She snorts. “What do you want, asshole?”

  “Oh, well…what else is new?”

  “Nothing…?”

  “You sure?”

  “God, Luke, what are you getting at?”

  “Okay, don’t shoot the messenger, but Dad already knows and so does Mom, so I guess I’ll just come out with it because they’re both freaked the fuck out. Natasha’s mom outed you about your boyfriend having a ring to propose. Is that true? Or has Laura been mixing Xanax with vodka again?”

  “Oh my God, I’m going to kill Nat. Mom and Dad know?”

  “Yeah, Mom called Dad in hysterics while we were at brunch.”

  “Thank God I bailed on that.”

  He narrows his eyes. “Are you even sick?”

  “No.”

  “Why are you avoiding us?”

  I cock my head to the side and look at the phone because I’m even interested in the answer to that question.

  “I just have some stuff going on.”

  “What stuff? Why are you being so fucking secretive?”

  “You aren’t entitled to know every little thing about my life, Lucas.”

  “Well excuse the fuck out of me for caring about my big sister.” Calm down! I mouth at him and he shakes his head. “We’re fucking worried about you. We don’t know anything about this guy and—”

  “Wes is amazing. He’s not like holding me hostage if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “I wasn’t.” He grunts. “There can be other ways that he’s not good for you that don’t fall under the umbrella of him breaking the goddamn law, Raegan.”

  “I just mean…he loves me.”

  “Of course, he does! You’re a catch, but can’t he find a girl his own age? And there’s already a ring in the mix? What’s the rush?”

  I wince, thinking about what he’d say about his father and me, my relationship with him aside. Would he say the same thing?

  “Lucas, this isn’t your life. I get you have concerns, but this isn’t your decision.”

  “So, this is it? You’re just marrying this guy?”

  “He hasn’t asked! I should have known that Natasha couldn’t keep this from Laura even after I begged her not to say anything. He knows he has to ask Dad.”

  “Is this what you want though?”

  “Yes. Lucas, I love him. I know it’s fast but…when you know, you just know. He’s just so kind-hearted and amazing and loves the hell out of me. He’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever met.”

  Lucas pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out an exasperated breath. “Yeah, because you’re twenty-three and haven’t met anyone yet!”

  She huffs. “You’re annoying me and I may be inclined to take this narrative from Dad, but you are not him so back off.”

  “Rae—”

  “Bye, Lucas,” she says before she hangs up.

  “Well, that could have gone over better,” Lucas grumbles.

  “It could have been worse?” I offer. “And hey, at least we know now that he’s going to ask your Dad for permission!” I say trying to diffuse his irritation.

  “That’s bullshit, he has a ring, and she knows about it. For all intents and purposes, they’re engaged.” He shrugs. “If my Dad says no, he’s still going to ask her and she’s still going to say yes.”

  “She may not.”

  “You heard her, she loves him. And my Dad can’t deny Raegan anything. He’s not going to refuse this guy the opportunity to ask her even if he wants to.”

  “I mean would it be the worst thing in the world for her to marry him? You guys don’t even know him, but she does? What I do know is that the harder you push, the harder she’s going to push back, and it’s going to drive a wedge between you guys.”

  The ride home is quiet and I can tell Lucas is agitated, because he barely says anything to me. By the time we get back to our houses, I’m heading towards mine when he nods towards his house.

  “You want to come in?”

  “Do you want me to come in?” I pull my sunglasses from the top of my head and slide them in front of my eyes.

  “Of course. I’m not mad at you, Avery.”

  “Well, it would be silly if you were.” I cross my arms over my chest.

  “For a long time, it was just me and Rae…when our parents were going through all that shit. We only had each other and no one else in the world gets it because we are the only products of two people that have spent half our lives arguing.”

  I wince because I do remember the beginning of their divorce when the three of them moved in next door and it was ugly.

  Especially when Theo not only got custody of their children but refused to pay alimony. Plus, he had a prenuptial agreement. Needless to say, Rebecca was pissed.

  But her boyfriend at the time whom she was living with and whom she did cheat on Theo with, allegedly made a fuck ton of money, so I suppose I understood Theo’s refusal to pay alimony when she was already getting a hefty settlement for bearing two of his children.

  “I get it.” I run a hand down his arm. “But I’m going to go to my house for a bit. Let you and your dad talk in private. I’ll be over in a little?”

  “You know you can hear anything we talk about. I trust you just as much as I trust my dad and Rae.” He tucks a hair behind my ear and it’s one of those gestures that sends off the alarm bells that maybe he does still have feelings for me. Like when he kisses my forehead when he’s drunk or wraps his arms around me and drops his nose into my neck. Those gestures make me feel like he’s inching us past the line of just friends towards something more. It makes me feel like shit.

  He trusts me.

  And I’m fucking his Dad.

  I wince, not wanting to have this internal monologue right now. “I know, but I want to talk to my mom about dinner.”

  “Alright, well just come over when you’re ready.” He taps my nose and nods towards my house.

