***
"No." The word is terse on his lips.
"Because this won't happen again. I do what I say I'm going to do, and I expect the same from you. I don't care whose birthday it is. You made a promise. I have to go. DD's going to help me."
He taps at his phone, ending the call even though I can still hear Mom talking.
"Is that what you're going to paint in?" he asks.
I shrug. "Would you prefer I paint naked?"
His only answer is to lick his lips.
In that moment, I wonder how far I can push him before he'll snap. Not that I think he'd really do anything except send me to my room. For a moment, I let myself imagine that he really would kiss me, touch me, f**k me. I sigh.
"What are we painting?" I ask.
"The room over the detached garage."
"But that's just a storage room."
"Not anymore," h
