“I’ll get my purse!” Evelyn is at my side before I can correct her. With Stevie not here to see the show, I lack the desire to take the elevator down with Evelyn let alone take her to lunch.
We step out into the hall, and just as I’m about to end this charade I hear the buzzing of a couple—sounds like a heated argument. I look down the corridor and freeze. It’s Carter and Stevie, alone in a dark corner, standing so close they could touch. My stomach explodes in a vat of acid.
“Everything okay?” Normally I wouldn’t say anything. If it were anyone else, I’d walk away and let them settle their own damn differences.
Carter turns just enough, and his eyes round out as if he were caught with his hand in the Eaton cookie jar. Shit. Is he interested in Stevie? I know for a fact he’s hard up for her sister.
He steps into her, and, for a second, I think he’s going to kiss her, but he whispers something in her ear instead. She gives a quick nod. God, does he have a thing with Stevie? What am I saying? This is moral, upstanding Carter. Although he seems ready to have an affair with her sister if given half a chance. Maybe he’s gone off the deep end and is settling for second best. I’ll have to beat the crap out of him later because Stevie is nobody’s second best.
“Everything’s great.” Stevie speeds forward just as Evelyn clasps her hand over mine. Stevie’s eyes migrate down to our conjoined fingers, and a pair of disapproving commas appear on either side of her cheeks. “Carter and I were just arguing over where to go to lunch.”
Evelyn gasps. “Are you two dating?” She touches her fingers to her lips. “I swear I won’t say a word.” She purrs as if this were too delicious to comprehend. “We’re headed to Miso for sushi. You two want to hitch a ride?”
Before I know what’s happening I’ve got Evelyn riding shotgun and Carter and Stevie in the back. Evelyn yaps all the way there like a wound up Chihuahua, but I can’t help stealing glances at Stevie in the rearview mirror. Carter catches my eye, and I give him a dirty look. He’s about to get annihilated at some point today. There’s no way he can be attracted to Stevie. She’s mine, and I never was good at sharing.
We get in, and the waitress seats us. I land across from Stevie. My eyes settle over hers, and I don’t make a secret about it. I just bear into her, demanding an explanation. Carter wasn’t a part of the deal, or maybe he has been from the beginning, and this is simply just news to me.
“So tell us all about it.” Evelyn cuts me a look sharp enough to scrape out my balls. “When did you two first feel that spark?”
“Carter and I have known one another forever.” Stevie rocks her shoulder into my brother, and my appetite darts out the door. “He dated my sister. Carter thinks the quickest way to my sister’s heart is through my pants. Isn’t that right Car-Car?”
“That’s right, angel.” A wry smile flits across my brother’s face. “As soon as your sister hears of this, I’m sure to land her in my bed because logical adults know that’s a great start to a healthy relationship”—he cuts a hard glance my way—“by dating other people.”
My chest loosens, and I fight the urge to break out in a grin with relief. This is all a put on. It still doesn’t explain what they were arguing about. But that doesn’t matter now. It feels as if I have Stevie back. Now all I have to do is let Evelyn down. No more head games for me.
The waitress takes our order, and minutes bleed by like hours as Evelyn gives a top to bottom report on the vacation she took to South Africa last April. Stevie keeps glancing my way, her fingers thread nervously around a napkin. I wish we were alone. If we were seated on the balcony, I’d push both Evelyn and Carter off just to arrange for that.
Our food is delivered on oversized platters. The sushi looks great like small gothic flowers set in a neat row. Now that Stevie and Carter aren’t a thing, my appetite is back, and I can eat fifty of these.
Stevie leans in. “So what’s new with you, For—Crawford?”
Evelyn goes quiet as if Stevie has miraculously found the volume control.
I nod to Carter. “We’re going ahead with Gravity.”
“What?” Evelyn bounces in her seat.
“It’s something I thought about this morning, so I called the contractor and told him I want it turnkey by next weekend. It’s a done deal.”
“They stole our name.” Carter rakes his eyes over Stevie a moment. “You can’t use Gravity.”
