She rolled her eyes. "You tell me that every time you leave; look around Jare, the house is still standing."
He chuckled. "Give me a hug, squirt."
Karlie wrapped her arms around her big brother. "I"ll miss you."
"I"ll miss you, too," he held on tight.
I loved how much Jared cared about his sister.
"Win your fight for me," Karlie pulled away.
"I always win," Jared chuckled.
Karlie laughed. "Not always, Jare."
Jared shook his head. "Let"s put it this way, I haven"t lost a fight since I met my good luck charm." He grabbed my hand, pulling me against his chest.
"Oh, so now, I"m good luck charm?" I raised a brow.
"Yep," he grinned, "you"re the best charm out there and I"ll wear you proudly."
"Ew," Karlie gagged. "I"m out of here. I can"t watch my brother put the moves on, that"s just gross."
I heard her feet pound up the steps.
Jared licked his lips. "I"m really going to miss you."
"You"re only gone for two days," I reminded him.
He grinned. "The thought of you, here in my house, sleeping in my bed and not getting to wake up to your pretty blue eyes, is going to drive me mad."
I blushed at his words, a shiver skating up my spine.
"I love when I make you blush," Jared skimmed his thumb over my heated cheek. "I love how your body reacts to me, how you hum when I touch you," his fingers glided down my neck, and of course my treacherous body sang at his touch. My body had a mind of its own when it came to Jared. He made me feel things, do things and apparently hum things. Apparently, I just have no control.
"I"m going to miss you, too," I finally, said and then gasped as his mouth pressed against my neck and then his tongue flicked out. The moan that came out of my mouth was embarra.s.sing.
Oh, dear G.o.d, save me.
Jared chuckled and then lightly bit the spot he"d just licked.
"I love you, kittycat. I"ll call you when I get there," he kissed my lips and quickly let me go, grabbing up his suitcase.
My legs were like Jell-O, so I leaned against the stair railing for support. Hopefully, my knees would stop shaking once he was gone.
"I"ll keep my phone on me," I told him. He opened the door and was almost gone when I cried, "Jared!"
"Yeah?" he opened the door all the way.
"Be careful... please? Don"t get hurt," I pleaded, even though I knew he had no real control over whether or not he got hurt.
"I won"t," he smiled, closing the door again.
"And I love you, too!"
"Bye Katy," he chuckled, and then closed the door all the way.
I stood in front of the window and watched him leave. He looked back and I waved, hoping he would see me.
I watched until I couldn"t see his car any more and then went upstairs, knocking hesitantly on Karlie"s bedroom door.
"It"s unlocked," she said.
I opened the door and leaned against the jamb.
"I should have asked if you already had plans, but I made an appointment for you to get a pedicure and manicure."
The scream that came out of her mouth was high pitched enough to shatter gla.s.s.
I waited for the ringing in my ears to stop and then said, "I take it that you"re excited?"
"Yes!" She squealed, tossing the book she was reading on her flower bedspread. "Please, marry my brother so we can do girl stuff, all the time."
I laughed. "Let"s keep it at just dating for a little while longer. I can only handle so much change."
"When are we supposed to go?" Karlie asked.
"The appointment is an hour from now," I looked at my watch.
"Good, that gives me time to change," she began rummaging through her dresser drawer.
"I"ll be downstairs. Take your time. We can stop and get some frozen yogurt on our way," I told her, backing out of her room.
"Sweet," she said, clutching a new outfit to her chest.
Looking for something to do, I cleaned the kitchen counters and put away the clean dishes.
"I"m ready!" Karlie yelled and I heard her feet thump down the steps.
She had changed into a pair of leggings and a loose, cape-like, sweater that was long enough to be a dress. Her bright red-orange hair hung down her back.
I finished putting the dishes away and grabbed my car keys.
I had made up mind that I was going to get a new car, one I wanted, but it turned out mine wasn"t in as bad condition as Jared believed, so I opted to have it fixed. It meant fewer questions my mother would ask, because if she saw that I bought a new car, I"d get a ton. Getting it fixed was one less mother-induced headache I would have to deal with.
I pulled into the strip mall parking lot and grabbed my wallet. The frozen yogurt place and the nail salon were in the same section, so we"d just walk.
I ordered vanilla with sprinkles and Karlie got lemonade flavor.
We took a seat at the barstools that looked out the large gla.s.s windows that faced the parking lot.
"This is really good," Karlie sighed.
I swirled the vanilla frozen yogurt around my tongue and swallowed. "Yeah, it is." I dug in for another bite.
"Thank you for doing all of this, Katy. I know you don"t have to," Karlie licked her spoon.
"I wanted to," I shrugged, staring at the rainbow sprinkles. I was never very good when people thanked me for something. I was doing this because I wanted to, not for approval or praise.
