Page 38 of Bound to You

Her eyes switch from mischievous to soft as she takes in the pastels beside me. “You’re doing your art?” She pushes up off the bed before coming to look over my shoulder at my work. “OhIsla!” She shakes my shoulders while giggling. “This is beautiful! You never fail to impress me.”

I laugh with her and shrug. “I was feeling inspired.”

She presses a palm over her chest. “I’m so proud of you,” she gives me a genuine smile.

May is someone who has always supported me in my artistic endeavors. She’s been my biggest hype-woman since day one. So I know she’s genuinely happy to see me putting pictures on a page again.

“Thank you,” I smile. “How was your shift?”

“Quiet. Day shifts are so slow without you or Marina,” she sighs.

“Well, we’ve got our shift together this weekend.”

She flops back onto the bed, sighing before she starts up again. “Okay on to more pressing matters,” she says, flipping back over to face me.

I lift my eyes from my work to look at her, and when I see the look glittering in her eyes I already know where this is going.

“I saw Caio on the way here and he asked me to give you this.” She pulls an envelope out of her back pocket and hands it to me.

“You’ve got to be joking.” I lift the seal to see all the money I’d left at his apartment. A flash of red catches my eye as I pick up one of the dollar bills and unfold it. I scoff a laugh.

“What is it?” May asks.

“It’s the money I gave to Caio,” I flip the bill around to face her, displaying the bright red lettersrejectedstamped on the bill.

“Rejected?”

“He won’t accept any money from me, or you for that matter. If he thinks this is going to stop me, he’s got another thing coming for him.”

“I mean you could always compensate him in other ways,” she wiggles her eyebrows at me.

I throw the envelope at her. “Oh, you never give up do you?”

She dodges the flying envelope. “No I do not,” she smiles brightly. I shake my head trying to hold back my smile.

“I talked to Marina…” Oh god. “And she agrees that Caio has the hots for you.”

“The hots for me? That’s what you’re calling it now?”

She fans herself dramatically in response. I let out a groan before dropping my work onto the table next to me and giving her my full attention against my better judgment.

“May, “

“Wait—“

“No, you wait,” I snap, and immediately feel guilty for it. I know May has good intentions, but I don’t want to talk about this now. She’s already gotten too in my head.

I haven’t seen Caio in over a week. I’ve seen glimpses of him, but I’ve taken the quickest escape route every time. My brain stops thinking clearly when Caio is in my proximity, and I don’t need any more brain muddling from May or anyone else. I’m already totally across that without anyone else pitching in.

“I love you, May, and I know you just want me to have fun and be happy?—“

“Oh, we both know he’d make youveryhappy,” she winks at me, and I cough out a laugh before continuing.

“But you know me better than anyone. I can’t do casual hookups. My feelings are bound to get involved, and that is not what I need when we are leaving at the end of the summer. Caio might have ‘the hots for me,’but that’s all it is and all it ever will be. Plus, I really like Marina and the others, even Rafael.” She rolls her eyes at the mention of his name. “And I don’t want to ruin any of that by sleeping with Caio.”

“So you admit you want to sleep with him?” She grins at me.

I pick up my sketch pad and aim for her head while laughing. “We arefriends,” I say. Even if the way that my heart skips a beat every time he’s near says otherwise.

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