Her nose was perfectly straight, and the tiny scar
along the side of her right nostril was so small it would be easy to cover with
makeup even if it didn’t heal anymore. Her mouth was lush and pink, her lips
exactly as he remembered from their night together, and the skin that now covered
her face was healthy and bright. The burns were gone, he realized in awe; his
sister had done it.
Erin felt tears
threatening as she looked at her face. The reddish-brown, callused and bumpy
skin was gone, replaced by what looked exactly the same as what was on the
other side of her face, if not a little lighter in color. Her hairline was now
even and her nose was actually perfect. Mack must have fixed the slight bump on
the tip when she’d done everything else. Erin’s face almost looked better than it
had before and her hand moved to her cheek hesitantly.
“It’s fine,” Mack said
when she noticed her hesitation. “You could’ve had the bandages off on Monday
if you hadn’t waited for Drake.”
“It’s beautiful,” Erin
marveled.
“Damn, girl, I am never
going to a bar with you again!” Liv huffed into the computer, pretending to
pout. “She even fixed that bump on your nose. Now that just ain’t fair!”
“Shut up!” Erin
laughed, tears streaming down her face. “All guys ever see are your tits,
anyway!”
“‘Cause they fine!” Liv
bobbed her head, pretending to show off.
“Shut up!” Kate and
Tessa squealed, laughing and crying as they all held on to Erin tightly.
“This is amazing,”
Drake whispered, sliding an arm around Erin’s shoulders and softly nuzzling her
neck.
“Stop it!” Liv howled
from the computer. “Y’all are killin’ me!”
“Yeah?” Erin looked up
at Drake and crooked her finger. “Watch this.” She pulled his head down to hers
and their lips met hesitantly, slowly, until she stood up and went fully into
his arms. A cheer went up as the kiss deepened and Liv pretended to cover her
eyes in horror.
“Thank you for being
here,” Erin whispered to Drake.
“You’re welcome.” He
kept his arms around her lightly. “This is going to be my favorite Thanksgiving
ever.”
“Okay, none of that,”
Mack said, wiping her own eyes. “I have cooking to do, and laundry to fold, and
all sorts of grown-up things going on.”
Drake reached out and
grabbed her, pulling her into a group hug. “You are the best sister ever! Just
don’t tell Kara, okay?” Kara was one
of his three sisters, the next closest to his age. Mack was the oldest and
Drake was the youngest; in between them were Mike, Kyle, Kelsey and Kara.
Mack laughed. “She
won’t hear it from me.”
“Are you going home
with your sister?” Erin asked him as they walked quietly into the guest room,
letting Mack get home while Tessa and Kate continued preparing for Thanksgiving
dinner.
“No way.” He sat on the
bed and patted the spot beside him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“You’re not going to
see your family?”
“Later.” He shrugged.
“I just want to be with you right now.” He reached out and softly touched her
face. “You’re so beautiful. I knew you would be.”
She looked down at her
arm and sighed. “She doesn’t think she can fix my arm or my leg. She says the
scars are deeper, thicker and much harder than the ones on my face. My helmet
protected my face a little bit, plus you instinctively put up your hands when
something like that happens, so at the end of the day, this is as good as it’s
going to get.”
“You keep telling me
that,” he said softly. “And I keep telling you it doesn’t matter. Right now, in
those jeans and that T-shirt, I want to rip off your clothes and kiss you up
one side and down the other… Everything about you turns me on. Don’t you get
that?”
She flushed. “It’s been
so long…since anyone looked at me like that.”
“Their loss, my gain.”
He leaned over to kiss her, his lips parting hers as easily as if they’d
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