready to leave St. Louis, Nathan offered me his spare bedroom until I got a place of my own.
While I trusted him with my life, Nathan knew how to play people like they were dolls on strings. His IQ was insanely high and the dude had emotional intelligence too. A dangerous combination. He could take one look at someone and figure out how to manipulate them. According to him, 99 percent of the time it came down to money, power, or sex. All that’s to say is I kept a wall of caution between us.
Also, who the fuck drove a Bentley here?
True to what I told Macey, I set my alarm for thirty minutes earlier than originally intended so I could pack my bags. And bypack, I meant throwing a variety of clean clothes and bathing suits into a duffel bag and suitcase.
Hopefully, by the time I saw her, she’d have forgotten the embarrassing way I acted during our last encounter. She complimented me, and I froze. She wrapped my ankle, and I froze harder. She ordered an Uber and took care of me, and I was damn near ready to cry.
I didn’t even know the last time I cried.
I had my sister, Nathan, and a large circle of acquaintances. People who I bumped into at events around town, people who I ran 10ks with on occasion, and people who were dying for the opportunity to tag me in an Instagram photo.
For a while, I had Kyle, the only other Chicago influencer I actually liked. We stuck together during press events and chatted a fair amount via DMs. He was easy to get along with, probably because we had a lot in common. We hadn’t talked in a while, though.
My circle hadn’t always been surface level. Back in college, I participated in clubs. I ran track for a bit. Debate team too, though I tried to keep that one a secret. Point was, I knew how to cultivate friendships. But after Mom passed, I gave up on them. I didn’t have the time, energy, or desire for relationships.
Nathan glanced at me from behind the steering wheel. “You’re deep in thought.”
