“Whatever that was outside,” she says, her attention still cast down. “Practically made me nauseous.”
Her eyes lift after her last comment, a smirk on her lips. Huxley passes behind Sophia on his way to the kitchen, most likely looking for his older brother, and pats her head condescendingly.
“She’s the cold-hearted one of the family,” he says.
Sophia shrinks down as she tries to avoid her brother’s hand. “Don’t touch me!”
Her threat is playfully ignored as Huxley turns the corner and disappears. I laugh under my breath at the obvious sibling banter and sit on the couch next to Sophia.
“Where’s Jamie?” I ask.
“Taking a shower, I think,” she says, finally putting her phone down.
As her eyes slide to meet mine, her ominous smile widens. She stares for a few seconds too long before finally asking, “So?” She elongates the word as if the one-word question contains all the information I need to answer her.
I respond with a deadpan stare, narrowing my eyes, but don’t say anything.
She puffs out a laugh. “You twofinallysaw the light. Took you long enough.” Her smile turns saccharine. “Thankgod, ‘cause I was sick and tired of playing couples therapy.”
I playfully shove her shoulder with my own. “Huxley’s right, you are the cold-hearted one.”
She giggles. “Well,someoneneeds to be rational in this family.”
Looking over my shoulder, I make sure we’re alone. “So what about you? Are you still seeing that bartender?”
Her body language turns a little squirrely, but she answers me anyway. “Nah, he started getting too clingy, so I broke things off. He’s kind of ignoring me now.”
I snort. “Too clingy?” Knowing her, she probably got turned off by something small and inconsequential. “Let me guess, he was just acting interested?”
“He was texting me too often.” She smirks, then adds playfully, “Yuck.”
I shake my head. “Classic Sophia,” I chide.
Charlie appears out of nowhere in front of us and cuts in without even saying hi.
“Connie, have you watched the Fast & Furious movies? If yes, what are your rankings from worst to best?”
Sophia and I fall into a fit of giggles while Charlie stands in front of us, dead serious. Eventually, I do answer his question—of course, I’ve watched the franchise. I spend the restof Sunday night surrounded by all my favorite people, Huxley now at the top of the list.
A few days later,I meet Huxley outside my condo for our very first official date. Heinsistedon picking me up, and I find him standing beside Sophia’s car, the late afternoon sun shining behind him, with a large bouquet of colorful gerbera daisies.
I giggle in shock at the sight of him. He looks so adorable, standing there, a hopeful smile on his face. His faithful bomber jacket is unzipped at the collar, distressed combat boots, and freshly dyed blue hair, while holding those dainty flowers. The urge is too strong—Ineedto document this.
“Don’t move,” I order while still a few feet away.
Pulling my phone out, I snap a few pictures, his smile turning sheepish the more he stands there—which just makes him look all the more charming. Finally, I skip over to meet him, my smile so big it’s hurting my cheeks.
“For you,” he says demurely, handing me the flowers with a soft kiss on the corner of my lips.
I play along, acting surprised as if I didn’t know the bouquet was meant for me.
“That’s so sweet of you.” If I’m not careful, he’ll notice the cartoon hearts floating out of my eyes. “Thank you.”
Opening the car door, he ushers me in with a hand to the small of my back. The giddiness I’m feeling from just the first few minutes of our date is unprecedented, even after more than a decade of dating. First dates have never meant this much to me.
But if I’m being honest. It’s because no one has meant this much to me. Huxley is all new territory, and I’m loving everyminute of it. The feeling is reminiscent of a warm, effervescent wave gently rolling through my body.
He’s kept the activity of our date a secret. When in the car, I—again—ask him where we’re heading, but he simply sends me a mischievous wink before pulling out onto the street.
