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“Thank you.”
Jaya suddenly wrapped her arms around Reeva. “You’re the most amazing person in the entire world. The next time I’m interviewed, and they want to know who my role model is, I’m going to say you.”
Despite herself, Reeva laughed. Her sister was ridiculous. “Okay, just get off me. And let’s stop talking about this.”
Jaya dropped her arms and crossed her legs. “Okay. Deal. Sorry. Let’s talk about something else. Now that we’re friends again, tell me about Nick! He’s super hot, Reevs.”
“I never said we’re friends again. And it is still way too soon for you to call my boyfriend hot.”
“Boyfriend?! I thought you were avoiding the B-word.”
Reeva was about to shut Jaya’s questioning down. Then she paused. She really wanted to talk to someone about Nick, especially because Lakshmi was so busy, dealing with Reeva’s Sherwood-Brown case, as well as the duke. Reeva hadn’t wanted to inundate her with calls, so she’d been trying to deal with Nick alone, but she was desperate to talk about it. It was crazy to consider confiding in Jaya—even Sita would have been a better option—but this was already the craziest week of Reeva’s life. And at this point, she had nothing to lose. She took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. But Nick asked us to be exclusive. He called himself my boyfriend. The other day.”
“Oh my god, congrats! I love that for you!”
Reeva hesitated. “Yeah, so did I, but he doesn’t alwaysactlike a boyfriend... He doesn’t call me when he says he will. He’s terrible at replying. And he doesn’t share a lot. At all. I tried to ask about his past, and it was so hard to get anything out of him. He always asks me questions, but I feel like he’s quite distant. Emotionally. And these photos of him with Hot Lips are all over the press, but he never eventoldme he went to the BRITs with her. Is that not something you’d mention? The fact he’s avoiding talking about it makes me feel so anxious. Oh, and he recently told me he dated a singer! So I’m terrified it’s Hot Lips. The whole thing makes me so insecure. Like I’m not good enough for him.” She stopped suddenly. She’d shared too much. Way too much.
But her sister was unperturbed. “Hot Lips isn’t even that cute, and her music is terrible. And who chooses that name? Nick has way better taste than that. And if he doesn’t, do you even want tobe with him? If Rakesh had dated someone like Hot Lips, I’d seriously judge him. But instead, he dated you, which proves he had amazing taste.” She saw Reeva’s stony glare and backtracked. “Sorry, sorry. Bad example. All I’m saying is that Nick probably didn’t date her, and even if he did, who cares? He’s not with her now; he’s with you.”
“Yes, but he’s being so vague lately. Lakshmi thinks it’s because I’m away and it’s the first time we haven’t seen each other regularly for ages. But he’s not thatpresent, even when we speak, and then those photos... I don’t know if I’m overthinking things or if he’s doing what all men eventually do and bailing. I mean, why doesn’t he want to call me every night? Isn’t that what most couples do?”
Jaya paused thoughtfully. “It sounds like you’re expecting him to be a UCB.”
“A what?”
“An uppercase boyfriend. A boyfriend with a capitalB. One who calls you every night. And replies all the time to texts.”
“Of course I am. That’s what boyfriends—or uppercase boyfriends—are meant to do. Aren’t they?”
“Sure,” said Jaya confidently. “UCBs. But before Nick brought up this chat, did you expect the same level of communication from him? Did you expect the nightly calls and regular texts? Or for him to tell you he was going to an awards ceremony with a client?”
“Well, no... He wasn’t my boyfriend then. He was just someone I was dating. Though I think he could have dropped the BRIT Awards in somewhere.”
“Exactly!” cried Jaya, ignoring Reeva’s last sentence. “The only thing that’s changed is his label. And now you’ve got expectations that aren’t being met. So either he changes, which is alsoan option, but you’d have to talk to him about it”—Reeva shook her head violently—“oryou’vegot to change the way you see him.”
“Oh-kay...”
“Just see him as an lcb. A lowercase boyfriend. Take away his capital letters and you’ll expect less of him.”
Reeva thought about it. Her sister had a point. Even just thinking of Nick as an lcb made her shoulders relax. An lcb didn’t have to call every night. Or tell their girlfriend every detail about their exes. And it was okay if they were a bit emotionally distant at times. “Okay. But how long do I have to be with an lcb for? I do want a UCB one day. I want... love.”
“Of course you do. And this is the way to get it. It’s all about pacing and timing. You’re transitioning from dating into a serious relationship. You can’t go from zero to one hundred.”
Reeva nodded slowly. “Right. Pacing. This isn’t a terrible theory—where did you get it from?”
“I made it up! It helped me with Rak—uh, men in the past. And it’s helped my friends too. You know, to have fewer expectations and be more present, blah, blah, blah. It’s so easy to fall into unhealthy neediness. But I find that demoting someone to an lcb helps.”
Reeva looked impressed. “Do you share this kind of thing with your followers?”
Jaya shook her head quickly. “No, no. That’s just photos. And one-line captions. It’s about creating an escapist fantasy—not real life.”
“I’d much prefer to read about this than see hot pics of you on the beach.”
“That’s because you’re jealous of how hot I look on the beach.”
“Okay, I said it’s too soon for these kinds of jokes.” Reevastood up and shooed her sister away with her hand. “Get out. Go. This has been more than enough for one night.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Jaya made her way out of the room. Then she poked her head back around the door. “Sorry I’m so hot.”
