Page 59 of The Last Thing
We end up in the living room, and while she takes the corner of the couch, I plop down in the middle and lift her legs, resting them on my lap, then I gently massage them.
“What’s up?” I try to keep my voice even. I’m afraid she’s going to tell me she wants to stop whatever we’re doing. That’s the last thing I want. Mostly because while she says it’s just sex, she’s been letting down her guard. She doesn’t just want orgasms, she wants comfort. The closer we become, the easier her walls become to break through.
I’m getting closer.
I look over at her, only to find her staring at my hands on her legs as I move them down toward her feet.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you relax.”
She stares at me for a beat, and I’m expecting her to argue. She’s used to handling things herself. She’s closed herself off to love for some reason—and that includes letting someone outside of her family care for her.
“Thank you.”
Well, fuck me. A smile sneaks onto my lips before I can stop it.
“Don’t look so smug.”
“Not smug. Happy. I like taking care of you. And I think you like it too. Why else would you be here?”
She sighs dramatically. “I wanted to talk to you about something, remember?” But I don’t miss the smile she tries to hide.
I give her calf a squeeze.
“What did you want to talk about?”
“Sophia. What you want to tell her and when. And when you plan to tell your mom or anyone else in your life.”
I inhale deeply. All of that has been on my mind too, even if that’s not all I want to talk to her about.
I’ll talk to her about anything. I’ll talk to her all night.
“Sophia asked me today if we’re more than friends.”
My eyes go wide. But I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s a smart kid.
“What did you say?”
“That we’re friends. Then I asked if she wanted us to be more than friends and… she’s hoping for that.”
I am too.
“Okay, that adds another layer to this. Let’s come back to Soph and talk about everyone else first. What about in your life? I assume Frannie knows?”
She nods. “I told her when I got to town.”
“What about your brother? Where does he live, by the way? You haven’t mentioned it.”
She stares at me blankly for a second, like she has no idea what the fuck I’m talking about, then some sort of realization hits her.
“Oh. Justin.” She bites back a smile. “Yeah, he’s not my brother. Not technically. That’s just a thing we’d do to stay safe when hooking up. We look enough alike that we pass for siblings. He’s my cousin Kennedy’s bestie.”
“Was she the one with the dark hair there that night?”
“No, that’s Justin’s wife, Jade. And the other two were?—”
“Ryan Hardison and Brian Ackley.”
