Some Kind of Perfect (Calloway Sisters #4.5) (9 page)

“You can touch me, darling.”

I suck in a breath. “Don’t give me ideas, love. I always aim to please.”

“Something we share.” He grins a billion-dollar grin.

I smile with him as we head back to my brother and son. I pocket my phone, under the new belief that respect may take years, but it’s years’ worth fighting.

< 6 >

September 2018

Lucky’s Diner

Philadelphia

DAISY MEADOWS

“Send me the link.” I scrape the mustard off the top of my hamburger bun. I forgot to ask for
no mustard
, but I easily carve out a chunk of the bread.

Daisy Petunia Meadows: resident condiment banisher. Need your mustard gone? Trying to ward away that pesky horseradish sauce you just can’t stand? Call Daisy. She has you covered.

I smile and adjust my earbuds. I currently sit at a secluded booth in Lucky’s Diner. My laptop is wedged between the napkin dispenser and mini condiment holder. I already told Willow on Skype that she’s cuddling with the ketchup and mayo.

“Okay, hold on a sec,” she says. “I’ll send it to you and then we can analyze.” In the Skype window, Willow leans closer, her finger dancing across her own keyboard. An
X-Men: Apocalypse
poster is taped to the wall behind her.

She’s in her dorm room, all the way in London.

I never questioned Willow’s decision to go to college out of the country. I never stopped her or convinced her to stay. I know what’s best
for my best
friend is what she wants, and she wanted this.

Even so, Ryke and I had a pretty deep conversation about my muddled feelings after we all said our goodbyes at the airport. It took me a minute or two, but I was able to explain them well enough.

Ryke:
She’s going to come back, Dais.

Me:
Yeah but I was her best friend, and in a year or two, I might not be anymore. And it’s so stupid because people make friends all the time, but it still feels like I’m losing something.

Ryke:
She probably will make other friends, but you’re not losing anything when that fucking happens. You still have a friend.

He was right.

She’ll still
always
be my friend. No matter what happens in London or what happens in Philadelphia. We both want to keep our friendship alive, and so we have. I even brought her to Lucky’s because she missed the atmosphere. When I rotated the computer to get a panoramic view of the packed diner, I basically invited other people to look at me.

I didn’t have fear in my bones. I wasn’t frightened. I actually even smiled. I like that I can be alone in Lucky’s Diner without any of the guys or my sisters. Every day, I’m feeling better than the past.

Though, I was more amused than Price on the matter. My incredibly assertive and punctual bodyguard is all about keeping a low profile and not creating
intense
situations. He occupies a four-person table about five feet from my corner booth.

And no one has approached me because of him.

Lily came up with a theory that he has extreme powers of mental persuasion like Professor Xavier.

I check my email and open up a link to Tumblr. “Got it.”

“Look at the fourth question and tell me if you think Garrison sounds off.” Willow pushes up her black-framed glasses that slip down her nose.

The Tumblr user
ryumastersxx
filled out a questionnaire. Willow said that Garrison never
answers them on his own accord. Usually she’ll tag him first, but this time was different. It’s also the beginning of their long-distance relationship, and no one, not even Willow and Garrison, are completely positive how long they’ll last.

Name:
Garrison

Zodiac Sign:
Scorpio

I pick up my hamburger. “I found something.”

“What?” She splays her hands flat like she’s preparing for the news to drop.

“Your zodiacs are
very
romantically compatible.” I wag my brows.
Pisces and Scorpio.
“It’s even stronger than a Pisces and Virgo.” Which is what I am to Ryke.

Willow smiles. “You’re supposed to be finding
bad
signs.”

“And leave all the good ones behind?” I give her a look and take a large messy bite of my burger. With a mouthful of bun, lettuce, and meat, I try to say, “Never” but I end up laughing as soon as she starts.

A camera phone flashes at me, but I don’t pay attention to the source. Hey, at least they wanted a picture of me smiling and not one of me sullen and near tears.

Willow and I collect ourselves in the next minute, and I wash my burger down with some sips of Fizz Life. She points at her computer screen, but it looks like she’s pointing right at me. “This part is so bad.”

“Lemme see.” I focus back on the questionnaire and sip my soda.

Average Hours of Sleep:
idk used to be about 7-8? It’s less, so whatever.

Last Google Search:
what time is it in London?

Relationship Status:

I choke on my soda. He really just put a fractured heart there.

“Daisy, it’s bad, right? You look freaked out.”

“No, no.” I control my features. “Guys are weird. They do weird things. This could just be out of angst. He misses you so much, and he’s expressing that through a…”
broken heart.
“…I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m not that far through, so don’t stress…”

I set down my hamburger, treating this more seriously. I scroll through more of his questionnaire.

Siblings:
three older brothers. Be happy they’re not yours.

Love or Lust:
lust doesn’t hurt.

Met a Celebrity:
I think I might be becoming one…

That’s true.

The day that Willow became legally Willow
Hale
, the world found out she wasn’t Lo’s cousin but rather his sister. Celebrity news took much more interest in her life. Not to the extent of my sisters, but enough that they now pay attention to Willow’s boyfriend.

Celebrity Crush
wrote a short article titled:
What We Know About Garrison Abbey!
They don’t know a lot, which made Willow happy.

“What’s the consensus?” Willow asks.

“I think he really misses you, and I don’t think it means that he’s ready to get over you or forget you.”

She nods a couple times. “I just want him to be happy…but I want him too.”

“I know,” I say softly.

