Page 75 of Between Us

“That makes me feel better, I guess.”

Dev walks up and wraps an arm around Margo’s shoulder. Jatin flicks it right off, before standing next to his sister.

“No luck this year,” Dev admits. Stanley confiscated his firecrackers before he was allowed into the event. Though I figured there was more chaos he could’ve come up with.

Meera rolls her eyes and turns toward us. “We better get going. My parents have a whole day planned for us tomorrow.”

Leaning down, I give her a hug, reveling in the mundane gesture.

“I’ll get a ride with them since it’s on the way.”

With a nod, I wrap my arms around Margo too. We have plans to spend one more night together tomorrow, so I’m not hurt by them heading off on their own.

Plus, I have a pretty good idea of what their true intentions are when they give me mischievous grins over their shoulders, as they follow Meera’s brothers.

Shaking my head at them, I turn around and look up at Adrian. He watches me for a second, then asks, “Want to get something to eat and watch a movie?”

Slipping my hand into his, I pull him forward with me. “That sounds good. I’m actually hungry tonight though.”

With a downright wicked smirk, he agrees, “Me too.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Blake

Bythetimeweget to Adrian’s apartment, we have two bags of tacos with sides, and I’ve almost detangled my hair from the crafty way Meera got it to do what it needed for my costume. The amount of hair spray and gel it took makes it feel knotted and disgusting though.

It’s weird how comfortable I feel here, but after our evening and the weekend I spent with my friends, I’ve passed that awkward stage. It goes without saying that a big part of that’s because of who this space belongs to.

Setting down one of the bags on the counter, I turn toward him as he carries the other, as well as my purse.

He pauses for a moment, seeming to consider asking what’s on his mind or not, before finally going for it. “Did you snoop when you stayed?”

His voice is curious in a teasing way. So I admit, “Idid not, no.”

Tipping his head, he guesses, “Margo?”

“Yes,” I confirm. “I feel bad for whoever she marries—they won’t be able to hide anything from her.”

“Don’t you mean Jatin?”

The tone of his voice is so serious that a laugh flies out of me. When he gives me a confused look over his shoulder as he grabs us drinks, I add, “I love Margo; unfortunately, it’s never going to happen for her.”

Squinting at me, he slides a Gatorade my way. “You don’t think so?”

Shocked, I ask, “Youdo?”

He just shrugs, “Maybe one day.” I must look as skeptical as I feel because he continues, “I know you said he and Dev had your back in high school, but he doesn’t look at you like a sister. Margo neither. He looks at you like you’rehisfriends, nothis sister’s. Isn’t that half the battle for her?”

Tilting my head, I open the bottle and take a drink. “I guess so,” I finally admit. “But I’m not giving her that kind of hope, and neither are you.”

He mimes zipping his lips. “Wanna go eat?”

Sliding my hand through my hair—or trying until it gets snagged—I shyly ask, “Can I take a shower? Is that weird?”

His smile is soft and affectionate. “No, it’s not weird. I want you to be comfortable.”

“This”—I gesture to my costume—“isn’t comfortable.” To Margo’s credit, the themes usually go with our personalities, and we alternate each year. One year, we were different versions of Barbie from the movies for Meera. Another year, we wereMonsters, Inc.characters for me.

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