Page 15 of Of Course, Cutie

I rolled my eyes, but nodded and sank onto an empty crate. “Shit. I miss dad so much.”

“Me too.” Evan sighed and covered his face with both hands. “Can Matteo help you make that t-shirt look cute?”

I shrugged. “Probably.”

“Okay. Be safe, kid.” Evan reached out to mess up my hair, but I smacked his hand away before he could. He laughed and shook his head as he walked toward the door and wrenched it open. “After you, sis.”

I stepped back out into the noisy bar and immediately felt Burke’s eyes on me. My cheeks burned when he burst out laughing. “Smart, boss-man!” He yelled to Evan.

Evan nodded and gave me a pointed look. “See?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved past both of them. Matteo would be pissed that my brother ruined my costume, but he’d forgive him because Evan was so pretty.

7

Charlie

I pushed my way through Matteo’s dark, crowded house. Thriller blasted through the set of portable speakers that I gave him for Christmas last year, and sweaty bodies swayed and rubbed against each other. It smelled like beer and weed and so fucking much Axe body spray. Gag.

The decorations were on point, though. Matteo took great pride in decking out his house for these parties, and yes, the house actually belonged to him. His grandmother passed away two years ago and left it to him. In Matteo’s words, her judgmental ass wouldn’t have left him a damn thing if she’d known he was gay. He hid his sexuality from his parents until he was seventeen, and they were still hiding it from their surviving parents.

Matteo was sure that Grandma Sanchez was looking down with disgust and pleading for his soul in Catholic heaven.

Poor Mattie-boy. But while he was lacking in acceptance from his family, there was no love lost among our peers. They flocked to his bright personality like flies on honey.

As I tried to make my way to the kitchen, a dumbass dressed like a basketball player draped his arm over my shoulders and pressed me into his side. “Hey, sexy kitty.” He slurred. “You need something to dig your claws into?” His dark eyes scanned every inch of my body. Suddenly I was glad that Evan lost his shit and forced me into the plain black t-shirt.

Matteo had gasped when he saw my ruined costume. Then he’d rolled his eyes and said, “Whatever. Ditch the shirt at my house.”

I didn’t, and Matteo forgot to pressure me the second Jonah showed up.

Now, I inched away from the dumbass in the basketball jersey. “I’m de-clawed. Thanks for the offer.”

“Hold up!” He caught my wrist as I tried to walk away. “What’s your name?”

“Anna!” I yelled over the music and pried my wrist from his grasp. I kept walking and scanned the room for Matteo. I was here strictly for him because no amount of wine coolers or mini candy bars could make me like Halloween. I was determined to have a shitty time.

I spotted Matteo’s purple top hat in the kitchen. He waved his arms around and entertained a group of about twenty people with some animated story. Jonah stood to his left, smiling at him like he was the funniest guy in the world. Good for Mattie. I caught his eye and gave him a wink and a thumbs up. Matteo grinned at me and bit his lip.

If things were going well for my fabulous best friend, that meant I could leave soon, right? I slid out his back door and stepped onto the deck. It was still crowded out here, but not as loud. At first, the cool night air felt refreshing, but after a minute, I started to shiver and found myself wishing I hadn’t returned Burke’s jacket quite yet.

I slept in it Sunday night. The thought made me cringe with embarrassment, but it was the best damn sleep I’d gotten in months. Burke’s smell made me feel calm and warm. My phone vibrated against my chest, and I dug it out of my bra to check it.

Burke texted, and my heart raced as I opened the message. Did you take that t-shirt off the second you got to your party?

I bit my lip and replied. I did not. Why are you texting me? Aren’t you supposed to be collecting phone numbers from sexy, drunk MILF’s?

I’m on my break. Why are you replying? Aren’t you supposed to be driving dumbass college boys crazy?

Can’t. I’m all covered up.

Oh, cutie. Trust me. You’re still driving them crazy in that t-shirt.

My breathing quickened, and my palms started sweating. And now I was thinking about what Matteo said. Sweet. Heart. Trust me. When a man looks at a woman the way Burke just looked at you, sex is on the fucking table. Burke was flirting with me. I could flirt back a little, couldn’t I? It’s no fun to drive college boys crazy. I have my sights set a little higher, Burke.

He replied with the mind-blown emoji. I sent him a winking face, then felt a hand on my lower back. I whipped around and found myself face-to-face with Basketball Jersey from earlier.

“What’s up, Anna?” He smiled at me and stepped closer. “I thought I lost you in there. I’m Simon.”