“We had sex,” she suddenly blurts out, her cheeks ashen.

“Willow Hale,” I say with a gasp, smiling wide. I high-five my computer screen.

She timidly high-fives her computer screen in reply.

“Am I the first you told?”

“I meant to tell Lily, but I keep chickening out. It’s just…” She sighs. “I think it turned into a goodbye because…we did it the day before I left Philadelphia. I think that’s why he’s so upset.”

I lower my voice. “Easy fix, right? Just have sex with him again. Then it won’t seem like the last time you both ever do it.”

“I’m even
more
scared. How is that possible?” She smashes her face into a pillow and mumbles, “I’m so awkward.”

I love Willow so much. “You’re totally human, and you get to hold onto the amazing fact that you never slept with someone that makes your skin crawl.” In hindsight, disgust slithers down my spine when I remember kissing Julian.

“At least now you’re stronger for it,” Willow reminds me. “You learned what you like.”

I definitely did.

I like guys who emotionally care about me.

I like my wolf.

The diner suddenly falls hushed, which can only mean one thing.

I look up
just as Ryke Meadows and Loren Hale make their way through Lucky’s Diner, aimed for my corner booth.

To Willow, I say. “We have company in the form of Mr. Broody-Pants and Mr. I-Will-Butcher-All-Living-Things-With-My-Eyes. Want to see?”

Willow nods, and I spin my laptop, the screen facing the diner’s entrance. Ryke and Lo both wear track pants and T-shirts, sweat stains outlining their muscles. They probably just finished running not too long ago.

I narrate, “And as the moose slowly amble through the prairie, all the antelopes perk up and admire their delectable horns and stout bodies.
Oohhh aahhh
, the antelopes whisper.”

Willow is cracking up laughing, her voice only traveling through my earbuds, but as her brothers approach, they see her on the screen. Lo is the first to greet his sister.

“Look at that moose try to wave,” I continue. “He lifts his hoof and gives a hearty hello to a strange technological device.”

Flatly, Lo says, “You’re goddamn weird.” Then he slides into the booth on my left.

I gasp. “The moose can speak!” I swivel the computer towards Ryke and lift it up so it’s more in line with his face. “And here stands Mr. Broody Pants. What a specimen.”

Ryke playfully pushes my forehead.

My face bursts into a powerful smile.

Ryke almost smiles too, and he raises his brows at me like
what are you getting on about, Calloway?

You.

I’m getting on about
you.

Ryke retrains his attention onto his half-sister. “Hey, Willow,” he greets before sliding in on my right side. I flip the laptop to its original position. Facing me. Not the diner.

Ryke and Lo squeeze closer to me, both entering the Skype window and able to see Willow clearly. Before they snatch my earbuds and fight over them, I unplug my headphones and increase the volume.

Lo taps into big-brother mode pretty fast. “What’s new? How’s school? Are the people shit?” He actually asks
five
more questions, but they all have the same heartbeat.

Are you okay, Willow?

“I’m still getting used to everything, but it’s not bad.” Willow shrugs and hangs her head, chewing her lip. I think she’s contemplating whether or not to bring up Garrison.

“Did you guys hear that she found a comic book store there?” I lift my hamburger up to Ryke, and he kisses me before biting into it. He licks his thumb and mouths,
fucking mustard?

So maybe “condiment banisher” isn’t in my future.

Ryke loves mustard, but he knows it’s not my favorite. “I didn’t scrape it off?” I whisper and peek beneath the bun.
Damn.

“It’s not up to par with Superheroes & Scones,” Willow says, “but it’s nice to have something like it nearby.” She hugs a blue pillow on her lap and picks at the fringe.

Ryke and Lo watch her for a second and then exchange this concerned look. I pass them menus, trying to distract them while Willow makes up her mind on whether or not to include them in our Garrison discussion.

“They have a special burrito today,” I tell Lo. “Maybe it’ll make you feel
special
afterwards, if you know what I mean.” I elbow his side lightly.

An ill-humored Loren Hale flips through the menu. “Ryke, tell your wife she’s confusing special burritos with special brownies.”

I gasp. “There’s a difference?”

Ryke taps his plastic menu to my head. Lily would call that a love-tap.

“I need advice,” Willow suddenly says, instantly capturing Ryke and Lo’s attention. “Maybe advice isn’t the right word…maybe like a guy’s perspective?”

“What happened?” Lo asks sharply, ready to protect and defend his little sister.

“Nothing bad. Well, it’s confusing…Daisy?” She has these pleading eyes like
please help me explain this. I suck with words.

I have you covered, Willow Hale.

“Garrison filled out a questionnaire on his own accord, which was a rare event, and we’re both kind of questioning
what
his answers actually mean.” I pop up the questionnaire in a new window for them. “So as guys, what do you think?”

Ryke leans closer and points at the screen. “What the fuck is that supposed to be?” Oh Ryke. He doesn’t know that the less-than sign plus the number three is the heart symbol.

“A broken heart,” I explain.

“But you’re both still fucking together, right?” Ryke asks.

Willow nods. “Yeah.”

“Then why the fuck…” he trails off at my wide-eyes.
Stand down, Ryke
. He’s not very informed on Tumblr wit. I doubt he’s even gone on Tumblr more than a few times. He would’ve filled this questionnaire out plainly.
Relationship Status: Married.

The end.

Lo is really the one who’d be able to understand Garrison. His harsh glare remains strong while he reads. He finishes and says, “He’s just upset that you’re not around. Seems like a natural reaction if he loves you.”