Page 69 of Forever Wild
“When do you leave for Briar Lake?” he asks, smiling at her in a way that is a little too familiar.
“Oh, umm, I’m leaving at the end of the month.” She fidgets withthe glass in her hand and smiles, though in a way that is all false bravado.
“Cool,” he replies, not catching on to her discomfort. “My family has a place up there. Maybe we can hook up some weekend. I can show you around.”
I clear my throat and his gaze slides to me. Ev giggles but covers it quickly.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
I turn my glare to the woman beside me. I might need to drag her back upstairs and remind her I’m a jealous man when it comes to her.
“Jack, this is Christian. I went to college with him and hisboyfriend,Ryan.”
I look back to the guy in question and then notice the guy next to him. He lifts a hand. “Ryan. Nice to meet you. Big fan.”
“You too.” I smile graciously at him and Christian.
“And that’s Lisa on the end,” Everly says. “She accepted an internship with the same company as I did.”
I tip my head to her, and she smiles back before turning her attention back to Ev.
“It’s going to be so great. Heather is a genius. I heard from a friend that works there that she just landed a huge deal on a new condominium building. It seems like she’s really leaning into the commercial space.”
“Really?” Everly asks, seeming surprised. “But she’s so good at making homes feel original and well-loved.”
“Yeah.” Lisa nods. “She has a real eye for that, but branching out is probably a smart move. There are so many condos and apartments going up around the lake. I bet we get to help with furnishing and staging.”
“More like you’ll be grabbing her coffee and calling vendors,” Christian says.
“Of course.” Lisa nods. “We are interns after all, but she promised we’d get some real, hands-on experience too.”
Lisa’s eyes sparkle with excitement and possibility. Not unusual, but it’s a contrast to Everly’s much calmer demeanor. Why isn’t she bouncing with excitement?
“I wish I could afford to rent one of those condos instead of the studio basement I had to settle for. Where are you?” Lisa asks her.
“I lucked into a sublet,” Everly says. I want to ask if it’s one that Ty owns, but I don’t want to put her on the spot. Her brother has been smart with his money, investing in real estate like the house she lives in now. I get the sense that Ev isn’t keen on reminding people that her brother is a famous and rich hockey player.
The conversation shifts from the internship to talking about their college classes, professors, and other friends. I sit back and listen, mostly to Everly.
“Sorry,” she says at one point when everyone else is talking around us. “Are you bored?”
“No.”
She narrows her gaze like she’s trying to make sure I’m not lying.
“Would I rather be back upstairs? Yes. But I’m sitting next to the hottest woman in the club and my fingers still smell like her pussy. Don’t you worry about me.”
And the truth is I could sit here and listen to her talk all night and be content. I’m looking forward to kissing her again, but it’s also nice hearing her talk about life and work and random shit that she’s never told me before. Before this summer we never really shared these kinds of details about our lives. Sure, we knew what the other was up to, butonly by extension of our friends and her brother. Now that I’ve gotten a glimpse of how she thinks, what she wants, and who she really is, I just want to know more.
She bites on the corner of her lip like she’s deciding something. Maybe whether she’s ready to ditch her friends again.
“Why’d you decide to be an interior designer?” I ask her.
“The short version is I like art and decorating.”
“And the long version?”
She hesitates, tilts her head to one side, and gets a contemplative look on her face like she’s trying to decide how much to share with me.
