Lucy, to her credit, lets her eyes trail down my body before nodding in acknowledgement. “You’re still being so stupid, like, holy shit, I can’t believe you didn’t know you were bi, and now you’re jumping straight intoa relationship?”
“Well, no, we’re starting to do things slowly,” Taylor argues back. “She won’t even let me do more than make out with her.” She crosses her arms, pouting at me.
My eyes widen. “Why are you throwing me under the bus? Do you want to do more?”
She pales slightly, and Lucy, with identical eyes to Taylor, watches her curiously. “Well, um. I mean, yes. But I also just like making out right now.”
I bite my smile as Lucy snorts. “You’re such a big baby,” Lucy throws her hands up and shakes them mockingly. “Ohh, Eloise, I love making out with you, I want to have your babies but I’m too scared of being with a woman.”
My jaw drops as Taylor shoves her. “You can’t say that. We’re just starting to get to know each other. I’m allowed to take my time. And that’s one of our boundaries.” Taylor juts her chin out in defiance . “And why the hell am I justifying this to you? You hated Frank.”
Lucy rolls her eyes. “I guess you’re right. I mean, Frank would have tried to take over this conversation at least five times in the two minutes that I’ve been here. Eloise is just sitting demurely.”
I wave. The two of them look at me more for a moment. Lucy is still trying to figure me out, and Taylor is looking at me softly. “Yeah, but she’s mean when she wants to be. She did nearly take my knee out two years ago,” she says. “And she makes me talk through thingsinstead of just going in headfirst.”
Lucy sighs, leaning back. “Yeah, I guess that’s good for you.” She looks at me appraisingly. “So, you’re her impulse control now?”
“Just a reminder,” I say. She nods, sipping her martini. “But she’s pretty good at—”
Lucy holds her hand up to stop me. “Don’t lie to me. I know my sister, and she’s shit at not doing stupid things at the moment.”
Taylor’s drinking her beer, nodding along. “Like, one time, when we were little, Mom told us not to come back into the house until she called us for dinner, and so Taylor decided that we should become explorers in the backyard, and well…” Lucy shrugs. “We got lost, and then we almost got eaten by a bear, and it got really, really dark before the cops found us off the trail.”
Taylor tries to argue, but Lucy cuts her off. “And then, there was this time in high school when Taylor decided that she wanted to go to the beach, but we didn’t live close by, so she decided to go swimming in the river and there was a crawfish that crawled into her shoe. She tried to take a step, and the thing clamped down on her toes. She had to ice her toes for a week before she was able to shove them back into her skates.”
“Lucy, shut up,” Taylor snaps. “Or I can tell Eloise about the time in high school when I had to pick you up from the university campus—”Lucy lunges for Taylor, but we’re saved by the waitress bringing over our meals.
She’s gone quickly, and Lucy points at Taylor. “Don’t you dare–”
Taylor, in her very mature ways, sticks her tongue out. “Also, I invited James for supper tonight. He should be here soon.”
Taylor stops. “James? You told him to come?”
My brain has stopped. “Wait, who’s James?”
“Our brother,” they respond in sync.
“I just told him that I was meeting your partner.”
Taylor groans, “Oh, he’s going to be so weird about it, Luce. You know how he gets around people he thinks are fucking his sisters.”
Lucy shakes her head. “No, that’s just the Frank effect, and you said so yourself that you’re not fucking Eloise yet.”
“Lord, give me strength,” I murmur into a bite of my fries. At least they taste good. I catch the eye of our waitress, who’s across the room, and point at my drink. She has a small smile as she nods and walks towards the kitchen.
Taylor leans into my body. Placing a hand on my knee which is the most brazen she’s been with physical affection outside of my apartment. The sparks flutter through my bloodstream and make me feel drunk on her. She’s smiling, but it’s strained. “At least he isn’t bringing his kids and wife.”
“Do you not like your sister-in-law?” I ask.
Lucy shakes her head. “She’s great. We love her more than we love James. But she’s over the top in other ways.”
Taylor nods. “It's better that James knows you first before she does. It gives us some time to ease you into the family.”
“And your brother is older?”
“Three years.”
“Is he like you?” I ask. Lucy snorts, but Taylor shakes her head.
