Page 49 of Isolated
“And there was a level of snark that I can’t ignore. You can deny it all you want, but I know you’re mad at me. And since you won’t say why, I guess I’ll have to make my own assumptions. Maybe it’s because now you won’t have any excuses when I say that there are good guys out there for each of us.”
I stared at her expectantly, but she only muttered, “The light’s green.”
Sighing with frustration, I turned around and started driving again.
Flora, being the one who always tried to diffuse the tension, returned the conversation to tonight’s specific events. “He was so good-looking. You’re so lucky, Iris. If I ever worked up the courage to do what you did tonight, I’d probably fail. You did that, and the guy was so handsome. And he was clearly into you. He gave you his number.”
A hint of a smile played at my lips as a vision of Landen flashed in my mind. Though it was nice to hear, I really didn’t need my sister’s confirmation that he’d been into me. I experienced it when he looked at me the way he did all night. Plus, there was the way his hands moved over my body and the way he whispered in my ear right before we left. The only thing he hadn’t done, which I’d been hoping for, was kiss me. And there’d been a few instances when I believed he was going to do just that.
But he didn’t.
And I wondered if that had been on purpose. Because he had to know the effect that he’d had on me all night. I was relatively certain I had done a good job of letting him know where I stood. There wasn’t a chance he didn’t know that I was a very willing participant and that he could have easily gone in for the kiss.
Deciding to lean into those vibes while I was in the car with my sisters, I glanced over at Flora again and grinned. “He was so handsome, wasn’t he?”
She beamed at me.
And though she’d kept the conversation on the lighter side for the rest of the drive home, Eleni didn’t ever join in. When we got back to my place, she’d made it clear she was in no mood to be around us. “It’s late, and we’ve got to get out of here early tomorrow. I’m going to bed.”
“Eleni?” I called after her.
She didn’t turn around, continuing to move toward the stairs. “It’s fine, Iris. I’m just tired after being out all day today.”
I rolled my eyes as Flora offered a sympathetic smile.
And this morning, things didn’t improve. The sleep hadn’t done anything to lift Eleni’s mood. She was just as irritated this morning as she’d been last night. But that didn’t stop me from trying to smooth things over with her after she’d spent the entire time at breakfast being silent.
“Eleni, I’m sorry about last night.”
“For what? You did exactly what you said you would.”
I arched a brow. “I did what you told me you didn’t think I would ever do. I don’t understand why you’re upset about it.”
She shook her head. “Are you kidding? I expected nothing less from you, Iris. When have you ever not gotten what you wanted?”
I jerked back at the harshness in her tone. “Is that a bad thing?”
There wasn’t any instance where I could ever see myself being upset that either one of my sisters had achieved whatever they’d wanted in their lives.
“It’s fine. Just let it go.”
“No, Eleni, it’s not. You’re being miserable for no reason. Is it because I spent the night dancing with Landen instead of being with the two of you? Because if it is, just tell me. But I’ll tell you this… If it had been you or Flora that approached a guy last night and had gotten what I did, I would’ve been jumping for joy and celebrating with you. I would’ve been excited for you. You always find a way tobring everyone’s mood down, and you always do it at my expense. I’m so sick of it.”
She held my stare for several beats. Then she set down her coffee mug, looked at Flora, and said, “We need to get going. I’ve got to get back to Grouse.”
Without giving either one of us a chance to respond, she stood and walked away, climbing the stairs to get her things. Flora did her best to apologize and smooth things over, but it wasn’t her battle to fight.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to work it out with Eleni before they left, because after she got her things from the spare bedroom, she walked out the front door and got in the car.
It was frustrating but, like always, I figured I’d give her the time she needed to cool off and reach out to her in a day or two.
For a little while after my sisters left, I thought back on the time I’d had with them. I really wanted to piece together what was going on with Eleni, but I realized it wasn’t just last night. I needed to consider how things had changed between us over the last couple of months.
It was far more than I was prepared to tackle this morning. And considering how wonderful last night had been, dwelling on the negativity today just wasn’t something I wanted to do.
Of course, it may have just been that it seemed every time I was alone, my thoughts drifted to Landen.
As soon as my brain realized there were no other distractions, my fingers were itching with a need to get more of Landen in my life as quickly as possible.
