by Hazel Kelly
My face collapsed like an accordion. “What the hell? You guys compare notes?”
“I wouldn’t be offended if you looked like shit, but you look…”
My brows lifted. “Are you choking on a compliment?” I raised my palm as if I were going to smack his back.
“Not like shit.”
“Unbelievable.” I reached for the grenadine, grimacing when I remembered the bottle was sticky.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet her,” he said. “And I understand if you need to miss poker night.”
“Nice try, but that money’s as good as mine.”
“You’re really not going to tell me?” he asked, making a face like he was genuinely hurt.
I poured the rest of the bottle in the cauldron. “I told you. I’m swamped with house stuff.”
“Must be a pretty sexy house,” he said, implying air quotes. “Must be the kind of house that does more than hold your hand if you’d blow off a free trip to the Kitty Kat Lounge.”
I laughed. “There’s no such thing as a free trip to the Kitty Cat Lounge. You always pay for a visit there one way or another.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” he said, taking a sip from his cup before exhaling sharply. “Man, that’s strong. I mean, not too strong for a caveman like myself, but definitely too strong for Wilma.” He grabbed the vodka and returned it to the freezer.
“Hope Maddy didn’t freak out over the Brie thing too bad.”
“Only for a half hour.”
My lips formed a straight line. “Sorry, man.”
“It’s cool,” he said, leaning against the countertop and glancing at the people bobbing for apples across the kitchen. “Why do you care, anyway?”
“What?”
“Why do you care?” he asked, training his blue eyes on me. “I don’t get it. It’s not like they haven’t moved on and made other friends.”
“You don’t have to get it.”
“And you don’t have to keep pretending you’re the glue that can keep your family together when you failed a long time ago.”
“Fuck you.”
He shrugged. “Just saying.”
“Well don’t,” I said, pissed at the suspicion that Maddy had been spouting off to him. “It’s not your place. And I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You don’t have any siblings.”
“Besides Maddy, you mean?”
My face puckered.
“Oh, you mean siblings of my own,” he said, pretending to be dense.
“Pathetic.”
“She’s okay,” he said, sensing that I’d reached my limit. “To answer your question. Nervous, as you’d expect. But if she misbehaves, I promise I’ll drag her out of here like a caveman.”
“Yeah, I heard about your role-playing plans. Don’t think anyone would mind if you kept them to yourself.”
"At least tell me her name.”
“There’s no name to tell,” I lied. Unless tonight goes well and then maybe…
“Shame,” he said. “Maddy would be relieved if there were.”
“What? Why would she be relieved?”
“Because she feels guilty about how happy we are,” he said. “Not to mention guilty about the fact that our epic love is such a force of nature it drove you from our apartment.”
“Is this really not old yet?”
“Which?” he asked. “Teasing you or sleeping with your sister?”
“Who knew Fred Flintstone was so fucking funny?”
“Who knew James Bond was capable of having a secret crush he won’t even tell his best friend about?”
“James Bond doesn’t have friends.”
“Neither will you if you keep blowing everyone off.”
I groaned. "When did you get so sensitive?”
He smiled like I’d really warmed his heart. “No one’s ever called me sensitive before.”
“That doesn’t make it a compliment.”
He punched me in the shoulder. “Can’t wait to meet her.”
I tutted like it was never going to happen, but little did he know, it was about to.
T H I R T Y F O U R
- Brie -
It was like no time had passed, which was bittersweet. On the one hand, it was nice that we still had chemistry, that our sense of humors still gelled. But at the same time, it added to the sadness I felt when I thought about all those years we could’ve been friends, could’ve been there for each other. Why had she ghosted me? When we’d been so close?
Frankly, those mysteries made me reticent about our reunion. Because as much as I wanted to pick things up where we left off, my self-preservation instinct wasn’t having any of it. I could let my guard down, but only if I kept my walls up.
That said, I knew these things took time, and I could tell she was sorry. She was almost being too nice, too interested in everything I had to say. And while I believed she was genuine, her guilt was palpable. Sticky. For the first time, I realized she might’ve missed me even more than I missed her.
“Well?” James asked, closing us in Alicia’s bathroom. “How’s it going?”
I tiptoed across the bridge of round tiles and leaned against the sink top. “Fine,” I said, finding a place for my drink behind me.
“It must be going better than fine,” he said. “I’ve been trying to steal you away for an hour.”
I shrugged. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“I can imagine.” He walked up to me and set his hands on my hips.
“I thought we weren’t doing this,” I said, looking up at him.
“Do I get no credit for my restraint?” he asked. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me?” He ran his hands up and down my hips, his fingers playing with the fringe that hung from me.
“You get a little credit,” I said, squinting as I pinched the air between my fingers. “Tiny.”
“I want extra,” he said, lifting me onto the counter. “Tell me how I can get extra credit.”
