Page 39
“I love you too.” I waited as she handed the phone back to Laki.
Their voice came through after a few seconds. “So what’s up?”
I hesitated. “You’re busy. It’s fine.”
“It’s all good. I was just heading outside for a smoke.”
“Oh. Okay.”
I shifted in place, then slid onto the stool beside me at the island. I didn’t even know why I’d called them. It wasn’t like I was going to tell them what happened. Calling my sibling to let them know I’d had sex? That was weird. They didn’t need to know about that.
I was just feeling a little off, and Laki always—well, usually—made me feel better. I’d just let them get high and listen to them talk about work or whatever until I felt more relaxed. Then I’d be able to go to the gym and focus on my workout.
“Sorin made these, like, individual Black Forest gateau things,” they told me as I listened to the sound of them walking through the house to the back door. “They’re really good. I’ve already eaten three and I’m not even high yet.”
My mouth quirked. “He’s great at what he does.”
“He told me about your business idea.” The door clicked shut in the background, and I heard the spark of a lighter as Laki sat down with a sigh. “Nice of you to offer that.”
I waved a hand. “It’s nothing. He should be working for himself. He’s more than capable of running his own business. That fuckhead Kalek took advantage of him for years.”
Laki grunted, sucking on their joint. “Yeah, he was a total douche. Do you remember that Christmas he showed up in yoga pants? As if all of us had just been waiting for the day we got to see the outline of his dick.”
“What kind of dickweed wears yoga pants anywhere other than yoga?”
They snorted. “Kiti wears yoga pants all the time. And she doesn’t even do yoga.”
“Yeah, because it would require her to shut the fuck up and actually listen to someone else for an hour.”
Laki laughed. “True. So.” They had another toke of their joint. “What’s up?”
I immediately squirmed in my seat. “Nothin’.”
“Uh huh.”
They fell silent other than the sound of them inhaling and exhaling smoke. I pursed my lips, refusing to be the one to break first. They were annoyingly good at this. Seriously, they could have been a lawyer. Or a telemarketer.
After another ten seconds of them just waiting, I blurted, “I may have… done something.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” I drummed my claws restlessly on the kitchen island. “I may have… had sex with my event planner. Just a little,” I rushed to add. “Not much.”
“Oh, wow,” they said mildly. “Just a little sex, huh?”
I frowned. They didn’t sound all that surprised. Why weren’t they surprised? This was shocking news.
“I don’t even know how it happened.” I got up and started pacing. “It just… did.”
Except there had been plenty of opportunities to stop. Anita had paused us a couple of times to clarify some things—like the fact that I did not, in fact, have a lady friend, and I had not, in fact, had to rush off from the gym on Saturday to fly to Paris. How fucking humiliating.
“So it’s probably safe to say you’re attracted to her, then,” Laki deadpanned.
“No,” I shot back automatically, but for some reason it made me feel kind of guilty. “Okay, maybe in a purely… physical sense. She’s still annoying.”
And kind of quick-witted and funny in a subtle way. And admirably efficient and dedicated to her job. And stupidly hot, but that last one probably fell under the only-physical-attraction thing.
“So what happens now?” Laki asked.