“Then we’ll use, Anti-Gravity, Defying Gravity—hell, I don’t care what we call it. That’s my fucking pet, and I’m taking it back.”
Stevie runs her tongue over her lips in one quick revolution as if what I’ve just said turned her on.
“Gravity?” Stevie’s mouth parts with her lips full and quivering, and all I want to do is cover them with mine. “Is this the new business venture you were talking about a few weeks back?” She cuts a sly look to Carter before returning her gaze to me.
“Yes. It’s a nightclub I’m opening in Breakers. I wanted to do it as a thank you to every one of those people who set up shop in this depressing canyon to make my dreams come true. It was stolen from me by the idiots at Merlin.”
“Call it Kinx.” She bats her lashes so fast, exactly the way she did that first night at Shipwrecks as I made her mine.
“Kinx?” Evelyn crows the word out. “This isn’t some seedy dive in West Hollywood, Stephanie. Our good name is backing this venture.”
“I think it’s brilliant.” I don’t take my eyes off Stevie. “It’s a play on words. It’s fun. It stays.”
Evelyn grunts as if I just kicked her in the gut.
We start in on our meals, correction, Carter and I start in on our meals, while Evelyn details our past relationship highlights from out of the blue. Thankfully, she leaves out the important details. She almost shook it all out. Crap. I want to be the one to tell Stevie about my past, about the grueling life I once shared with Evelyn.
“And then there was the proposal.” She squirms with delight a little as she says it. And there it is. “Do you remember?” She looks to me, and I don’t say a word. I know what she’s doing, trying to engage me in a conversation built to hurt Stevie.
“I don’t remember what I had for breakfast last Tuesday.” I glance at Stevie before wolfing down the remainder of my plate.
Evelyn barks out a laugh. “It was quite an eventful day. We were at Shipwrecks”—her neck snaps toward Carter and Stevie—“that’s our special place. He had just played superhero pulling a girl from the water.”
Shit. Here we go.
“You said she tried making out with you”—Evelyn brays with laughter—“and that’s when I knew women of all ages would forever be trying to bed you. It was annoying at first.” She flicks her wrist at Stevie. “But it’s a good feeling to know this man is all mine.” Her fingers crawl up my arm. “It was such a great day. Still can’t believe we actually let the little shit name the horse you bought me.”
Stevie coughs into her drink, but Evelyn keeps streaming out the past as if she were giving a police report, pressured and desperate. Carter feigns mild interest, but I can’t take my eyes off Stevie. Her face grows increasingly pale. Her mouth rounds out into a perfect O. Her lips part as if she’s about to say something. She bolts up, steadying herself against the chair.
“Excuse me.” She staggers from the table, and Evelyn hops up beside her.
“I think I’ll go powder my nose, too.” Evelyn jumps to Stevie’s side. Before I can ask my brother what the fuck is up, a retching noise emits from behind followed by the distinct sound of liquid splattering to the ground.
Evelyn screams throwing her hands in the air. Stevie has her head bent, a river of vomit touching down on Evelyn’s shoes.
It looks like lunch is over.
For just about everyone here.
I drop Evelyn off at her condo then Carter back at Jinx before driving Stevie all the way to Rigby and helping her up to her dorm.
“You didn’t have to walk me up. I’m much bet
ter now.” She unlocks the door, and I set my foot inside to keep her from shutting me out. “There’s no way I’m leaving.” I tilt into her. Stevie washed up at the restaurant, but her eyes are still glazed over, her face ashen and pale.
“Have it your way.” She heads inside the tiny space, and I lock the door behind us.
“Bella is my roommate. She won’t be back until after seven. She’s pretty religious about hitting the gym after work.” She riffles through a few drawers before stepping into the bathroom. The pipes squeak as she runs the shower. “Make yourself at home. Try not to steal.”
