“Like she would ever let you,” I scoff. Scarlett frowns and Mila looks up at me with those doe eyes. “She’s too loyal for he own good, aren’t you girl?”
I look over at Scarlett as we both fuss over the excited puppy as she rolls over my bed, and I swear I get a glimpse into our future. Mornings like this. Both of us snuggled up in bed.Ourbed. A huge Labrador rolling around us as we treat her like a baby. That’s what I want my future to look like. There’s no future I want to be a part of where Scarlett isn’t with me.
When she’s still giggling, running her hands over Mila’s fur, I grasp her chin in my hand, turning her towards me. “Scar?”
“Hm?”
“You’re it for me.”
“I know,” she mutters, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “No one would be willing to put up with your shit other than me.”
“Guess you’re stuck with me, then.”
She shrugs. “Guess so.”
Scarlett
“Fun night?”
I’m startled by the sound of Kennedy’s voice as I lock the door behind me. It was already a struggle trying to sneak into the building without people from school seeing me, especially not Miles since his house is so close by and he often practices early. I usually see him when I’m doing my weekly walk of shame, and I did not want him to catch me this morning. Instead, I’m caught by Kennedy. She’s sitting in the dark, the blinds in the living room closed as she eats some cereal on the kitchen island.
“Jesus, Ken, you need to start wearing a bell,” I say, sighing against the door before walking over to her.
“How would that work if I’m sitting down?” she asks curiously, tilting her head to the side. Some of the milk dribbles down her chin and she wipes it away with the sleeve of her dressing gown. “Good night?” she asks again.
“Yeah, it was okay,” I reply, moving towards the fridge, opening it so the cool air can hit me. I’m lying to both of us here. ‘Okay,’ doesn’t mean shit compared to what happened last night. It was more thanokay.
“These came for you this morning,” she says. I close the fridge, turning towards her and then I notice the black box and bouquet of flowers. The box is covered in tissue paper with an envelope on top. The bouquet is a mix of orange and pink tulips. “Who are they from?” she sing-songs, peaking over at me as I pick up the envelope. We both know who they’re from. Still, I open the envelope and read the note.
I got you these in hopes of doing them together. Then, I figured it would turn into a screaming match where you’d tell me I’m doing it wrong, and I’d let you. Let me know when you want to start, and we’ll see who finishes first. Spoiler Alert: I’m not going to let you win at everything.
Yours, Evan Branson.
I laugh to myself as I re-read the note. I did not peg him for the romantic type at all. Still, it fills my chest with warmth and my smile doubles. Kennedy watches me like a movie as I open the box to find Lego flowers, matching the ones that are sitting on the island, as well as a Bonsai tree made of Lego.
Evan Branson bought me Lego flowers.
* * *
I thought the weirdest part of this whole thing was the fact that I actually like Evan, but it’s not. The weirdest part of it all is that I feel totally and completely safe with him and I don’t worry about him doing something that can hurt me. Everything about him just feels right. Beneath all the arguments and petty comments, I feel like I just know him as much as he knows me. We spent so long picking at each other’s weaknesses, knowing where to hurt each other, but it really just allowed me to know him.
That’s why I know that when he’s not in the library, he’s in the music rooms. As I make my way over, I try to think of a way to thank him for the gift. I’ve not received any gifts before from people I’ve slept with, but the fact he got me something makes me feel like it’s much more than that. That it’s bigger than the both of us.
When I get to the room, I stand outside it for a minute, transfixed by the piece he’s playing. It sounds like ‘Linda’s song’. The one he wrote for me. It’s going to take me a while to get used to the fact that he wrote something and dedicated it to mejust because. That’s the thing about Evan, he doesn’t do things because I ask him, he does itjust because.
“Are you going to come in or keep staring some more?”
I didn’t even notice that he had stopped playing until his eyes connected with mine in the mirror. I push open the door slightly, slipping into the room. It’s hard to look at him without thinking of everything he did to me last night. About every dirty word, every touch…
“I just wanted to say thank you for the flowers and for the Lego ones,” I say, twisting my fingers in the sleeve of my shirt. He angles his body towards mine, swinging his legs over the bench.
He shrugs. “You make me want to do cute shit like that for you.”
“I suck at giving gifts,” I admit. This is why I’ve been so nervous. I don’t want him to buy me things because I know there’s nothing I can give him in return. He could try to ease my guilt, telling me that all he needs is me, but sometimes that can’t be enough. I can’t be enough to satisfy him. There’s no way.
“You probably don’t,” he says easily.
“See you said ‘probably.’ Which means a part of you knows that what I’m saying is true,” I challenge.
