I dropped my gaze and looked at my salad again. “I’m not going to sleep with you to get over someone else. It’s rude.”
“It’s not rude if I don’t care.”
“Well, I care.”
“You could—”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I shut down the conversation and raised my hand to catch the waiter’s attention. “Thank you for dinner, but I think it’s time for me to go home.”
He didn’t argue with me even though it looked like he wanted to. “Alright. I’ll walk you home.”
27
Damien
“What the hell are you wearing?” I took the seat across from Catalina in the restaurant, looking at her short blue dress, enormous sunglasses, and pulled-back hair. “It’s almost October.”
She took off her sunglasses and gave me that ferocious look she’d been giving me since she could crawl. Her thick lashes were full of mascara, and her bright eyeshadow made her look as if she were ready for a pool party. “I’m not ready to accept fall. I want to hold on to summer a little longer.”
“Well, summer is long gone. The first official day of fall was last week—”
“Shh.” She leaned over the table and placed her forefinger against my lips. “Don’t talk like that.” She leaned back and picked up her menu, as if she hadn’t just shoved her hand in my face. “I know I should get a salad, but I don’t want to… I can dance if I’m a hundred pounds heavier, so I don’t get all the rules.”
“Stop dancing.”
“I don’t want to do that either. I’ll retire when I turn thirty and order whatever I want then.” She closed the menu and dropped it on the table.
“Why will you stop at thirty?”
“Because I’ll be old and have to pop out some kids. We both know you aren’t going to do it. The responsibility falls to moi.”
“Moi?” I cocked an eyebrow, surprised she still behaved like a diva. “I doubt you’ll find a guy who wants to have kids with moi.”
She flashed me another glare. “So, what’s the reason for this special occasion?”
“I’ve asked you to dinner before.”
“Maybe on my birthday. And that’s fine, I don’t like you either.” She stuck out her tongue at me.
“That isn’t why I don’t call more often. I’m just busy…”
“I’m busy too, but I always text.”
I couldn’t argue with that because it was true. She did check in with me pretty often, even if it was just sending a stupid animal video she thought was funny. I was the older brother, so I should do a better job of acting like one. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Are you seeing anyone?” she countered.
“No need to get defensive. I was asking about your life.”
“Do I ever ask about yours?” she asked. “Because it’s personal, and I know you’ll tell me if there’s something worth telling me about.”
“So, nothing worth telling me about, then?”
She shook her head. “Nah.”
My sister had always been a character, and I loved her for it—when she didn’t annoy me. “So, some stuff happened with Dad…”
“Oh my god, is he okay?” She dropped her diva persona and turned into a real person again.
“He’s fine. I should have led with that. But I think it’s time he moved in with me, and he’s being stubborn as hell about it.”
“Now you know where you get it from,” she teased. “So, what happened?”
I didn’t want to scare her, so I lied. “Some guys broke in to his apartment.”
“Fucking assholes.” She slammed both of her fists onto the table.
“I took care of them, so it’s resolved. But I don’t think he should live alone anymore.”
“I’ve been saying that for years. I tried to get him to live with me, but he said he’d rather die.” She rolled her eyes. “Rather die? Really?” She rolled her eyes again. “He was never this dramatic when Mom was around.”
“I think that’s why he’s dramatic.”
“Man, I miss her,” she said with a sigh. “Everything changed the day she was gone.”
“Yeah…” It felt like yesterday. “I thought maybe we could both talk to him. Maybe if we gang up on him, he’ll cave.”
“That could work.”
She took a sip of her water. “But are you sure you want him to live with you? It’s not like you can just kick him out if you don’t like it. He could live with me too.”
“It’s a big place. It’ll be fine.”
“That’s right, you’re a rich boy.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “He also has Patricia for help and company.”
“Her cooking is good. He’ll be happy just with that. That works out better because I don’t want him to live with me.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Then why did you offer?”
“Because he’s my father, and I’m happy to take care of him. It’s just a small apartment, and it would get awkward with sleepovers. I’d have to stay at their place all the time, and that would be just as awkward.”