Neither of them answer me, still talking over each other, same as they always do.
I stare down at Ethan. A cocky smirk turns up the corner of his mouth when he peeks up at me. Sucking in a deep breath, I do my best to compose myself. The heat from his gaze produces a fire beneath my skin.
Ethan licks his lips, a simple gesture Will doesn’t pick up on. But I do. When it comes to Ethan, I never miss a beat.
Why is he playing games with me? Why did he disappear on me? And why the hell is he lounging on my couch like some lazy, entitled prince?
“Remind me to make an appointment for you,” Ethan says to me, interrupting Will. “My girl at Boyds will hook you up.”
I tilt my head back and laugh. “Like I can afford to shop at Boyds. Unless you have a girl at Plato’s Closet or Walmart, I’m good with what I have, thank you very much.”
“Tell her to put it on my tab,” Will says.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Since when do you shop at fancy department stores?”
He shrugs. “I have to wear suits and ties for games. I’m not a complete caveman.”
“Oh, right. I forgot about that. Well, thanks for the offer, but I’m not a charity case.”
Will shakes his head. “It’s not charity, Mia. You’re my sister. I want to do something nice for you. So does Ethan.” He holds his hand up and moves it around the apartment. “Look at how you live. I’d rather see you somewhere safer and with food in your fridge not slumming it. You deserve better than this.”
I let out a puff of air and drop the conversation. We have the same argument so often I might as well let him feel better by doing this one nice thing for me. With my bargain shopper powers, I’m sure I can find a few
things on the cheap.
“Fine,” I mutter. “If buying me clothes will make you happy, then I’ll meet the girl from Boyds.”
Will smiles. So does Ethan, who removes his cell phone from his jeans pocket. Ethan types out a quick text message, and a few seconds later, it dings.
“Alanna can see you tomorrow after you’re done work,” Ethan says.
“Okay, great. Thanks. Now, can we get the hell out of here? Clarke should be here any minute.”
As if on cue, Clarke knocks once, before stepping inside my apartment. “Is everyone decent?”
Will pushes himself up from the couch. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
Clarke flips her hair over her shoulder and snorts. “Never know with you living here. I’ve read enough about you to know I should knock before entering anywhere you live, Romeo.” She drags out his nickname and snickers.
Will laughs. “And why is that?”
She cocks an eyebrow at him. “Because you’re a bad boy.”
I narrow my eyes at Clarke.
What is she doing? Ugh, she can’t like my brother. He’s… well, he’s Will. My brother loves a challenge, and Clarke will give him one.
In one swift motion, he moves past me, hovering over Clarke. He’s a lot taller than her five feet two inches. Even in heels, she looks tiny in comparison to him. Will studies her face and licks his bottom lip. Shit. He does like her.
He glides his fingers along her bare shoulder, pushing the strap of her top down her arm. “I’d say you shouldn’t believe what you read in the papers, but at least they got that part right.”
“Okay, enough of that.” I throw my hands onto my hips and glare at my brother. “Can we make it to Scores without you hitting on my friend?”
Will peeks over his shoulder at me, and then his gaze shifts to Ethan. “Hey, I had to watch E hit on you. Deal with it, little sis.”
Clarke flashes my brother a wicked smirk. “For the record, I’m not interested. Save your energy for someone else.”
Oh, no. Now, he won’t give up until she’s screaming his name in the bedroom next to mine. At least Clarke has self-control, unlike me when it comes to Ethan.