They’re clearly not.
I take a large gulp of wine. My sister laughs.
“How’ve you been, Piper?” Stacy asks, leaning over the kitchen island.
Our parents relocate to the living room and sit down in front of the fireplace. The coffee table boasts an impressive spread, and Frankie runs past every few seconds for a cube of cheese.
“Pretty good,” Piper replies cordially.
“Dating anyone?” Stacy digs for information. “I imagine all the guys out West as hulking lumberjack types. Or cowboys. Men who know what to do with big hands and?—”
“My hands are big enough,” Joe interjects, coming up behind my sister and wrapping an arm around her waist.
She laughs and melts into him as he presses a kiss to her cheek.
Everyone glances at a blushing Piper.
She sighs, looking down. “No, not dating anyone at the moment.”
“Oh.” Stacy straightens, biting her bottom lip. “Sorry, I just assumed?—”
“I’m really busy at work,” Piper cuts her off, dipping her head sheepishly. “There’s no time for dating.”
Stacy nods sympathetically. “Hopefully things settle down soon then. I can’t imagine how long the line of men waiting in the wings to snap you up is.”
My molars grind at the visual Stacy painted. I glare at my sister before snapping my gaze to Piper.
She laughs and takes a sip of wine, her delicate neck on display as she swallows.
I look away, my hand not holding the wine glass curls into a fist.
What the fuck is happening? Shouldn’t I be happy if Piper found a good guy? Why do I hate the thought of men lining up to shoot their shot with her?
Because you still haven’t shot yours.
The thought rolls through my mind like a siren.
I refocus my gaze on Piper.
She was always out of my league. Head and shoulders above me. The best in school, on student council, a goalie on the soccer team. She could balance academics and sports and extracurriculars in a way I couldn’t.
Our classmates liked her, voting her friendliest our senior year of high school. Teachers adored her, writing long, flowery notes in her yearbook. My parents love her, hailing her as a second daughter.
And she’s here, in my mom’s kitchen, glowering at me like she can’t stand me anymore. What the hell happened? The night before we graduated, I told Piper we shouldn’t ruin a good thing. I was the guy who had random hookups and she was the kind of girl you properly dated. I didn’t want to mess with that. Or ruin our friendship.
But right now, it’s clear that what I viewed as a misunderstanding, she took to heart.
The realization makes me nauseous. Is that why our paths haven’t crossed in so long? I thought we were both just busy but one day…one day, what? I’d shoot my shot with her.
“I thought you were seeing someone in Denver,” my sister muses, her wine glass hovering below her chin.
What? My gaze darts from Piper to Stacy. They’re having girl talk the way they used to, unabashedly and out in the open. But back then, I was privy to Piper’s life. Her secrets. Nothing she and my sister discussed ever shocked me.
This conversation is straight-up unnerving.
“It didn’t work out,” Piper says, shrugging. But I see the pinch of hurt that dips between her eyes. I note how her shoulders roll forward as though she’s embarrassed by the fact that her relationship ended.
A rumble of anger burns through me. Firstly, who the hell was the guy that she liked enough to try out long-distance? Secondly, what the fuck is wrong with him for hurting her? And thirdly, how did I not know any of this?
