Page 31 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

“You don’t have to share anything traumatic.”

“Well, I obviously have none anyway,” I said, like a liar, but my facetious tone was enough to convey that much. “I guess one of my good traits is that I don’t drink. Mom kicked my sperm donor out over that. Apparently, he drove home drunk with me in the car, though I was too young to remember. Haven’t seen him since. Turns out, trauma can lead to healthy habits sometimes.”

“Guess so,” Alex replied, but it was clear she was uncomfortable.

I had to even this out somehow. “I certainly make up for it in different ways. The fact that I even know someone like Cliff is a symptom of that.”

“You said he wasn’t your boyfriend, so I figured it wasn’t my business beyond that.” She shrugged with an asshole smirk. “Bet my body count’s higher than yours.”

“I’ll have you know that I don’t even know my body count.”

“Joke’s on you, because I don’t either. I just know it’s higher.”

“You just know?”

“I just know.”

“All right,” I said, the trophy still mine to take even without divulging the shit I really didn’t want to get into. “Well, I already told you I was disowned by my mom’s family when I got a girlfriend. What you don’t know is they outed me to my dad’s side, which is how I found out my dad was still alive because he wrote me a whole manifesto about how it wasn’t too late to disavow my ‘lifestyle’ and give my life to God, like he had.”

“That’s a good one,” Alex retorted, “but I was outed on live TV by my mother when I was thirteen because she talked at a press conference, at the White House, about how she’d found lesbian porn on my phone to boost support for some internet law about minors.”

I narrowed my gaze, the sardonic humor of it all not escaping me. “Despite all that, I still haven’t seen my dad.”

“My mom disowned me two years ago and cut me off from the family fortune.”

“You still have, like, a billion dollars.”

“Hardly.” Alex took a sip, something cheeky in her grin. “Just a few million. But, if I hadn’t invested as young as I did, I’d be homeless.”

“Well, Mom had to foreclose on our house because she couldn’t afford childcare and a mortgage.”

“That…sucks, and I’m sorry that happened. Can’t relate. You win.”

The timing of when Alex got cut off and gave up her vices couldn’t be overlooked. Had there been an incident? We’d only spoken of trauma in the most clinical of terms, but perhaps it was for the best that she hadn’t elaborated, given I didn’t intend to reciprocate. “What’s my prize?”

“Hopefully therapy.”

Levity lit her gaze, but I had to force my laugh. “I did get some court-funded therapy for a bit, but the money only went so far.”

Dammit. These were not statements I wanted follow-up questions on.

“So, I dropped out of college instead,” I continued, forcing myself to ramble. “But it’s not like astronomy would have paid much of the bills, so maybe losing my scholarship was cheaper in the end. I dunno.”

Alex just looked confused. “You were an astrology major?”

“Astronomy. Not astrology. I don’t need to know your birth time to read you to filth, Alex.”

“No, you do not,” she replied, chuckling. “So like, planets and stars, right?”

“Pretty much. I’ve just always loved the stars, and I love the mystery of not knowing what’s all out there.”

“Do you have a favorite constellation?”

“Monoceros. Unicorns were my favorite animal because my mom forgot to tell me at an age-appropriate point in time that they were fake. I was eleven when a teacher finally pulled me aside.” I took a loud sip of my drink. “Broke my heart.”

“I’m hurt on your behalf.”

“Thank you,” I replied, hoping my dramatic batting eyelids aided my flippant tone. “I don’t think a horned horse is that difficult of an ask anyway.”