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“Oh, wow,” I say, unsurprised by my sister’s eavesdropping. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him that you’re an adult and we can only guide you, not tell you what you can and can’t do. He, of course, did not like that, and he walked away. He’s been pretty tense lately.”
“Well, that sucks,” I say, feeling for her. “I don’t want to be the cause of his tension.”
“Cal, I get his reasoning—he doesn’t want you to get hurt. But my thing is, you have to love to be able to learn, not only about yourself, but about how to be a significant other. It’s not easy, and you didn’t have a normal childhood. You trained and you worked. You didn’t date or go out to parties. So, while it’s hard for me to deal with you growing up, I want those things for you. Nico doesn’t understand that stuff. He only understands that he wants to protect you. Ya know what I mean?”
I nod, and I swear, I love my sister more than life itself. “I do. I just don’t want him to cause you any stress.”
She shrugs. “If he does, he does. I’ll try to help, and it’s his choice to take what I’m giving or to continue his behavior. It’ll even out. I know it will.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll walk you down the aisle when the time comes.”
I grin. “That was a given anyway.”
“True,” she agrees, and then I hear a knock at the side sliding door.
Evan stands at it, waving at me. I beam at him and then wave him in. “Hey, Evan just got here. Can I call you later?”
“Of course. Love you. Tell him I said hi.”
“I will. Love you.”
I end the call just as he reaches me, handing me a bag of Jersey Mike’s and then the almond milk I’d asked him to get for Cameron. “Ooh, thank you.”
“Did you really cuss everyone out and order a fridge off Amazon because of them taking her milk?”
I give him a look. “Yes. You don’t treat people like that. I don’t like that shit.”
“Obviously,” he laughs. “I figured after all that smiling you had to do…” he teases, and then he pulls a rose from his back pocket. “It’s fake and from the gas station, but I saw it and thought of you. Thought it would make you smile for real.”
I turn to goo as I take it from him. “Oh, Evan, thank you,” I say, reaching for his shirt and pulling him to me. He kisses me as eagerly as I do him. Our tongues play gently before we part to breathe. “Really, thank you.”
“No problem.”
I put the almond milk and our food on my desk as he sits beside me on my bed.
“What were you doing?”
“I was taking off my makeup and talking to Aviva,” I say as I continue to get shit off my face. “I hate the glue they use. It sticks so badly in my eyes, and I have a hard time getting it out.”
He looks at what I’m doing with my eyes, and he takes the brush from me. “Come here.” He directs my head down into his lap and then proceeds to brush the rest of the glue out of my lashes. “You have really pretty skin.”
My lips curve as I feel him move the brush through my lashes. He’s so tender, so precise. “Thanks.”
“You looked really hot today.”
“A painted whore, really.”
He scoffs. “A hot painted whore.”
“The best kind.”
He laughs as he goes over each of my lashes with such detail. I open one eye to see him, his brows dented in concentration, squinting, and biting his lip as he carefully gets everything out of my other one. He even cleans my eyes with wipes once he’s done. “I think I got it all.”
I grin up at him while I blink to make sure I can see. “I think you did.”
He leans down, kissing my forehead, and I sit up before reaching for my food. I open the bag and give him his sub before we both start eating, cuddled up beside each other in my bed.
“You were good at that. Did you have to help your sisters?”
He chuckles around the bite he just took. “Actually, in high school, we did this spartan cheerleading skit where the guys would dress as girls and do a routine. We went all out because it’s Owen, and he made me. I got good at getting out the lash glue that my sister would use on us. She used her Broadway stuff, so it was tough to remove.”
“That is hilarious.”
“It was.”
“I didn’t know your sister was on Broadway. Which one?”
“Shelli. My mom was for a bit too.”
“Oh, that’s cool!”
“Yeah, they’re both super talented.”
