Page 2 of Some Things Never Change

Andy had slightly more of their dad’s traits, though. With a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and a sharp nose, his features were softened with the big, round, hooded eyes and full lips. He had thick, straight, dark brown hair.

If his hair had been lighter, he’d look a little more like his dad. Mainly because of those beautiful, breathtaking hazel green eyes with gold and green flecks he also inherited from the man. In simple terms, Andy was and has always been an attractive person. He was handsome, and he knew it, too.

As I studied the pictures on the fridge, memories flooded my mind. They were memories of laughter-filled summers, late-night confessions and heart-to-heart conversations, and countless teasing and banter that shaped my friendship and childhood with them. The Hughes twins had been a constant presence in my life for as long as I could remember.

“Aside from you being cute and smelling amazing, what can I really say? I was hopelessly in love with you from the moment I met you,” said Andy. Then he paused for a beat, which didn’t go unnoticed by me. I raised a brow at him as he continued, “As a friend.”

Ouch? A smile crossed my lips as I dramatically rolled my eyes at him. “Glad to know I was your first love, pretty boy.”

Chapter

Two

His smirk formed into a wide grin. “Glad to know you’re taking that info well, Tink.”

Tink short for Tinker Bell, just as Peter Pan called her. This is his unoriginal nickname for my five-foot frame ever since he and Anthony had a huge growth spurt in middle school. I, on the other hand, didn’t.

I playfully punched his arm, and he let out another laugh. “What’s new with you?” I asked. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other since you couldn’t make it for Thanksgiving.”

“Busy. I had my housewarming party recently, and I’m still recovering from hosting that.”

“From all the videos you sent me, your house looks amazing. I’m so happy with how it all turned out.”

“Me too. To be honest, it looks even better thanks to your interior design skills. You shouldn’t have given me a discount for how much work you did. Thanks to you, someone as great as Steven helped put everything together. Even Dad was impressed by his work.”

Steven was the contractor I found through a friend to help Andy out with the renovations he did on his home. The twins’ dad, Uncle Gary, also owned a contracting business and had done numerous work all over the valley. We all used to spend our summers helping him out with small roles in the business.

It was through my summer jobs with Uncle Gary that I was introduced to interior design, which I now have a full-fledged career in. I didn’t freelance too often, but sometimes Uncle Gary or Shoua, who’s a real estate agent, would send clients my way. But, I refuse to do extensive projects.

However, there was always an exception with Andy. If he needed my help flipping and renovating his entire house from ceiling to floor, then I gladly would have.

“You give me too much credit. I barely did the markup and called my friend in Santa Mariana for the best contractors to help you out, and one of them happened to be Steven Nyugen.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I doubt I would be living in such a nice home. You make me feel bad by not letting me pay you the full amount for the work you’ve done. It’s not like I can’t afford it, working in finance and all. But I knew you’d be pissed off and complain my ear off every chance you got.”

“True and true. At least you know me well enough to know what not to do.”

Andy laughed as his light eyes quickly scanned me from head to toe. “You look great, by the way.”

“Thanks. I decided to start hitting the gym again after I broke up with David.”

Andy made a face at the mention of my ex. David never liked Andy for whatever reason unbeknownst to me, and he was pretty vocal about it. All of my previous boyfriends had always gotten along well with Jonathan, Andy, and Anthony. But not David. He was fine with my brother and Anthony, but Andy was always another story. I was even closer to Andy than I was to Jonathan. So, it didn’t sit well with me that my then-partner and he wouldn’t get along.

David and I were only together for six months, but it felt like six long years. At first, his cute, dimpled smile and sweet apologies blinded me from realizing how controlling and possessive he truly was. In my relationship with him, he made me feel incredibly isolated.

I wasn’t allowed to come home to visit my family as much as I wanted to, as our relationship progressed. All because he didn’t want me to see Andy. He would get overly upset if I spent time with anyone other than him, even if it was just with my roommate, Lily. It was a toxic relationship through and through. I called it quits after he started pressuring me to live with him, despite me telling him I wasn’t ready.

“You were too good for him,” stated Andy firmly.

I laughed so hard my eyes started to tear up. As I wiped the corners of my eyes, I smiled at him. “Thanks, I’m well aware of that.”

“I’m glad you two broke up. That asshole was annoying.”

As a response to Andy’s honesty, I snorted loudly. I broke up with that guy at least six months ago. But judging how Andy was still throwing shade at my ex, I was certain he felt the same animosity toward David.

“I know. You said that as soon as I told you I dumped him, remember?”

“Needed to say it again, you know? So, are you going to start dating again, then?”

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