I wanted to slap his hands away as he trailed them down the outside of my thighs, but his palms felt so warm, and when he stepped between my legs, I swear I could feel the heat off his lower body. “So you play everything like you play Scrabble, huh? Making up the rules to suit your own agenda?”
His brows lifted with his smile. “My agenda? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
I ran a hand over his silky lapel and let my eyes wander up his chest, my feet dangling beside his calves. “Well, we’re not going to refer to it as your restraint.”
“Wouldn’t be very fitting, I suppose.”
My eyes narrowed at him, but I couldn’t even pretend to be mad. After all, I was having a good time. A long overdue good time at that. And it was all because of him. Because, somehow, he always knew what I needed most.
I glanced towards the opposite end of the bathroom at the door we didn’t come through. I knew everyone was thoroughly distracted by the Halloween-themed charades that had just kicked off, but… “Is that door locked?” I asked, pointing at it.
“No one’s coming all the way down here,” he said, waving at the door without turning his focus from me. “She seems genuinely happy to see you, don’t you think?” He tucked some hair behind my ear, and I swallowed when I felt a delicate rush of air tease my neck. “I told you, didn’t I?” His warm eyes swept across my face. “There was nothing to worry about.”
“Besides this, you mean?” I gestured between us. “This has me a bit worried.”
“It shouldn’t,” he said, his hands resting on my hips. “We’ve played it perfectly.”
“Yeah, but being happy to see an old friend is one thing. It’s quite another if that old friend is your stepsister, and she’s sleeping with your brother.”
“Which is exactly why we’re not going to unload that on anyone tonight,” he said. “We’ll keep our cards close to our chest for now.”
“You really think she’s going to accept this?” I asked, doubt swirling through me.
&nbs
p; “I know she is.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He inched closer so my dress rode up my thighs. “Brie.”
“What?”
“Do we have to figure this out right now?” he asked. “Can’t we just enjoy how well tonight is going and have a good time?”
"Easy for you to say," I mumbled. "You're not the one who's been on eggshells with the Mason family for the last decade."
"I wouldn't say you were on eggshells."
I dropped my head to one side. "What would you say then?"
"I'd say you were waiting for Maddy to grow up."
"And has she?" I asked. "Or am I one slip of the tongue away from being back where I started?"
Confusion twisted his face. "Sorry, what was that? You mentioned your tongue, and I sort of blacked out for a second."
I pushed his chest playfully. "Can you please be serious?"
"I am serious," he said, tightening his grip on me. "Serious about you, okay?"
I stared into his blue-green eyes. "You mean that?"
"More than I can tell you." He brushed the pad of his thumb across my cheekbone. "The hard part is behind us. It has to be."
"Seems the hard part is between my legs."
He dropped his chin. "Now who's not being serious?"
"Sorry." I blushed. "You were saying?"
"The hard part was all those years of wanting each other and not having the guts to act on our feelings."
"Speak for yourself. I've been gutsy this whole time. You're the one who was pussyfooting around."
A smile teased his lips. "Sorry, did you say something? I heard a dirty word leave your mouth and blacked out for a second."
"You're right," I said carefully, to drag out the words that came next. "I was a pussy, too."
He dropped his head back with a groan. "You know this pussy galore talk is right up my alley right now."
"Sorry, did you say something? I heard the word alley and blacked out for a second."
"Mocking me now, I see?" His expression was alight with amusement. "Can't let you away with that."
I flashed my brows at him. "I think you just did."
"You're mistaken," he said. "I'm merely plotting your punishment."
"Oh," I said, warmed by the glint in his eyes. "I hope it's another game of Scrabble."
A low laugh rumbled up his throat and rattled my bones. "I don't want you to enjoy your punishment too much."
"Then it shouldn't be dirty Scrabble," I said. "Because I really, really enjoyed that."
He licked his lips and made a face that was growing familiar.
"Especially the part where you were spelling naughty words against my p—"
He stopped my lips with his finger. "Why must you torture me so?"
I dared him with my eyes, and he swapped his finger for his lips, kissing me with the same tongue he so enjoyed torturing me with. And when he tilted my head back to kiss me deeper, my lower body clenched. I tightened my thighs around him, drawing him even closer and wishing we were somewhere else, somewhere I could thank him properly for taking such good care of me.
But when the far door swung open, my body went cold, and I turned just in time to see Maddy backing away, her shocked expression crumpled in horror.
T H I R T Y F I V E
- James -
When we were little, my sisters and I used to play a game called “make a face you’ve never made before.” It was one of those games we only ever remembered when we were bored out of our skulls, much like I Spy or Ghost. Still, trying to twist our faces into new shapes was always guaranteed to kill a few minutes and make my mom laugh.
So that was my first thought. That I’d never seen Maddy make that face before.
My second thought was Fuck.
I turned to Brie as soon as my sister disappeared from sight. “Stay here.”
