Page 125

“I don’t like Barbies anymore.” Gravity blew a raspberry.
“What do you like, then?”
“Dinosaurs.”
I forgot she was her mother’s daughter.
“Right, well, I can’t buy you one of those, as they’ve been out of stock for, er, let’s see…sixty-six million years. But I can buy you a big dinosaur stuffie.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So you’ll play nicely?”
“Yes.”
“Do you promise?” I hedged.
“No.”
We were already close to Dylan, so I had to take whatever I could from this arrangement.
“All right, stinker. Go play.” I put her down and patted her shoulder, watching her bolt back to the slides, and—of course—climb them in reverse while closing her eyes. She was so much like her mother it was frightening.
Dylan and I shared a peck on the lips. “How’re you feeling?” I asked. After everything that had happened with Tuckwad last night, I wanted to make sure.
“Mad as hell.” Dylan tipped her chin up. “I’m determined not to let Tucker anywhere near Gravity after what he did. Oh, and the asshole sent Row, Cal, and Kieran pictures of us making out. As I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Yup. Row already told me to update my will.”
“Was he very mad?” Her bottom lip was pinned to one side by her teeth.
I pulled out my phone and showed it to Dylan wordlessly.
Row: You have some nerve. Dylan is like a sister to you.
Row: ANSWER MY CALLS, FUCKER.
Row Casablancas Unsent a Message.
Row Casablancas Unsent a Message.
Row Casablancas Unsent a Message.
Row: Cal told me to unsend the messages that could land me in jail, so I guess you’ll have to see what I have in store for you when I arrive in New York.
Row: (which is in three hours, by the way)
“Hmm.” Dylan stared at the screen, notably blasé about the fact that her brother was going to skin me alive. “And I thought I was the one with the anger issues in this family. Did you answer him?”
“Not yet. I wanted to see where you and I stood before I had that conversation with him.” I searched her face.
Her spine stiffened, and she looked momentarily startled, as if a huge grizzly bear had walked into the playground and she couldn’t move. She forced herself to roll her shoulders.
“What do you mean? We both agreed it’d be casual.”
“Does this feel casual to you?” I assessed her frankly. I’d never been eager to enter a relationship—never, in fact, been in one before—and I had a feeling I would definitely find a way to fuck it up with Dylan. But unlike past instances, I actually wanted to try.
The sex was incredible, she made me laugh, she was smart as hell, and though the idea of Gravity certainly appeared to be baggage, in practice, she was kind of hilarious. The only drawback I could think of was that if I did screw this up, it’d affect my friendship with Row.