“Either way, no, I’m not upset about Judah Klein. I’m upset that Hannah’s a pain in the ass.”
“Wait, I know this boy.” Her mother furrowed her brow. “Isn’t he the one who sang at Aleah’s wedding? The one Steph said she had to book six months before Aleah even got engaged?” She leaned in to look more closely at the picture. “Itis. What a beautiful voice on that one, andveryhandsome. He’s single? I don’t believe it.”
Hannah snorted as Ari buried her face in her hands. “Please can we stop talking about Judah Klein?”
“Not if he’s making my baby sad!” Her mom wrapped an arm around Arielle’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you with a crush. It’s very sweet! Did you introduce yourself at the wedding?”
The absurdity of it all made Ari want to scream. “First of all, we already knew each other. Second of all, I didn’t say I have a crush—that’s something Hannah made up based on seeing me watch the same video of him that every freaking person on the planet has watched in the last week.”
“Actually,” said Hannah, a little smile playing on her lips, “I’m basing it on the fact that I saw you guys kissing in the bridal suite after the wedding.”
Ari and her mom both whirled on her sister. “What?”
Hannah’s smile gave way to full-blown laughter. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see how long it’d take before you admitted it. But if you’re keeping that in the vault, you mustreallylike him. Now I feel a little bad about showing you that video of him and Mira. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” Ari growled, “and you should’ve told me you saw. You know you can’t tell anyone that, right? Please tell me you didn’t tell Molly and Shira.”
“Are you kidding? They would’ve murdered you in your sleep.Anyway, I opened the door for like one second and then ran out. I didn’t even realize it was him until I saw you getting in the car with him to go back to the city. And of course I didn’t tell anybody, but I’m a little hurt it took you months to tellme.”
“Ididn’ttell you,” Ari reminded her, “and there’s nothing to tell. He’s dating and wants marriage and babies with a girl like Mira, and I’m… whatever.”
“You are notwhatever,” her mom said firmly. “You are brilliant and kind and beautiful, and if you’re interested in this boy, you should tell him so. Just because he spent a couple of days talking to another girl doesn’t mean they’redating. He’d be lucky to have a girl like you, and it certainly sounds like the interest is mutual.”
Ari’s eyes shot daggers at Hannah, but her little sister just beamed smugly. “You heard Mom. Tell the boy you like him, Arielle.”
“I would like to hit you with all the plagues, Hannah.”
“Well, that settles it,” Mrs. Becker said cheerfully. “We’re doing spa night. I will not be responsible for you looking anything less than your best when you ask the boy out.”
Despite her tremendous eye roll, Ari let them drag her out of bed and into her mom’s large bathroom, where they got to work picking out sheet masks and lotions and filling the enormous tub with bath oil for soaking their feet. As Ari dipped her purple-painted toes into the floral-scented water while Hannah gently splashed, she had to admit—if only to herself—that it felt kind of good that someone else knew her secret.
At least until her sister opened her mouth and asked, “Is he a good kisser? He looked like a good kisser.”
“Hey, Han?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
Ari swore under her breath as an unidentified object in her purse scratched her hand in her quest for her keys. She’d only been out of her mom’s house an hour, and already she was back to barely functioning like an adult.
She finally fished her Lego keychain out triumphantly and let herself back into her building, a strange mixture of sadness and relief filling her at her return. Her mother’s house was so constant, consistent—other than some small décor changes here and there, it still looked so much like the house Ari grew up in, full of family photographs from when there were five of them. Her apartment was ostensibly her home—had been since she, Liana, and Bella graduated college—but in a few months, if she couldn’t find a new roommate to replace Liana, she’d be on the hunt again.
The thought was too exhausting to deal with, as was putting away the laundry she’d taken advantage of being at her mom’s house to do. Obsessing over Judah was so mentally draining, it reminded her why she never had Feelings in the first place. All she wanted to do with her last day of vacation was collapse on the couch with a can of moscato and—well, not an episode of her favorite show about tiny homes, because he’d ruined that for her too, but something mindless.
Unfortunately, a quick scan of the fridge revealed that they were officially wineless. They didn’t even have beer. And seltzer was not gonna cut it.
Shecouldswing around to the bodega on the corner, but she didn’t really need anyone seeing her picking up beer at noon. Did they even sell beer at noon? She had no idea, because she’d never been a person who needed a beer at noon until Judah Klein made her one.
Groaning, she reached for her phone and tapped out a quick text.
Ari:Tell me you’re back and also have cold beer
Akiva:That bad huh
Akiva:Yeah come on up
Ari didn’t need to be told twice.