  I roll my eyes at him wanting to make sure I get inside safely at three in the afternoon on a Saturday in the safest neighborhood in the most boring town in all of Pennsylvania. As soon as I’m through my front door, I immediately hear my parents on the back patio with my uncles and aunts, probably still celebrating from last night. My parents aren’t big partiers, but when they do, they go big, and I suppose their only daughter graduating with honors from an Ivy League college gave them carte blanche to go big all weekend. I don’t even blame them.

  I slip upstairs not wanting to engage with them and make it to my bedroom which is on the fourth floor. There is only my room and a bathroom up here but it means my room is massive and I can also see into the next backyard despite the fact that the house is several yards away.

  I see Theo sitting on the patio sipping something out of a tumbler and I wonder how much time I have before Lucas makes his way out there. I grab my phone from my purse and send him a text.

  Me: You look so lonely out there.

  He pulls his phone from his pocket and looks at it.

  TG: You here?

  Me: In my bedroom.

  He turns his head slightly towards my house, up to where he knows my room is, and nods before turning back to his phone.

  TG: What are you doing?

  Me: Wanted to give you and Lucas some time to rile each other up over Raegan without my interfering. I felt like you guys didn’t want my opinion

  TG: It’s not that.

  Me: He called Raegan.

  TG: Shit, what did he say?

  Me: Not the worst conversation but it ended with her hanging up on him. I’ll let him give you the details.

  I watch him drain the contents of his glass and his head falls back.

  Me: You look so tense.

  TG: I fucking am.

  Me: Is there anything I can do?

  TG: Plenty you can do. But you can’t right now.

  Me: Can you go to your room?

  TG: Let me talk to Lucas. Give me a bit.

  Twenty minutes later, my phone vibrates.

  TG: Tell me something good.

  I frown not knowing what he means, and I start to ask him to explain but I see the bubbles indicating that he’s typing.

  TG: Not sexual. Something good about you. Something that makes you happy.

  I tap my chin, wondering what I should tell him when I think of the email my advisor sent me just a few days ago after I had already graduated.

  Me: Pitt invited me to give a lecture next semester. I’m not going to teach a class or anything. It’s just a seminar on social media and the impact it has on businesses.

  TG: That’s amazing, Avery. Wow. You’re incredible.

  My heart skips a beat. I hadn’t told anyone yet, because I didn’t think it was a huge deal even though I’m freaking out about it. It makes me happy that he’s as excited for me as I am.

  Me: I’m excited.

  TG: You should be. I’m glad everyone sees how talented and special you are.

  Me: *heart eye emoji*

  Me: Your turn.

  TG: At the moment, I can only think of one thing.

  Me: Which is?

  TG: You

  I can’t stop the squeal from leaving me, and I press my fingers to my lips.

  Me: The thought of seeing you again tonight makes me happy as well.

  TG: Yes, how are you going to make that happen anyway?

  Me: Just make sure you’re out of the house when we get home and I’ll fake a headache or something so Lucas won’t want to hang out and then I’ll come meet you.

  TG: Alright. Looking forward to being alone with you. I don’t even mean just for sex. I just feel like I breathe easier around you.

  I don’t reply right away because I don’t know what to say, and before I know it, minutes have gone by and I haven’t said anything. I’m trying to calm the rapid beat of my heart over his words.

  TG: Shit. That was way too much. Ignore me. Probably shouldn’t have had that third whiskey.

  Me: No! No. Sorry, I was trying to figure out what to say that wasn’t a thousand heart eye emojis.

  TG: I’ll take your heart eyes.

  Dinner was exactly what I expected. A lot of my parents gushing over how proud they are of me. All the stories about me as a child and how they knew I was destined for greatness and my uncles asking me to help guide my teenage cousins in the right direction. That’s the downside of being the oldest cousin; I have to help all the younger ones, even the ones that don’t want to be helped.

  “Lucas, I think I’m going to call it a night,” I tell him as I point toward my house.

  My parents decided to go do karaoke with my aunts and uncles leaving me with a very empty house that I would love to invite Theo over to. That is, if it weren’t for the guy in front of me who would find that extremely odd.

  “You sure? You okay?” he asks, reaching out to touch my cheek.

  “Yeah, I think just all the drinking we did today and having a glass of champagne when we toasted and then wine at dinner is all getting to me.

  “Okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Of course, hey!” I call out to him as he walks away. “We never talked about it but what did your dad have to say about you talking to Rae?”

  “Oh…he says we need to give her some space and let her come to us at this point. Evidently, he talked to her also, and while she wasn’t as angry as she was with me, she was short with him and he didn’t like it. I don’t think their conversation ended particularly pleasant.”

  “I think that’s best for now. Maybe the ring isn’t for months down the line.”

  “I guess.” He shrugs and gives me a smile. “Catch you later, Summers.”

  Moments later, when I’m in the house, I prop my phone up on the credenza in the foyer and FaceTime Theo. He answers instantly and the smile on his face takes my breath away.

  “Hi, beautiful.”

  “Hi.” I smile back at him.

  “Where are you?”

  “Foyer, my parents went to karaoke.” I giggle and he chuckles in response.

  “You didn’t want to go with them?”

  “No, I wanted to see you.”

  “Did Lucas go home?”

