“Fuck off, James,” Jessica shouted from upstairs and Izzy started to wail. “Now look what you’ve done.”
“Welcome to the happiest place on earth,” James said and moved sideways so we could go inside.
“This is Anna.” I deliberately did not drop the word “girlfriend”.
Anna and James greeted each other and I wondered if Anna was feeling awkward. My sister screaming down the stairs wasn’t the friendliest of greetings. But Anna was smiling and she seemed relaxed.
“Jessica is just trying to settle Izzy, as you can hear.She’ll be down in a minute. And then once she’s downed a glass of merlot, she’ll almost be human.”
“I heard that.” Jessica trilled as she came into the kitchen where we were gathered, James pouring us drinks. “You’d better pour me two glasses.”
“Izzy down?” I asked.
“Hey, Bond. Yes, for how long, who knows?”
“Bond?” Anna asked.
“Jessica, this is my—this is Anna.”
Anna turned to look at me, grinned and then turned to Jessica. “I’m Ethan’s girlfriend, nice to meet you.”
My heart jumped in my chest and a dull ache drummed in my stomach. As I pulled my eyes from Anna to Jessica, Jessica was looking at me as if she was waiting for me to say something. I tried to pull down the corners of my mouth but it wasn’t working. She was my girlfriend and I was very fucking happy about it. I grabbed her hip and pulled her toward me.
“Well, wonders will never cease. Izzy’s asleep and Bond has a girlfriend. Fuck me.”
“Don’t swear,” James said.
“Izzy’s fucking upstairs. She can’t fucking hear us.”
“We’re trying not to swear in front of her,” James explained.
I nodded, not wanting to get involved. Jessica needed her Merlot.
“So what’s with calling you Bond?” Anna asked. I groaned.
“Oh this is going to be interesting. I can tell you all Ethan’s embarrassing stories.” Jessica was practically gleeful and I rolled my eyes at her.
“Jessica’s disastrous teenage dating years can trump anything she’s got on me. Bring it on,” I replied.
Jessica laughed. “This is going to be fun.”
Anna
Ethan’s sister was pretty. Beautiful even. I suppose that should be no surprise given Ethan’s god-like features. You could definitely see the resemblance. What was more interesting to me was the relationship he had with her. It was playful and teasing and sweet. Being with them reminded me of being in the Hamptons, he was relaxed and happy—Ethan’s life was full of good people who loved him. Happy couples living happy lives. I wondered why he’d not dated before—didn’t he want that too?
“I bet you still have all the books out, like you’re trying to intellectualize a boyhood obsession,” Jessica taunted him. Jessica had explained all about Ethan’s James Bond obsession. There were worse obsessions to have.
“They’re valuable. First editions,” he replied looking slightly wounded. “At least it’s more intellectual than the Boys II Men obsession you had.”
“Yeah, but I don’t still have my Boys II Men posters on my wall. They came down when I started dating for real. Although I should have left them up. Rock star fantasies are so much better than the reality of dating grabby teenage boys.”
“Or dating any aged men. It’s not just teenage boys that are grabby,” I said, forgetting my filter. “Present company excepted, of course.” I cringed and Jessica laughed.
“You’re probably right. The last date I went on before I met James not only made me pay for dinner but spent the night texting an ex-girlfriend, which he excused by saying she was upset over a break-up.”
I nodded. “I went on a date once and came out of theloo at our restaurant to find him taking the number of the waitress.”
“Jesus.” Ethan recoiled.
