I grin back, then return my attention to the tv. We’re quiet for a time, and I nestle deeper into the couch. Harry and Marv are trying to find their way into the McCallister house, and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me.
“Are you bringing a date tomorrow?”
My head is resting against the cushion and I raise it, swinging my head over to look at him with a baleful glower. “Don’t start on that stupid post, Theo.”
“But are you?” he asks again, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, his elbow on the arm rest. The blue of his stare is unnerving in intensity.
“No?” I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Why would I want to bring a date to our joint family Christmas chaos? I’m not trying to impress anyone, and I don’t want to take any of the attention away from Beau and Val.” My eyes widen slightly. “Why? Areyoubringing a date?”
His lips tip down just a touch at the corners, a barely noticeable shrug lifting one shoulder. “No.”
“Is there anyone you would ask?” I nudge, grinning lightly. A full belly and the contents of these beers have taken all the tension out of my shoulders. And teasing Theo is one of my favorite past times.
Again, he shrugs lightly, lifting his beer to his lips. My eyes track the movement, and I can feel his gaze on my face. When he swallows and lowers the beer bottle back to his lap, he says, “She’s…not interested.”
“Ooooh,” I murmur quietly, teasing. “So, thereissomeone that Theo Collins has his eye on. What kind of idiot wouldn’t be interested? Wait. It’s because she’s actually got a brain, right?”
He glares over at me, and I laugh before placing my palm over his shin, squeezing lightly. His muscles jump beneath myfingers, and I can’t stop the instant pitter patter of my heart in my chest.What the fuck? What is wrong with me?And why am I even the slightest bit jealous that Theo has feelings for someone? I don’t even like Theo. Not like that.
Right?
“The timing isn’t right, is all,” he finally answers, his blue eyes still trained on mine. “She’ll come around.”
I lower my brows over my eyes. “You’re not stalking this woman, right? We’re not adding stalking to harassment and kidnapping, Theo.”
He laughs out loud, shaking his head. “Stalking is a bit extreme. I prefer… opportunistic.”
“Theo…”
He rolls his eyes and grins boyishly. “Orange isn’t my color, remember?”
Chapter Three
Theo
Her head is tipped against the cushion, cheek pressed into the soft material, eyes closed. The movie ended a while ago, but I remain where I am, content to watch her as she sleeps. I’d convinced her to shift sideways and stretch her legs out, so that our legs are parallel to each other and sort of twisted together like a pretzel. I’d also pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over the both of us, and her fingers are fisted in it, holding the softness beneath her chin. Which I’m glad for, to be honest, because watching her all night with her fucking nipples poking through the material of her shirt was both a blessed gift and pure torture.
I’ve loved Noelle Compton since I was a kid.
Not that she’s ever known how I feel about her.
I’m just that goofy guy that’s always been there. The one that will always make her laugh, piss her off, sit and watch a silly Christmas movie because I know it’s her favorite… Take her to prom when her douchebag of a date ditched her, even though I was on crutches from a stupid soccer injury.
Or hold her while she cried when her dad died. God, the memory of the grief that had poured out of her…it still punches me in the gut. I hate seeing her upset—though admittedly, pissing her off is one of this life’s finer things.
I know the next couple days are going to be tough for her, for all of us. Hank Compton was a wonderful dad and husband, a great mentor, and the best friend my dad had ever had. Beau had always been a tag-along with our dads, but I’d been so involved in sports—if for no other reason than to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t obsessively think about Noelle—that I hadn’t spent as much time with our dads as Beau had.
I was the class clown, the troublemaker; and all of it was to try and get Noelle’s attention.
It worked, just not in the way my underdeveloped teenage brain had hoped. She saw me as the lovable idiot that was more like a brother than anything. Now, at almost thirty, that seems to be all she’s ever going to see me as.
I don’t want her to see me like a damn brother, though. Or, much worse, as hergolden retriever bestie. I roll my eyes and let out a self-deprecating scoff. What a way to be known by the woman I’ve loved and wanted my entire life. A fucking dog begging for any scrap of attention.Woof.
She lets out a soft snore and I grin, continuing to watch her as she sleeps. Her roommate, Belle—short for Annabelle, though I’d learned she hates being called that—came home earlier, setting a heavy looking camera bag down by the door. She’d disappeared into her room a while ago. The door squeaks open now and I turn my head, nodding to the woman as she steps out wearing flannel pjs and a hoodie that looks like it’s three sizes too big. She pads over to the couch and shakes her head, smiling slightly.
“Are you going to wake her up or just leave her on the couch?” she asks on a whisper.
I turn my attention back to Noelle and purse my lips. “I might carry her to bed. She’s going to get a crick in her neck sleeping like that.”
