Page 90 of The Other Brother

“Ohh… they have those little quiche things. I’m going to grab some,” Grace says.

I shake my head at her. “We can’t take you anywhere.” But Grace is already gone, chasing after the waiter with the tray, leaving Marco and me standing there together.

“You and Cody are hanging out lots at the moment, right?” Marco scratches at his nose.

My shoulders stiffen. “Yeah, we’ve been hanging out a bit,” I say cautiously.

“Don’t look so worried.” He puffs out a laugh. “I was just going to say Cody seems way happier at the moment. More relaxed, you know? Like he’s not taking stuff as seriously anymore.”

“He definitely has caught that from me,” I say.

“Well, it’s good for him, whatever’s going on.” He slaps my shoulder.

Luckily Grace reappears with a handful of miniature quiches, sparing me from coming up with a reply. We stand and chat about epic finger foods from kids’ parties for a while.

Marco seems like a good guy, and he makes Grace laugh, which is the main thing. He says nothing more about Cody.

I try to avoid watching Cody too closely, being too obvious, but it’s difficult. Cody draws my attention even on the other side of the room.

Besides, I’ve got a reason to keep my eye on him—I’ve got his present burning a hole in my pocket. I don’t want it to mingle on the large table of presents just inside the door. I want to give it to him personally.

But for that, I need to get him alone.

Finally, I notice him slipping out the doors to the balcony.

Knowing Cody, he just wants a break from the crowd. But I’m hoping he won’t mind my presence. Or my present, for that matter.

When I get outside, Cody stands against the railing, looking out at all the animal shapes. They’re lit up at night, a whole zoo in front of us. No rhinoceros, though.

He turns when he hears me, his mouth already curving into an automatic smile. When he recognizes me, his whole face rearranges itself into a genuine grin, the type where his eyes crinkle around the edges.

“Fancy seeing you here,” I say.

“Such a coincidence,” he agrees.

Basking under his grin, for the first time all evening, I feel like I can breathe properly. “I’ve got something for you,” I say as I take his present out and hand it over.

It’s wrapped messily, as my experience trying to wrap it this afternoon confirmed that wrapping things neatly is not in my skill set. Cody wrestles with the mass of tape.

“There is something inside this, right? This isn’t just your idea of a joke?”

“There’s definitely something inside,” I promise.

He eventually tears through the tape with his teeth and then has to wade through the layers of wrapping.

“It’s nothing much,” I say, nerves pinching my stomach.

Cody unwraps the last bit of paper to reveal his present.

A guitar pick.

I rake my hands through my hair. “I kind of wanted to get you something related to how we got to know each other. And you’ve already bought yourself a surfboard.”

Cody turns the pick over in his hands. It’s not just an ordinary guitar pick. Instead, it’s personalized, with a picture of a sunrise over a beach printed on the surface.

“Is that Orakahau beach?”

“Yeah, I found this place online that prints whatever you want on guitar picks. I used one of the photos I took over summer.” I shrug.