Page 71 of Poinsettia Lane

Everly sighed. Carrie never makes it easy for her or lets her off the hook, but that’s why she’s worth every penny. “Um, well, it could be that my thoughts are changing. I don’t have as many negative thoughts anymore.”

“What else?”

“I don’t worry about being perfect for other people.” She realized she’d had a general impression of this already, but hadn’t reflected on the depth of it yet. “I haven’t been anticipating people’s expectations just so I can try to meet them, like I used to do. Constantly. I didn’t even realize until now how much I used to do that, and I haven’t been anymore. Except at work but that’s normal I’m pretty sure. I think that’s a big part of it," Everly said.

“What have you been doing instead?”

“Nothing?” Everly crinkled her nose up, not sure how to answer that one.

“Not nothing, you’re always doing something," Carrie prompted. “Instead of being focused on what other people want from you or what others think about you, what thoughts are going through your head instead?”

“I’m just… thinking about other things, I guess. Life things or what I have to do that day or what I will say or do in the moment depending what’s going on," she said.

“So you’ve let go of some of those perfectionistic tendencies and insecurities. You’ve created a new thought pattern for yourself, a much more healthy one by the sounds of it.” Carrie summarized it much more insightfully than Everly did.

“Yeah, that," she said, pointing at Carrie’s image on her computer screen, and Carrie laughed.

Thinking about it now, she realizes that emptiness inside her is gone too. It sometimes pops up when she’s havinga bad day, but for the most part she feels genuinely happy. It may be in large part due to Asim’s presence in her life, but even more so, it’s the internal changes she’s pursued, changes he welcomes and encourages. Everly looks over at Asim again, eating his sandwich while he scrolls and reads something on his laptop. His eyes are narrowed, focused, and he’s leaning forward in his chair, forearms propped on the desk in front of him.

Everly turns back to her own lunch and takes another bite, pondering what her next steps might be now that she feels more herself, when she’s startled out of her reflections by Asim’s finger swiping a bit of food from the corner of her lips. She looks up to see him pop his finger in his mouth to lick it off, one side of his lips twitching up at her gaze.

Her thighs clench reflexively, and she licks her lips in response. Before she can so much as take another breath, he’s leaning across the table and grasping the nape of her neck, pulling her up out of her chair into a heated kiss. Everly drops her sandwich and leans into the kiss, her tongue teasing his lips, and she feels him smile against her mouth before taking it deeper. Her hand fists in his shirt and she pulls him harder against her, arching into him and wishing the desk wasn’t in their way.

“UGH, MY EYES!”

Everly shrieks and nearly jumps right out of her skin as Asim breaks the kiss but doesn’t lean away. He looks over his shoulder at the intruder and gives them a mock glare. Everly and Asim release their holds on each other and sink back into their seats. Frankie laughs and saunters in, pushing some papers out of their way on the far end of the desk before hopping onto it and folding their legs, criss-cross applesauce style.

“Gah, seriously?” Everly gripes at her friend. “At least take your shoes off.”

They kick off their omnipresent black combat boots with a grin at Everly’s muttered “freaking heathen” and then pull out their own lunch and chopsticks.

“Looks like I’m right on time. How’s everyone’s day going?” Frankie says and takes a slurping bite of pad Thai.

“You’re obnoxious," Everly says to them, one side ofher mouth twitching up.

Asim laughs at their antics while Everly rolls her eyes and they all start chatting about their mornings. Soon the conversation consists mainly of Asim and Frankie sharing the latest town gossip, gasps and wide eyes and gesticulating hands left and right.

Everly tunes them out; she’s accepted that she will never be as social or popular around town as the two of them are, and she’s okay with that. She enjoys their banter and is inordinately pleased at how well the two of them get along.

Her best friends. The only piece missing is her sister, and Everly hopes to have this close of a connection with her someday as well.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

EVERLY IS WAITING in her kitchen, cream fuzzy-socked foot tap-tap-tapping on the stone tile as she leans back against the marble countertop, arms folded across her chest, hands clenched into fists. Her eyes flit between the phone propped up on the counter opposite her and the kitchen window. Asim is on a video call with her—he’s working in the back greenhouses today—and she’s doing her best not to pace while she waits.

“No word yet?” he asks, his head popping into view for a moment before she hears him rummaging around off camera.

“Not since she left Phoenix. I mean, I guess I’m glad she’s not texting and driving, but shouldn’t she be here by now?”

“There’s probably traffic, especially getting out of the airport. She’ll be here soon. What are you most excited about?” he asks, doing his best to distract her from the torture of waiting. Everly appreciates the sentiment, even if it’s not really working.

“I guess just to see her? I don’t know, maybe going to—”

“She’s here!” Everly screeches, interrupting herself. “She’s here, gotta go! Love you bye!”

She hears Asim’s chuckle as she ends the call and clenches her phone in her fist, watching Addison turn into the driveway and circle around in her rental, then pull to a screeching stop in front of the porch.

Everly throws the door open and dashes out.

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