“I was joking. What do you know about women, anyway? When’s the last time you had one around?”
“If I don’t know anything about women, why in the hell are you calling me for advice?”
“Simple. You’re the only sibling who will answer.”
When will I ever learn?
“Gavin is avoiding me for reasons we won’t discuss,” he says. “I talked to Mallet last week, and he said his trainer was taking his phone. He’s been having a hard time concentrating for his fight, so Oscar was removing all distractions. And I’m not about to call Kate.”
I grin. “Aw, Kate’s your baby sister. I’m sure she has great advice.”
“She’s your sister too. Haveyouever called her for advice?”
We laugh at the same time. Kate’sa firecracker. You risk setting your problems on fire if you ask Kate for help.
“Eh, maybe I’m better off without Alyssa, anyway,” Luke says. “Fucking the same person is a dead-end sport.”
My forehead wrinkles. “How do you go from one extreme to the other? Two seconds ago, you were fucked up because she was gone. Now you’re happy about it?”
“I just got my feelings hurt. I want her to want me.”
“You wanteveryoneto want you.”
“Yes.I do. Not all of us are content with jacking off for the rest of our life.”
Here we go.
I frown and grip the steering wheel tighter.
My family’s ongoing push for me to find—I don’t even know what it would be called at this age—a girlfriend? Significant other? God forbid, a wife?I don't want one, whatever it’s called when you’re sniffing forty.
Am I against casual sex? It’s great for Luke.Do I have a problem with dating? Gavin loves it.Is marriage a social construct that works in the modern world? Mallet’s wedding was the happiest day of his life—if you ignore the fact that the union ended in divorce. And I’m certain Kate will have the biggest damn wedding the world has ever seen someday, and an enormous brood of kids too.Everything for that girl is extra.
Relationships, in all their forms, are great …for some people. I even understand the draw. But I also understand thedrawbacks,and quite frankly, I’m not interested in failing another human being in my life.
“You know what?” I ask, redirecting the conversation away from me. “You need to let Alyssa go. Just forget she exists.”
“Why?”
“Because you can.”
The line goes quiet while he ponders my suggestion.
The rain eases as I approach the bridge over Peachwood Creek. Through the drizzle, I spot a car on the other side of the waterway. It’s barely pulled off to the side of the road.
What’s going on here?
“What do you meanbecause you can?” Luke asks.
“You were fine with her leaving at the start of this conversation,” I say, leaning forward and squinting to get a better look at the car. “If you can let her leave, you need to let her leave. Make sense?”
“Not really.”
I squeeze the back of my neck in frustration.
I don’t have time for this—any of it.
Luke rattles on, weighing the pros and cons of monogamy. On the other hand, I peer down at the white car sitting askew with its lights off. This is not unusual; many locals know this area is ripe for hunting and fishing. But locals typically drive vehicles with four-wheel drive if they’re going to hit the backroads.
