I giggle and pretend to be annoyed. “Yes, we’ve already established you’re nice to look at.”

“The feelings mutual, you know,” he murmurs.

He catches me off guard. “It is?”

“Yeah, Sophie. It is.”

I fumble for something to say and when I come up with nothing but air, I decide to end the conversation. I wish I was better at this. “I should go. Thanks for checking on me.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

Yes, I do. For so many reasons. “Night, Kipton.”

“Night, beautiful.”

Hanging up, I exit the elevator and round the corner smiling from ear to ear. The door is wide open when I reach our room, but there’s no sign of Drew. Cara’s sitting on the edge of her bed messing with her phone, her leg bouncing nervously.

“Sophie! There you are.”

“Here I am.” I change into some pajamas, my mind a million miles away.

“You’re mad at me aren’t you?” Cara asks.

I turn sideways with a surprised expression on my face. “What? No. Not at all.”

“I’m sorry I have no will power when it comes to Drew. It was rude of me not to kick him out when you got back.”

Setting down my brush, I close the door to my closet. “Trust me, Cara. It’s okay. He looked like an amazing kisser.” I laugh at the visual they gave me of him practically sucking her entire face off.

“Ohmigod, Sophie. That’s not the only thing he’s amazing at. I’ve never gotten off so many times in one session.”

I pull back the blankets on my bed, sliding under the cool sheet. Having no idea what she means, I’m almost afraid to ask. But I do anyway when curiosity gets the best of me. “Session?”

“You know, from start to finish. Foreplay until the deed is done.”

I prop my head up on my elbow so I can look at her while we’re having this enlightening conversation. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“What do you mean?” She asks as she fixes the disheveled comforter on her own bed before climbing underneath.

“I’ve never well, you know.”

“WHAT!” Cara shrieks.

“What?” Maybe I should have kept that tidbit to myself. There is such a thing as oversharing even if Cara has no boundaries. I’ve never gotten off during sex though. My one and only relationship wasn’t the healthiest. It was a lot of trying to please him and not myself. A lot of give with barely any take.

“Sophie please tell me you at least toot your own horn then. Maybe a B.O.B?”

“Who is Bob?”

“Holy shit. Bob is a battery operated boyfriend. My God, you’re practically Sandy from Grease, blond hair and all.”

“Too pure to be Pink,” I fire back at her. Grease happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies so I get what she’s saying completely.

Cara sits up on her bed and scoots to the end as close to mine as she can get. “Tell me more, no pun intended,” she giggles.

“I’ve never met Bob or any of his other friends. Sex with my ex was pretty standard. Nothing kinky or off the wall going on. As long as he got off, that’s all he cared about and it definitely lacked the passion I saw between you and Drew tonight.” That should hold her over for now.

Cara flops on the bed dramatically and squeals. “This is going to be so much fun.”

“What is?” I’m afraid to find out what she’s busy cooking up in that adventurous mind of hers.

She claps her hands together and her eyes light up with excitement. “Turning you into a seductress.”

“What? I don’t even have a man, Cara.”

“Yes, you do. You just aren’t admitting it yet. We can go buy you some sexy lingerie tomorrow and turn you into an irresistible piece of ass.”

“No way, Cara. I’m doing fine on my own.”

“The hell you are! But whatever. If you don’t want my help then I have another suggestion.”

This ought to be good. “I’m not sure I want to hear any more ideas out of you.”

“But you want my brother? Don’t you?”

I lie back down and turn to face the wall. I’m all done with this confession fest.

She must sense my fear because the next time she opens her mouth, her voice is tender. I can tell she’s dropped the ploy to sex me up. “It’s okay if you do, Sophie. He’s a good guy when he wants to be. I was against the idea of you and him dating at first, but only because I was scared he would steal you away from me all the time. Considering you both have a thing for each other, I promise I won’t interfere.”

He really has a thing for me? “Now you’re talking nonsense. He doesn’t want me, Cara. While part of me thinks he may have been hinting at more tonight, I think we’re only ever going to be friends. He could have kissed me tonight, but he didn’t. And we were really close.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Let me fill you in on a little secret, Sophie. My brother doesn’t text girls, check-up on them, take them places, or any of that relationship type stuff.”

“Then why is he doing it for me?”

“Because he finally found a girl worthy enough. Something tells me he isn’t going to give up until he has you all to himself. I happen to agree with him.”

I try to contain my smile, but fail miserably. “You saw us hug; it’s not a big deal, Cara.” The idea of him wanting me blows my mind. I have a hard time looking at him without blushing let alone actually kissing him. If he touched me touched me, like beyond a kiss, I’m not sure I’d even survive.

“Earth to Sophie,” Cara says, while chucking a small throw pillow at my bed.

I’m not paying attention and it hits me in the stomach. “Ugh, what was that for?”

“Oh shit! Did I hit you in the head? I forgot!”

“No, I’m fine. What were you saying before you pelted me?” I toss her pillow back onto her bed where it belongs.

“You like him don’t you?”

“Goodnight, Cara.” I roll over, officially ending our pillow talk.

Laughing, Cara claps her hands. “I freakin knew you two had a thing. Goodnight, Kipton lover.”

I snort at her lame comeback, smiling from ear to ear because she’s absolutely right. This girl has a big ole crush on her brother. Sleep. I need some sleep.

“HIS NO GOOD, SORRY ASS is leaving. I’ve had enough of this shit. This is the last time that man plays me for a fool. On our property for christ’s sake. In front of all the neighbors. He can have his skanks. I’m done.”

I tiptoe into my parents room, where I find my mom pulling every item of clothing my dad owns from his closet. An open suitcase rests on top of the bed. Once everything’s off the hangers, she piles it into her arms and stuffs it inside. Pieces are hanging over the sides and it’ll never close. Determined, she grabs his cologne from the dresser and tosses that in too. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Go back to bed, Sophie. This doesn’t concern you.”

“But Mom, -”

“I said GO, now!”

Obeying her order, I slink back into the hallway out of her line of vision. She slams the suitcase closed to no avail. There’s too much fabric blocking the zipper’s path. Pounding her fists on top of it, she lets out a blood curdling scream loud enough to wake the dead. Giving up her futile efforts, she falls to her knees and sobs into her hands. Within seconds, she’s laying in the fetal position in the middle of her bedroom floor. Shaken, I’ve never seen her so helpless—so out of control. Desperately wanting to comfort her, I risk her anger and move closer.

The front door slams and there’s laughter mixed with obvious drunkenness. Footsteps come stomping up the stairs, so I bolt back inside my bedroom, not wanting to be in the way of my father.

“What the fuck you doing woman?”

Mom sits up and wipes her tears from her eyes. She never lets him see her tears. “Get out of this house. You’re a pathetic excuse of a man. How dare you bring one of your tramps into my home. I’ve put up with a lot of your bullshit over the years Dean, but this is the last straw. I’ve had it and I deserve better. My daughter deserves better than this pathetic example of a family.”