Page 46 of Top Shelf

I laugh and shake my head.

Called out again.

“Screw off,” I tell him as I roll over. But he reaches across the bed and pulls me into him, nuzzling my hair and kissing the back of my neck until I’m shrieking and laughing.

He flips me back over and climbs on top of me.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Blackwell. Just show up tonight in my jersey and make that fool jealous. It’ll throw his game off,” he says with a wink. He climbs off the bed and goes to his dresser, pulling a shirt out. It’s his old high school jersey—one I recognize from the many, many times I wore it to school. Every Friday, I’d sit in my classes, letting anyone and everyone around me speculate about the nature of our blossoming high school romance that never really was.

“He’s just my best friend,” I’d always tell them and then smile as the rumor mill spun out of control.

“Remember this?” he asks. I smile.

“How could I forget that? It still has the stain on the shoulder where I accidentally dropped the red Kool-Aid.” He smiles and tosses it to me.

“It sure does,” he says. “Marked for eternity.”

I snatch it up and hug it tight, lounging in all the memories.

“My sister asked if you wanted to ride with her tonight. She said she can pick you up around five,” he tells me. I smile.

“Which sister?” I ask cheekily. He chuckles.

“Lo,” he says. “Although, Demi will also be there. My whole family probably will.”

I smile. Wouldn’t expect anything less from the Calways. They roll deep.

“That sounds good. I’d like to go with them,” I say. He smiles and kisses my forehead.

“Perfect.”

He leaves a little while before me, and I take that opportunity to walk around the house naked while my hair dries, blasting Eminem and getting into the zone. A shiver goes down my spine as I walk past the island, thinking of all the wonderful, sticky, delicious things that happened here—and I’m not referring to food. I go back upstairs, pull on my skinny jeans, put a cami on, and pull the jersey on over top. I run a brush through my hair a few times, throw on some mascara, and I’m ready to go. Just as I close the tube, the doorbell rings. I put some food in Odie’s bowl, give him a pat on the head, and walk out to Lo’s car.

The girls squeal as I get inside, and butterflies fly in my stomach. I never pictured myself as a mom, but there’s something about a kid’s smile that just does me in.

“Hi, ladies,” I say.

“Hi, Sadie,” Harper says, admiring herself in a pink princess handheld mirror in her booster seat. Mia babbles in the background behind me, and I reach around to pat her head.

“Hey!” Lo says, her smiling face giving me instant comfort. It’s so strange how the kid sister that used to follow us around is now the SUV-driving mom of two who seemingly has her shit together. There was once a time when she thought I was the coolest person on the planet. Now, I think she is.

“Hi, Lo,” I say, buckling my seatbelt. “Thanks for driving.”

“Of course!”

“Daddy and Uncle Ty are playing hockey tonight,” Harper says. I smile.

“That’s what I heard. Is it okay if I go with you to the game?” I ask her. She thinks for a moment, then nods.

“That would be okay,” she says. I laugh and nod my head.

“Thank you so much,” I say.

“You’re welcome,” Harper says back. I can see her little brain calculating something, and then it clicks. “Do you live with Uncle Ty?” she asks.

I swallow. I’m not really sure what to say. I don’t know what his family knows. I don’t know what he’s told them. We never really talked about it. Lo can spot that I’m choking, and she smiles, patting my knee.

“Levi and I know about your, uh…arrangement,” she says with a wink. “Those boys talk more than girls do.” I let out a sigh of relief. She looks to the rearview mirror. “Yes, honey. She’s Uncle Ty’s roommate.”

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