I debate going back upstairs, but when another clap of thunder hits, startling the shit out of me, I decide against it.
“Pepper Spray!” Eli calls. “Come join us. Bring candles.”
I hesitate, peering into the dark living room. I can only make out vague shapes and shadows. “You guys aren’t in any, uh, precarious positions or states of undress or anything, are you?”
Eli’s laugh booms as loud as the thunder. “You crack me up, Peps. No, we’re decent.”
“Good, because an impromptu three-way is not how I envisioned this night going,” I mutter to myself, gathering supplies from the kitchen before entering the living room. Setting the candles on the coffee table next to a bottle of bourbon, I take a seat on the far side of the L-shaped couch. Eli and Lemon occupy the other end, snuggled up under a blanket, and I make a mental note to burn that one.
Eli reaches forward and grabs the bottle off the table, taking a long swig.
“So. Lemon. That’s an unusual name,” I say, after struggling to come up with any other topics of conversation.
“My parents love citrus,” Lemon says with a shrug.
“Oh. Right.”
“Do your parents like flowers?” she asks.
To my knowledge, my mom just liked the name, but I lie and say, “Oh yeah. Big time.”
The next fifteen minutes consist of painful small talk in which I discover Lemon’s love of surfing, smoking, and fortune telling, though when she offers to read my palm for a low, low fee of fifty bucks, I politely decline.
“Are you sure?” asks Eli. “Lemon works for a psychic. She’s picked up tons of tricks.”
“What’s your sign?” she asks me.
“Oh. I’m, um, a Libra. I think.”
Lemon’s eyes narrow as she studies me, and I fight the urge to fidget. “A Libra.” She nods slowly. “I vibe with Libras. Want me to read your horoscope for the month?”
Lemon’s already pulling out her phone when I say, “Oh, no. That’s okay. I don’t really believe in that sort of-”
“You will liberate yourself from the past in some significant way. Tension in your home and family life may come to a climax. The full moon could bring a level of clarity that creates a breakthrough in a love connection.”
I blink at her. “Wow. That’s…a lot.”
She studies me again. “There is much change in your future.”
I open my mouth, unsure what to say to that, when footsteps sound in the hallway. We glance over toward the doorway to find Landon hovering at the edge of the room, his tall, shadowed figure illuminated only by the flickering light from the candles.
“Well, look who decided to join the fun!” says Eli.
Landon frowns at him. “Flashlight died.”
Eli doesn’t even try to hide his grin. “Oh, just admit that you were lonely up there by yourself.”
Landon sniffs. “Not in a million years.”
Eli pats the cushion beside him. “Take a seat, dear brother. We don’t bite.”
Landon blows out a breath and then does the most surprising thing. He sits. Next to me. He sits down on the couch next to me.
And that’s how I end up discussing zodiac signs during a hurricane with my sister’s asshole ex-boyfriend, his enigmatic brother, and a kleptomaniac named Lemon.
Lemon holds out the bottle of bourbon in Landon’s direction and gives him an innocent smile. “Want some?”
“You’re offering me my own bourbon?” he asks, tone flat.
