“Nope. I’m only serving this during the movie. But it’s fine. I’ll make it again…someday. Well, maybe I won’t. After you’ve had your lobotomy, you won’t appreciate all this yumminess anymore. So I’ll probably stop forever. Sad that today is the last time I’ll ever bake it, and I made it for you, but…oh, well.”
When she drizzles the buttery syrup on top and extracts a plate of crispy, thick-sliced bacon keeping warm in the microwave, I give in. Even the most cloyingly sentimental film is worth the watch if I get to eat that. “All right. You win. Hand me a plate. I’ll cancel the lobotomy and stay for the movie.”
“I thought you might see things my way.” She grins as she hands me a dish.
Despite the dimple in her left cheek, I take it with a growl. “You’re punishing me, Hope.”
“I’m not, Elliot. After seven weeks of action heroes, twisted relationships, and sophomoric comedies, it’s time for something nice.”
Echo might have a point. She’s the only one who ever introduces movies meant to leave people happy. “All right.”
I refill her mimosa while she finishes setting the food on the coffee table in front of the “big screen.” The gang makes fun of Echo’s TV because it’s an old console set from at least twenty years ago. In fact, her whole place is full of half-patched, well-loved hand-me-downs from her older sisters and flea markets. It’s nothing like my super-sleek bachelor pad, but I’ve spent so much time here this place feels like home.
“So what’s the name of your torturous flick today?” I ask as I drop to the floor and position myself in front of the table.
Echo is right beside me, bumping elbows and brushing thighs as we settle in. With my next breath, I smell not just our brunch…but that elusive something else sweet that’s turning my head and driving me crazy. What is that?
“Pride and Prejudice.”
Is she for real? “Didn’t I have to read that in, like, tenth-grade English?”
“You had Mrs. Hanover for sophomore lit, right?”
“Yeah.” I haven’t thought of that woman in years. After the end of that semester, I blocked her out.
“Then you did. It was the best thing we read in class.”
“Lord of the Flies was way better.”
Echo pins me with a withering stare. “You might be a man, but you’re such a boy.”
“What does that mean? I—”
“Eat, so I can start my movie.” She wags her finger at me.
I really would rather not watch this classic chick-flick, even if Kiera Knightly is on the screen. She’s hot, despite the billowing dress and any absence of cleavage. But Echo’s words bug me.
“Hang on.” I shift to face her. “How am I a boy?”
“You don’t think much about tomorrow.”
“Exactly.” I just turned twenty-four. I have the rest of my life to obsess about that shit. I’m not in the market for a wife. After watching my parents, I doubt I ever will be. But I’ve got a great six-figure job working for an up-and-coming financial services company here in LA. No, it’s not Wall Street. I’ll be there eventually, once I pay my dues.
Echo sighs. She doesn’t like my answer. Funny, we’re not together at all…but I hate it when we fight. I hate it even more when I disappoint her. And I clearly have.
“And you just made my point.” She shakes her head as she grabs the remote.
“There’s no sex in this movie, is there?” I grumble.
“Nope.” She rolls her eyes. “Not everything is about sex.”
“Sure it is.” But she doesn’t know that because she’s still a virgin at twenty-two. I respect her choice to wait for someone who means something to her, even if I don’t share it.
“It’s easy to feel your nether regions. Feeling your heart is a lot more complicated. And a lot more significant.”
I scowl. Echo almost sounds like… No. She can’t possibly speak from experience. Who the hell would she be in love with that I don’t know about?
Then I remember she’s “talking” with Xavian.
I freeze.
Anyone who called me a player would label Xavian Costa a man whore. She can’t have real feelings for him.
Can she?
If I confront Echo head-on about how stupid falling for Xavian is, she’ll bristle. So I try to be sneaky. “I haven’t talked to X much lately. What’s up with him?”
“Besides finals, nothing new. But he’s stoked that we’ll all be boarding the plane for Maui on Saturday. He was thrilled that, despite being an intern, he was included in the bonus trip for top performers.”
Xavian is killing it in the office. He’s got a natural gift for making money, so I’m not surprised. But she sounds almost proud of him, like a girlfriend.
“And thanks again for taking me along as your plus one. I’m so excited I bought two new bikinis!”
For Xavian to look at? The thought makes me frown even more. But I act casual.