Ember
The three of us stumble into the apartment and drop our bags inside the door.
“Why does it feel like we’ve been gone for a month?” Cassidy asks, kicking off her shoes.
“It was five days,” Sully reminds her.
“Felt like forever. But I feel refreshed.”
I give her a knowing look, which she ignores.
I look around the apartment, it’s strange how quickly this place has become home.
Our shoes by the door, Cassidy’s handbag hanging from the back of a dining chair.
My book sitting open on the end of the sofa.
Sully’s hockey gear dumped beside the hall cupboard even though we have asked him six times to move it.
It feels familiar and safe and like home.
Which is something I never thought I’d say about Manhattan.
“I’m going to unpack tomorrow,” Cassidy announces, already dragging her suitcase toward her room.
“You said that when we moved in,” Sully calls after her, “and you still have boxes.”
“And eventually I’ll unpack,” she shouts back at him as she disappears into her room and closes the door, leaving Sully and me alone.
Shit.
Sully turns and looks at me, pausing for a moment. Long enough for the beach to flash through my head. His hands on my face, that mouth against mine. I can feel my cheeks burning up over the thoughts. Then he glances toward the hall.
“I’m going to hit the gym,” he states.
I blink. “Okay.” What else am I supposed to say?
He gives me a nod, grabs his suitcase, and heads toward his room without saying anything about the kiss.
Do you want him to? No, gosh no, I would die of embarrassment. The apartment falls quiet for all of about thirty seconds, then Cassidy reappears wearing an oversized T-shirt and socks, her hair piled on top of her head.
"So ..." She claps her hands together. "Thai?"
I smile. "You always want Thai."
"Because it's always good."
I nod. "I could eat."
“Good.” She grabs her phone and taps away.
I disappear into my room, throwing on a pair of leggings and one of my old college sweatshirts before tying my hair into a messy bun. By the time I wander back out, Cassidy is already stretched across the couch, scrolling through the TV channels.
"Food will be here in twenty," she tells me.
Perfect. I sink down beside her, tucking my feet underneath me. For a while, neither of us says anything as she flicks through the channels.
Cassidy glances sideways at me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, of course," I answer as panic slides over my skin. Does she suspect something?
"Liar."
"I'm just tired," I tell her.
She gives me a look. "Physically or emotionally?"
“Both. Fish’s family knows how to party, and also, it was the first wedding since …” I don’t need to finish that sentence.
Before she can answer, Sully's bedroom door opens. He's changed into gym shorts and a Mavericks T-shirt, earbuds hanging around his neck.
"I'm heading to the gym."
Cassidy doesn't even look away from the television. “I’ve ordered Thai. Can you bring dessert home?"
“Sure,” he answers before placing his earbuds in and jogging out the door.
“Ew, imagine being that healthy.” I chuckle.
“Girl, we might need to take a page out of my brother’s book and get back to working out. We’re single ladies, in New York, where women outnumber men.”
“I miss our little gym,” I confess.
“Me too, but our gym didn’t have all the things this place does. We should really try them now that things have settled down,” Cassidy suggests.
“I’m not cold plunging,” I warn her.
“Um, yeah we are. It’s either that or Botox,” she states.
I frown at her. “You think we need Botox?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll take the cold plunge then.” Which makes us both laugh.
A knock sounds at the door twenty minutes later.
"Food!" Cassidy announces, already jumping up. She disappears to answer the door while I clear the coffee table, making room for the containers she'd undoubtedly ordered, enough to feed an army. "I might have overdone it," she admits, carrying in two paper bags.
"Might have?" I say, raising my brows.
"There were combo deals."
"Uh huh." I smirk. “You just wanted leftovers.”
Cassidy laughs. “You think there’s leftovers with Connor in the house?”
True, there never was when I lived with Emmett either.
She lines everything up across the coffee table.
"You got spring rolls," I say excitedly, grabbing for one.
"I got us spring rolls." She grabs one for herself.
"I love you."
"I know," she says, shoving the roll in her mouth.
We eat straight from the containers, legs tucked underneath us as some reality show plays in the background that neither of us is really watching.
"So ..." Cassidy says around a mouthful of noodles. "Did you see that email from the lawyer that was sent Friday?”
I put my fork down. “Yeah.”
“The audit was completed, and we can sign off on the swap of the business for the homes.” I nod, shoveling a forkful of Pad Thai into my mouth. "They're still sorting the investments," Cassidy continues. "Trevor wants to keep the boat."
“So does Kevin. I don’t want it, I always got seasick every single time we went out on it."
“May have been the margaritas,” Cassidy teases. She’s not wrong.
“Not much we can do with a boat in Manhattan, is there?” I tell her.
“Agreed. What about the cars?”
I shrug. “Again, no one owns cars here. It’s one less expense.”
“True.”
“Look, I’m happy with the house, my part of the share portfolio, and the cash in the savings. He can keep the toys,” I tell her.
“That was my thinking. They enjoy them, and honestly, as much as I want to be a spiteful bitch, I couldn’t be assed,” she says.
“They’re lucky because after what they have done they deserve us to be petty, but I don’t want to hold up the divorce,” I tell her.
“Me too. Let me go so I can move on.”
“Move on to ….” I don’t need to finish that sentence, she knows exactly who I am talking about.
Cassidy’s eyes widen and she quickly looks around. “No. We agreed it was just a wedding thing, nothing more. I don’t want to be tied down. It’s my freedom era.”
“Freedom era?”
“Um, yes. I’ve had a taste of it this weekend, and I want more.” Cassidy grins.
“You go girl,” I tell her.
“I need my bestie by my side as I go through my ho phase.”
“Ho phase?” I question her.
“Everyone has a ho phase.”
The front door opens just as we're scraping the last of the Pad Thai from the containers.
