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‘Well, I guess you already did,’ I say, pouting.
Thankfully, my sister appears at that moment, before the rude dude and I have the chance to say anything we regret.
‘Finn,’ my sister says, extending her arms to him. She gives me a quick hug, and I can’t help but feel a sting of jealousy that my sister gets to hold her body close to that muscular beast. I wonder how he feels. If I closed my eyes, so I couldn’t see his rude face, and I tried to imagine he was someone else — someone less rude — I imagine I might enjoy pressing up against that taut physique.
My sister is wearing a long red dress, and she looks fantastic. I wonder for a brief moment if this guy is her boyfriend, but the thought is so impossible it almost makes me laugh out loud.
For one thing, my sister justdoesn’tdate. I don’t know if she’d call herself asexual. I don’t think so. I just honestly don’t think a relationship is important to her. She’s always beensofocused on work.
I mean, I’m pretty ambitious and hard-working too, but I still have feelings of a sexual nature… I can’t deny that!
Even if my sisterwasinterested in seeing someone, she’d never go for a guy like this. She’s so straight-laced. So sciencey. He’s so… rugged. And thuggish.
Honestly, I’m even getting a strong, dominant vibe from him. Almost like he could be a Daddy. What would having a Daddy like this be like...?
‘I see you two have already met,’ says my sister. ‘That’s wonderful news. I really hope that the two of you —’ Her hazel eyes are gleaming. Something is going on. I know my sister, and she’s excited, or nervous, or both, about something, but before I can figure out what it is, there’s a buzz at the door.
‘Oh, look at that,’ I remark. ‘There’s a fully-functioning doorbell on the front door.’ Okay, yeah, I’ll admit, that’s a little snarky, but this guy has pushed my buttons. I don’t like the way my sister was looking at him just then, and how excited she looked to introduce me to him. And, of course, I hate rudeness. Maybe that’s part of what my poor old dad used to say made me ‘more sensitive than other people’.
‘I’ll get it!’ cries my sister, and rushes to the door, leaving me and The Man-Beast to have a stare-off.
Go on, I think. Apologize. I’m not saying a word until you do.
But the Man-Beast looks uncomfortable. He grabs at his collar, yanking it away from his neck, as though he’s too hot. Maybe his tattoo itches. Is that a thing? He looks down the hallway, at the torrent of guests arriving at the party, and then back at me. He looks as though he’s about to say something —something offensive, probably — but then he obviously changes his mind and heads out onto the balcony.
Yet another insensitive move, I think, as I watch him out there, looking over the balcony, in the opposite direction to any of the guests. He’s staring off in the direction of the Rockies. I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking.
I can’t think about that guy for a moment longer, though. The guests are arriving thick and fast now, and I’ve got celebrating to do. I owe it to my sister to give her a good send-off.
Even if I can’t stand the fact that she’s going.
Come on, Addison. Put on a brave face, lady. Only a few more hours and your sister will be gone for six whole months. You don’t want to go and ruin your last moments with her by acting up.
So I begin to do something I’m actually very good at. Schmoozing and smiling, while I pour out drinks for guests, keeping them nicely topped up. I listen and nod as people tell me things about ‘plant taxonomy’ and ‘molecular genetic analysis’ that I don’t understand. Every now and then, I cast a glance off to one side, and see the Man-Beast, standing out on the balcony, coming inside occasionally to top up his punch, and then stepping outside once more. I’m pretty sure that rude son-of-a-gun doesn’t speak to a single other person all night.
***
Ouch. I might haveslightlyoverdone it on the champagne last night.
My head is throbbing this morning, and my memories of the end of the night are a little hazy. My sister had a great send-off, I know that much. Someone made a speech about how important her work was for the future of sustainable living, and another gave her a guide book on off-the-beaten-track adventures in Borneo, and told her it was going to be a blast. I couldn’t help laughing my head off at that. ‘Off-the-beaten-track adventures? You think Borneo’s evenon-the-beaten-track to begin with?’ Luckily, my comment didn’t come across as mean and everyone laughed.
That guy I’d met just before the party started, the one with the tattoo — what was his name again? I seem to remember it was the sort of name you might use for a dog. (That’s it. Finn — Finn Wilder. It’s funny to think of him as that, because in my mind he’s just The Man-Beast.) He was the first to leave. No surprises there. He looked like he would ratherdiethan be there all night long.
I still can’t believe he made no effort to talk to anyone, though.Andhe left his leather bag. What a full-on weirdo. I told my sister about it, and she just took the bag off to her study, and said she’d keep it there for the next six months. So odd!
Anyway, what am I doing thinking ofthatguy when I’ve got the hangover from hell and a sister to say goodbye to? I look at the clock by my bed. Oh no. It’s ten already. That means I only have a couple hours left with her.
I throw my legs out of the side of the bed and haul myself up. Okay. Actually, now I’m sitting up, it’s not the end of the world. A glass of water and something to eat and I should be fine.
I head into the kitchen wearing my striped pajamas and find my sister is already up and dressed, cleaning furiously while the radio plays softly in the background.
‘Finally, the monster wakes!’ Violet says, laughing.
I yawn. ‘Yeah. Sorry about that. The flight from New York yesterday morning and then the party kind of did me in.’
‘That and the champagne,’ Violet jokes, giving me a wink. ‘I didn’t think Littles were big drinkers.’
‘Yeah well, maybe some of us like to indulge. You seemed to enjoy your fair share last night too,’ I say, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
