I don’t know why, but my heart begins to race. I try to hide the color on my cheeks fighting to be seen, but I can’t; they heat up too fast.
“He does?” My voice gets caught in my throat, and I feel like I have to cough out a lump to speak. “Why?”
“At first, it was to complain about you.” She laughs. “How difficult you were to work with. How stupid you thought he was.”
“And now?”
She smiles like there’s something she knows that I don’t.
“You’re friends.”
“If you say so.”
I play the movie.
“Hey, why did you never tell me you like to paint?” she asks, and I’m surprised by her question. No one knows about the painting except my family… and Declan.
“He remembered,” I mumble. A mischievous grin spreads on Brinley’s face.
“Like I said, you’re friends.”
She doesn’t say anything else, just nudges me with her shoulder, like I’m supposed to pick up on something. Something I definitely don’t pick up on.
“Okay, Miss Vague,” I cross my arms, leaning back against the couch, “what about you?”
“What about me?”
She grabs the remote and pauses the movie. We both know it’ll be a while before we return to our marathon.
“Jaxon Holmes.”
“Hmm,” she pauses, tapping a finger against her lips, “the name sounds familiar. Hockey player, right?”
“Yeah. He’s got wonderful ocean blue eyes and this unruly dark brown hair—”
“Especially when he’s just out of the shower or sweaty from a game; I mean that hair….” She sighs, and I laugh, pulling her out of her trance. “Fuck off.”
“Whoa, Miss Aggressive.” I smile. “Your brother okay with you using that language?”
“Where do you think I learned it?”
“I’m serious, Brin, you like him.”
“He’s 6’4, hot as hell, and a hockey player. Ninety percent of the school likes him, guys included.”
“Yeah, but ninety percent of the school doesn’t know him like you do.”
“I only know what my brother knows.” She shrugs. “Doesn’t make me very special.”
“So why haven’t you gone there?”
“I’ve tried,” she replies. “God knows I’ve tried. I flirt and tease and—”
“Have you told him?”
She laughs in my face.
“Are you kidding me? Do people still do that?” she wonders. “I’m pretty sure we’ve moved on to dropping hints until they pick up on them and make the first move.”
