“Gen! You don’t know me but I’m pretty sure my brother is minorly obsessed with you. He’s been starin’ at his phone all night, clearly thinking about you.” She throws her arms around me as I register the wordsbrotherandobsessed, and I quickly put together that this must be Sloane. Of course, it’s Sloane. The tall leggy blonde with the deep blue eyes and golden tan could only be Grant’s twin sister. I was so wrapped up in him that I didn’t even put two and two together.
I step back, trying to pull confidence into my face and force it into a smile, my drive to win her approval floating to the fore of my mind. She’s looking at me with antsy curiosity, her bubbly excitement contagious, and I realize she's looking at me like I’m anything but a bitchy ice queen.
“Obsessed?” I send a coy glance Grant’s way, testing the waters, a shiver running through me when he doesn’t argue. “You must be Sloane.”
“The one and only!” she says, tossing her hair with unbridled flair, and I love it. Love her, already. “Don’t let him deny it either. He isobsessed.”
Andy clears his throat beside her, reminding us that he exists and reminding me that this will all get back to Will. Based on how he’s staring past me I can tell he’s uncomfortable, too.
“Oh, do you know Andrew?” Sloane perks up, as if she could be any perkier.
“I do.” My tone comes out flatter than I mean it to and Grant chuckles.
“Hey, Gen,” Andy says, like he didn’t even notice. “I feel like I never see you out without—” he stops himself, awkwardly clearing his throat just as Grant furrows his brows at him. “Jean. I was gonna say Jean?” I laugh despite myself and lean into Grant, suddenly hyper aware of the subtle press of his thigh against mine. He leans back, doubling down on our proximity.
“I’m missing something,” Sloane says, eyes darting between the three of us.
“Nothing important,” Grant says with this definitive air that says he’ll handle this and anything I could ever need, and I realize that maybe he’s already forgiven me. That inviting me here was his way of saying, ‘let’s just forget that happened.’
Grant grabs the darts from Andy’s hands and bumps him with his shoulder before bending down to say something in his ear. Andy swallows so deeply, it’s comical.
“Gen, I’m really excited that you’re here and I wouldn’t dream of saying anything.” Andy wears this exaggerated smile and I spot Grant’s amused face behind him, a sheepish grin replacing it when he meets my eyes.
“I didn't take you for being so easily intimidated,” I say, grabbing the last dart he’s grasping in his palm. “Especially by this big teddy bear.” I use the voice I make when I see an adorable puppy at the park as I approach Grant, the deepwaves of his laugh massaging any remaining tension out of me. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me a little closer and it feels like I just click into place. Like I was always meant to be perfectly nestled into his side. He calls back over his shoulder to Andy and Sloane.
“Two on two?”
11
Grant
I watch Gen across the bar as she laughs at something Sloane is saying, her hair falling down her back in loose curls as she tilts her head up, her laugh louder and goofier than I would’ve thought. As much as I despise Sloane’s meddling, I’m grateful she stole my phone and invited Gen. I don’t know if I would’ve responded, otherwise.
I’ve handled enough disappointment for ten life times; I don’t want to handle anymore. Don’t want to find myself in a place where I’m relegated to a choice—someone’s sometime or maybe. And it’s easy to avoid, most of the time. But Gen is…hard to stay away from. Even though she’s made it clear, time and time again, where her priorities lie. It’s a useless battle, trying to keep my distance.
“So how didthathappen?” Andy lets out a small laugh, watching me watch Gen.
I quickly avert my gaze back to the bartenders clamoring together lemon drops for the girls. Gen insisted she wasn’t a big drinker but Sloane being Sloane convinced her to suck down a vodka soda and order a lemon drop. She’sshaking her head wildly when I look again, her shoulders trembling, walls nowhere to be found. Every time I look at her it’s like the first time, and I forget about all the ways she could hurt me.
“Not sure what you’re talking about,” I say before training my gaze back on her.
“I should’ve clocked it at the game,” he says, shaking his head, a grin plastered on his face as he takes a sip of his beer before nudging me. “I won’t say anything. Not my business.”
Andy is the closest thing Will has to a best friend outside of Gen, but he’s notoriouslynotmessy. He keeps his head down, does what he needs to do, and keeps everything surface, so I’m not shocked by his response. There’s something about Andy—a goodness that isn’t apparent in the majority of the Astor crowd that has you trusting him. I nod, taking a pull from my beer.
The song changes to a vaguely familiar, older pop song and the energy in the room shifts. I look back to where Sloane and Gen were just giggling and find the spot vacant. My eyes trail the perimeter of the room, finding Gen in the center of it. They’ve wound up on the dance floor, a small crowd forming around them as Sloane acts as a makeshift hype man, pumping her arms upward with insane fervor. Gen’s head is thrown back in this laugh that steals my breath away, that dimple popping out on her right cheek. She’s doing a twirl probably meant to compliment Sloane’s performance but the way she moves is too graceful to go unnoticed. She grabs my sister's hands and they jump around, belting the words to the song with the rest of the crowd. It takes everything I have to tone down the grin that’s on full display across my face.
The lemon drops finally materialize and I throw somecash down as Andy carries them over to the girls. I’m momentarily paralyzed, watching as Gen takes the shot, her eyes softly closing as the alcohol makes its way down her throat. There’s the swallow, then the snap open of her eyes just before they lock with mine and my feet move before I have time to consider my actions. Sloane’s distracted, teasing Andy on his choice of footwear as he tries every pick up line under the sun. So I slide up behind Gen, my hands lightly gripping her hips, pulling her into me, and I feel the steady rhythm of her breath, feel her slowly melt into my chest.
We sway to the slower R&B song now playing, and I breathe her in the way I’ve imagined every time I close my eyes and end up dreaming of her. I inhale, the soft vanilla scent of her enveloping me like a wave. I get lost in the feeling of her against me, the smell of her clouding my every judgement. Feeling her body bend towards mine, I lean down, my mouth hovering right by her ear.
“I didn’t know if you’d come.” I say it without realizing, the alcohol or Gen having me so transparent. She spins around in my hold, her arms looping around my neck as she looks up at me.
“I didn’t know if I would either.” Those hazel eyes peer up at me, thoughtful swirls of honey and amber.
“What changed?” I shiver against the brush of her fingers against the nape of my neck.
Her shrug is so slight, I almost miss it as we sway, and she sinks her teeth into lip in contemplation.
