“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I want to show you this. Come on. It’s going to be awesome.”
I can tell neither of them wants to and they’d rather just spend time with me, but Nico says, “Lead the way.”
I’m basically shaking with anticipation and excitement. I show him every single inch of the building, even the broom closet. All the staff is so eager to meet him, and to my surprise, he takes pictures and signs autographs. As we watch him get gushed over by the manager of the center, Aviva knocks her hip into mine. Since Vance is passed out on my chest, I lean my head on his to meet her gaze.
With a grin, she says, “This place is better than I thought.”
“Do you think Nico thinks so?”
She nods eagerly. “Oh yes, he already hired a real estate agent for a center at home. Plus, Jaylin is working on the adoption papers. She asked if you’ll want to be Pearce-Merryweather.”
I don’t even have to think about it. Without hesitation, I say, “No. Just Merryweather.”
Aviva leans in, kissing the side of my head, just as Brenda, the manager of ACOB, gushes about me. “Callie is our favorite volunteer. She’s always on time, never misses a shift, and is so smart.”
Nico smiles proudly. “We are very proud of her.”
“You should be,” Brenda says, smiling at me. “She has started a campaign to have an autism awareness night at one of the gymnastics meets, and she designed the warm-up leotard and everything for it. We even got approved to have the ACOB logo on the back of the leotard beside the Bullies’ logo. She’s worked incredibly hard on it this season.”
Nico looks back at me, and I flutter my hands at him. “Surprise!”
Brenda’s eyes widen. “Oh, I’m so sorry—”
But I wave her off. “It’s not a big deal. I was going to tell him today and show him the leotards.”
Aviva wraps her arms around me. “Nico! We’ll have to come for that meet.”
I look at Nico for his reaction, and I’m gutted by the tears in his eyes. “You’re trying to kill me today, eh?”
“I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.” I smile sweetly at him as I lean into Aviva.
Brenda adds, “We are very lucky to have such an incredible young lady on our staff.”
“She’s our favorite girl,” Nico says, and Aviva shakes her head with a smile.
“What are you going to do when we have a girl?”
“She’ll have to deal with the truth,” he says, holding his hand up for a high five. I laugh as I slap his hand, and then I grin as he pulls me in, hugging Vance and me in his long arms. As he releases us, I want to ask what he thinks, but then I hear singing.
I cock my head as I glance at Brenda. “Who’s singing?”
She beams. “That’s actually a surprise. He was here for his own reasons, and the kids were doing music and he joined in. It’s our newest volunteer, Evan Adler.”
Just his name has me grinning from ear to ear. I feel Nico tense up beside me, but I don’t care. After last night, I’ve decided Nico is going to have to deal with whatever happens with Evan. I know I might be jumping the gun, but I feel really good about how everything with Evan is unfolding. I know I’m considered young and naïve, but I’m hopeful for the possibilities of a relationship with him. I think I could be good for him, and I know he’s good for me.
When he said he hadn’t even noticed that I didn’t have real nipples or breasts, I felt as though it wasn’t my body he wanted. He wanted me. The night was a little rushed, but I’ve never felt the way he makes me feel before. He didn’t have to bring me back to campus last night, but he did, forcing his brother to follow in his car. He walked me to my house and kissed me goodnight. I swear I slept on cloud nine all night. He makes me want to do bigger and better things. He pushes me, he supports me, and with just a look, I know he believes in me. Which is hard when you’re in a sport where you eat the mat about eighty percent of the time, but Evan is there, cheering me on. I want to be that for him. I want him to see how I see him. I adore him. I do. I know it’s a crush right now and he can do no wrong in my eyes, but for some reason, it feels like more than that. I’ve always found his quiet demeanor so intriguing. Add in the fact that I’m totally attracted to him and that his eyes make my clothes burn off, and I know it’s real. I know it’s good.
He’s good.
As his voice floats toward us, I head in the direction of the music with no concerns about whether Aviva and Nico are with me. When I enter the music room, Evan’s sitting on the carpet with a guitar in his hands as he plays and sings about Old McDonald. He looks so rested and different than he did last night. His eyes are brighter, and his grin is so wide as he makes animal noises with all the kids who are around him. They are eating him up, dancing and swaying along with him. Some are rocking back and forth, but that’s a good thing. They seem to be enjoying themselves. Evan is so involved with the kids, he doesn’t see that he has an audience, and I love how animated he is. It’s a different side to him that I didn’t know existed.
He’s beautiful.