“Steal.” I make a face at the empty ramen containers, candy wrappers floating around like confetti. I sit on the bed with a pink ruffled comforter laden with stuffed animals—definitely not hers, so I scoot to the one across from me with a black and white quilt. Two desks are smashed side by side under the window, and the backbeat of bass comes through the wall from the other side. It’s been so long since I’ve been in a dorm, let alone a girl’s dorm. I give a dull smile and smell her pillow, strawberries and a hint of perfume just like her hair. A picture on one of the desks catches my attention. Two girls sitting in the sand, each with an arm wrapped over the other’s shoulder. I moan a little as I pick it up. It’s a younger version of Stevie—two of her—both with wide grins, their hair slicked back from the ocean. There’s a pier in the distance that lets me know this was taken at Shipwrecks.
“Stevie,” I whisper with all of the grief I can afford. It hurts more than losing my parents to see this picture of Stevie so happy with the sister she lost long ago. The pipes cut out, and I replace the picture back on her desk. It takes another minute for her to come out wrapped in a towel, her hair in dark, watery tendrils.
I want her in the worst way. I want to tell her to forget the clothes, to come to bed and let me have her just like this.
“Feeling better?”
She motions for me to get up and crawls under the comforter without bothering to put on her clothes.
“I feel sick to the bone.”
I kick off my shoes and slip in next to her. Stevie doesn’t protest, doesn’t say one sarcastic word, just turns on the television.
“Did she make you sick?” I wrap my arm around her shoulders. If I’m going to push the limit, I may as well go for the gold, not that Evelyn is gold, more like fool’s gold.
“Yes. Are you happy? She made me so sick I vomited all over her.” Stevie wraps her arms around my waist and gives a squeeze. “Did you kiss her yet?”
I pull back and trace her features with my eyes.
“Yes.” I give it in a broken whisper, and Stevie’s mouth falls open as if she were ready to reenact her performance piece from earlier. “I kissed her on the cheek, Stevie. I’ve had more passion kissing my grandmother. I felt nothing.” I pull her chin up a notch as her watery, amber eyes oscillate to each of mine. “The only real kiss—the only ones that ever meant anything to me were the ones I shared with you.”
Her lips give a gentle curve. “That’s good to know.”
“How about you? Have you kissed Carter?” My gut pinches because I don’t know what I’ll do if she says yes.
“No.” She lifts her chin out of my grasp. “Would you like me to? I could give it the old college try and see if there’s any chemistry. I have this little thing I do with my tongue—”
“No.” A dry laugh gets caught in my throat. My insides grind at the idea of Carter ever laying his hands on her. “Definitely not. Please don’t. He’s my only full brother, and I’d like to keep from killing him just yet.”
She giggles, and the walls crumble around us like the fall of Rome. Here we are again, Stevie and Ford. It feels like heaven. It feels like home.
“Are you still angry with me?” I pull the wet strands of hair off her shoulder.
“Mostly.” She scoots back to get a better look at me. “I have trust issues in the event you haven’t noticed.”
“I noticed.” I moan into her. “Any idea who I can thank for that?”
“My mother first, then primarily my father.” She sighs, relaxing over my chest. “He can be an ass sometimes—most of the time.”
“You mentioned at the beach house that you’ve spent your whole life trying to get into your father’s good graces. You ever get there?”
Her gaze drifts down my chest. “Not yet. Don’t know if I ever will. Not sure I want to anymore.”
“You’re in my good graces.” I dot her forehead with a kiss.
“Not yet.” She shrinks another inch. “I’m sorry, Ford.” Her watery eyes quiver. “I’m not ready to go there with you just yet.”
“I get it.” I don’t, but it’s not necessarily a lie either. “I’m sorry Evelyn upset you today. If Carter went on about some relationship you two suddenly had—about how he liked to touch you, to kiss you, I would have reduced the furniture to toothpicks.”
Her body bounces with a laugh, and her towel loosens enough for me to see her cleavage, but Stevie doesn’t bother to correct it.
“Why are you so patient with me?” Her arms cinch around my back.
“Because you’re worth the wait.”
“And what if I weren’t?” She twists into me like she’s serious. “What if, after all is said and done, you hate me more than any other person you’ve ever met before?”
