Page 31 of From Me to You

“Send it to me,” he said, writing something on the paper. “The one with the both of us.”

I nodded. Jay wasn’t great with technology and hated taking photos. He tolerated it only because it was me. I wondered what he would do when he became famous. People were going to take pictures of his gorgeous face all the time. I opened my messenger app and sent it to him, along with a picture of me with my tongue out. I noticed that the group chat name had been changed again to ‘Everybody Loves Mike.’

I snickered, “Mike has changed the name of the group chat again.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “He will never stop.”

“Do you know that Lily likes him?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

His eyes darkened as he glanced at me. “She is only fifteen, Evelyn. She doesn’t know what is best for her.”

“But she likes him. I can tell. I’m sure everyone can tell. I know Mike is an ass, but I feel like it’s all an act. That deep down, he is actually a good man.”

“Still, it won’t be happening.” His jaw clenched.

“But he is your best friend. You love him,” I said.

“Yes, I love him like a brother. But I don’t love him for my sister.”

“But Lily likes him.”

He suddenly got off the chair. “Drop it, Evelyn.”

I sighed. Sometimes I could never understand guys. “What? Are you mad at me now?”

He poured a glass of water for him. “No,” he said, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I just don’t want to talk about this.”

I nodded. He loved Lily, but he also loved Mike. But his sister would always come first. Mike slept with everyone under the sky. So, it made sense that Jay didn’t want his sister with him.

Just then, the oven beeped. My brownies were done. It was all I cared about now. I took it out of the oven, and the delicious scent of chocolate covered the whole room.

Hands crept around my waist as Jay plopped his chin onto my shoulder from behind me. He peered in as I cut the brownies into squares.

I blew out the steam and fed him a tiny piece. He gripped my hand and licked my fingers clean. “Delicious,” he said.

I blushed.

We took the warm brownies to the couch and resumed our show.

“These are amazing, sweetheart,” Jay moaned. He was already on his second piece.

I smiled. I spent the rest of the night cuddling up with him as we watched the show and grabbed some light dinner.

Later, we went up to my room and made out a bit. The bed was too small for Jay, but we crammed together, enjoying each other’s warmth. He spent most of the nights here, especially when Aunty M had a late shift. Which was most of the time. We did nothing but talk for hours and kiss a few times. I loved it. I loved being with him. Most of all, I loved falling asleep in his arms, warm and safe.

CHAPTER 9

Months later.

We were going on a road trip. We meaning me and the whole gang. The band landed a huge gig at a festival in San Francisco and they were going to be playing there for three whole nights. So, they asked us girls to come along too. Aunty M immediately said yes when I asked her. She was literally the coolest aunt ever.

I wanted to pinch myself as I thought about these past thirteen months with Jay. It was perfect. Too perfect that at times it scared me. It was like he ended where I began. There was no in-between when it came to us, it was just us two intertwined as one.

I laid out all of my clothes on my bed, frustrated. I had tried on so many outfits already. Either they didn’t fit me properly or were not appropriate for a music festival or I couldn’t choose. I hated making decisions.

“Evy, honey, have you packed everything?” Aunty M asked leaning against my bedroom door.

“As you can see, clearly no,” I said, waving to the mess on my bed. I literally only had two hours before we started.