Julian and Sawyer get to my place first. Sawyer brings so much light into every room she walks into. I’ll never forget the first time we met, when my brother was hiding her in one of theapartment buildings our family owned. She’s a lot younger than Julian, but she came into his life with a bang and totally turned it on its axis. It’s been fun to have a front-row seat to watching this tornado of a woman come in and blow my very-put-together older brother’s world to shit. Everything he thought he knew, she undid. She softened him in the best way, and even though I give him shit for being an old man, I’ve never been happier for him.
Keaton and Evie show up next, as lovey-dovey and affectionate as they always were. They were best friends all through their teen years. I remember them taking me to Coney Island together when I was a kid. I always liked Evie because she always put Keat in his place. But then they grew apart when she met someone else in college. It wasn’t until they reconnected not that long ago that things went back into motion. It’s not hard to see that they have always been completely and utterly meant for each other. They have always known about each other’s darknesses, but it never stopped either of them. They just had to wait for their stars to align and for it to be their time. And now, it finally is. They have all gotten drinks and are sitting around the table. And while I smile at my brothers, I check the time again.
I’m waiting for my own happy place. And she should be walking through those elevator doors any minute.
“So,” Sawyer says, as if she has picked up on my anxiety, “how is our girl doing?” I smile.Our girl. I like it because it means that they all have accepted her, absorbed her into our orbit. That she now has a team behind her. A family.
“I think she’s doing okay,” I say with a shrug as I take a sip of my beer. “Better than I am. I hate sending her off to him every fucking day.”
Sawyer and Evie give each other a look then look back at me.
“What was that?” I say, motioning to them. Sawyer rolls her lips together, trying to hide a smile.
“Oh, nothing,” she says.
“It’s just that you are so deep in it I almost don’t recognize you,” Evie says, and Keaton and Julian both chuckle.
I want to protest, but I can’t, because they are so fucking right.
I have no interest in anything that doesn’t involve her. Over the last few months, I haven’t been to a single party or fancy dinner. No overseas trips, no paparazzi photos of me on yachts. And the truth is, I haven’t even thought about any of that until right now. Because none of it matters unless it involves her. For someone who has the whole world at his fingertips, my whole world suddenly revolves around a cute little brunette from Jersey.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s true,” I say. “I don’t really give a shit about anything unless it involves her.”
Sawyer pats my hand.
“Awww, sweet Brooksie,” she says.
“We love this journey for you!” Evie joins in.
“Yeah, we do,” Julian says, “but?—”
“Oh, great, here comes Mr. Dark Cloud,” Sawyer cuts in, rolling her eyes. She and Evie chuckle, but Julian just shoots her a look before he looks back to me.
“Brooks, I really am happy for you guys,” he says. “But I need you to also consider the stress she is under.”
Now, I’m a little irritated.
“Really, J? You think I don’t think about that every fucking day?” I ask him. He nods, holding his hand up.
“No, I know you do,” he says. “I’m just saying to take a step back for a moment. Consider whether or not it’s her or the situation that has you all fired up. There is a nonstop supply of adrenaline running for all of us right now. I don’t want her—or you—getting hurt in the end.”
I think for a moment, swirling my beer around and trying not to take anything seriously.
“With all due respect, big brother, you and Sawyer met during anextremelystressful situation. Things seem to be working out for you. I know I’m the family joke, but I’ve never been more serious about anything than I am about her.”
But as I finish, I notice all their eyes in one direction.
She’s here, in my apartment. And she heard everything I just said.
She’s standing in my foyer, looking as devastating as ever, her chest heaving, her eyes big and wide. They are all staring at her, but she’s only looking at me.
“Ya know, I’m pretty serious about you too, Everett,” she says with a smile as I make my way over to her. She bites her lip just as I bend and take it with a long kiss.
“Alright, alright,” Keaton says, “we get it. Now someone get me some fish before I lose it.”
The dinner is great.
