I saw Eve’s expression drop as she straightened. “Oh, okay,” she said but I could hear the hurt in her voice. She didn’t want to let him go—and I didn’t blame her. I missed Trenton too.
“Question?” Trenton urged.
“Right.” Eve parted her lips but then shook her head. “You know what, never mind. I’ve got to get ready and you’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you next Saturday?”
Trenton nodded. “Sounds like a date.” He moved to leave but then paused. “Eve?”
“Yeah?”
“Call Cooper and make sure he goes with you to the party.”
Eve sighed.
“Love ya, kid.”
“Back at you.”
They said their goodbyes and soon, the app that Eve was on closed and silence filled the air. I stayed leaning against the wall as I watched Eve tip her head forward and rest her forehead on her knees. She took in a few deep breaths before she straightened and reached for her phone.
“Call Cooper,” she said in a mocking tone that intrigued me. I waited to see what she was going to do.
Was she really going to call me?
Eve swiped her screen on and then a moment later, sighed and set her phone down.
I tried to ignore the surge of disappointment when it became clear she had no intention of following Trenton’s advice. She wasn’t about to invite me along. And why would she?
I was nothing but her irritating bodyguard.
She stood and wandered over to her full length mirror, turning from side to side before a disappointed look passed over her face. She looked as if she didn’t like what she saw in her reflection which boggled my mind.
Eve was beautiful. Her dark hair accented her fair skin. Her eyes were big and dark and they had this way of capturing you, pulling you in. I found myself feeling as if I were drowning in them when I looked at her.
Every inch of her was beautiful and took my breath away. She could wear a black plastic bag and I would still find her attractive. I found my gaze locked on her as she reached out to grab a floral dress and hold it up to her body. I knew I should let my presence be known, but I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt her. Not when I knew once I did, she’d throw up that wall so fast it would give me whiplash.
I just wanted a few uninterrupted seconds where it was just Eve being Eve. I missed that part of her.
“You two almost done?” Mrs. Lawson called up the stairs and before I could get my big feet moving, Eve was at the door and pulling it open.
“You two?” Eve asked as she stuck her head out into the hallway and screamed when her gaze fell on me.
I straightened and fixed my expression as I nodded in her direction.
Eve had her hand on her heart as her scream died down and was replaced with anger. “What are you doing here?” she asked as her cheeks flushed and anger flashed in her gaze.
“I came to take you to the party,” I said. Such a lame response.
Eve furrowed her brow. “Did Trenton call you?”
I contemplated lying and saying he did, but that logistically made no sense. So I just shrugged and said, “I just figured he’d want me to.”
Eve seemed to buy that response as she studied me. But then her eyes narrowed once more. “But why are you outside of my door?” Her cheeks flushed again. “Were you watching me?”
Not wanting to be that guy—even though I totally had been that guy—I shrugged. “Your mom sent me up here and when I heard you talking to Trenton, I figured you didn’t want to be interrupted. So I stayed out here.”
Eve continued to glare at me as if she didn’t believe what I was saying, but I held my ground and a few seconds later, she sighed. “Fine. Well, I need to change and I’m not doing that with you out here. I’ll be down in a few and you can take me to Holly’s.” She didn't wait for me to respond before she shut her door.
I blew out my breath but didn’t wait around. Instead, I rushed down the stairs, past Mrs. Lawson who called out to me, and out the back door. I didn’t stop until I was in my truck with the engine on. Once I was safe, I cursed under my breath as I punched the steering wheel.
What the crap had I just gotten myself into?
This was the exact opposite of not falling for my best friend’s little sister.
This was getting myself in too deep.
And I was definitely in too deep.
Chapter 5
Eve
My heart was pounding like crazy the entire drive to Holly’s house.
I tried to tell myself it was just nerves. I mean, Trenton was right. Parties weren’t exactly my thing. I’d never been to a real high school party before, and aside from that...I didn’t actually like crowds.
I didn’t drink, I wasn’t terribly fond of small talk or mingling, and I had no idea how to dance outside of a ballet studio.
So, no. I wasn’t exactly feeling chill about the fact that I was heading to my first real party.
But I also knew I’d be lying to myself if I tried to blame my current heart situation on anything other than Cooper.
I tried to slow my breathing, as if that might calm this feeling like my heart was tripping over itself in an attempt to escape my ribcage. My attempt backfired because in the small confines of this truck cab, my slow inhale just had me breathing in Cooper’s scent, that delicious all-male scent that I’d spent the better part of last summer obsessing over.
The party might have been intimidating, but it was nothing compared to being alone with Cooper.
I was overreacting, obviously.
I mean, it wasn’t like I hadn’t been this close to Cooper before. I’d been spending an inordinate amount of time with him lately. Between the way he trailed me at school and then the time we spent dancing together at the barre, I’d seen more of him this past week than I had in years.
But none of that was like this. Sitting next to him felt intimate. Intimidating. Give me a grand jete any day and I could knock that sucker out. But being this close to my brother’s best friend, pretending not to like him was a complex issue I was not prepared to handle.
I’d never been alone with him in his truck where the only escape from the quiet tension between us was the staticky radio that was cutting in and out of a sad country song.
“You okay?” His gruff question had me looking over, only to find that his gaze flicked down to my hands that were in my lap.
I hadn’t even realized that I’d been toying with the hem of my dress until I looked down to see the fabric was all crinkled from my sweaty palms.
“Um, yeah,” I said as I hurried to let go of the poor, mangled fabric. Another glance at Cooper showed that he was no longer paying attention to me or my lap and was staring straight ahead with more fierce concentration than a deserted road merited.
“You nervous?” His voice was so low it was more like a rumble than a sound.
I swallowed. Was I nervous? Yes. Heck yes. But I so didn’t want to talk about it because then he might ask me why.
And there was no way on earth I would explain to this overbearing, irritating, wannabe older brother that I was nervous because of him.
He’d probably growl at me to get over it because he’d never see me as anything other than a little sister.
Or worse, he’d look at me with pity.