Chapter 13 #2
It was fantastic for now—I’d already gotten to kiss her three times, I got to hold her hands and put my arm around her and talk about dates that were actually happening instead of asking her out every day.
I got to spend time alone with her, to see her laugh at my jokes, to feel what it would be like to experience a relationship with her.
But she was still using this to prove that we were incompatible.
She looked up again, catching me staring for what was definitely not the first time that morning. “What now?” she asked in an exasperated tone.
I shrugged, trying to play it off. “Just thinking that you should wear that hoodie more often.”
She blinked. “Why?”
“Because it makes you look…” I stopped myself, searching for a word that didn’t sound like a confession. “…normal. In a good way.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You mean unlike how horrible I usually look?”
“Exactly.”
She shook her head, muttering something about boys being idiots, but her eyes had softened, and I just smiled goofily back.
Bear would probably say I was a lost cause.
And he’d be right.
Because sitting across from her like this—her hoodie pulled tight, glasses sliding down again, steam curling up from her coffee—I knew I’d fall for her even harder before this whole thing blew up.
And I also knew I’d let it happen.
We were halfway through the waffles—well, halfway through me watching her eat them since she was still hoarding the plate——when a shadow appeared over the table.
When I looked up, I saw the sophomores I’d noticed staring at us earlier, now hovering awkwardly next to the table.
All three of them were clutching their phones to their chests like they were ready to update all their friends at a moment’s notice.
“Can I help you?” Lilah asked.
The taller girl practically vibrated. “Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt, but—are you Lilah Turner?”
“Uh-huh.” She ate another bite of her waffle and just watched them, waiting for them to take the hint and ask whatever they wanted.
“I’m a huge fan of your brother,” the girl in the middle gushed. “Jude Turner is, like, the voice of our generation.”
Lilah stared at her for a beat, then said flatly, “I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear that. His ego certainly isn’t big enough as it is.”
I smiled into my coffee, trying to stifle my laughter. Lilah must have noticed me anyway because her gaze flicked to mine and I saw a flash of a smile on her lips that disappeared again as quickly as it came.
The girl laughed nervously, clearly not sure if she was supposed to agree or apologize. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could, like, get your brother’s autograph for me.”
Lilah’s eyebrows raised and an odd look came over her face. One I would say she looked almost wicked, if I thought Lilah was capable of evil emotions.
“His autograph…” Lilah said slowly, then she tapped at her lip like she was thinking.
I narrowed my eyes at her, instantly realizing that this was planned somehow.
She was putting on a show for them and I was curious to see exactly what it was.
“Well, that might be hard for me to arrange. I don’t get to see Lu—Jude that much and I hate spending all our time together asking him to sign stuff. ”
I wondered if any of the girls noticed Lilah almost slipping up and calling him Luca instead of Jude.
I’d asked her a while ago why she didn’t default to just using his stage name in general since they all must be more used to it by now and she’d just looked at me like I was an idiot.
I tried to imagine being in her shoes, and the idea of having to switch back and forth between the two names for my brothers depending on who I was talking to made my brain melt. I was sure that I’d mess it up.
“I can pay!” the girl said immediately. She whipped out her wallet from who knows where and held it open so Lilah could see the cash inside. My eyes widened seeing the number of bills she had just sitting there—multiple of them hundred-dollar ones. Who carried around that kind of cash to breakfast?
“Tell you what,” Lilah said. “I can get his autograph for you when I go home over Christmas.”
The girl’s face fell. “But that’s over a month away.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll see him before then,” Lilah said.
She blew on her coffee as if she needed to cool it down even though it had to be lukewarm at best by now.
“You know how busy he is. But I can definitely get it to you in January.” She paused and pretended to think. “Or… well, I shouldn’t do this but…”
She trailed off and looked at the girl, gauging her reaction.
It was obvious to me that she’d done this multiple times before, enough to have a whole routine for it, although I had no idea what she was about to offer the girl.
All three of them perked up and leaned in like they were waiting for Lilah to tell them a secret.
“I have a stash of his clothes upstairs,” Lilah said.
“Some of it is clean, most of it I haven’t washed since he left it here last time he visited when he had to get changed in my room.
” I tried not to wrinkle my nose at the idea of Luca’s dirty clothes just sitting in Lilah’s room and I probably didn’t succeed but it didn’t matter anyway because their attention was entirely locked on Lilah.
They were practically salivating at her words.
“I really shouldn’t be giving it out, but if you don’t mind being subtle about it… ”
She let her words hang in the air and within moments all three girls were nodding like bobbleheads and throwing out dollar amounts and requests for certain items.
Lilah smiled broadly and grabbed a napkin to write on. “Come by my room tonight at seven and I’ll show you the haul.” She handed over the napkin with her dorm suite written on it and the girl who’d been asking about the autograph stared at it like it was gold.
“Thank you so much!” she squealed. She hugged the napkin to her chest then turned her attention to me just as I took a long gulp of coffee.
I choked under her gaze and sent up a quick prayer that she wasn’t about to ask about any of my brothers’ clothes because I didn’t keep a full stash of them like Lilah did.
“So it’s true, then. You two are dating? ”
There was a question I could deal with.
“For just over a week now,” I said, grabbing Lilah’s hand and giving it a little squeeze.
“That is so cute!” the girl on the left squealed. “The younger brother of the Valentine Brothers and the younger sister of Take Five! Adorable.”
Calling Lilah the younger sister of Take Five seemed a little weird since her brother was only one-fifth of the band but I just smiled and nodded regardless.
“How did you two meet?” the girl on the right asked, leaning in. “Was it through the bands?”
“Actually, we met here,” Lilah said. “At Hartwell.”
The girl’s face fell at that as if she’d concocted her own version of events in her mind, so I added, “But we’ve spent some extra time together because of the bands.
Concerts, a couple award shows, hiding in a store when too many people were following us…
” I winked at Lilah and she glared back probably remembering the way I’d hit her in the face that day.
The girls squealed over us for a couple more minutes before walking off, telling Lilah they’d come by her room tonight. As soon as they were out of sight, I pulled my hand out of Lilah’s again, trying not to show her how cold it felt without her.
“So answer me this,” I said, “why did Luca leave his clothes in your room last time he was here?”
Lilah snorted. “He didn’t. They’re all clean clothes he’s been seeing wearing out at least once.
I steal them from his closet and spray them with his cologne so they think it’s authentic.
” She smiled at me as I gaped at her. “Steal some of your brothers’ clothes and I’ll help spread the word you’re doing the same. Trust me, you can make a killing.”
“You’re an evil mastermind.”
She shrugged. “I view it as doing a service. They get something they want, I get something I want, and Luca doesn’t get his clothes ripped off his body when he visits.
A win-win-win if you will.” She took a final bite of her waffles and stood up.
“Now come on. Let’s go do something fun with our Saturday. ”