“Hey, I see things. I care. I care about Elle. You know I do. But anyway… I wasn’t watching her. I waswatchingyou.”
“Afraid I was going to dive off the deck andswimaway?”
“Possibly.”
“I know it may be hard for you to trust me on this,” I told him, “but I’m done with running away. I’ve had a bit of a revelation, thanks to Maggie and Brody. You know, talking things out withfriends.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Turns out… I’m a bit of aperfectionist.”
“You don’t say.” He didn’t sound surprised at all. Not that I really expected himtobe.
“I do say. And it’s been kind of… damaging. I’ve been hard on myself, I guess. That’s what everyone seems tothink.”
“What do youthink?”
“That I’m tired of trying to be perfect. I’m going to try just wallowing about in mediocrity a while, see how thatfeels.”
He laughed. “Good luck with that. Nothing mediocre aboutyou,sis.”
I shrugged, not really sure if he was serious or putting me on. “Thanks, Iguess.”
“You want,” he said, “I’d be happy to dispel any notion you might have in your head that you’re perfect, right now. For example, you have that weird thing about lids. Like you never put them on properly before you put stuff back in thefridge.”
I rolled my eyes. “That does sound imperfectofme.”
“And you’re always putting the milk back with a teeny tiny dribble left. Just drink it, forfuck’ssake.”
“It’s the perfect amountfortea!”
“I don’tdrinktea.”
“Well, some ofusdo.”
“And you leave your used tea bags all over the fuckingcounter.”
“Because I like toreusethem.”
“And you leave your dirty mugs all over the place without acoaster.”
I laughed. “Shit. The big bad rock star wants me to use a coaster? Geez, I’m sosorry.”
“When you leave ring stains on my furniture,Ido.”
“That wasonce, becauseyouknocked into it and it spilled over. Totally yourfault.”
“Andyou tend to blame me for shit I didn’t do. That was Max,notme.”
“So blamethedog!”
“And you don’t takecriticismwell.”
“Are youdoneyet?”
“Nope.” He grinned his big, dazzling grin, the one that made women—who weren’t related to him—swoon. “Could go on like thisfordays.”
“That grin doesn’t work on me, so let’s just skip to the end. I get yourpoint.”
