Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 108988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
He gave me a questioning look.
I shrugged. “That’s between me and—you know.” I nudged his arm, indicating Marshall again. “Technically, I’m supposed to be here as Marshall’s date.”
Levi had begun to reach for Marshall’s hand to shake, but at my last statement, he doubled over in a coughing fit. I did not do the nice thing and pat him on the back. I let him suffer. When he stopped, he fixed me with a dark look, but I caught the amusement too. “Right. I’m not seeing why you—never mind.” He took Marshall’s hand and gave him a brisk nod. “It’s nice to meet you guys. Have you met anyone else from Blake’s life?”
I cursed out a half laugh, half hiss. “Subtle.”
He just blinked at me, still grinning.
“No. Why?” Palma’s eyes were wide, leaning forward.
Levi’s arm came down around my shoulders, and he tugged me once more into his side. “Lassiter, the little angry-looking blondie who seems pissed at the world. Him too. He has the braids in his hair, tattoos all over. Though, if you call him our foster brother, he’ll get pissed. He was more like a foster neighbor. Grew up on the same street with us, but don’t let him fool you. He basically grew up on Miss Marcie’s couch.”
Palma turned to look, and as she did, Marshall asked Levi a question. Soon the two began conversing. That was when Palma sidled up to my other side.
Holding her drink close and stirring the paper straw, she said quietly, “I didn’t know you grew up in foster care.”
I searched her face, trying to see if that was a problem. The reactions were always varied. They either looked down their nose at me or began to view me as some sort of threat to them. Positive responses were rare.
“I did. Yes.”
I held my breath, waiting to see how Palma was going to react.
A sheen shone in her eyes, and underneath was kindness, mixed with respect? Was I seeing that correctly? I almost wept. I reached for her instead, hugging her. She was not someone I would have to say goodbye to, at least not right now.
Her face stuttered before she tried to give me a smile. “I’m sorry.”
Sometimes, with some people, they may say something similar, but they didn’t mean it. Palma meant what she said. It made a difference. A big one.
She playfully nudged me. “So. A foster brother and a foster neighbor? You got any more foster siblings around here?”
Oh, boy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Blake
Palma fell into the seat beside me, flushed and a little sweaty. “Your foster brother is hot.” And a little wasted since I was smelling a good amount of rum from her breath. She ran a hand through her hair, dislodging it, frowning down at herself. “Shit.”
Placing her drink on the table in front of us, she used both her hands to redo her hair. It’d been hanging loose earlier, but after an hour moving around and yelling at the fights, she put it up in a clip. She was redoing the clip. I was envious how seamless she made it look. Two seconds and voilà, done. Insta-beautiful.
“So.” Palma raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for a response.
I hid a grin. “You’re talking about Levi, right?”
“Of course Levi.” She exhaled a dramatic sigh, grinning at me, and her cheeks were getting more red. “I’m interested. He’s hot. And he has the goofiest, but dreamiest smile. I don’t understand why I keep looking at it.” She groaned, slinking farther down in her seat.
I was enjoying this side of Palma. Not sure about her being into Levi, though.
He’d been doting on us the whole night. He would disappear to do whatever Creighton needed him to do or whatever his job was to do here, but then come back. He’d make sure our drinks were full. Offer to get us food. He’d sit with us, tell some funny stories about us growing up together. He was keeping Creighton out of them, which I was thankful for. I wasn’t ready for my roommates to find out about him, not yet.
Until then, Levi was being charming.
“He loves that you’re here.” Palma poked me in the arm. “He’s mentioned that like eighteen times.”
I made a pfft sound. Eighteen was a bit high. It was more like twelve.
Shrugging, I reached for my drink. This was a delicate balance of what I could say here, but I was going with the option of not speaking at all.
Marshall had taken to hanging out by the bar with the other guys in their group. There were a lot of them in the corner of the loft where we were sitting. From their angle, they were able to watch the fights below. Some of their dates were dancing with each other in front of them as well. A few of the girls came over to sit with us just as the crowd parted around us.