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“That’s… I don’t even have the word. Can we watch it,” he asks her.
“Is that really how you guys want to spend your night?” Her nose scrunches up with skepticism.
“Yes,” Damian agrees immediately.
“I’ve got about two hours before I’m going to pass out. I don’t care what we watch as long as I get to lounge on that couch while we’re doing it.” I look over at it longingly. It’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought and I’m hoping it’s worth every damn penny.
“Okay, then. But don’t say I didn’t warn you; it’s going to make you mad.”
An hour later, every bite of pasta is gone, and Willa is snuggled up between Damian and me on my oversized and overstuffed sofa. Damian has his arm wrapped around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest. Fresh tears fall from her eyes.
It’s our legs that hold my attention most. All three of us are tangled together as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. I’m not sure how or when we ended up like this. My instinct is to get up, create the distance I always do.
A glance at my lounge mates stops me. Damian twines a strand of Willa’s hair around his finger. He’s comfortable with her, maybe even comforted by her in the same way I am. She’s a balm to every wound. A personality that instantly eases moods and tensions. Though I’ve resigned myself to the torture of never being with her, I don’t want to take that away from Damian.
He notices my perusal and raises a brow in question. I shake of my head and ease further down in the cushions, enjoying the way her foot rubs against my calf.
6
Willa
“Zander says you’ve been over for dinner a couple of times,” Isla says. We’re at our parents’ since Dad called a family dinner because the team just got back from an eight-day road trip, and he missed all his girls. Mom and Dad are cooking together, Sadie is rolling around on the floor with their dog, Curly, and Cillian’s watching hockey on the television. All the while my sister grills me.
“I made him some food, yeah. He hardly had anything. I thought he’d like some home cooking.” I shrug, keeping my sight trained on the TV. Though, I’m not registering any of the plays.
“That was nice of you,” she says, but I know she wants to say more.
“What?”
“Do you still obsess over his neck?” Cillian laughs at his wife’s question.
“That’s bizarre, Willa. Even for you,” he says.
“It is not,” I protest to his growing laughter. “He has a very exceptional neck.”
“Please don’t get your hopes up.”
“I know, Isla. I know about him, and I understand that we’re only ever going to be friends.” She sends a look to Cillian that I don’t understand. “It’s nice to have another friend in the building though. And I have fun with him, always have. Damian, too.”
Damian has come over to watch the games with me twice while Zander was gone. And another time, he found me at the café and refreshed my chai latte. He still flirts with me, but I’ve come to understand that’s just who he is. He’s fun, and while my lady parts still get excited over both men, my head is just happy to have a new friend.
“Okay.” She scoots closer to me and wraps an arm around me. “I just worry about my kid sister. I kind of like you, you know?”
“You love her,” Sadie yells from the floor. “Because she’s badass, you always say.”
“Shh, don’t let your grandma here you say that word,” Cillian warns her, and they both grin at each other.
“Okay, I’ll be careful, Daddy.”
“How’s school,” my father asks when we finally gather at the table for dinner.
“Good. Working on a team project that I’m feeling passionate about.”
“You okay on money?”
“Yes, I haven’t even touched what you gave me at Christmas. Stop asking.”
“Make me,” he teases.
