Then she said, “You should come down and see it after you get home; my bed is stunning.”
No way was I going down to look at her bed. I needed to put a lot of distance between my libido and Jack’s little sister.
Jack’s little sister, Jack’s little sister, Jack’s little sister.
I said, “Mine’s better.”
“Well, after I nap I’m going to eat leftover pizza on my deck and shop for sheets and blankets, so it’s pretty much going to be like a party all night down here on six if you change your mind.”
“I will keep that in mind,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t.
“Well, goodbye, then, Colin.”
“Goodbye, Liv.”
The second I ended the call, Jillian said, “Holy hells, Col—who was that? You’re positively beaming.”
I rolled my eyes and stood. “As if I’m telling you. Are you ready?”
She stood and pushed in her chair. “If you don’t give me the story by the time we reach our cars, I’m keying your Audi and calling our mother.”
“Fine.” I gave a chin-nod to one of my father’s golfing buddies as we walked out of the dining room. “I’ll give you the short version, but you have to promise not to laugh.”
“I’m afraid I can do no such thing.”
13
Olivia
I looked over at the door when I heard a knock. I was sitting on a stool, watching an old episode of New Girl on my laptop and eating leftover pizza, and after seeing Zooey Deschanel look so damned adorable, I’d pulled out my makeup bag and attempted to re-create her look.
It hadn’t worked.
I had on bright red lipstick that looked kind of good but super trampy, like I was the kind of woman who would eat a Popsicle hyper-sexually in an obnoxious attempt to arouse all the menfolk. My eyes were lined in black and I had the wings, but I looked more like I should be in an eighties rock video than an adorable show with Nick Miller.
To make it worse, I was wearing my old softball pants because I saw them in the box and remembered how comfortable they were and wanted to see if they still fit.
“Who is it?” I stood and tried gauging how long it would take for me to sprint up to the loft and change my pants really fast. Colin had said he wasn’t coming by, and no one besides my brother and Dana even knew where I lived.
“It’s Colin.”
Of course it is. “If you’ve come looking for gratitudial favors, just keep walking.”
“I brought bedding.”
I undid the locks and opened the door a crack, leaving on the chain. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans and—holy shit—those glasses. It was like he was trying to look like a hot nerd or something. I said, “Bedding for my bed?”
He tilted his head. “What else would I bring bedding for?”
Dear Lord. “Hang on.”
I shut the door and started undoing the chain. “You need to promise not to say anything about the way I look.”
“This should be good.”
I pulled the door open, and his face immediately split into a wide grin. “Well, what do we have here?”
“Bite me.”
He walked into the apartment with an armful of bedding, his eyes all over me as he grinned like I was a moron. “What is this, though? Like . . . Cher meets Taylor Swift . . . ?”
“Cher?” I grabbed the pile from his hands and set them on the island. “What part of this says Cher?”
He put his lips together as if trying to stop himself from smiling. “I just thought all the makeup and . . .”
He gestured to my hair and face.
“Whatever.” I put my hands on my hips and tried for the cool I would surely exude if I weren’t wearing softball pants and a Coors Extra bro tank. “So do you want to see it?”
He gave a little laugh and his eyes dipped over me, but this time I felt it. This time it was flirty, not mocking. “Oh, yeah.”
There was a lot in his oh, yeah, but I chose to ignore it. “Grab the beer out of the fridge and you can come help me make the bed.”
I didn’t even look at his face as I grabbed the stack of sheets and went upstairs. I hadn’t meant it to sound suggestive and had no idea why I’d invited him to help me make my bed. What the hell even was that? Thankfully he had no comment, and I heard the refrigerator open, so I knew he was actually obeying.
When we got upstairs, I was a little embarrassed that there was an empty beer can on the floor beside the bed and an open box of Froot Loops. I was tempted to kick them into the closet, but it’s not like my bad habits were any secret to Colin.