  “I think so. He always makes sure I’m in the house first.”

  “As he should.” He presses his head back against the headrest and rubs his forehead. “I hate talking about him after what I’ve done. What we’re doing.”

  “You didn’t do anything. We…wanted this,” I tell him.

  “It’s not that simple and I hate the war I feel within myself when it comes to you. I can’t turn this feeling off, and I fucking need to.”

  “Is it bad that I’m glad you can’t?”

  He lets out what sounds like a sigh of defeat. “No.”

  I smile and press my teeth into my bottom lip. “Where are you?”

  “The business park on Wilshire.”

  “I can’t walk there.” I frown, realizing that he’s a few miles away.

  “Obviously.” He chuckles. “Just walk around the corner and I’ll pick you up.”

  I twist my mouth as I mull over that idea. “What if someone sees us and realizes it’s us?”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “The elementary school?” I offer.

  “That’s at least a seven-minute walk and it’s dark. No, Avery. Unless you’re going to risk taking your car. And wait I don’t think I want you doing that—how much did you have to drink?”

  “Just a glass of wine and a glass of champagne.”

  “And everything else you drank today. No driving, Avery.”

  “I sobered up after brunch!”

  He lowers his gaze at me. “You heard me.”

  The space between my legs throbs at the forcefulness of his tone. “Okay, you’re really limiting the options here, and I really want to suck your dick. Can you stop making this so difficult?”

  His eyes widen before letting out what I can only surmise to be a horny chuckle. “God, you’re going to be the death of me. And I was the one who said just meet me around the corner.”

  “We have nosy neighbors.”

  “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, kid. It’s ten-thirty at night and I’m not going to have you traipsing around without a care in the world.”

  “Maybe you should just come over,” I say, kicking my heels off.

  “Good one.”

  “Seriously, you could come in through my side door that’s not facing your house.” I pull the clip out of my hair that was holding it back and let it fall around my shoulders. I watch his eyes trace the movements before he shakes his head.

  “Avery, you don’t want to get in my car for fear of someone seeing you, but you want me to sneak into your house?”

  “Don’t you want to see me?” I ask, giving him my most innocent expression. I blink my eyes at him several times. “Or I suppose I’ll just have to spend the night with the other Theo Graham.” I sigh and his eyes darken.

  “Excuse me?”

  “My vibrator I’ve named after you, of course.” I run my hands through my hair. “He’s gotten a lot of action over the years.”

  “Fuck me, Avery.” He groans as he lets his eyes close.

  “I AM TRYING TO!” I stomp and he chuckles again.

  “You’re being a brat, Ave.”

  I run my index finger between my cleavage. “Is it working?”

  “No.”

  “Oh? So, you’re not contemplating how to get in my house and into my bedroom?”

  I grab my phone and make my way up the stairs to my room. Once I close the door, I set the phone on my nightstand and pull off my dress leaving me topless in a pair of panties and I hear a whispered “Fuck.”

  “Do you want to watch me use it?”

  I reach for the bag under my bed when I hear a pained, “Wait,” leave his lips.

  I sit up and stare at the camera. He shakes his head. “Please don’t. If you bring out a vibrator that you’ve named after me, I will lose my fucking mind.” He gives me a stern look. “We thought we were going to have to wait a week until Lucas left and now, we can’t even go a day?”

  “I thought you wanted this too…”

  “I do, which is why I said we, but not with all these risks. If your parents were out of town, I’d consider it, but they could show up at any minute.”

  “We both know they’ll close the bar down.”

  “And this could be the one time they don’t. Something happens. Maybe someone gets too drunk and needs to come back. There are too many wild cards in play right now and—” His eyes narrow and I notice he pauses the FaceTime.

  “What?”

  “Lucas texted me. He’s going out.”

  “Oh?” My clit throbs instantly like it knows it’s about to get some attention.

  “Said you’re not feeling well, so he’s meeting some of his friends to have a few beers.” he says as his face comes back into view.

  “Okay, then can I come over?”

  “Yes.” I can’t stop the smile that crosses my face. “But we’re going out. I can’t risk him coming home while you’re in my bed. At least this way, you’re not walking outside by yourself. I’ll wait for him to leave and then I’ll come back.”

  We’re off the phone moments later and I’m sliding on a short, black t-shirt dress that is perfect for car sex. I slide off my panties, deciding to forego them completely, and slide on a pair of sneakers. Ten minutes later, I’m in Theo’s Jeep, the same one from last winter break. I assume he chose this one because it’s got the most space. He backs out of his driveway and we are out of our neighborhood in minutes, making me breathe a little easier. He pulls into an abandoned parking lot and lets out a sigh before turning to look at me. Neither of us have said anything since we got in the car but the tension crackles between us.

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I touched you.”

  I look away from his eyes because I don’t know how to respond to that and turn towards the back of his truck. “Did you bring the truck so it’ll be easier for me to sit on your face?”

  He groans as he scrubs his jaw and looks up towards the sky which we can see through his open sunroof. “How do you make that sound so innocent?”

  I turn back to him and move my hands across the console to reach for his belt. “You’re so tense.”