I run my hand through my hair and glance at Naomi. She’s in her own world, working on something.
“Can I show you something?” I ask her.
She makes a face. “Um, sure.”
My hands tingle as I lead the way down the hall to my old room I shared with Fletcher. When I moved here as a teen, we had to share since his room was the biggest compared to Ledger’s. And Sterling was usually sharing with Ledger on and off. Now it’s a guest room with one bed instead of two twins, and a few of our old things on shelves like sports trophies and our diplomas from high school.
“This is, uh, me and Fletcher’s old room,” I say, gesturing as Mae steps in.
She stops past the threshold and stoops down to look at a framed picture on the dresser of me, Fletcher, Ledger, and Sterling in our football gear after we won a game.
She smiles. I grab her wrist, gently pulling her into the room, closing the door, before I back her up against it.
Her lips part, eyes widen, and she clutches the glass of water between us.
Mae’s gaze is locked onto mine, and my heart is beating out of my chest. Something about this feels forbidden. Naomi could come looking for me at any second. But I’mdyingto kiss her.
I take the glass from her hands and set it on the dresser.
“Is this okay?” I ask her.
She bites her lower lip. “You probably should have asked me before you closed the door, but yes,” she says as if she’s struggling to breathe right.
I chuckle and slip my hand behind her neck, tugging her to my mouth. And it’s like I found my oasis. Sliding my hand into her hair, the curls tangle around my fingers and she hums in my mouth. I can feel the vibration of it through my chest, as if it dug a hole and made its home there.
Mae’s hands come to my chest and push me back.
Her chest heaves, and she drags a finger over her lower lip while keeping one hand on my chest.
“Are you sure we should be doing this? Your whole family is out there and we’re acting like teenagers sneaking around,” she says.
I chuckle and take a step in pushing her further back into the door. It moves with the weight of both of us.
“You look beautiful.”
Her cheeks somehow get rosier as I stare at her olive green dress with a bow on the side. The hem stops right above her knee and looks like it wraps around itself. It V’s in the front, and the little sleeves puff on her shoulders.
“It’s just a dress,” she says, looking down at herself.
“You’re right, it is, but you make it look incredible.”
Mae snorts and shakes her head, her curly hair shifts with the movement, and I grab a corkscrew, winding it around my finger before letting it go.
“You’re either a total playboy and know all the right things to say, or you’re … really charming and this is all a figment of my imagination.”
I chuckle and lean in, pecking her lips. “Does that feel like an illusion?”
“No. No it does not,” she says wistfully.
I smile and take her hands, hoping what I’m about to say doesn’t offend her. But I have to do it.
“I wanted to tell you I don’t bring women around Naomi. I try to be really careful with that, and since you’re here, and we’re us. I don’t want to confuse her. Things are a little complicated, and I do it to protect her.”
Mae tilts her head, studying me. “Is it because her mother is in the picture?” she asks.
“No, she’s not,” I answer quickly.
Mae rolls her lips over her teeth as if she’s trying to decide if she should say something.
