CADEN

Curbside at O’Hare Airport I greet my second cousin, “Look at that hair! Good to see you, man!”

“Caden! Been too long, right? Yeah, I like it longer. Mom loves it. Dad hates it. ” Kian carries one of the two huge black suitcases that I stuffed to the point of busting, and throws it in the trunk of his Volkswagen, hair flying back like a shampoo commercial. If Lexi could see him now. He’s a stud.

I throw in my other suitcase while checking out the contents of his trunk—jumper cables, salt, a shovel and an ice scraper. “It works on you, man. Couldn’t do it in my field. Plus I wouldn’t have the patience for that.”

“I hate getting my hair cut every month. This way I don’t have to.” We slide inside, seatbelts clasping as Kian pulls away from the scuffed curb while checking traffic. “Fuckers stop wherever they want. Unbelievable.”

“Airports are the worst.”

Expertly navigating our way to a free lane, he leans back in his seat. “I can’t believe how cool this is. You living with me. How was your flight?”

“Shorter than I expected. Never been to this airport. Big fan of the dinosaur.”

He glances over, deep-set chocolate eyes dancing. “The 72-foot-long brachiosaurus? I have a huge urge to climb it.”

Laughing I admit, “I thought of that.”

We merge onto the Kennedy Expressway as Kian holds his hand out. “Here’s the deal with roomie number three, the one you’ll meet tomorrow probably. His name is Oz. Staying at his girlfriend’s tonight. He’s super low key.”

“Nice.”

“He’s a video editor, mostly commercials. You know any editors?”

“Max just shot his first feature. I met his girl. She’s quiet.”

“Exactly. They’re pretty introverted. It takes a certain personality to dissect hours of footage into the perfect minute-long ad for Meyers Soap.”

At the unexpected reminder of Elizabeth, I blink and face forward, leaning my elbow on the arm rest as my jaw tenses. “Right.”

“He smokes pot. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Couldn’t care less,” I smile, but my head is elsewhere. “He’s the one who pays rent, so apparently he’s not giggling on a couch not earning his living.”

“Nah, Oz is too addicted to work. He loves that computer more than he loves pizza.” Meeting my eyes, Kian reminds me, “And with the munchies, you can imagine how much he loves pizza. That guy you’re replacing? He was a friend.”

“He’s not one anymore.”

Watching the road, Kian mutters, “Burned that bridge. Sucks. I mean, I’ll open the door again if he ever gets his act together and reaches out. But you don’t take advantage of your friends like that. Me and Oz were really trying to understand where he was coming from.” Glancing to me, Kian says, “If you can’t pay rent, you move out on your own. Take responsibility for your life! Don’t make someone throw you out because they keep hoping you’re going to fix it.” Under his breath and changing lanes he says, “You know how much money he stuck us with? It was nuts.”

“Sorry ‘bout that.”

“It’s all good though, because you’re here! This is going to be so fucking great. Gives us a chance to get to know each other.”

“We were talking about that before I left—how it’s a shame our clans don’t spend more time together.”

“Us too! I called my brothers up and we said the exact same!”

“How’re they doing?”

He nods at the road. “Good. Ronan moved to New York and Finn is on his way here. He just got picked up by the Cubs. Savannah’s so isolated, we all got itchy for more.”

“No way, Finn’s gone pro?”

Proud, Kian grins at me. “Yup—just got the word. You’re the first Cocker to know. Unless Mom called your dad after you left.”

“How cool is that?”

He tells me about the process Finn went through during the next twenty minutes of the drive. The last few, he’s navigating city streets and pointing out the best coffee shops, grocery store, anything I might need.

I roll the window down and inhale. “I smell Lake Michigan.”

“Oh yeah, here’s the deal. The lake is always East. That’s how you know which direction you’re facing. And we’re on a grid, so it’s easy to get around.”

“Cool.”

“You’ve never been here?”

“Nope.”

“The lake has sand.”

I blink at him. “What?”

“Yep. Fucking sand and a beach. But it’s a lake.”

“No ocean anywhere.”

He stares at me. I grin and he laughs, “You want to see the sights and all that?”

“Have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning.”

“I mean at some point. You care about that sort of thing?”

I shrug, “I’m sure I’ll see it all as time goes by. Don’t need a tour. Unless you want to.”

Frankly I’m not in the mood just yet. But since I’m Kian’s guest, albeit paying rent, I’ll do what he wants.

His smile turns sideways as he pulls up to parallel park in front of a brick apartment building. There’s a lawn chair holding the spot. He jumps out and folds it up, tossing it in the back seat. “Nah, not my style. But I was willing to.”

“Forget about it. I’m not high maintenance. You just go about your life and I’ll blend in.” We jump out, heading for the trunk. “What’s up with the chair?”

