Page 4 of Hard Lessons

She giggled again, the sound drawing a smile out of me, and eventually, I chuckled too.

“What’s so funny?” Gabe asked, walking into the room.

I looked up at him. “Your sister is a smart ass.”

That only made her giggle harder.

He snorted. “I could’ve told you that.” He looked over at her. “Tell Mom and Dad that I’m going out.” He turned to walk out of the room, but I stopped him.

“Dude, is she old enough to be left alone?”

He stopped and turned back to face me. “Yeah, she’s fine.” He waved off my concern.

I looked over at her. “You’re cool with being left alone? You don’t ever get scared?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine. Sometimes I get the creeps when it storms and I’m alone, but that’s it.”

I turned back to Gabe. “Isn’t it supposed to rain soon? That’s why the game was postponed.”

He rolled his eyes. “So what? She’s thirteen. She’ll be fine.”

I didn’t have any siblings, but leaving her alone didn’t feel right. “When are your parents going to be home?” I asked, looking only at her.

“Dad won’t get home until later tonight, but Mom gets off at five and she’s usually home by six.”

I looked at my watch to find that it was already nearing six. Dropping my arm back to the couch, I looked back at Gabe. “That’s like twenty minutes. Let’s just chill here for a bit.”

His hazel eyes doubled in size. “Are you serious right now? We’re going to miss the start of the party.”

“Who cares? Everyone knows that only losers arrive at the party on time. Plus, my mouth has been watering since I walked in here and smelled these cookies.”

Gabe’s little sister rolled her eyes as she tried to hold back a smile. She reached between us and pushed the plate over to me. “Help yourself.”

I smirked as I grabbed a cookie. “Thanks.” I took a bite of the soft, still warm cookie, and my eyes fell shut as I savored it. “Mmmm, what kind of cookies are these?”

“Snickerdoodle. It’s my secret recipe,” the girl said.

“You made these?”

She grinned and nodded.

“These are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.”

When I offered her a smile with my compliment, she blushed. “May…be I’ll make you a batch sometime,” she muttered awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” I told her, just as the front door opened, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Hey, kids. I’m home,” a woman said as she walked in.

“There, she’s home. Can we go now?” Gabe asked, his arms held out to his sides.

I popped the rest of the cookie into my mouth and grabbed another off the plate before standing up. “Thanks again….” My brows knitted together as I realized that I didn’t get her name.

“Evelyn, but everyone calls me Eve.”

I nodded. “Thanks for the cookies, Eve.” I winked before following Gabe to the door.

Stepping outside, the sun had fallen behind the heavy storm clouds that were rolling in, and the wind had picked up. Both of us walked to Gabe’s car, which was parked against the curb, quickly. I tossed the last bite of cookie into my mouth and wiped my hands down the front of my jeans.