“He’s a good kid,” dad chimes in. “His parents were wonderful too. They did a good job with him. He’s going through a lot right now, that’s probably what it is.”
Yeah. Or maybe it’s his intense jealousy that’s clouding his judgment, either way.
“I’m really happy you two are giving it another chance. I always thought you guys were going to be those high school sweethearts who got married and lived happily ever after,” my mom says.
I feel Nico’s grip on my leg tighten slightly at that and I know it’s in warning, to choose my words carefully. I’d love to see what he does if I don’t though. So, I push his buttons a little bit.
“It feels like a fresh start, who knows where it’ll take us.”
The inside of my thigh is suddenly pinched and I can’t help but yelp in reaction. My parents give me curious looks, followed by a faux one on Nico’s face.
“You okay?” he asks.
I grit through my teeth as my eyes shoot daggers at him.
“Yeah, bit my tongue.”
He nods. “Maybe you shouldn’t talk so much while you’re eating.”
Ass.
Why do I kinda love it, though?
That gesture right there told me everything I needed to know. He’s far more affected by the idea of me and Alec thaneven he wants to admit. It drives him fucking crazy. Almost as crazy as the idea of him and my sister drives me, I’d wager.
As if I summoned the devil herself, she walks into the room like a zombie, her hair a mess, mascara smeared across her face and she’s still wearing the same clothes from last night.
“Rough night, hun?” my mom asks, though I can see she’s holding back a smile.
“Coffee,” she answers in response, numbly walking into the kitchen.
I feel Nico’s hand slip away and I can’t help but feel a sting of jealousy from it. Logically, I understand why he did it but illogically, it pisses me off that he stops touching me when she comes into the room.
After Carly pours herself a cup of coffee, she comes to the table, slumping into a seat between Nico and my mom.
“You two have any plans for the day?” my mom asks Nico and Carly.
“Sleeping,” my sister answers as she rests her head onto the table.
Nico nods his head. “We had talked about doing some underground tour thing downtown? Looks like maybe today will be a workday,” he says as he gestures to Carly.
“Oh, I haven’t done the tour in years. How late do they run, I wonder?” she says, turning my dad.
“The latest starts at 6PM. We could probably make that, if it’s not an imposition,” my dad tacks on as he looks to Nico.
Nico shakes his head. “Not at all. Cassi, are you interested?”
The way he says my name has my cheeks flushing, which is stupid because he’s said my name lots of times before. Actually, not two days ago the sound of him saying my name sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Or maybe I just willed myself to believe that in attempt to shove away the glaring tension building between us.
“Uhm, yeah. It’s pretty cool. I’d be down.”
“It smells horrible down there. Literally, I’ll puke. Count me out,” Carly says as she grabs her cup of coffee, stealing a piece of bacon from Nico’s plate as she stands and stumbles out of the dining room and back upstairs.
“Four tickets it is,” my dad says to himself as his fingers move across his phone. “Locked in.”
“Thank you, Henry. You didn’t have to do that.”
My dad scoffs. “Oh yeah, I didn’t have to do that while you’ve been insisting on paying for every meal, renting a private goddamn yacht just so we can go fishing.”