“It calls dibs.”

“People accept that?”

“Yup.”

“Huh. Truth is the hours I work leave little time. You’ll hardly see me.”

He pauses as he hauls out my case, as we lock eyes. “Oh, okay.”

A grin flashes as I yank the other one free. “You look disappointed. I appreciate that. Here I was, feeling like I’m a fish out of the fishbowl, imposing on your world with little notice. It’s weird.”

“No, Caden, I’m happy to have family here. Finn showing up is news to me. Didn’t know that was going to happen until today! But now I’ll have two in Chicago? I came here knowing nobody. Here’s the thing. Atlanta’s different than Savannah, Caden. I can imagine you wouldn’t want to leave since you have everything there already—plus your family. For me, my family was the one thing holding me there. I needed more things to do, more girls to meet. Even my mom imported Dad. Hard to date with a pool that small.”

We head up brick stairs. I rake a quick glance over the facade of his building, approving of its urban charm as I say, “Makes sense. I love Savannah, but I can see how it’d be limiting. Some of your cousins—our cousins—haven’t moved away.”

“Yup, some love it. Here we are. Number Seven.” He punches in a code and we hear a click. “Code is the year.”

“Nice.”

“Easy,” he agrees as we walk into a bachelor pad complete with distressed, brown leather couch and matching bean bag. The shelves, coffee table, and small, round dining table are wood with iron. The walls are brick, curtains deep red. “Here’s your new home.”

“Nice!” I nod with appreciation. “Way more style than mine had.”

“This is a projection screen. Projector’s over here. I’ll show you how to use it later, or now if you want?”

“Later’s good.”

Kian slides his long hair back from his crinkled forehead as he looks around. The living room and kitchen space are in the same long room, several doors leading off. He maps them out for me, pointing as he goes. “First one on the left, bathroom. You’ll share that with Oz. That’s his door, second left. Mine’s far right. Yours is first one on the right, here.” He throws the door open to reveal everything he said would be waiting for me. “I hired a cleaning service to scrape the crud off it. I hate cleaning. We have someone come once a month, but this was a heavy-duty job. Wanted to make sure you didn’t sleep in filth.”

As we haul my suitcases in I look around. “Appreciate that. I’ll reimburse you.”

“It wasn’t your mess,” Kian mutters. “Besides, I did it before I heard from Mom that you needed a place to stay. I was about to rent the room. You have more boxes coming or is this it?”

I glance around the room, the empty bed frame, empty hangers, naked desk and dresser. I never got nightstands for my old place, so even though they’re basic, they’re a novelty I’m grateful for. “Shipped ‘em. And my mattress will arrive Monday. Figured I could sleep on the couch until then. How do they handle packages with this building? I might not be here. Will they leave ‘em by the mailboxes?”

“We got ya covered.” He crosses his arms. “Work from home, remember?”

Taking a deep breath, I shove my hands in my pockets. “Thanks, Kian. You’re making this a piece of cake for me.”

He smirks, walking out. “Who doesn’t love cake? Let me show you where everything is in the kitchen.”

We stroll around while he familiarizes me with his home. Which way to turn the dial in the shower to get hot water since the labels are backwards. Don’t use this coffee cup—it’s Oz’s and the only thing he’s possessive over. Food is generally our own, so buy what I want and don’t eat theirs.

“That’s pretty much it. You want to go for a drink tonight to celebrate?” He sees my expression. “Never mind. You’ve got your first day. Sorry. Just excited you’re here.”

We stare at each other, and I go in for a hug, smacking his back as he grips me with all the time we’ve missed. “Thanks for this.” We separate. “If I didn’t have family here, I would have been a lot more homesick. I’m going to unpack what I brought. Get settled.”

“I’ll be working in my room. Oz and I both have our desks in our bedrooms so we can keep our own hours.”

“Perfect. Because mine will be nuts, too. What are you working on?”

He pauses on his way, the light from a floor lamp tracing his strong jaw. “Logo for a startup. A female entrepreneur who got funding for her online shop. It’s really cool. I love innovators. Too much of the same going around. I’ll be in here if you need anything.”

He disappears, but as I’m about to close my door (my door? How weird is this? I’m in Chicago. How did this happen?), Kian pops back into the frame.

“Caden, what was I thinking? You’ve gotta be hungry. I’ll order something for us. Delivery. Sound good?”

“Has to be pizza.”

He heads away. “That’s how we’ll celebrate!”

“Pepperoni!”

“Get ready for greatness!”

I stare at his empty door, thinking, that’s what I’m here for.

Watch out Oberhan.

I’ll become so good word will spread.

Don’t care how long it takes me.

I’ll make my mark.