“Who is having a ho phase?” Sully’s deep voice filters through the room.
I still.
“Me and Em. We’re just finalizing the last of the divorce stuff, and then we can be hoes.”
I swallow slowly and turn around to see Sully’s face, he looks horrified.
And that’s when I notice him. Sully stands in the doorway, still in his gym clothes, chest rising and falling from the workout.
His Mavericks T-shirt is dark with sweat, clinging to every hard line of his torso like a second skin.
The fabric is plastered across his broad shoulders and the defined ridges of his abs, outlining every cut of muscle earned from years on the ice.
A bead of sweat trails slowly down the side of his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt, and my eyes follow it before I can stop myself.
His hair is damp, dark strands sticking to his forehead, and when he lifts a hand to push it back, the movement makes the muscles in his arm flex.
His skin is flushed from exertion, a light sheen of sweat making him look …
raw. Masculine. So sexy that it hits low in my stomach and makes my pulse skip.
He’s breathing hard, chest expanding with each inhale, and for a second the apartment feels too small.
Sully’s eyes flick between us, one brow raised. “Did I just hear the words ‘ho phase’ come out of my sister’s mouth?”
Cassidy laughs, completely unbothered. “You did. We’re officially entering our hot girl summer. Late, but better late than never.”
He looks horrified, which would be funny if I wasn’t still staring at the way his soaked shirt is molded to his body.
I force my eyes up to his face. Bad idea, his jaw is tight, a faint flush still coloring his cheeks, and those blue eyes are locked on me for half a second longer than they should be. Like he knows exactly where my mind just went.
"Told you I'd remember dessert," Sully says, holding up a paper bag as his eyes never leave mine.
"You actually did." Cassidy looks impressed.
He clears his throat and looks away first. “I’m gonna shower.”
Then he’s gone, disappearing down the hall, leaving a trail of that warm, masculine scent behind him.
I let out a slow breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Get it together, Ember.
“He got pints of ice cream, mint chocolate chip for you. He remembered your favorite,” she says, handing me the tub. It is. “And bubblegum for me.” She squeals. Cassidy has always loved that flavor, and no amount of teasing could make her change her mind. “And a pint of boring vanilla for Connor.”
Sully’s always had vanilla. It had the least amount of calories compared to others, and it was the only way he could eat it while staying on the nutrition plan for hockey. I see that hasn’t changed. “I’ll go pop his in the freezer.”
“Grab us some spoons,” I call out to her.
She comes back and hands me one, and I dig in because I need the ice cream to cool me down.
I don’t understand what is happening to me.
I shouldn’t be looking at Sully like that.
I’ve never been turned on by a man’s sweat before.
I’ve seen Sully work out with my brother a million times, but I’ve never had a reaction to him like I did tonight.
The divorce is making me lose my mind, it has to be.
Moments later, Sully wanders back out wearing gray sweats and a black T-shirt, his hair still damp from the shower. He drops onto the other end of the couch like he does every night, stealing the leftover spring rolls before Cassidy can stop him.
“What the hell are we watching?” he mumbles around his food. It’s some ridiculous dating reality show.
“Doesn’t matter, we’re not changing the channel. You’re outnumbered tonight,” Cassidy tells him.
“I’m outnumbered every night,” he argues, but decides it’s too hard to argue with his sister as he digs into his Thai.
Chill out, Ember, you are acting like a fricken teen whose crush is over.
Just then, a memory hits me. I was sixteen the first time I really noticed Sully.
The boys had just come back from summer hockey camp.
They joined us in Cassidy’s basement like we always did, with pizza boxes everywhere, and someone insisting we watch a horror movie.
I barely paid attention to the screen because I was too busy wondering where skinny Sully had disappeared to.
His shoulders were broader, jaw sharper, the baby face he'd always had was disappearing, replaced by something older. Hotter.
"Earth to Ember." Cassidy had clicked her fingers in front of my face.
I'd jumped so hard and everyone laughed. But thankfully, no one understood why I was so distracted. Then I'd spent ages pretending I didn't have a crush on my brother's best friend. Eventually it faded when I met Kevin.
I’m distracted again just like I was all those years ago, but I throw in the occasional comment hoping that will cover me.
By the end of the episode, Cassidy yawns so wide. "I'm done." She stretches.
"You two clean up. I ordered," she declares and then walks off, leaving me by myself with Sully. Her bedroom door clicks shut, then there’s nothing but silence between us.
The television keeps playing, and neither of us says anything nor dares move.
I suddenly become very interested in whatever fake disaster is unfolding on screen.
Beside me, Sully shifts. "So ..." he says.
I keep my eyes on the TV, ignoring him.
Then he sighs. "Will you stop being awkward?" he says.
My head snaps around. "I'm not being awkward," I argue.
He raises an eyebrow. "You've barely looked at me since Maine."
"Um … yes, I have.”
He shakes his head. “Nope. You've looked through me."
"I have not."
"You have," he argues.
I fold my arms. "Maybe you're the awkward one."
A corner of his mouth twitches. "I'm not the one pretending nothing happened."
The words hit me square in the chest.
He stands, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, which lifts his tee up, exposing the V on his hips.
Do not look.
I fail.
"Look ..." His eyes find mine. "Go enjoy your ho era."
I blink. What did he say?
"What happened in Maine ..." He gives me a small shrug. "... stays in Maine."
My stomach drops. He regrets it.
"We never have to speak about it again."
For a second I can't find my voice. I swallow back the humiliation lodged in my throat. "Okay."
“Have a good night,” he says before heading toward his room. His door clicks shut, and I stare at it long after he's disappeared.
A tear slips down my cheek and then another, I wipe them away.
How could I have been stupid enough to think that kiss meant something?