Page 85 of Off Limits

Ellie finally lets me go and turns to sit sideways in my lap, wiping her lips with a finger and blinking at her brother with all the faux innocence she can muster. “Hmm? Oh, sorry, Cal. We didn’t hear you.”

A laugh rumbles in my chest at the death glare Cal throws at his sister. He gives me a wounded look. “And you. It’s one thing for my sister to go out of her way to harass me. I fully expect that.”

“As you should,” she butts in. “You deserve it, and you know it.”

Except for another cutting glare, he ignores her. “But you. You’re supposed to be my best friend, man.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Supposed to be?”

“Well, with you carrying on like that with my sister right in front of me? I’m starting to question your loyalties.”

Ellie holds up her hands in the shape of a T, the universal signal for time out. “Nope. Not going there.” She points at her brother. “You’re getting payback for being a dick. You know it. I know it. Simon knows it. For the record, he tried to stop kissing me, but I wouldn’t let him. But we all agreed after you decided to stop being a dick that we wouldn’t put Simon in the middle anymore.”

Cal crosses his arms. “And what exactly are you doing by making out with him in front of me? Aren’t you just using him to get back at me? Plus, we all agreed you’d limit yourselves to minimal PDA when I’m around.”

She shrugs, entirely unrepentant. “Number one, if Simon has a complaint about that, he’s welcome to voice it. But he kissed me back quite enthusiastically, so I don’t think he does. Number two, we stopped as soon as you came into the room, thereby upholding our end of the bargain.”

Cal sends me a pleading look, but I just shrug. “She’s got you there, man.”

Now he’s glaring at both of us. But he’s clearly not done. “How would you feel if I were making out with one of your friends in the living room?” He volleys at his sister. “Hmm?”

She straightens on my lap, her chin lifting, and uh-oh … Cal’s really stepped in it now. I don’t even know what she’s going to say, but I know it’s not going to end well for Cal.

“Oh?” She asks in her sweetest, most saccharine voice. “You mean like that time when I walked in on you and Betsy Mills making out in your bedroom when she came over for a sleepover with me in the ninth grade? Like that? Is that what you mean?”

Cal’s mouth opens and closes a few times. Then, “That’s different.”

Ellie puts her hand under her chin. “Is it? Okay, then. Would you like me to set you up with Autumn? She has pretty wild taste. She might be into getting it on with a self-centered jock, at least once or twice. I can call her and see if she’s interested. Since you’re so intent on making things even, though I still think I’m owed a little more payback. Since Betsy doesn’t count. I’ll see if she’s available.” Turning, Ellie leans over and reaches for her phone, acting for all the world like she’s about to text her roommate.

“What? No!” Cal protests, but Ellie’s still looking at her phone, her thumbs flying over the screen.

I have to bite my cheek to keep my smile contained, because while Ellie is texting someone, it’s not Autumn. She’s texting me.Thanks for playing along. This is fun.She hits send, and a second later my phone vibrates in my back pocket, but since it’s mashed into the couch cushions under my butt, no one notices but me.

Ellie blinks at her brother again. “What? No? Is Autumn not your type?” She shrugs and taps her phone against her lips, for all appearances deep in thought. “Let me see … who else might you go for?”

Clearing my throat, I decide to throw Cal a bone. While it’s entertaining to watch Ellie mess with her brother for so many reasons—not least of which is the fact that she’s not letting him push her around so much anymore—he’s still my friend.

I wrap my fingers around Ellie’s phone and tug it away from her, then give her a quick peck. “Be nice, Ellie. Let’s give the guy a break for now. He’s trying, after all.”

She sighs, her attention completely focused on me. “I suppose you’re right.” And she slides off my lap to snuggle against my side. “He’s barely bitched about me being here at all since we got back together, so I do have to give him credit for that much.” She looks up at me. “And while setting him up with one of my friends is maybe not the best idea, and I really don’t think Autumn would go for him anyway, especially not for anything long term, maybe part of his frustration is motivated by jealousy?”

“Groooossss,” Cal moans from the other end of the couch, where he’s finally parked himself and turned on the TV. “I am definitely not jealous of someone making out with my sister.”

Ellie rolls her eyes. “I meant jealous of the relationship, you pinecone.”

Cal and I exchange a look, because Cal’s been trying to see someone, though from the little bit he’s said, it hasn’t been going well.

Ellie immediately sits up. She points her finger back and forth between us. “What was that about? What’s going on? What don’t I know?”

I bite back a smile and run a soothing hand down her back. “Leave him alone. You’re not missing out on anything major.” I shouldn’t find it so amusing that he keeps striking out with this girl, but I really do.

Cal shifts in his seat. “Nothing,” he grunts.

But Ellie doesn’t let things go, and we all know that. She pushes away from me again. “Noooo, that’s definitely something. Are you seeing someone, Cal? Who? What’s her name? Where’d you meet her?”

I have to bite my cheek again, because his usual charm hasn’t been working for him at all. The girl in question will barely give him the time of day. And who can blame her? Her brother is Cal’s biggest rival.

“No, Ellie. I’m not seeing anyone,” Cal says and turns up the volume on the TV. As though that will stop his sister.

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