Kept it all inside, kept it to herself, including how she was having incredible sex with her ex’s ex.
Now, Daphne laughed nervously, her cheeks rosy as she got up from the table. “I’m going to run to the restroom.”
April nodded, then squeezed her outstretched hand.
“Okay, what exactly is going on between you two?” Ramona asked as soon as Daphne was out of sight.
Sasha tilted her head, frowning at April before mouthing, “Sorry.”
April sighed and waved a hand.
“I mean,” Ramona went on, “of course, I noticed when you came inside that the two of you…well…you—”
“Kissed,” Dylan said bluntly.
“Yes,” April said, “we kissed. We’vebeenkissing.”
“For how long?” Ramona asked, her brows dipping low.
April blew out a breath. “Um, the first time was the night you got into town? But it was a fluke.”
“A fluke.”
April shrugged. “Sort of like a dare on the solstice?” She told Ramona about Daphne’s wildling escapades, and how Sasha and April had been helping her out.
“And you’ve kissed since then?” Ramona asked.
April opened her mouth. Closed it. When she’d held back all the details of her and Daphne’s—Fling? Dalliance?—whatever they were doing, she hadn’t thought about how awkward it would be when she eventually did tell Ramona. She’d never done this before, kept something from Ramona that felt this big, this affecting. Hell, one time a few years ago, she called Ramona from Leigh Reynolds’s bed while Leigh showered, simply because she had to tell her best friend immediately about how Leigh had made her come four times in half an hour.
But the best friends sitting at this booth right now weren’t the same April and Ramona of two years ago.
“Yeah.” April rubbed her forehead. “We’ve kissed since then.”
Ramona’s frown deepened.
“And we’ve had sex,” April said, fast and low.
“A lot,” Sasha said under her breath. April kicked her under the table.
“You’ve…you what?” Ramona spluttered.
“They’ve hadsex,” Dylan whispered loudly, leaning close to Ramona’s ear.
“Yes, I heard her,” Ramona said, splaying her hands on the table. “I just don’t…I’m not sure…”
April braced herself, waiting for Ramona to express hurt overthis secret. She’d be justified in feeling that way—April would’ve felt the same. Shehadfelt the same. April almost welcomed Ramona’s reaction, because maybe this would open the door to talking about other things April didn’t know how to bring up, all the reasons why, what the hell had happened to the April and Ramona they both knew and needed.
And how they were going to fix it.
But when Ramona finally got out a coherent sentence, she didn’t express hurt. She didn’t even express humor or shock. Instead, she winced and said, “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
She said the words softly. Gently. Lovingly. But they still landed heavily, a sudden downpour when it had been clear and sunny all day long.
“You…wait, youwhat?” April asked.
“Oh, boy,” Dylan said, sipping on her water and looking straight ahead.
Ramona sighed. “Apes. Come on.”
