He raised his palms. “Said she appreciates a good storyteller. So. What’s your deal? Why was your sister all over you like that?”
I shot him a dubious glance. “You really want to know?”
“I’ve literally got nothing else going on.” He looked me up and down. “Unless…you also brought me cake.”
I raised my hands to indicate my utter lack of cake, but I kind of wished I had some. I hadn’t exactly eaten much at dinner, and now my stomach grumbled. But I supposed I could deal with that later. “Sorry. Well, if I’m going to tell you my sob story, you better tell me your name first.”
“I’m Christopher Callahan,” he said, and reached out a hand.
I shook it, and my mouth went dry. Total arm tingles. Tingles everywhere, actually. A slight blush rose on Christopher’s face and he held my gaze, the long lashes on those green-green eyes fluttering slightly. He had the tiniest bit of sunburn on his otherwise perfect nose.
“Tess Sachs,” I replied.
And then I told him everything.
I basically floated back to my room. Christopher and I had spent two hours chatting and watching videos on his computer before his mother came along and introduced herself to me, then told Christopher he needed his rest. She thanked me for keeping her “daredevil kid” company, then produced a wheelchair and carted him back to his room. But before that happened, it was basically the best conversation I’d ever had. Christopher was amazing. He was funny and kind and a good listener. He never interrupted my stories to tell one of his own. It was all so easy but at the same time so exciting. Because basically every time he looked at me, I melted. It would have been embarrassing if there had been anyone I knew around to witness it.
There was also the fact that Christopher was, well, beautiful. Way better looking than Tarek. Half the time we were together, I had been checking the door to see if Lauren had come back yet. I one hundred percent enjoyed hanging out with Christopher, but if Lauren saw us together, it would be like winning bonus points. Unfortunately, Lauren had never come back. In fact, it was after ten and she still wasn’t back, which was totally against Loretta’s house rules. Lauren was going to be in big trouble if Loretta found out.
But then, the chances Loretta would find out were slim to none. I hadn’t seen my grandmother once all night, even though she’d mandated that we attend that particular dinner, going so far as to send one of her employees to make sure we got there. Why hadn’t she shown up? When Lauren and I had looked over the schedule she’d left for us, we’d both assumed that if something was mandatory, that meant she would be there, too.
Maybe she was counting on Tarek to keep an eye on us tonight. Loretta’s employees were nothing if not loyal. Was it possible that Tarek would tell Loretta we’d both bailed on dinner? He wouldn’t have to confess his own involvement if he didn’t want to.
I tugged out my phone to text my sister a warning but then heard Lauren’s voice in my head telling me what a goody-goody I was. Clenching my jaw, I shoved my phone back in my pocket. I’d have bet a million dollars that Lauren hadn’t thought about the consequences of bailing once since she’d walked out the door.
“Not my problem,” I said to myself.
I used my key card to enter our room and flopped down on my back in the middle of my bed, a huge smile on my face. I couldn’t stop smiling. And it felt as if it had been months since I’d smiled at all. Christopher had done this to me. He’d made me feel special. He’d made me feel seen. Most guys—hell, most people—always seemed to be looking around to see if there was anyone better or cooler to talk to, or worse—texting better, cooler people on their phones. I mean, I had friends, don’t get me wrong, but it was a small circle, and we weren’t exactly rolling in the cool party invites. But Christopher had been utterly focused on me. He’d commiserated when I’d told him about my parents and detailed how much Christmas had sucked, knowing it was the last time we would all wake up on Christmas morning together, in our house. And why did Lauren have to be such a bitch? Wasn’t divorce the sort of thing that was supposed to make siblings bond? Instead, Lauren seemed to get meaner by the day.
Christopher had listened to it all. And he hadn’t looked at his phone once. Nor had he pointed out how much worse his Christmas morning had been than mine, which would have been completely valid, considering he’d broken his leg and ended up in the hospital.
Ugh. Maybe I had been a tad self-centered, actually. Tomorrow I would bring him some of that gingerbread cake from the Best Bean Café and ask him to tell me all about his sucky Christmas.
I had just sat up to get ready for bed when my phone rang. My heart sank when I saw the caller ID. It was my mother. I hesitated for half a second, then hit Ignore. If I talked to my mom right now, it would just ruin my good mood, and I’d earned a little bit of holiday cheer, hadn’t I? My mother expected me to act like everything was normal and like she’d done nothing wrong, but it was such a lie. My mom was the whole reason my parents were getting divorced. For the past year, she’d been grumpy and surly and sometimes completely dismissive of my dad. Even on the nights when it was clear Dad was trying really hard to be sweet or romantic, like when he brought home flowers or ordered takeout so my mom wouldn’t have to cook, it was like nothing registered with her. TV shows and commercials were always saying that marriage was hard work, but if that was the case, it seemed like my dad had done all the heavy lifting.
Maybe if my mom had tried, even a little, we wouldn’t be going through all this heartache.
I changed into clean pajamas and brushed my teeth, looking into my eyes in the mirror and watching them shine every time I thought about Christopher. A giggle escaped through all the toothpaste foam. I couldn’t help it. I wished I’d taken a picture of him so I could show it to Lauren when she finally got back. But maybe I could do one better and introduce the two of them tomorrow. Christopher had said he’d likely be in the same place all day while his parents visited friends nearby. He’d begged off due to his leg, and his parents seemed in the mood to let him have his way right now, what with the fact that his whole holiday break had been ruined. Not to mention his basketball season.
“A basketball player,” I breathed as I crawled into bed. None of the basketball players at my school even knew I existed.
Before I turned out the light, I checked my phone one last time to see if my sister had texted, but there was nothing other than a new voice mail from my mom, which I also ignored. My head had just hit the pillow when there was a sharp rap on the door, and it opened.
I sat up in bed and yelped. Loretta stood there, backlit by the hallway lights.
“Loretta!” I blurted out in surprise. “What the—”
“Did you two leave dinner early?” Loretta flicked on the lights and blinked. She took in Lauren’s empty bed and paled. “Where is your sister?” she demanded.