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“English Breakfast, okay?” I offer.
“Yeah. Sure.”
I motion for him to sit. He takes a seat at the dining table and stares at the wall.
I fix the tea for both of us, bring the mugs to the table, and sit opposite him.
His eyes stay on the wall.
He looks off, by Jake standards. In a slightly wrinkled polo shirt, jeans that fit a little too big, and sneakers with scuffed soles.
Usually, he’s picture perfect. Today, he’s, well, human.
He doesn’t make small talk or pretend he’s fascinated by his tea. He does the last thing I expect.
He reaches for my hand and squeezes hard. “You’re a great sister to her.”
Uh… “Thanks.”
“Lexi adores you. You know that, don’t you?”
Of course I know my sister loves me. But it’s not that simple. Lexi sees me as a badass because I’m so tough and take no prisoners, because I’m able to deny my physical needs in a way she isn’t. She relies on that. We both rely on that. “She likes you, too.”
He wraps his hands around his mug and stares at the milky English Breakfast. “I like you, Dee.” He calls me by my nickname. Almost everyone does.
Everyone except River, really.
“When Lexi described you, I didn’t believe her. A straight shooter without a single weakness. How is that possible? But she was right.”
I guess it’s normal for little sisters to see their big sisters without flaws, but I wish, just once, someone would notice how hard I work to hold everything together.
“I want to ask you something,” he says. “And I hope you’ll be honest, even if it hurts.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He pauses a moment, then says, “Is there someone else?”
“Huh?”
He takes a long sip of his tea and swallows slowly. “Thanks for the drink.”
“Sure.” I swallow a sip to buy myself time to think. There is someone else, but not the way he means. Or maybe I don’t know what he means. “She hasn’t been seeing anyone since you’ve been together.”
“So, she meant it? She needed to think?”
“In her way.”
His eyes fill with curiosity. He doesn’t know what that means. Or he doesn’t want to know. “So it wasn’t an excuse?”
“Huh?” I ask.
“Because she’s in love with someone else?”
I laugh.
His lips curl into a frown. “Is that funny?”
Yes, but not to him. “It’s just…not Lexi. No. She’s not in love with someone else. I can promise you that.”
