Sienna

“I can’t believe you’re dragging me to one of your stupid parties,” Nikki whines beside me, her heels clicking against the pavement as we weave between the rows of cars lining the driveway. “All this for some nerdy boy you’ve been obsessing over for months.”

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I grit my teeth and keep walking, the heat from the late afternoon sun still clinging to the pavement beneath our feet. I don’t bother answering. She wouldn’t understand, even if I tried to explain.

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To her, Ethan is just another guy.

To me... he’s not.

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“Why don’t you just ask this Ethan boy out already and be done with it?” she continues, sighing dramatically as we approach the side gate. “I seriously don’t get what’s so special about him. You’ve turned into a total lovesick puppy.”

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I stop myself from snapping back. Barely.

If she weren’t my sister, I might have said the thing I’ve wanted to say for years—that she always tears down anything I care about just to make herself feel bigger. But tonight isn’t about her.

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It’s about Ethan.

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“If you’re so annoyed, why don’t you just go home?” I mutter. “I won’t tell Dad.”

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“Nope. If anything happens to his precious little princess, I’ll be hearing about it for the next twelve months. You know how he gets.”

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She’s right, unfortunately. Dad was dead-set against me going to this party at all. The only compromise was letting me go if Nikki came too, like some kind of chaperone I never asked for.

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As we step through the side gate into the backyard, the low thump of music and the crackle of laughter fill the air. A bonfire glows at the center of the yard, casting a golden hue over the people gathered around it. And that’s when I see him.

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Ethan.

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He’s standing beside the fire pit, beer in hand, talking to a few guys from law school. He’s wearing a navy-blue Henley that hugs his chest just enough to be distracting, paired with washed-out jeans that hang low on his hips like they were made just for him. His black hair’s freshly cut, the edges sharp and clean. I liked it longer, curls tumbling just a little, but I can’t deny how good he looks tonight.

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When he spots me, his eyes light up—that warm, amber color that always makes my heart stutter. A smile spreads across his face, slow and easy, and just like that, everything else falls away.

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Nikki’s attitude. Dad’s rules. My nerves.

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Gone.

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It’s just Ethan and the way he looks at me like I matter.

 

Like I belong.

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“Glad you made it,” he says, stepping forward and wrapping me in a hug. His arms are solid and warm, and when he presses a kiss to my forehead, I feel it all the way down to my toes. “I wasn’t sure your dad would let you out.”

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I pull back with a sheepish smile and nod toward Nikki, who’s hovering just behind me, arms crossed and already scanning the crowd for someone more interesting to talk to.

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“I could only come if she came with me,” I admit.

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Ethan’s eyes flick over to her, and she instantly flashes him the kind of smile that could stop traffic. The same smile that’s landed her more guys than I care to count.

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“This is Ethan,” I say quickly, hoping to keep this moment mine for just a little longer.

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Nikki arches a brow and gives me a slow, wicked grin. “This is Ethan?” she repeats, eyes flicking back to him like she’s already sizing him up.

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That grin—the one she uses when she wants something—turns my stomach.

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I should’ve known better.

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Nikki has always wanted whatever I had, even if she didn’t actually want it. It’s like some twisted competition I never agreed to enter. She’s been jealous since the day we met, seven years ago. And the worst part? She’s never cared who she hurt in the process.

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I can feel it. That flicker of unease in my chest—the part of me that’s already bracing for something to go wrong.

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I just hope that bringing her tonight isn’t something I’ll come to regret.

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Because Ethan isn’t just some crush.

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He’s the one person who makes me feel like I’m enough.

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And if Nikki sets her sights on him...

I’m not sure I’ll survive the fallout.