“You have to know if I’m interested to say something? He’s my friend too!”
“I’m sorry.”
She sighs. “I don’t want to go into this meeting flat-footed when he clearly didn’t want my legal advice. He didn’t come to me.”
“You can always ask him about it today. I invited him over.”
“You did?”
“It’s my last night here. I wanted to hang out before I have to leave.”
“Right. Yeah. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
For someone so worked up seconds before, she manages to brush off the conversation for a different subject.
“We haven’t gotten a chance to talk since your show. You okay?”
“Yeah.” I nod. And for the first time, I mean it. “I finally am.”
“Ev, I’m sorry for that day senior year.” Her throat bobs with her swallow.
I kind of thought we’d dance around this subject forever at this point. She’s referencing prom, and the day I found out graduation was on the line. I was flunking out of English class, and our parents were consumed with helping me. Emma was going through something too, and it was obviously overshadowing that when she yelled in front of the entire prom “It’s always aboutyou!”I never realized how much my disability affected her life until that moment.
I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. I know what it’s like to want to fit in, Em. Why do you think I never told anyone?”
“I know. But you needed me. I got caught up in my own drama and wasn’t there for you.”
“It wasn’t your job to be there for me. I was the older brother. You were the little sister. And you’ve been here for me now. Thank you for fixing up my music studio when I needed it.”
She blows right past acknowledging it. “If I could go back, I would have done a lot of things differently,” she whispers.
So would I. She’s not the only one with regrets.
I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “We can do things differently now, starting with dinner. We never had enough of those together.”
“That’s because you were always hiding in your room with that guitar.” She shoots me an exaggerated eye roll.
“Like I said,differently.” I twist her by the shoulders and lead her into the kitchen where everyone is gathered around the island munching on cookies and sipping drinks.
In the sea of people, I search for Summer. Her hip is tipped against the counter, her foot planted in the crook of her knee, laughing at something Henry just said.Damn, she’s beautiful when she laughs. I physically ache to be closer to her. Other than the kiss we shared before the talent show, it’s been days since I’ve gotten to touch her. I sneak up behind her and whisper, “You want to go somewhere?”
She scrunches her shoulder to her ear, goosebumps breaking out on her skin.
“Yeah.” She already sounds breathless, and it sends my heart on a rollercoaster ride.
I grab her by the hand and lead her out the back door. Shegiggles behind me as we climb the steps to the studio. I pull her inside like a teenager sneaking around with his girlfriend at his parents’ house and kick the door shut. I thread my fingers in her hair and back her up against it. When she’s flush to the wood, I kiss her in the way I wanted to earlier when I had to hold myself back. Every part of me hums with our lips pressed together. She opens for me when my tongue traces the seam. I rake my hands up and down her sides. Tear my mouth away and kiss down the column of her neck.
She pants into the collar of my shirt, “Play me something.”
I pause my pursuit. “Our first time alone all week and you want me to play you something?”
Heryescomes out sounding broken as I resume the path toward her collarbone.
“What do you want me to play?”
I stop at her tattoo, pressing a kiss over the top of it. I’ve told her I think it’s sexy before, but I never asked her what it means.
She pulls back to study my eyes and picks the song. “Meant to Stay.”
