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“You mean because he dislikes me,” I say flatly.
Max laughs. “Dislikes you? No, I wouldn’t say that’s the issue.”
“Then what is the issue?”
His smile is evasive. “I can’t give all of James’s secrets away, now can I?”
**
Both James and Ginny request the weekend off for Allison’s visit. The funny thing is that her own brother does not.
He smiles at me shyly on the morning of her arrival. “I have to get ready for work,” he says, running away as he always does when I come in the room.
“You’re not taking time off?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “Uh, no. My sister is kind of a pain in the ass.”
His answer surprises me. I suppose I’ve gotten so used to Ginny’s views on St. Allison that I didn’t realize anyone could feel differently. It must show on my face.
“You’ve been listening to Ginny too much,” he says.
“She does kind of idolize your sister,” I reply.
He nods. “She does, but she shouldn’t.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because Ginny is under the impression that Allison is acting in James’s best interest, but the truth is that Allison only acts in Allison’s best interest.” I’m not sure what surprises me more — that he’s not a part of the fan club, or that he just said more than five consecutive words to me.
**
Ginny is in full scrub-down mode when I get back from the beach on Friday. “Don’t even think about dropping anything there,” she says, as I swing my backpack to the ground.
“Why exactly must I continue to hold my fairly heavy bag?”
“Because my sister is in an idiot,” comes a voice from the couch. “She seems to have confused Allison with the Pope.”
“And you’re a lazy sack of shit for not helping,” snipes Ginny. He sits up and rolls his eyes. He’s unshowered, unshaven, still wearing yesterday’s clothes. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen him look so disgusting, and yet he’s still gorgeous. It sort of pisses me off. “Who needs a clean house,” he asks, gesturing to himself, “when you have all this to look forward to?”
“Are you, like, planning to shower or anything?” I ask with disdain. As if I give a shit whether he cleans up for his girlfriend.
He shrugs. “Eventually,” he says.
“Isn’t she coming any minute now?”
He turns the channel to ESPN. “No clue,” he replies.
I look to Ginny quizzically and she rolls her eyes at me in disgust. “Can you make sure his bathroom is clean?” she asks.
“I can almost guarantee you that his bathroom is not clean,” I tell her.
“Well then can you go take care of it?” she asks, piqued, as if it’s the most obvious request in the world.
“You seriously expect me to go clean your brother’s filthy bathroom so that his girlfriend won’t be grossed out?”
“Oh, sorry media princess, I forgot you’re too good for that.”
“Stop being a bitch, Ginny,” shouts James over the TV. “And both of you stay the fuck out of my room.”
