“Edibles. Should get us through this holiday.”
I laughed and waved him off. “I have wine, which should also help us get through this family dinner.”
“Done and done,” Theo said as he handed me a gummy bear.
I rolled it between my fingers before eating it. As he popped two into his mouth, I grabbed the wine from the fridge and poured the crimson liquid into two glasses.
By the time the oven timer rang out, we were a bottle deep and the edibles had kicked in. The heaviness of the day lifted, and it didn’t matter that the food would be shitty. It didn’t matter that our parents would soon arrive. It only mattered that Theo and I were together again.
I moved out at his age, which meant I left him when he was still a teenage boy. Theo grew up and went on to college, giving up school soon after his business took off.He became more of a stranger with every holiday and family dinner I came home for, and soon he had a girlfriend who was now his fiancé. Well,washis fiancé. His life moved forward while mine remained stagnant. Not even the edibles helped with the dread of the lonely apartment.
“What’s the matter?” Theo asked, his big blue eyes sparkling as he sat at the island and snacked on cheese and crackers.
“What happened to you and Allison?” I changed the subject because my thoughts were bringing down my high.
“Don’t ask me that,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s embarrassing.” He popped another cheese square into his mouth and dropped his gaze.
“We’ve been through some embarrassing shit.”
Theo shook his head, his blond hair brushing his forehead. “Not like this.”
I put my hands on my hips and gave him the face I used when we were younger and he’d stolen something from me and I just wanted to hear him admit it. That’s all I wanted.
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. She said I couldn’t make her come if her clit was the size of the cell phone I never put down. Something like that.”
My jaw dropped. “Harsh,” I whispered. The edible took over and I accidentally let a hearty laugh follow the word.
He stared at me as I doubled over and couldn’t stop laughing. His lips tightened but soon drew into a smile and before long, he was laughing too.
“Fuck off, Zo,” he said through his laughter. “It’s not funny!”
“It’s kind of funny.” I forced myself to sober. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s not. I just don’t believe it for a moment. Sounds like an excuse to leave.” I poured myself another drink and sat beside him.
“It’s not. She was impossible to get off. Or I sucked. Either way, no one was happy.”
I stared at my glass as I thought about the time I saw Theo masturbating to a picture of me when we were younger. I never thought much of it because you can’t put two hormone-filled teens together and not expect at least some weirdness sometimes. I’d snuck a look before I ripped my gaze away, and I saw what he had in his hand before I averted my eyes. He’d have no issue pleasing a woman. So yeah, I still didn’t believe her excuse.
“What do you think?” His voice pulled me from my memories. I’d missed the rest of the conversation.
“About what? Sorry,” I said.
His eyebrows furrowed. “What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” I said much too quickly.
“Tell me.”
“Absolutely not.”
Theo stood and put his hands on his hips, throwing me the same judgmental glare I’d given him moments before. Maybe it was the drugs or the alcohol, but I decided to answer him.
“Fine,” I said. “I was thinking about how I caught you choking your chicken when we were younger.”
“You saw?” His mouth gaped and he let out a laugh. “Oh god, that’s horrifying.”
“Well, that's why I think she was lying,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
As he sat quietly for a moment, a sly smile eased onto his face. “Can I admit something to you, and hopefully we won’t remember it tomorrow?”
