“I think she has a thing for Daniel,” Hartley’s smile grew. “But she said she’s doing it for you.”
I giggled. Suddenly, living my new life seemed more important than mourning my old one. I wanted to watch Hartley’s mostly naked body floating around in an inner tube, defending the goal. And I wanted to see Dana try to maintain her bravado with a ball flying at her. “Hartley, get lost for five minutes. I’ll change into a suit.”
“That’s my girl. I’ll get your towel,” he said, untangling himself from me and walking out.
After he shut the door, I slipped down onto the floor and crawled over to my dresser, because it was a heck of a lot faster than putting the braces on. I crawl better now, thanks to Pat’s diligence. But removing my jeans requires me to roll from one hip onto the other, like a flopping fish.
It’s very sexy.
Not.
— Hartley
Corey’s brother was staring at the television, doing his best to ignore me. I sat down beside him anyway.
I understood that he was struggling, but there was no way I was going to feel guilty for being with Corey. Just the opposite — I was pretty damned proud of myself. Also, I felt lighter. Telling Corey my whole freakish family story was such a load off my mind.
“What’s she doing in there?” Damien asked without looking at me.
“Changing into her bathing suit.”
He turned his head. “Really? You talked her into going?”
“Yeah.” I tried not to sound smug, but I might have. Just a little.
He shut the TV off and then turned his body toward me. There was some aggression in it, but I knew it was just for show.
“My sister, huh?” He scraped his face. “Damn. At least it’s not Bridger.”
“Dude, please.” I had a pang of guilt for throwing my best friend under the bus like that, but Damien had a point. He might not like the idea of me getting naked with his sister, but love ‘em and leave ‘em wasn’t my style.
“You know what, though? She was all kinds of bummed out over the holidays. And I think that’s on you.”
Okay, ouch. But making Corey sad was never my intention. And to be fair, she never said so. Not until later. “We had some things to work through. It took me a while to figure it all out.”
“I’m just saying, I know where you live.”
And there it was — the threat. Fine. “You know, I don’t have a little sister. Actually, that’s not right. I have one, but I’ve never met her.” Look at me spilling my guts everywhere today! Next thing you know, I was going to be telling my life story on daytime TV. “So I don’t know exactly where you’re coming from. But that’s okay, because Corey is important to me.”
He gave me a blue-eyed glare which reminded me of Corey’s. “Just treat her right.”
“I plan to. Hey, you know what? I covered for you.”
“How do you mean?”
“She asked me if her brother was a total dog, and I told her that you weren’t so bad.”
His face broke into a very slow smile. “But what does it matter whether I was a total dog? As long as she’s not with a total dog.”
“Double standard, much?”
Damien showed me his middle finger, and then Corey opened her bedroom door. “Um, guys?”
I jumped up off the couch and shoved Corey’s towel into my gym bag. Then I brought her ID over, looping it over her neck.
“Hartley?” she put her hands on my chest. “Thank you.”
Well, that made me feel like a million bucks. So, Damien be damned, I kissed her right on the lips. Then I tucked my letter back inside its envelope, licked the flap and sealed it shut. “Let’s do this thing.” I opened Corey’s door and waited while Damien put on his jacket to come with us. “You know,” I said to him, “I could lend you a suit, if you want to play. You are a Beaumonter, after all.”
“He can’t play!” Corey protested. “Alums aren’t allowed. I don’t want our win to be disqualified.”
At that, I had to throw my head back and laugh. “Jesus, Callahan. I forgot who I was dealing with.” As Corey crutched past me, I leaned down to drop another kiss onto her head.
Even Damien grinned, and I saw his attitude toward me melt by one or two degrees. “The Callahans play to win,” he said. “Lead on, you two. Show me how this is done.”
So we did.
Chapter Twenty Three: Later is Better Than Never
— Corey, Three Months Later
Hartley and I sat together on the couch. It was a Saturday afternoon in April, just after brunch. I was trying to stay absorbed in my copy of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but Hartley pulled me onto his lap, sweeping my hair off my shoulder. He kissed the place where the hair had just been.
“I can’t read Shakespeare with your lips on my neck,” I complained.
“So don’t read it,” he mumbled. He leaned me back against his chest, and I felt his firm body shift suggestively beneath me. “That play is 400 years old. It can wait another half an hour. We could just…mmm,” he said, his hands sliding down my ribcage and hips, cupping my bottom.