Page 128 of Play With Me

The man makes a sound kind of like a grumble, though it’s tough to say with the background static.

“That’s Ford,” Griff says by way of greeting. “He’s got a little sister who’s almost as much of a pain in the ass as you.”

“Half sister. And she’s more of a PITA, I can tell you confidently,” Ford grumbles as he tips us sideways, making me clap my hand against the window.

Nora’s skin looks a little green.

I grip her hand. “You okay?”

“I’ve never been on a helicopter before.”

“Well, shit,” Griff says. “This is a helluva bird to be your first.”

She laughs nervously but grips my hand tighter as Ford does another dip. All around us are jagged white mountain peaks as we loosely follow the path of the highway down below to get through them.

“So? You guys together now or what?” Griff asks.

I could fucking kill him. I give him a look to tell him as much.

“Still up in the air, I see.” He nods, thoughtfully.

“You seeing anyone right now, Griff?” I ask.

The question’s pointed on purpose. Griffin is the only other person in our family besides me who I can’t remember ever actually being in a relationship. He has women he’s dated, I know that much. But the guy is allergic to staying in one place for more than a minute, and doesn’t tell anyone anything about his life, ever. He’s the definition of no commitment. To literally anything.

He doesn’t even deign to answer my question.

“We’re picking up Cap tomorrow,” he says instead. “Gerrard asked as a treat for Cap. That okay?”

I meet his eye, suddenly sorry I reacted that way to his question. “Of course. Thank you,” I say, with all sincerity. “Seriously. You saved the day.”

“I know,” Griff grunts. Then he pulls out a laptop and I know we’ve lost him.

I look over to Nora, who’s still gripping my hand tight. “Sorry about my brother,” I say. “He’s denser than I am about some stuff.”

“You’re not dense,” Griffin and Nora say at the same time.

“So fuckin’ quit it,” Griff adds, without looking up.

My chest feels warm and fuzzy looking over at my big brother. And at Nora.

I pull off my headset and lean in, gently sliding Nora’s aside.

“Thank you,” I whisper in her ear so only she can hear me.

“For what?” she mouths, holding her hand over her mouthpiece.

“For trusting me. For everything. This whole week. For coming with us and hanging out with Cap’s mom and making it somehow not the weirdest thing that’s ever happened.”

She smiles, lifting her hand to my face. But she doesn’t say anything at all.

CHAPTER31

Nora

Jude and I spend the morning recuperating on our own—I have a bath and a nap, and I suspect Jude must have done the same, because when he knocks on my door, his hair is damp and he looks fresh and sparkly.

He gives me a hug and a kiss so soft and sweet it takes my breath away. We linger a moment too long, then we’re entangled in each other’s arms, our clothes coming off piece by piece. Later, we lay sprawled on my bed with my laptop and a few images we’ve printed off. Jude rubs his thumb on my bare thigh as we go over everything Eleanor.

---