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“He wanted to fight for her, but how do you fight for someone who makes it clear they don’t want you?” Spencer gives me a pointed look, and my stomach flutters as I avert my eyes. I wish I could tell him it was never about me not wanting him. It was about me not being who he deserves. “It hit him hard when she got married. He ended up marrying this awful woman, which ended in divorce less than a year later. It left him in a bad place. But he’s worked hard these past couple years, building his business and getting his life back on track. If I had a sister, I’d trust him with her.”
“Okay, good.” I let out a sigh of relief and relax into the couch, resting my head as I close my eyes. “You probably think I’m a nosey, overprotective freak.”
His chuckle is soft yet deep, and I swear I can feel his eyes on me. “Nosey and protective maybe, but that doesn’t make you a freak. You care deeply for the people you love. I think that’s an enduring quality.” His warm hand covers mine like a blanket, and my eyes pop open as his thumb caresses me. My body goes tense from the sudden lack of air. It’s as if I’ve forgotten how to breathe as my gaze meets his, a soft smile on his lips. “Your sister is lucky to have you looking out for her, but she’s going to be fine.”
I nod, and he gives my hand a tight squeeze before letting go, leaving that same aching cold on my skin in its wake. A silence falls between us as my stare moves to the ceiling, and I slowly start to pull oxygen into my lungs again.
He clears his throat. “Is it wrong to point out that I touched you without being threatened with bodily harm?”
My head shoots up, my eyes slanted as I try to hold back my smile. “I was distracted with concern for my sister. Don’t get too comfortable.”
“I don’t know,” he singsongs. “I think we might officially be friends.”
I scoff. “Fuck off.”
His smile only beams brighter. “Yeah, I care about you too.”
My stomach fills with butterflies, and I press my lips together, feigning disgust before resting my head on the back of the couch again.
Cat walks back into the room with the popcorn and plops down on the opposite side of Spencer. “Oh, wow…How did you manage to get her quiet?” she jokes.
Spencer chuckles. “I don’t know. Maybe she gets nervous around cops.”
They both laugh this time, and I groan.
When Cat starts the movie, I sit up and chance another glance over at Spencer. His arm is around Cat’s shoulder, and she’s snuggled into his side with her head on his chest. They look like a picture-perfect couple, and my stomach knots with jealousy, but when I see the bright smile on Cat’s face, it unwinds. I can and will overcome this little infatuation with him. There’s no other option.
Spencer
Cat tangles her fingers in mine, leaning back onto my chest as she wraps my arm around her shoulders. Lori left about thirty minutes ago, yet she still seems to be the topic of conversation.
Lori mentioned Levi, Eric’s little brother, was hitting on her while they were getting Julianna moved into her new apartment. Now, Cat is scheming with Julianna, trying to figure out a way to get the two of them hooked up. And she’s attempting to convince me to help them, but I’m not on board. The idea makes my stomach hurt a little more than it probably should.
“I think it would be awesome,” Cat says. “We could go on double dates, and then maybe Lori wouldn’t feel so left out.”
“You’re forgetting one thing, babe. Lori doesn’t date.”
“Well, she hasn’t always been against the idea of dating.”
That information piques my interest. I’ve been trying to figure out what made Lori so closed off since we met. “She hasn’t? What do you think changed that?”
She shrugs. “I’m pretty sure she was secretly dating this guy our senior year. She was absent a lot and lying about where she was. By the time she started her first semester of college, she was seeing a new guy every week. I think something happened with this mystery guy and that altered her attitude about dating.”
I scoff, and Cat turns her head to meet my gaze. “Are you saying you think she’s still jaded over her first love?”
“No.” She rolls her eyes, smacking her lips. “I don’t think she’s ever been in love. That isn’t the kind of thing you can easily hide.”
My eyebrows lift. “You say that like you know from experience. Have you been in love?”
Cat averts her eyes, her cheeks going red as she faces away from me again. “Well, sure…” She clears her throat. “Haven’t you?”
“No,” I jeer. “I mean, there were a couple times when I thought I was in love, but it wasn’t real.”
She shifts to meet my gaze again, her eyes studying mine. “What makes you say that?”
“Because I believe once you truly love someone, you’ll always love them.”
Her features fall, her face losing all color this time as she swallows. “Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”
