I try again.
"I mean, I like the surprise, but I wasn't expecting you today. Did you come here just to yell about my sister?"
She snags her phone off the counter and taps at the screen. Seconds later my phone pings. It feels ominous, and I'm nervous. Her face is a blank slate, and I have no clue what to expect. Will it be another photo of us on InASnap? Fuck, I hope not. No, that can't be it, she'd have texted me or shoved it in my face when she got here. Good news then?
"Oh my god, will you stop trying to guess and fucking look at it?" she asks and hops onto the counter. Grabbing my phone, I slide between her legs and unlock it.
I tap on the text alert and then the photo attachment.
It's a screenshot of an email.
"I got an interview," she says before I can even discern what I'm looking at. "For the scholarship. It's in two days, and I have to bring my portfolio."
"I told you," I say, dropping my phone into my pocket.
The smile on her face is pure joy and astonishment.
"I just…" She doesn't finish, but smiles, her eyes sparkling.
"I'm so proud of you," I say, leaning into her and framing her face with my hands.
She bites her lip.
I kiss her before she can say something smart ass. It's tender. Sweet. Definitely not a friends with benefits kiss. Her hands slide to my waist, tugging me closer.
She could have called. She could've texted. Instead, she came here to show me in person like a girlfriend would. My heart pounds in my chest. Have I finally maneuvered around her shield?
Her lips leave mine, and the emptiness aches.
"Thank you for this," she whispers. Her mouth is still close enough to mine that each syllable is another brush of her lips. Every single one is a shovel cleaning up the wall she obliterated around my heart.
Chapter thirty-two
Jade
Confidence isn't something I lack in most circumstances, but the scholarship interview was terrifying. At least it started out that way, but then I showed my pieces, and like art does, they spoke for themselves.
I probably should've asked Mateo if I could use one I'd drawn of him, but I'd need to admit I'd drawn him, and he'd probably spend the rest of the week calling me Jack.
Instead of Storm Cloud.
There are a few hours before I have to pick Coop up from school, but I'm too amped to go home. My car concert playlist is on full blast, sounding fuzzy as fuck through the blown speakers in this old ass car, and I've got a half empty Red Bull in the cupholder.
Life feels good.
So good that I pull into Addie's favorite cafe, half hoping to see her car even though I know she's in class. Which reminds me to text her about my hair.
Can you add more pink to my hair this weekend?
Addie
Saturday?
Sushi?
Addie
Puke
