I pretty much never thought of myself as sexy.
River didn’t turn me into someone else. He drew out my style, and I felt a wave of confidence when I accepted that.
Fuck it. I felt good. I felt like I was on some kind of high, and I wasn’t ready for it to end yet.
I kicked my boots off at the door, then tossed my jacket on the hook. Up the few stairs to the kitchen, the house was quiet, like I expected. But Blake’s truck was in the back, and I happened to know that Casey had the night off.
I flipped on the kitchen lights, then hooked my phone up to the Bluetooth. It was just about the time they usually ate dinner, and after gorging myself on Casey’s amazing food all the time, I decided I’d return the favor.
Luckily, I’d been to the grocery store that afternoon, and I had the right ingredients for one of my only good meals. I tossed the white fish, peppers, and tomatoes on the counter, then turned the oven on to warm it up.
For a while, I just let myself enjoy cooking and listening to the music. Whenever I thought of the guys coming down to find me and seeing my makeup, my heart skipped with anticipation. But even if I didn’t end up feeding them dinner, I felt like I was accomplishing something.
Like River said, I needed to let people see me for who I was.
“Oh hey,” Blake said as he walked into the room. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a Penguins sweatshirt, and he’d grown a little scruff on his chin. “Smells good.”
“It’s baked white fish,” I said, spinning to face him. “If you’re hungry.”
Blake paused a few feet away, and I watched as his eyes landed on my face. He blinked, and his face softened, like all the hard lines were relaxed just a little, and my heart jumped in response.
“Thanks,” he said. “Sure.” He crossed over to the fridge. “Beer?”
“Sure.”
He turned and handed it to me. “You look nice today.”
At that point, I was surprised I didn’t melt. Blake complimenting me was one of the best confidence boosters I could imagine, and I knew I was going to hold on tight to that memory for the rest of my life.
“Thanks,” I managed. “I was over at my friend River’s place. He did my makeup.”
The back door slammed open, and I turned to see Casey, walking in with a bag of groceries. “Oh, hey,” he said, then tossed it on the counter. “You cooking?”
“There’s plenty!” I said. “If you’re hungry.”
Casey paused a couple of feet away from me, then nodded his head slightly as a smile grew on his face. “Nice makeup, man.”
I bit my cheek to stop from grinning too much. “Thanks! My friend River did it for me.”
Casey nodded and stepped closer. His cheeks were flushed from the cold, and his beard was wet with snow. “Fucking Russell Young,” he said approvingly, studying my face. “All grown up and rocking the eyeshadow. Who would have guessed?”
I laughed and turned away. The fact struck me that they would probably tell my brother about this and then my whole family, but I tried not to care. They were both standing there, being adorable and complimenting me, and I was going to enjoy the experience.
Leave it to Casey. Of course he wouldn’t let me walk by without saying something, which I realized was actually one of my favorite things about him.
“Take a seat,” I said, changing the subject before I turned into a gooey blob of feelings, but still quirking my mouth into a flirty smile. “Food’s almost ready.”
I felt hot all over, warm and tingly and excited. It suddenly seemed bizarrely possible that maybe there could be a spark here between the three of us.
Maybe I was high on the lipstick fumes or something. But one thing seemed incredibly clear.
I should have started wearing makeup a long time ago.
