Then I bought her a scarf I noticed her looking at online the other night as an early Christmas present.Which somehow feels like proving her point.A small smile pulls at my mouth before disappearing again.
Luc notices of course and points a finger in my direction with a knowing look on his face.“Oh, no.”
I glance up.“What?”
“I know that look.”He takes a swig of his beer, a wide grin breaking across his face as he stares across the room at me.
“What look?”
“The one where you smile like a lunatic for five seconds, start to resemble a functioning human being, then stop before anyone notices.”His grin turns smug as he nods at me.“Only a girl does that to someone.”
Dean almost chokes on his beer laughing from the couch as he sits up straighter, nodding in agreement.
Mikey tips his glass in my direction.“We’ve all noticed, by the way.”
My shoulders tense before I can stop the reaction.“Noticed what?”
“That you disappear the second a session is called for the night,” Dean chirps in.“Like Cinderella, if Cinderella had a secret she didn’t want her evil step-sisters to know about.”
“Are you guys supposed to be the evil step-sisters?”I take a long draw of the whiskey in my hand.
“I’m not sure about evil, but they are definitely your sister’s!”Quinn giggles.
My brow furrows as I glance around the room, and wonder if I had in fact been that secretive about my relationship with Vanessa.And why?Why was I doing that?I wasn’t sure, and the dangerous thing is that they weren’t wrong.
I know exactly what they’re talking about.Every night after the studio, my brain immediately shifts toward Vanessa now.Meeting her after work.Going back to her apartment.The way her smile and laugh make me feel lighter.The smell of her shampoo on my pillow.The way she looks up when I walk through her door like she was waiting for me.
Jesus Christ.I’d gone and fallen back in love with her.That reality of it lands hard enough that I drain the rest of my whiskey in one swallow.
Luc watches me over the rim of his beer for a second longer than the others.He’s too perceptive, always has been.“Does she make you happy?”
The question cuts through the room sharper than it should.And in one quick motion, everyone is looking at me.Dean.Sadie.Mikey.Quinn.Even Lily pauses in the kitchen.I should deflect.Normally I would.Instead, my answer leaves me before I fully think about it.
“Yeah.”
Silence.
Not bad silence.It’s a surprised silence.Because I don’t do love.Or serious.Mikey recovers first, pointing a drumstick in my direction.“I knew it.”
Dean presses a hand against his chest.“He admitted an emotion.Someone write this date down.”
“Shut up.”
Sadie flashes a wide grin.“It’s about time.You were like an island out there all on your own.”
Quinn speaks next.“So, when do we get to meet her?”
Lily answers for me.“Leave him alone you guys.Hayden will let us know when he’s ready.”
I smile over at her with gratitude.“Thanks, Lily.”
“I might just follow you home one night.”Mikey warns, his eyes narrowing as he stares over at me.“I want to know who this mystery woman is.”
“You couldn’t keep up.”I shoot back, meaning every word.
Laughter breaks the tension afterward, but something heavy settles in my chest while the conversation shifts around me again.Because the truth is, I am happy.Enough that I can’t ignore it.And somehow that realization makes Vanessa’s absence, and the fact that I didn’t bring her, feel worse as the afternoon wears on.
By six o’clock, the house is louder than ever.There are more people, the music has been turned up, dessert has been served, and the drinks are flowing like water on a hot summer day.Larkin is somehow still awake despite running entirely on pie and chaos.
