Out loud, she says, “I can give Jace a hard time if I want. It’s my favorite hobby.”
Thea is very much like my annoying little sister. Thank God I never had any actual siblings. Poor Cade is actually related to her.
I ignore them and turn to Nova at my side. “This cake is perfect.”
“Thank you.”
Looking at the time, I cringe. It’s late and we have a couple hours’ drive back.
“We should go,” I whisper to Nova, licking the last of the icing from my lips.
She sits up, the blanket falling from around her shoulders. “You’re right.”
I stand up and hold my hands out for her, helping her up from the low-sitting chair.
“Thanks for this, guys,” I say, truly meaning it. They didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me. I would’ve been fine if today passed by like any other day.
“You’re welcome.” Cade holds out his fist for me to bump.
“Yeah, man, you’re welcome.” Xander and I clasp hands.
I hug the girls goodbye—because they won’t settle for any less—and then we head out.
Rae had fixed my presents in a bag and set them by the door so I could grab them easily when we left.
I kind of wish we could stay the night and hang out here, but I have to work tomorrow. It’s nice out here. Even though it’s not far from the city, only a few hours, it feels like you’re in an entirely different world.
Nova and I head to my truck and the hinges creak as we open the doors.
I know I should suck it up and get a new truck, but for some reason I can’t let it go. It’s like it’s as much of a part of me as, say … my tattoos.
Nova stifles a yawn and leans her head against the window. “I’m so tired,” she mumbles.
“Go to sleep.”
She shakes her head no but her eyes are closed. “It’s a long drive home. I should talk to you.”
“That’s what the radio is for,” I tell her.
She makes some sort of noise, and I have no idea what it actually means.
I chuckle to myself and turn up the radio. No way is she going to be able to stay awake.
Sure enough, I’m barely on the road for fifteen minutes when her light snore reaches my ear.
I chuckle to myself and drive on.
Nova
I blow air across my hot coffee, watching the steam lift and disappear into the air.
Joel peers across the table at me, his own coffee sitting to his right, practically abandoned. He doesn’t like coffee too much.
His brown hair is mussed, a pair of round glasses sits on his nose. He looks adorably nerdy, but I’d never tell him that. Besides, I don’t think guys like words like “adorable” and “nerdy”, let alone in the same sentence.
“This isn’t working,” I finally say. “We’ve been trying for over a year and we still haven’t made progress with what we’re going to do.”
He grabs a sugar packet and dumps it into his coffee. “So what? You want to give up?”