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I can feel Colin’s eyes harden on me. He gets this look when he’s about to say something very parental.
I glare at him. “What?”
“What?”
“You’re staring at me.”
Colin sighs. “I didn’t mean to.”
“Yes, you did. Say it.”
“Say what?”
“What you want to say!” I exclaim and then stuff the bottom of the cone in my mouth, enjoying the melted ice cream mingling with the sweet, crunchy cone.
He folds his hands between his knees and slides them back and forth nervously. “I just wish you weren’t so committed to doing everything on your own. “
“What the heck are you talking about?”
“Like going back to school or maybe moving in with me or –”
“You just said you didn’t want me in the city,” I say pointedly.
Colin groans. “Well, if youlivedin the city, it would be different.”
“Whyis that different?”
“It just is! You wouldn’t be a Jerseyan waltzing in gawking at the skyscrapers.”
“I do not gawk.”
“Stella, trust me. You’re a gawker.”
“You don’t want me in town. I’d cramp your style.”
He snorts. “What style?”
Colin Banks, tech engineer at the biggest company since Tesla. Also, a full-on idiot. “You know. Your big tech bachelor style.”
“Eww, okay, I’m taking you home.”
I laugh and tease him the whole drive to my apartment. When he parks the car, he gives me a look. “Will you be okay until I see you next?”
“Colin, I’m a grown-ass woman.”
“Yeah, and someone has to worry about you. Might as well be me.”
I eye my brother. Ever since our parents passed away a few years earlier in a car accident, he’s been overprotective. I also feel protective of him, but it’s innate in his blood as a big brother to always be making sure I’m alright. “Text me when you get home.” I lean over and hug him.
Colin pats my back. “Turn on the light to let me know you’re safe.”
“You’re a worry wart.”
“You’re correct.”
I get out of the car and give him a wave just before I unlock the entryway door. My apartment is up the stairs, the first one on the right. I can already hear the dogs at the door. Herbie, the white pit bull, and Otis, a blonde chihuahua with an underbite, greet me with kisses and impatience to be let out. Before I do anything, I let them out through the kitchen door into the backyard. Then, I hurry to the front window and turn on the table lamp. I wave down at the Tesla even though he can’t see me.
As soon as Colin pulls off down the street, I’m left with a sinking feeling.
