“We’ve got to get out of here.” Stevie’s eyes are wide as she quickly releases me.
I look at the hard-on I’m sporting, wanting to cry out from how painful the buildup is, needing a release, but of course, right now is the moment my sister decides to make her fucking entrance.
Stevie really did have the right idea with the blue nails because right now, I’ve got some majorly blue balls.
“Zee, your sister is going to catch us in here together,” Stevie panics. “This can’t be how I meet her for the first time.”
“Relax.” I push her curls out of the way. “She’ll think you’re ten times cooler if she catches you giving me a handy in the bathroom.”
“Stop.” She laughs, swatting me in the chest as she stands from the sink. She smooths her shirt, then wipes her lips. “Do I look okay?”
I cup both her cheeks, resting my forehead on hers. “You look fucking perfect, Vee. Like you always do. Don’t worry about Lindsey. She already likes you.” I press my mouth to hers, hoping to calm her down.
But it does fuck-all to calm me down. I still have a giant hard-on that needs to be tucked in my waistband. Motioning towards it, I remind her, “You’re going to need to take care of this real soon, though.”
She palms me through my pants, causing me to hiss from the sensation. “Deal.” She seals it with a kiss before heading out to the hall before me.
I wait a moment, making sure the action happening in my pants is hidden enough before I follow her out.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You would,” is the first thing Lindsey says when I turn the corner.
She stands down the hallway, in front of the main entrance, with her suitcase in tow.
“Hey, Linds.” I walk behind Stevie, placing my hand on her lower back. “This is my girlfriend—”
“Stevie!” Lindsey bursts, quickly rushing her and engulfing her in a crushing hug. “I’m so excited to meet you. You have no idea.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she laughs.
Maddison and Logan stand at the end of the hall, watching the entire interaction with knowing smiles on their faces. I scratch the back of my head before holding my hands up to remind my sister, “I’m here too.”
“Cool,” Stevie deadpans.
“Great,” Lindsey adds.
My sister holds on a little longer before she finally looks up at me, rolling her eyes. “Jesus. Always needing attention.”
She lets go of Stevie to hug me, but my hug lasts a whopping two seconds.
She hooks her arm around Stevie’s, taking off with her. “You got my bag, Ev?” she calls over her shoulder.
I stand with my two best friends as the three of us watch my sister kidnap Stevie, taking her to the couch and excitedly chatting on about God knows what.
“So, does everyone like my girlfriend more than me? Is that how this works?”
“Yes,” Logan answers without hesitation.
“Welcome to the club, my man.” Maddison adds a pat on my shoulder before taking my sister’s bag to stash away from the front door.
Sometime after dinner and birthday cake, I find myself alone with Logan and Maddison once again as we collectively clean up the dishes in the kitchen. Between Ella and Lindsey, I’ve barely seen Stevie all night. They’ve stolen her away from me more times than I can count.
But I’ve got to say, I can’t help but love the way all my favorite people love her. She’s so special, and sweet, and hilarious and hasn’t recognized her worth due to the company she kept. People were in her life to get closer to her brother. Then there’s her mother, who always made her feel like she wasn’t enough. But here, with these people that are my family, she’s more than enough. She’s welcomed and wanted.
I wrap my arm around the birthday girl. “Thanks for being so cool to Stevie. She’s never really had good friends, so it means a lot.”
Logan’s head melts into my side. “That’s wild to me because we all really like her.”
“Yeah, I think it was more so she didn’t do a good job of standing up for herself when people would try to use her friendship to get closer to her brother. She’s starting to figure it out, though.” My admiring gaze finds my girlfriend in the living room with Lindsey.
“Zee.” Logan nudges me. “She’s great. But more than that, she makes you like who you are, and that makes me love her.”
I watch as my girl and my sister sit on the floor of the living room together, a glass of wine in Lindsey’s hand and a beer in Stevie’s. Rosie is passed out next to Ella on the couch, who is currently in a sugar coma due to the chocolate birthday cake still smeared across her mouth.