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But it’s true. I can feel it. I shouldn’t have done what I did with him this weekend; I was being selfish. I wanted to know what it was like, to be the center of Rhett Bennett’s world. And it was exactly like I thought it would be.
Magical.
Around nine there’s a knock on my door and I go still, standing in the center of my suite. I was about to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth and pretend to go to bed, already knowing I wouldn’t be able to sleep. There’s too much on my mind. Too much to worry about.
Swallowing hard, I stare at the door, praying it’s not Rhett. Secretly hoping it is. I’d let him come in. I’d let him kiss me. I’d let him take off my clothes and touch me everywhere and I’d probably even let him have sex with me. And I’d be a willing participant every step of the way because I care about him that much. I want him that much.
When it comes to this boy, I’m weak.
“Willow! Open up!” Iris bangs on the door, her fists heavy and I rush toward it, turning the lock and letting her inside. She’s muttering as she strides in, wearing a long silk nightgown like she’s the heroine of some long-ago gothic love story.
She whips around to face me, the ivory silk skirt spreading outward, making her movements dramatic. So fitting. The moment she sees my face, she points at me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Absolutely nothing.” I put on a bright face, but it feels so incredibly false. I let my smile fall almost immediately. “I’m just tired. What’s going on with you?”
She forgets about my troubles and I’m grateful. I’d rather she focuses on herself right now. I need the distraction. “I’ve had a revelation.”
Iris throws herself on my bed, gathering her legs underneath herself, her skirt swirling outward, covering most of the comforter.
“What’s your revelation?”
“I’m in love with Brooks Crosby.” It’s a declaration, said loudly. Like she needed to do that to prove a point. “I am. I’m totally in love with him and I want everyone to know it. Even my parents. Even my dad.”
The last sentence is the kicker for me that says she’s dead serious. “Even your father?”
Iris nods, her expression solemn. “I want them to know. They might already know after this weekend.”
“Did you talk to them?”
“A little.” She shrugs one shoulder, her gaze growing distant as she stares at the ceiling above me. “I told my mother that I liked Brooks. That we were somewhat … involved.”
“And what did Summer say?”
“She asked if I was using protection.” Iris rolls her eyes. “All she cares about is that I’m not going to have a baby. Heaven forbid she becomes a grandmother at her age.”
“I’m sure that’s not the whole reason she said that. Besides, you don’t want to be a mom.”
“You’re right. I can barely take care of myself.” Her sigh is overly dramatic and so very Iris. “But wouldn’t Brooks’s baby be adorable? All of that dark hair.”
Her dreamy voice and the equally dreamy look on her face has me shook. “You’re in love with him.”
She blinks, the dreaminess gone. “I already told you that.”
“I can see it.” Oh God, are those tears in my eyes? I try to blink them away but instead, they fall down my cheeks. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Why are you crying then?” Iris’s lower lip trembles. She too appears on the verge of tears.
“They’re happy tears. I promise.” More tears slide down my cheeks and then I’m crying even harder. She’s crying too. I go to her and wrap her in my arms, squeezing her close. “Your mom said that to you because she was distracted. She had an entire party going on at her house and you hit her with, ‘I like Brooks.’ What is she supposed to say?”
“I don’t know, but you’re probably right.” Iris sniffs, pressing her runny nose against my sweatshirt and I try not to be grossed out. “I miss him.”
“You rode back with him.” We all rode back together, me and Iris crammed into the back of Rhett’s Porsche, Brooks’s big body folded into the passenger seat. At least Rhett didn’t drive like a wild man, which I appreciated. I was nervous about it too because I remembered how he tore out of the driveway the first time I met him.
That moment feels so long ago. But so much has changed in such a short amount of time. Even with Iris.
“I know, and he said he had a paper to write for American Government. I don’t know if I believe him.” Iris pouts.
“I had to write the same paper. He’s telling you the truth. Don’t you have to write that paper too?”