“Is that what this is about?” I slip her onto my lap, and her head comes to rest on my shoulder, her lips just inches from mine. “Do you think I’m even capable of hating you?” I touch my forehead to hers. “I swear to you, I can never come near that emotion. You could bash my windshield in, run over my cat, and I still wouldn’t have an ounce of displeasure with you.”
“I would never hurt Jinx.” She laughs then stops short with an alarmed look on her face as if she already has.
“You’re a good person, Stevie. You’re beautiful and intelligent. You’re the breath of fresh air I’ve needed for so long.” I dig my fingers into her hair. “Life, my work, everything was stale until you came along. You brought the color back when I hadn’t even realized I was stuck in a black and white world. Nothing moved before I saw you that night, and, now, the gears are grinding once again, life is spinning like the well-oiled machine it was meant to be.” I pull her in by the cheeks. “Do you know what else is meant to be? You and me, Stevie. We’re real. What we have is special. I swear to you I have never had these feelings before. It’s as if my heart knew you were coming and saved itself for you. I’ve fallen hard.” I give an audible swallow. “I’ve fallen in love with you.” The room stops up with silence—nothing but the sound of our erratic breathing. I bear hard into her eyes and press in as if I were diving down deep to the depths of her heartache, her pain, trying to make it all better. “I love you, Stevie Eaton. You stole my whole heart that night at the party before we ever made it out the door.”
A breath gets caught in her throat. A tiny choking sound emits, and I’d like to think that’s her version of reciprocating.
“Can I have a kiss?” I’m not above begging. “Please.”
“Just a little one.”
My lips brush over hers soft at first like painting the air with my affection. Stevie wraps her hands around the back of my neck and draws me to her. Our lips press over one another lingering, gliding softly for a small eternity, then her mouth opens, and I don’t bother with the niceties before diving in. My tongue mingles with hers, gentle at first then rough and wild as if I’ve unleashed a holy war into her mouth. My kisses say love me, fuck me, let me do things to you that you’ve never felt before. I’d die for you Stevie if you just let me in—let me love you.
I think she is.
I might just be in Stevie Eaton’s good graces again, and that’s all that matters in my life.
I’ve found heaven, right here, in the hot pool of her mouth.
7
Shooting Stars
Stevie
All week Ford sends me sappy text messages, and all week I pretend they mean
nothing, but, deep down, I’m squealing like a thirteen-year-old who just had the most popular boy in school ask her to the dance.
Thursday afternoon, the sky is striped with deep raspberry welts. My last class was canceled, so I accept Kinsley’s offer to meet her and Aspen for drinks at the Trattoria. Lincoln is there when I arrive, and I give my big brother a tight affectionate hug. I’ll beat the shit out of him later. I still haven’t confronted him for swiping Gravity from Ford.
The scent of garlic mixing with tomato sauce makes my stomach turn in a big way, and I want nothing more than to run out the door and suck in vats of fresh air. Heck, I’d suck in vats of fumes from an exhaust pipe just to get away from this gut-churning odor.
“You have anything new on Jinx?” His brow rises high on one side, a neat trick I used to try and replicate as a kid. I wanted to be just like Lincoln and Kinsley when I grew up. I craved all of the love and attention my father slathered them with, but I always came up wanting. Both Claire and I wanted those things, and neither of us achieved them.
“Nothing.” All of that info I swiped from Evelyn’s desk last week comes to mind. “Well, something, but I might just hold onto this one.” I bite down on my bottom lip as Kinsley slaps her hands over the table.
“You’ve fallen for him!” She pulls me in. “I knew it! Once I saw what you were up against, I knew my baby sister was going to fall hard. Oh, honey, he is hot, hot—hot!” She screams the words out like she’s having an orgasm. And, knowing that she’s talking about Ford, she might be.
“Is this true?” Aspen asks through an open mouthed smile. “Do you love him?”
“I never said the L word.” And after that marathon kiss we shared on my bed last week, our lips have yet to meet. But God how my mouth—my entire body—has ached for him.
Lincoln leans in and accidently knocks my purse to the ground.