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Calvin herds us out of the arena, but the questions don’t stop.
What’s his name?
When did you meet him?
How many times have you met him now?
What does he do?
Do you think our parents will like him?
When can I meet him?
Oh, can we invite him over for dinner?
I avoid every single one of her questions, much to Calvin’s amusement.
“Darlin’, you need to lay off a little. Garrett will tell you when he’s ready,” Calvin says as we reach his car.
“But…he’s never had a real boyfriend before. I’m so excited.”
“I never said I had a boyfriend. I said there was a guy I was having some fun with.”
“There’s something different about this one. You’ve been messaging him for weeks. Usually, you’d have gotten bored by now. And, reading between the lines, because you’ve failed to answer a single question, you’ve met him more than once. And you don’t do that. Ergo…this is different. He’s different.”
I turn to Calvin. “Can you make her stop?”
“Hey, she’s your sister.”
“Yeah, but I handed over control when she got with you. She’s your problem now.”
“You’re both very annoying, do you know that?” Sienna sulks as she climbs into Calvin’s car and slams the door.
“Whatever is going on,” Calvin says before opening the driver’s door. “You look happier, and that’s all she wants.”
“I am happy. I just need a job, a place of my own, and a car, and I’ll be all set.”
“It’ll happen. Trust the process.”
“I’m trying. But right now, the process seems to be filled with rejections.”
“That sucks, man. You’ve got a home though; you know you’re welcome with Sienna for as long as you want.”
“Until she moves in with you, you mean.”
He shakes his head but quickly pulls the door open so I don’t get a chance to question that reaction.
As Calvin drives us out of town, I realize just how close Kodie and Cooper live. It makes me wonder if they’re aware that they’re practically neighbors.
Probably not. I can’t imagine Cooper choosing to live near his arch-nemesis.
I can’t help but gaze longingly down Cooper’s street when we pass it, wishing that I could go there instead, that he could be waiting at the door for me in those sweatpants.
But no, he’s not even in the country.
So instead of spending the night rolling around in his bed, or on his couch—I’m not fussy—I spend the evening watching him out on the ice doing what he loves the most while surrounded by incredible people—and one hyperactive child as she cusses out the ref and screams for her daddy at the top of her lungs.
If I didn’t already know it, then it’s confirmed by the end of the night that Sutton Rivers is the coolest kid I have ever met.
