Margot preferred to sunbathe, and I preferred my books. Sun and scenery, that’s just fine, but I was never big into fish guts.
“So, what’s up besides working yourself raw?” she prompts when I don’t launch into what’s bothering me.
She can read me way too well.
I sigh. “Okay, so… first, you have to promise you won’t freak out.”
The corners of her mouth turn down.
“You do know that’s like the one thing you could say to make me freak?”
“Yeah.” I squirm. “But if you could justnot, that’d be helpful.”
“Right. Okay, Hattie. Whatever it is, let’s hear it so we can grade it on the freakout scale. Oh no.” She winces.
“What?” My eyes snap to her.
“Don’t tell me you’re turning the bookstore into a hookah bar?” She sighs dramatically, rubbing her face.
“Tempting, but no.”
“Pity.” She bats her blue eyes, and they look way too much like Ethan’s today.
I’m so screwed.
“I can keep guessing if you want,” she says. “But it might be better if you just spit it out.”
The sun suddenly feels blazing on my shoulders.
I’m going to burn out here if I’m not careful.
I’m also not remotely ready to tell her, but I can’t put it off any longer.
With a deep breath, I pull every bit of courage from my depths.
“So, um, Ethan and I… we kinda slept together,” I blurt out.
Silence.
Lovely.
I close my eyes where we’re standing, ships swaying on either side of us, blank windows staring, pointed noses too sharp.
Margot stares at me in stunned silence.
When I risk a quick peek at her, she’s scowling in a way that would make Ethan proud.
“You slept with mybrother,” she says slowly like the words are foreign.
Oof, not a good start.
“Yes,” I say.
“Hattie, why?”
“Things got weird. And we got carried away.”
Several times.
