“That’s great, and Felix will be there in case he’s a total creeper in person.”
“Yeah. Felix can meet him too. But he isn’t a creeper. I met him in person, remember?” She laughs and falls back onto the bed. “I hope Felix is cool.”
“Why wouldn’t he be? He knows you date and make out with boys.” I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.
The party has died down and only the faint sound of the guys talking drifts through the walls.
Stella’s quiet, only giving me a small smile. She’s already so nervous for us to meet him, which tells me exactly how much she really likes him. The three of us are close. It would be hard for any of us to date someone the others didn’t like.
“I can’t believe you met a guy at the airport. Only you. Guys basically fall into your lap.” I shove her foot lightly.
She sits up and grins at me. “It could be you if you’d actually talk to Teddy like you did tonight.”
“Shh!” I glance at the closed door.
“Oh, relax. He isn’t eavesdropping.” She yawns and plugs her phone into the charger, then lies back down. “But seriously, this week is the perfect opportunity to make something happen.”
Her eyes flutter closed, and I get under the covers beside her.
“Want to go get a tree in the morning?”
“Maybe. First, I want to sleep for like eighteen hours.” She curls up on her side facing me. “Night, Holly.”
“Night, Stell.”
I fall asleep thinking about Teddy. I know my sister is right. I should do something, since we’re sharing the same space for a few days, but making moves on guys is not really an area in which I excel. Reading, school, shoes, Christmas trivia, knowing the lyrics to every pop song on the radio—those are topics I am much more versed in.
And with Teddy, there’s a lot at stake. He’s my brother’s best friend. If he doesn’t feel the same, it’s not like I can hide from him forever.
Stella is still sleeping when I wake up the next morning, so I quietly change and then take my toothbrush and makeup case out to the bathroom.
Noise from the television that was left on all night makes it hard to tell if anyone else is awake. Once I’m ready, I tiptoe through the living room. Lucas is lying on the floor in only his boxers, and Emmett is facedown on one of the couches. Garrison and the other guys that drove down must have left last night. The spot where Teddy slept is empty and Felix’s door is open and the sliver of his bed I can see is clear.
“Morning.” Teddy’s deep voice rumbles through my insides.
I jump and place a hand on my chest.
“Sorry,” he says as I meet his gaze. He leans against the counter with a tall glass of milk. He’s shirtless and even though I’ve seen him like this before, I have a hard time not letting my gaze linger on his broad shoulders and tapered waist or the light smattering of hair that trails down his stomach and disappears into his sweatpants.
“Morning,” I finally return his greeting, “I didn’t know anyone else was up.”
I glance toward Felix’s room again. The bed is definitely empty.
“He’ll be right back. He walked the girls back.”
“Oh.” I knew they were still here when Stella and I crashed, but it didn’t occur to me until now that they might have stayed over. And if Teddy is the only other one awake...I shake away the thought. I do not need to picture Teddy or my brother hooking up.
I grab a glass from the cabinet and fill it with water, looking anywhere but at the guy next to me. He’s had girlfriends before,but somehow thinking of him hooking up with a random girl hurts more. That random could have been me.
Felix returns, when it’s borderline uncomfortable, and I have never been so glad to see him.
“Hey,” I say cheerily.
“Morning.”
“Just barely.” The microwave clock reads ten fifty-eight. “I checked and there is a tree lot about a mile away.”
He doesn’t look stoked about my idea, so I continue to plead my case, “If we don’t get one soon, they’ll be sold out.”