Page 36 of Our Secret Moments
“Like I said, none of them interest me,” I press again. She’s never going to get it, is she?
She rolls her eyes. “But there’s got to be someone, right? Someone you’ve secretly had your eye on. Someone who you justhaveto get a second glance at in the hallway. We all have those crushes.”
“Yeah, there might be someone,” I murmur. I try to gauge her reaction, see if she’ll finally get what I’ve been hinting at for years, but I don’t want to push her.
My eyes drop to her lips – perfect, wet, plush. She inhales sharply, tilting her head up. My body is doing what it wantsbefore consulting my brain as I lift my hand to her chin, finally touching her the way I’ve wanted to for fucking years. I run my thumb against her bottom lip, inwardly groaning, knowing I can’t do more than this. My heart roars in my ears, thrashing against my chest as I take one step away from her. “Goodnight, Catherine.”
She just blinks at me, not knowing what to do or say. “Goodnight. And, uh, happy birthday.”
I desperately need an ice-cold shower and a pint of ice cream so I can wallow in the post-birthday blues. I always feel this weird ache in my chest on my birthday. Not just because of everything to do with my parents and Nora, but the thought of getting older fucking terrifies me.
That’s why I’m grateful that I have my friends and family who will always make me feel young because when I opened the door to my dorm, the last thing I was expecting to see was right in front of me in the living room.
Let’s be honest, it’s very on brand for Wes and Nora.
Wes is sitting on the couch, his feet outstretched in front of him while my sister sits crossed legged on the floor as she paints his nails in a bright pink and blue colour.
He’s grinning down at her like this is what he prefers women to be doing when they’re on their knees in front of him.
My sister is also having a blast, humming along to whatever musical soundtrack she’s playing on his phone.
What makes this better is the fact that they’re both wearing face masks, he’s wearing one of her headbands to pull back his hair and they’re both wearing Drayton Titan’s jerseys – Nora with my number fourteen on and Wes with his number twelve.
“I don’t even want to ask,” I mumble, locking the door behind me. When I turn back to them, they’re both giggling like children.
Nora grins up at me, that green goo on her face making me roll my eyes. “Happy birthday, little bro.”
He wiggles his toes in her face and she starts giggling. “Happy birthday to you too, sis.”
When I get into my room, I completely ditch the idea of a shower and ice cream and face plant onto my bed.
FIFTEEN
CONNOR/CAT
HANGOVERS AND BRUNCH
CONNOR
Every year,like clockwork, we have a brunch the morning after our birthday. When we were kids, we’d have massive blow-out parties per our parent’s requests, and the morning-after brunch was a smaller get-together where we’d recoup. It was a way for my parents to cure their hangover while spending time with us and making sure we had a good birthday.
Now, it’s the opposite way around. My parents usually leave the house up to us on our birthdays while they spend their night at our cabin in Aspen and Wes and Nora get shitfaced whilst I make sure they’re under control. Since we turned seventeen, and alcohol became much more desirablewe’vebecome the ones with the hangovers whilst our parents spread out waffles, pancakes and French toast on the table as me, my sister, Cat, Elle, and Wes grunt and groan whilst basking in the rare November sunshine on the back porch.
Nora rubs her head as she attempts to sip the orange juice she has in front of her, wearing her oversized sunglasses. “I feel like death upon death uponmoredeath.”
“I second that,” Elle murmurs, reaching for the tropical juice my mom put together. Cat groans beside her in agreement, dropping her head onto Elle’s shoulder, also wearing a huge pair of sunglasses.
“You should all take a page out of my book,” I say proudly around a mouthful of scrambled eggs. I smile to myself, knowing I feel perfectly fine after not having more than one drink last night. They all moan at the same time, sounding like a pack of zombies.
“And what book is that?How to be boring and sober?”Wes asks and he shakes his head, answering himself. He runs a hand through his hair, his newly manicured nails glimmering in the sunlight before placing his Drayton Hills cap back on his head, shielding him from the sun as he slowly sinks his head into Nora’s lap. “I’m good,” he whispers snuggling into her lap.
Nora pats his head condescendingly. “I’m never drinking again.”
Cat laughs, the sound rushing right through me even though she’s not even laughing at or even with me. “You said that last time and the time before that,” she replies, giggling. “Plus, we all know that whenRy-Ry’sbirthday comes up, you’re going to use it as another excuse to go out again.”
“That’s if you’re still together by then,” I mutter. I’m sure Nora shoots me a look behind her sunglasses, but it’s hard to tell. I don’t miss the way Cat leans up off Elle’s shoulder, pushing her glasses to her head and glares at me. “I mean, of course you’ll be together by then.”
“Yeah,” Nora responds quietly, resting her head against the back of the chair.