“I’m not staying h—”
But I’d already run after my little sister, desperate to do damage control. “Wait,” I said, grabbing Maddy’s arm before she could leave Alicia’s bedroom. “Let me explain.”
She flicked my hand off her like it was a leech that had fallen from a tree and glared at me, her eyes an energetic mix of anger and hurt. “I have nothing to say to you.”
I lunged past her to close the door. “Please.”
She puffed up like a gorilla, and if she hadn’t been dressed like a cartoon cavewoman, I might’ve been intimidated. “Get out of my way.”
“You’re going to hear me out first.”
“Bullshit,” she hissed. “I don’t have to hear you out. I want to leave. Get out of the way.”
I dropped my voice in the hope that it would calm her down. “Please don’t be a brat right now.”
Her eyes widened until her forehead disappeared. “How dare you!” she cried, her arms waving wildly. “How could you!”
I showed her my palms and took one step away from the door. “Please.”
“You have no right!” her voice was shrill. “How could you do this?”
“Calm down.”
She turned sideways and glowered at me, like she was half thinking of charging into me, shoulder first. “Calm down? Calm down?!” She threw a hand in the direction of the bathroom. “Give me one good reason why I should calm down.”
“Because this isn’t about you.”
Her neck hinged forward. “What? What’s it about then? Getting back at me?”
My brow furrowed. “What? No. Getting back at you?” What the hell was she talking about?
“For the Quinn thing,” she added, when she realized she’d lost me.
“The Quinn thing?” I asked. “You mean the fact that you love each other? Do you really think I’m so bent out of shape over that that I would—”
“Don’t.” She lifted a palm like the mere idea of me verbalizing my feelings for Brie might send her over the edge.
“I don’t begrudge what you guys have. I would never—”
“Never what?” she asked, her small fists tightening at her sides. “Kiss our stepsister!”
“Maddy.”
“Don’t you think our family’s been through enough?” She shook her head and turned her back like she couldn’t bear the sight of me. “God, you’re so selfish. You’re worse than—”
“Don’t,” I said, my blood boiling. “You’re talking out of your fucking ass right now, and you’re not even giving me a chance to explain.”
She spun around. “Explain what? Your special connection?! I don’t want to hear it.”
I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath, berating myself for the fact that I hadn’t checked the door. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
“Find out what exactly, James?”
“That Brie and I have feelings for each other.”
She scoffed. “Since when?”
“I can’t speak for her, but—”
“No?” Maddy asked, her head falling to one side. “Leave her tongue in the bathroom, did you?”
“Calm the fuck down, Maddy, before you really piss me off.”
"You don’t know the meaning of pissed off,” she said. “Trust me.”
I ran a hand over my head and yanked on the hair at the back of my head.
“Since when?”
I shrugged. “High school.”
She narrowed her gaze.
“At least for me.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to believe that I wouldn’t take pursuing Brie lightly, all things considered.”
Maddy’s brows crept up as she took a few steps back, like she was becoming more allergic to me by the second. “You’re pursuing her now?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I am.”
“Can’t you see how fucked up this is?”
“Compared to what?”
“She’s family, James.”
“Don’t you dare stand there and tell me she’s family. No one has treated her less like family than you.”
A choking sound escaped her throat. “Not based on what I just walked in on.”
“I’m sorry about that again.”
“Sorry it happened or sorry you got caught?”
I sighed. “I’m sorry you found out this way.”
“Found out what?”
“That I’m falling in love with her.”
Her hands raced to her head and fumbled awkwardly when she remembered she had a red beehive pinned to her skull. When she dropped them, her fingers kept twitching like they were charged with electricity. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
I stared at her.
“James.”
I raised my brows.
“You can’t be with her.”
“I already am.”
She blinked at me. “Are you guys…? Have you guys…?”
“Don’t pretend this even affects you. You’d still be ignoring her existence if I hadn’t brought her here.”
“I thought that’s why you did!” she said, throwing her arms in the air. “I thought you were trying to do something nice for our family, but you were just—”
“Thinking about you,” I interrupted. “I was trying to do something nice for you.”
“How could you possibly think this would be nice for me?”
“Because you’ve forgotten how amazing she is, and you’re missing out.”
Maddy folded her arms and turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the twinkling city skyline. “Seems to me she’s saving all her amazing for you.”
“Don’t do that,” I said, fiddling with a golden gun cufflink. “Don’t pretend you don’t feel guilty for dismissing her like yesterday’s news when she would do anything for you.”
“Including make out with my brother just to get my attention.”
“You’re so wrong,” I said, annoyed at her narrowmindedness. “She didn’t even want to come.”
“To your ex’s Halloween party? There’s a shock.”
“Alicia’s not my ex, and even if she were, she’s seeing that banker guy now.”
“Whatever.”
“She didn’t want to come because she thinks you hate her.”
Maddy’s eyes trailed over to me.
“Even though we both know it’s yourself you hate for cutting her out of your life.”
