Page 73 of The Plus One Pact

But it is a little… sibling-ish.

I think.

It's hard to tell. They're both so beautiful.

He looks to me as if to ask is this okay. I nod. It's fine. She's friendly. And she buys into all this. And, well, I have the feeling I can get some info from her.

She waits for him to walk into the house to speak. "He's been treating you well?"

"Does it seem otherwise?" I ask.

"No. I just… when we were kids, he wasn't the best boyfriend. A lot of girls came crying to me, not understanding why he'd broken up with them. It was a long time ago, but…"

"He hasn't been in many relationships," I say. "We've talked about that." Sort of.

"Did Sasha warn you about him too?"

Huh? "You know Sasha?" I ask.

"Romeo's best friend?" she asks. "Of course. They were attached at the hip for a while. Just as friends, I swear. I guess that's what happens when you grow up close with your mom. A lot of girl-space-friends."

I nod.

"I ran into her the other day, actually… Am I high, or is it possible she was wearing a corset in Trader Joe's?" she asks.

Probably both. "Sounds stylish," I say.

"She does have that gorgeous figure, too." She motions to her less than ample chest. "I always wished I had those kinds of assets, but maybe it's good I didn't too. Less attention from men can be a gift. Though I do miss that, sometimes. That part of being single." She looks at me with concern in her eyes. "You won't tell Rome?"

"That you miss some things about being single? Why would I? There's nothing wrong with that."

She nods. "I love Danny. Don't get me wrong. He's… I don't know how to put it into words. Like the feeling of the universe being made of love. That's what I get when he holds me."

"That's romantic." And funny, too, to compare your fiancé to tripping.

"I listen to all these relationship podcasts when I'm driving. I have to drive all over Southern California for work. Worst part of my job. And the way these couples always run into the same problems… do you think it has to be that way? Do people always lose the spark?"

"Not if you work at it," I say. "If both people work at it."

"What about when you get older? Stop feeling the fire in your loins?"

"Is sex just about fire in your loins?" I ask.

She looks to the house as Romeo steps outside. "Shit. I better go, before I say too much. Keep that between us, okay?"

"Girl talk, sure," I say.

She pulls me into a tight hug. "You're a good egg, Ivy. I can tell." She releases me and says goodnight to Romeo as he approaches across the lawn with a teasing, "treat her well."

He takes a long sip of her water. "Did she start rambling about the nature of love?"

"A little," I say.

“She does that when she’s high. Don’t read into it.”

Maybe. Or maybe there’s something else there. "She seems nervous," I say. "Is this going to be that intense?"

"That's Cynthia. She's an anxious person. But, yeah, probably. Mom is intense, too," he says. "But now you have a way to tune it out." He motions to the tin of gummies in my pocket. "You want to take one for a spin?"