Bexley laughs. “You haven’t seen him in six months.”
“Because he was studying in Dublin.” I return to my worktable and sort the papers in a pile.
“And he’s been back for over a month, and you still haven’t called him,” she chides. “Not very best friend-ly.”
“I’ll call,” I grumble, scribbling a note to myself in my notebook. “When did you see him?”
“Wewent out for a drink last night,” Bexley brags. “I thought it would be polite to tell him about me going on The Suitor. He thinks it’s a great idea, by the way.”
“Of course he would.” I roll my eyes. Despite every warning I could throw at him, my best friend fell in love with my twin sister when we were twenty-three. And then just as I was getting comfortable with the idea of the two of them, they broke up. “How is he?”
“Looking forward to telling you that himself. Why don’t you give him a call?”
“I will. Tomorrow. I’m—”
“Not in the mood,” my sister finishes. “You do look a little more morose than usual. What’s up?”
“Nothing.” It’s my go-to reply to the question. I really shouldn’t bother because my twin can tell something is up just from the sound of my voice.
“Liar.”
“I met someone,” I say reluctantly. “Wait,” I interrupt the clapping of Bexley’s hands. “It’s not a good thing.”
“You with another person for even a short period of time is a very good thing. But what happened?”
“I told her about the breakdown,” I confess. “And then we had sex.”
“I don’t understand.” Bexley sits up, her gaze narrowing with concern. “Those are both good things.”
“She had sex with me because she pitied me.”
“Did she say that?” she demands.
“You don’t tell someone you pity them when you have pity sex with them.”
“But you cantellif it’s pity sex. Like, did she keep saying,there, there, Boen, it’ll all be okay? Did you cry?”
“Of course I didn’t cry, and no, she didn’t say that. She didn’t say anything like that. She just asked to kiss me after I told her.”
“I don’t get it. Maybe she wanted to kiss you?”
“Why? I mean, why then?”
“Maybe she wanted to kiss you?” Bexley repeats, raising her voice. “There’s no timeline on these things. Like, there are some moments that are better than others, so maybe she thought it was a good idea to kiss you then. Was it a good kiss?” I’m not about to admit that it might have been the best kiss of my life to my sister. Luckily, Bexley isn’t waiting for my response. “And you blew her off.”
“The next morning... it’s complicated.”
“Boen.” The frustration is evident in Bexley’s voice and sends my insides cringing. “Who is she?”
“My neighbour.”
“The one with the dog?”
I nod. “Rachel.”
“How do you know she thinks that?” Bexley demands. “Because what you’ve told me about her, Rachel sounds cool. Artist, motorcycle, midnight fires in her backyard. I don’t know her, but even so, I can’t imagine anyone needing a reason to have sex with you. Have you looked in the mirror? Go look, right now. You’re almost as good looking as I am, brother dear.”
”I’m better looking,” I manage.