"You"re a good person, Katy. I"m glad my brother found you. It"s about time he found a kindred soul."
"I"m the lucky one," I told her and it was true.
A smile lit her brown eyes. "I"m glad you feel that way about him, he deserves to have someone love him the way you do. I hope-" she looked distantly out the window. "I hope I can find someone that loves me the way you and my brother love each other. I want that all consuming, one in a lifetime, kind of love. I just don"t know if it"s in the stars for me."
"Of course it is," I said, tilting my head to study her. "Why don"t you think so?"
She shrugged, swirling her yogurt with her spoon. "I"ve been hung up on someone who won"t ever love me back, for so long that I don"t know if I"ll ever get over it."
"Holden," I stated and she nodded.
"The guy"s a jerk most of the time," she ran her fingers through her bangs. "I honestly don"t know why I"m so attracted to him. He just frustrates me. But then, there are these moments, where I see something in him and it"s like everything in me sings and I get b.u.t.terflies and feel all weird inside. But I know that he"ll never feel the same way and I should move on, but I can"t, Katy, and that makes me so angry. He"s only ever going to see me as his best friends little sister." She stared off into s.p.a.ce. "Plus, with the age difference thing, I"m always going to be a kid to him. I don"t look like the women he dates. They"re women with curves and hot bodies and here I am with my super thin dancer"s body, with absolutely no curves. I"m just a girl," she sighed. "I"ll always just be a girl in his eyes."
I could see the sadness in her eyes and it did something to me. I felt protective of Karlie and I hated to see her so sad. This was her day.
"No more boy talk," I finished off my frozen yogurt. "Today is about all things, girl."
She smiled and threw away her half-eaten frozen yogurt. "No more boy talk, promise," she held out her pinky.
I hesitated a few seconds before hooking mine with hers.
"Come on," I opened the door, "the nail salon is a couple of stores, this way." I pointed to the left.
We walked under the covered awning; I spotted a Starbucks and ducked inside. I needed some coffee.
Armed with coffee, we made it to the nail place, just in time for Karlie"s appointment.
"You"re not getting anything done?" she asked, her brow lifted in puzzlement.
"Nope, this is for you. The fact that I don"t like to be touched isn"t very conducive to a manicure and pedicure."
"Oh, right," Karlie"s cheeks colored. "With the way you and Jared have been, I forgot about that."
I shrugged. "Baby steps."
"Aren"t you going to be bored?" she asked. "You don"t need to stay here with me."
"Karlie," I said, lightly, "Don"t worry about me. I"m here for you. Just because I"m not getting anything done, doesn"t mean we can"t still talk."
"Are you sure?" she questioned and I could sense her hesitation.
"Yes, Karlie, I"m sure. Go ahead and pick out your polish," I told her.
She stared at me uncertainly for a moment and then turned to the racks of polish.
She picked a shade of purple with a bunch of different shades of glitter.
A woman motioned her to the back where they had a closed off area for the pedicure station.
I grabbed a chair and sat beside Karlie.
"You"re not getting anything done?" the woman asked.
"No," I politely shook my head and sipped my coffee.
"If you change your mind, let me know," she said and began to add hot water to the small tub. Karlie rolled up the ends of her leggings and then plopped into the black leather seat. The woman handed her a remote and a moment later, Karlie had turned on the ma.s.sage chair, moaning in pleasure.
"I"m going to fall asleep," she warned us, handing the lady the bottle of polish. "For your sakes, I hope I don"t snore." She pointed at the nail technician and me, before relaxing back into the seat.
I chuckled, taking another sip of my caramel flavored coffee.
I felt my phone vibrate from inside my purse and pulled it out.
Missing you. It read.
A gooey smile spread across my face and I quickly typed back a reply.
Same here.
"My brother?" Karlie asked, a smirk on her lips.
I blushed. "Yes."
She giggled. "I would say, "that"s cute," but since it"s my brother, it"s more gross than cute."
I laughed and put my phone away. "Sorry, I shouldn"t have grabbed my phone. I am the one that said no more boy talk."
"I don"t mind," Karlie wiggled, relaxing back into the seat and closing her eyes. "Like I said, I"ll probably fall asleep and you"ll have to drag my sleeping b.u.t.t out of here."
"Go to sleep, if that"s what you want," I picked up a gossip magazine from a nearby table, "I"ll just be here, reading about dumb celebrities."
I don"t know if Karlie actually fell asleep, but she did keep her eyes closed the whole time her toes were painted. Another technician came in and painted her nails with the same color, while her toes dried.
I paid and then nudged her shoulder.
Relaxed brown eyes greeted mine. "It"s time to get out of here."