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I check my watch to see it’s just after midnight. “I guess we just wait for the all-clear from Shay.”
Fortunately, we’re not hanging around in the hallway for too much longer. About ten minutes later, Shay opens the front door and ushers us inside. We leave the door propped open so it’s easier to go back and forth to the hallway to retrieve all the decorations.
“Are you sure Jamie won’t wake up?” I ask my brother as Jake and I start lugging armfuls inside.
“Not a chance,” Shay says with an incredibly self-satisfied grin. “He’s always completely out of it after I—”
“Fort the love of god, donotfinish that sentence,” I grumble, setting the purple lilies I’m holding onto the counter. “Where do you want all this shit, anyway?”
“Loving the attitude,” Shay says wryly. Then he starts directing Jake and me around the living room and kitchen area and the three of us spend the next hour arranging everything to Shay’s satisfaction. By the time we’re done, the apartment looks like Tinker bell and theMy Little Ponieshave teamed up for an HGTV design special. There are splashes of pink here and there, but for the most part it looks like an extremely over-the-top tribute to purple. Flowers that range in color from mauve to deep violet, shiny purple balloons floating against the ceiling, a sea of purple glitter and confetti covering the floor… It’s all very,veryJamie.
I snap a picture so I can send it to Ellie, figuring it might put a smile on her face during what must be a pretty miserable visit home. I wish she didn’t have to be there in what is obviously such a toxic environment. I’m still pissed about what she told me earlier; if I ever come face to face with Ellie’s mom I’m going to have a really hard time remaining civil.
“Alright, if that’s it I’ll get going,” I say to Shay.
He nods. “Yeah, thanks man.” And then to Jake, he says, “And you should get to bed. Weren’t you planning on leaving early tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll be out of your hair, don’t worry,” Jake says wryly. “But can you please just promise not to have sex in the living room?”
Shay shakes his head. “I’m not promising that. What do you think the glitter is for?”
I screw up my face in agitation. “So much more than I needed to know.”
Of course Jamie said yes,which makes the effort I put into the proposal somewhat worth it. I’m still pretty wary about Shay and his favors though, so when he calls me a couple days after Christmas and asks me for another one my instinct is of course to say no.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing like the last one,” he assures me.
“What is it then?”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “Jamie’s granddad had a heart attack this morning so we need to go to London for a bit. I was hoping you could stay with Jake while we’re gone. Otherwise he’ll need to go stay with Mom and Da, and I know he doesn’t want to spend his winter break away from the city.”
As we’ve established, Jake is seventeen and pretty much capable of taking care of himself. But according to the legal conditions of Shay’s guardianship, he needs and adult to stay with him overnight. As unlikely as it might be, if he were to be left on his own and something happened, he could be taken out of Shay’s care.
“Um, okay. Yeah, I guess I could do that.” At the very least I’d save money on the cost of a hotel over the next week or so. “I have to be back at school by the seventh, though.”
“Don’t worry, I should be home by then,” Shay assures me. “And if for some reason I’m not, I’ll work something out.”
“Alright then. Anything I need to know?”
“Not really. He’s pretty low-maintenance to tell you the truth. He’s staying at a friend’s place on New Year’s and I’ve already checked with the parents that they’re going to be home so you don’t need to worry about him then.”
“Sounds pretty manageable,” I say with a nod. “Just one condition though…”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Please, for the love of god, make sure you’ve washed the sheets on your bed.”
Shay lets out a breath of laughter. “ThatI can manage.”
“Doesanyone else think it’s weird that Blake and Owen are throwing this party but neither of them is here?” Liam asks, his face arranged into its usual gruff expression.
I shrug. “I thought it was weird that Owen would be having a New Year’s party at his house. Him not being here for it is pretty normal.”
“I saw Blake earlier,” Alannah comments. “Not sure where he went, though. He was muttering something about Elmo.”
My brows creep up. “Right. ‘Cause that’s not weird…” I trail off as I catch sight of the blonde vision in a black halter neck jumpsuit and stiletto heels strolling across the party.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake—just have sex already!” Liam groans, scowling at me.
