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“You went onyourbirthday,” Coco says. “You said it was a gift to yourself.”
“It was. Annie was so happy that day.”
And then my sister—who has become more like a dear friend—whacks me in the arm.
Levi gives one approving nod.
“Tell her how you feel about rap music.” Levi flicks his chin my way.
“Noooo.” Coco covers her face with her hands. “You stood in line for hours for those Mayzee Haze tickets.Hours, Owen.”
“None of that matters. People do things like that all the time for the people they love.”
“That’s true,” Meredith says. She gives me a small smile. She won’t take Levi’s side just because she loves him. She’s spent her whole life wanting freedom and agency. She’d never let anyone take that from her.
I point at Meredith, like her opinion is the only opinion that matters here.
“Does Annie know you don’t like rap music?” she asks, and any hope I’d had for a defense crumbles to the ground.
“Owen,” Coco says, but it isn’t accusing, just sad. Which is somehow worse.
“It’s not a big deal, you guys. I just like making her happy. We’re happy together and—”
“And one day, he thinks she’ll wake up from her stupidity and realize that she loves him back—that he’s the one who’s always there when she’s happy.” Levi could have punched me—it would have been less painful than his words, than his mocking, disbelieving tone.
Because maybe he isn’t wrong. Maybe I am hoping that one day Annie will wake up and realize how good we are together. Howhappywe are together.
Sure, maybe I don’t like the Cowboys, and maybe those tickets cost me a full month’s salary, but the look on Annie’s face was worth it. The fact is, Iamhappy when I’m making her happy.
What’s wrong with that?
“You need this experiment more than I thought,” Coco says. “Don’t you realize, Owen, if she’s the right one, she’d be going the extra mile to make you happy right back? You need this. For yourself.”
9
Annie
Itap my pen to my notebook, nibbling on my bottom lip and staring at my sister, who is too busy to stare back. “So, what do you think?”
“Set up your best friend and make him follow all of your dating advice? Ummm, what if he never hits it off with anyone? You’ll never get past first date advice.”
We stand in my sister’s laundry room, and I watch as she attempts to scrub grass stains out of Bucky’s new tan dress pants.
“I’ve thought of that,” I say, handing her another Mr. Clean scrubbing sponge. She’s killed her current one. “I’ve asked him what he wants in a woman, and I’m going to do thorough research before setting him up. We’ll find Owen’s dream girl.”
Kayla smirks and pauses her scrubbing. That girl has muscles, like insane muscles, due to scrubbing little boys’ clothing. Sure, she played college basketball and coached at a CrossFit gym for three years—but nothing has built up her biceps like carrying around chubby little boys and scrubbing stains out of their clothing.
My sister turns her body a full forty-five degrees and studies me, one of her manicured brows lifting.
“What?” I say.
“You are going to set Owen—yourOwen—up with girl after girl?”
“Yes.” I’ve been very clear. What doesn’t she understand?
“And you don’t think that’ll be difficult?”
“Why would it be difficult? Owen is one hundred percent lovable.”
