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“So, what’s on the agenda, ladies?” Luke asks, gulping down his drink and getting a swift refill from Jane.
“Food, drinks, facials, and…” Kate holds up a small pouch and shakes it slightly. “Nails.”
“Fuck, yes,” Luke says and then helps carry everything over to the couch. They arrange the charcuterie board on the coffee table and set the glasses down, and I just watch in morbid fascination as they begin to chat, snack, and slather their faces with some green goop that emerges from a purse. I’ve been subjected to this on multiple occasions and yes, my face feels fantastic afterward, but no, I don’t enjoy it. Much.
And there is no way I’m going to pretend to enjoy it right now. There is absolutely no way. I’m in too much pain.
Luke seems to have forgotten all about me though. He’s having a grand old time. He lets all three of my sisters pamper him, and thirty minutes later, he’s looking down at his nails and blowing on them.
“Black. Very goth. I like it,” he says with a grin.
What the hell is my life right now? A year ago, if I had conjured this scenario up, I would have thought I’d gone insane. Am I hallucinating? Is thisThe Matrix?God, I hope I’m actually just asleep in some scary incubator pod.
When Jane offers me another glass of Prosecco, I suck it down and then glare at her when she tries to apply the green goop to my face.
“I will not,” I say, and she rolls her eyes to the ceiling.
“Gosh, such a bore,” Jane mutters, and Kate snickers.
But Luke looks over and blinks, his face slathered in green goop.
“Nah. He’s fun. You just need to figure out what makes him smile. Got one out of him once. Felt like I won the lottery.”
No one has ever called me fun in my entire life. Andrew was always harping on about how dull I was. It was an ongoing joke in our relationship. He laughed about it at parties.
But Luke isn’t laughing. No, he’s defending me, and it makes a tiny part of my ice-cold heart start to thaw.
This. Guy.
“Well, good luck with maintaining that record,” Eliza says. “Elliot is the best, but he’s always been a grouch. Even when he was little, he’d just scowl, remember that ya’ll?” Jane and Kate nod and giggle. “It’s not totally his fault, though. He gets that fromhe who shall not be named.”
“Voldemort?” Luke asks.
The girls laugh, and Eliza says, “No, but close enough.”
Luke eyes me but doesn’t respond, just plucks a tiny grape from the board and pops it into his mouth.
“She means our dad. Both our parents are assholes. We have fully disowned them,” Jane says, her words a little less crisp.
“Yeah. Goodbye fuckers!” Kate shouts.
“Fuck them all!” Eliza chimes in. “Bigoted assholes.”
“The biggest asses!” Jane yells.
Luke pops some cheese into his mouth and cocks his head. “Eli hasn’t shared any of his past with me. Care to fill me in?”
“Well damn, El. Why haven’t you told him?” Eliza asks me.
I shift in my seat and gulp down some more Prosecco. “We have known each other for like two weeks. Do you share your life story with strangers?”
“Um, yeah. I do. My local Starbucks barista knows my due date and what I ate for dinner last night and I like them less than this guy. I feel like I’ve known Luke for years,” Eliza replies.
“Yes, well, I don’t just make friends as easily as you all do,” I mutter.
“True, but that’s just because you’re shy,” Kate blurts.
“I’m not shy.”
