And I could not be more proud of her.
“Hey, Kaeli! How are you? Gotta catch up soon!” I reply, settling in with the bottle of wine.
“We definitely should!” she agrees, her voicelouder than it was a second ago.
My brother heaves a dramatic sigh, “If you’re both done monopolizing my time, I would like to talk to my sister.”
Both Kaeli and I burst into a chuckle. “Sure, darling. Go ahead,” Kaeli says.
And just like that, Ezra’s voice turns to the sweetest ever. “Thank you, Feather.” God, he’s such a goner. There’s no one quite like Kaeli to knock him down a peg or two, and honestly, he wouldn’t even object to it.
“I called you to remind you about the afternoon brunch this Sunday,” he relays.
I wince, glad that I’m behind a device because I did actually forget about that with everything going on. “Oh, brunch! Yes, I’ll be there,” I lie.
Being the elder brother that he is, he sees through it, or more like hears. “You forgot, didn’t you?” he states, and I can picture his eyes narrowed at me.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “How’d you know?” I say, and take a sip of the wine.
He chuckles, his tone smug when he reveals, “Your pitch always rises when you’re lying.”
“Darn, the cons of growing up together,” I jest, making him laugh.
Kaeli’s voice comes through the speaker as she calls for Ezra. “Ezra, come here, darling! We had a little bit of whipped cream left from last week!”
My brother’s voice turns sultry, “Give me just a sec, Feather! Then I’m all yours, and I assure you we’ll make good use of the whipped cream.”
“As much as I love you both, I donotneed the image of my brother enjoying whipped cream with hisgirlfriendburned into my retinas even through imagination,” I quip.
He laughs, which is something else he has started doing more often now. Kaeli and Ezra are good for each other, and while I’m the happiest for them, sometimes that feeling of ending up alone creeps inside of me, crippling me.
“Alright, bye, Kiddo. See you Sunday,” he says right before he hangs up.
With a sigh, this one even more tired, I let the phone drop beside me and slump back into the couch. I attempt to drown the melancholy of not having anyone to fulfill my desires in the bottle of wine and Taylor’s voice, my only companions.
I don’t need anyone. And I don’t need to date to find pleasure.
I sit up straight when an idea sparks to life. If Noah won’t give me what I want, seeing as it’sbeen almost a week since he agreed to help me explore, and yet he hasn’t made any contact.
I can’t force him to be with me, nor do I want to. But I can certainly find someone else. There are enough apps to help me discover someone more willing. I’ll have to pivot towards my last resort.
Not ideal, but necessary.
Satisfied with myself, I grab my phone and download a dating app, my ambitions emboldened by the alcoholic liquid flowing through me.
Let’s forget about Noah and what his athletic, broad, and built body could do to me.
Eight
Andie
My chest heaves as I knock on the door of Kaeli’s Victorian house on the Sunday of brunch.
On my way here, I saw a gigantic bouquet of white and pink flowers, and it instantly reminded me of Kaeli, so I had to get it for her.
While getting her something wouldn’t be so tiresome if she lived with Ezra in his penthouse, since it’s closer to my place, Ezra has moved into her home instead, which is farther thanmy dwelling.
Logically, I could’ve taken a taxi; alas, my teacher’s salary doesn’t afford me that, so I had to make the trek on my own two non-athletic feet while carrying this monstrosity.