Chapter 4 #2
“Oh, relax. He isn’t eavesdropping.” She yawns and plugs her phone into the charger, then lies back down. “But seriously, this week is the perfect opportunity to make something happen.”
Her eyes flutter closed, and I get under the covers beside her.
“Want to go get a tree in the morning?”
“Maybe. First, I want to sleep for like eighteen hours.” She curls up on her side facing me. “Night, Holly.”
“Night, Stell.”
I fall asleep thinking about Teddy. I know my sister is right.
I should do something, since we’re sharing the same space for a few days, but making moves on guys is not really an area in which I excel.
Reading, school, shoes, Christmas trivia, knowing the lyrics to every pop song on the radio—those are topics I am much more versed in.
And with Teddy, there’s a lot at stake. He’s my brother’s best friend. If he doesn’t feel the same, it’s not like I can hide from him forever.
Stella is still sleeping when I wake up the next morning, so I quietly change and then take my toothbrush and makeup case out to the bathroom.
Noise from the television that was left on all night makes it hard to tell if anyone else is awake.
Once I’m ready, I tiptoe through the living room.
Lucas is lying on the floor in only his boxers, and Emmett is facedown on one of the couches.
Garrison and the other guys that drove down must have left last night.
The spot where Teddy slept is empty and Felix’s door is open and the sliver of his bed I can see is clear.
“Morning.” Teddy’s deep voice rumbles through my insides.
I jump and place a hand on my chest.
“Sorry,” he says as I meet his gaze. He leans against the counter with a tall glass of milk.
He’s shirtless and even though I’ve seen him like this before, I have a hard time not letting my gaze linger on his broad shoulders and tapered waist or the light smattering of hair that trails down his stomach and disappears into his sweatpants.
“Morning,” I finally return his greeting, “I didn’t know anyone else was up.”
I glance toward Felix’s room again. The bed is definitely empty.
“He’ll be right back. He walked the girls back.”
“Oh.” I knew they were still here when Stella and I crashed, but it didn’t occur to me until now that they might have stayed over. And if Teddy is the only other one awake . . . I shake away the thought. I do not need to picture Teddy or my brother hooking up.
I grab a glass from the cabinet and fill it with water, looking anywhere but at the guy next to me. He’s had girlfriends before, but somehow thinking of him hooking up with a random girl hurts more. That random could have been me.
Felix returns, when it’s borderline uncomfortable, and I have never been so glad to see him.
“Hey,” I say cheerily.
“Morning.”
“Just barely.” The microwave clock reads ten fifty-eight. “I checked and there is a tree lot about a mile away.”
He doesn’t look stoked about my idea, so I continue to plead my case, “If we don’t get one soon, they’ll be sold out.”
Felix kicks off his shoes and pulls a sweatshirt over his head. “No can do. I’m going to jump in the shower and then I have to go to Scottsdale. Mom texted last night. Apparently, she has carpet cleaners coming today.”
“Did you tell her you were here?”
“No. Just said I’d take care of it.” He shrugs.
It makes me smile, thinking of Mom worried about the cleanliness of her floors while on the beach.
“Are you coming back?”
“Yeah, we’ll be back later tonight.” He raises his voice, “Yo, Em, Luc. We’re leaving soon.”
Stella comes out of the bedroom, her eyes still half-closed. “You’re going home?”
“Just for the day.” He grabs a Gatorade from the fridge.
“Can I come with you? I want to do a load of laundry and grab some warmer clothes. I forgot how cold it gets up here.”
“Uhh . . .” Felix starts, “it’ll be tight, but I guess we could squeeze you in.”
“She can have my spot,” Teddy offers. “I’ll stay here.”
I glance between Stella and Teddy. “Stell, you can’t leave. We were going to watch Home Alone and Home Alone 2 today.” My cheeks heat. I know it sounds silly, childish even, but it’s a tradition. We always dedicate one day in the week leading up to Christmas to watch those two movies together.
“We’ll do it another day,” she promises.
“I could come too, and we could watch it on the drive.”
“No,” she says too quickly, “you should stay here. We’ll watch the movies tomorrow.”
She smiles, eyes wide like she’s trying to communicate something. Usually, I know what she’s thinking, even without that look, but right now I have no clue.
“Okay. I guess I’ll bake cookies today and we can decorate them tonight.” That’s another one of our traditions I look forward to every year. I like to bake. Stella hates to touch the oven, but she sits and talks with me while I do it. Occasionally, she even helps decorate them.
My sister steps closer and grabs my hand. “Holly, can you help me find the concealer?”
“It’s in the makeup case.”
She takes a step toward the bedroom, tugging me with her. “Show me. I couldn’t find it.”
“We’re leaving in twenty,” Felix calls after us.
She drops my hand and shuts the door behind us. I walk straight over to the makeup case and pick up the concealer.
“I don’t need the concealer.”
“Then why did you ask me to help you find it?”
“So you would stop going on and on about cookies and movies. You are going to be alone all day with Teddy.”
My face floods with heat, and I glance to the door. “Shhh!”
“Holly, this is the perfect opportunity.”
“Spending the day alone with Teddy is the perfect opportunity to what?” I throw my hands up in the air. “I still haven’t mastered talking to him without feeling like I’m going to pass out.”
“So don’t talk. Tear off all his clothes and kiss the man.”
“Oh my god, Stell. Shhh.” My face is on fire.
She laughs as I continue to freak out. “Your face is so red right now. Teddy is hot and nice and just . . . good, ya know? He’s one of the good ones. Lots of girls want to tear off his clothes. I don’t know why you’re embarrassed that you’re among them.”
“Because he doesn’t see me that way.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. Though he probably won’t make the first move because of Felix. You’re going to have to do it.”
“Yeah, well, that’s never going to happen.”