Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“So, to be clear, this entire spat is due to your insecurity?” Charlotte asked Scott.
He sat uncomfortably quiet for a long moment.
“Right.” She blew out a breath. “So, this is a you problem, Scott. This isn’t an us problem. We don’t owe you any further explanation or understanding. You have to grow up and deal with this. Because we can’t keep reassuring you if you’re not going to trust us.”
I agreed with her, but I was glad she’d said it and not me.
“I mean, you don’t even know if we work as a couple,” she went on. “We do. I’m so fucking happy, Scott. I’m happier than I think I’ve ever been in a relationship. Maybe happier than I’ve ever been, in general. And you don’t like that for me?”
Her words made my chest clench up and blood pound to my head. Charlotte was always so coy with her feelings, at least with me. I made her happier than she’d ever been in a relationship? I might make her happier than she’s ever been, full-stop?
I wanted to grab her up and kiss her until she passed out, but Scott’s presence hampered that. I settled for taking her hand in mine and giving it a squeeze.
“Can you try to be happy for us?” I asked. And I hated that I had to ask my best friend such a thing.
Scott stared out at the long expanse of the gardens, not saying anything. And we gave him time, because we’d said all we had to say on the subject. At least, as far as I was concerned.
Except for one thing.
“I envy you,” I blurted. “You two have a bond that I wish my sister and I had. I don’t want this to be the thing that damages that.”
Scott huffed. “Bro, I love you, but there’s no way you’re ever getting between me and my sister like that. I’m going to take her side, every time.” Finally, he tossed his hands up. “If you’re both happy, I’m happy.”
“See? It wasn’t that hard,” Charlotte said. “Now, are we going to light that thing?”
“One second. I have to go to the bathroom.” Scott pushed his chair back. “Don’t spark it up without me.”
When he left, Charlotte and I sat in silence long enough that it started to feel uncomfortable. And I wasn’t used to being uncomfortable around Charlotte.
“So,” I began, pushing the joint back and forth on the tabletop. “You’re the happiest you’ve ever been?”
She laughed stiffly and turned away. “Now would be a bad time for you to admit that you were attracted to me because of the ‘forbidden fruit’ aspect of our relationship.”
“Hey,” I said, and when she didn’t face me, I repeated it. “Hey. That’s not why I’m with you. I may have held back in that conversation, but trust me, I feel the same. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”
She tilted her head and regarded me warily.
“It’s true,” I went on. “I’m not going to go all-out mushy in front of your brother, but come on. You know I’m in love with you. That’s different from loving fucking you, by the way. I love you.”
Pushing her chair back, she rose and scooted from her seat to my lap. My bark of laughter was cut off by her mouth.
Charlotte kissed me like I’d handed her a billion dollars. No. I had given someone a billion dollars before, and I’d never been kissed the way Charlotte kissed me. As if she would consume me like a dying star.
When we broke apart, breathing heavy, I asked, “Is this what I can expect every time I tell you that I love you?”
She leaned back with her arms still looped around my neck. “Are you complaining?”
“Are you staying longer than a week?”
“Here?” She laughed. “Hell, no. I will be sitting in the driveway, laying on the horn first thing tomorrow morning. But with you? Hmmm… I’ll consider it.”
Scott emerged from the house and stopped in his tracks. “Look, I love you both and accept your relationship. But I’m gonna have to ask you to keep your hands off my baby sister right in front of me. The Big Brother code demands I take action.”
“Dude, what about the Bro Code?” I asked as Charlotte slid out of my lap.
Scott shook his head. “The Big Brother Code overrules the Bro Code every single time. Don’t forget it.”
In other words, don’t hurt my sister.
He had nothing to worry about.
* * * *
Formal dinners, followed by dancing, tended to start late and run later. Grimacing at myself in the mirror, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
“I’m puffy,” I said flatly.
From the bathroom, Charlotte called, “I have some concealer.”
“You laugh, but I might take you up on it.” Wouldn’t Mother love that. In her social set, the only appropriate cosmetic treatments for men came at the end of a scalpel or a needle. And of course, epic amounts of tanning. Which was probably why so many of them needed the tucks and injections.