“How would he?” Doro sighs, being done with me. “You do this all the time, Lu. You show interest in someone and then don’t provide them with a possibility to get back to you.”
“Charlie found a way.”
“We were neighbors.”
Yeah, alright… she’s got a point.
Before the thoughts of Charlie can toss me right back to wanting-to-drink territory, I shake them all off and bring back my positivity. “Still. If Grey Davis wanted to find me, he would.”
“This isn’t a fairytale, Luan. People in our lifetime don’t have magical powers to appear by your front door out of nowhere. They don’t run around town and ask everyone if they’ve seen you or know you.”
I shrug, then walk right into my bathroom. She follows.
“I know where he lives.” I push down my pants and step out, letting them remain on the floor for now. “So it’s not that difficult.”
“Because you’ve seen him there. You know who he is. One quick google search and you’d find out his address even if you didn’t know it yet.”
Rolling my eyes, I now get rid of my socks. “One quick google search and he’d find out the same about me.”
“No, he wouldn’t. First of all, you didn’t give him your last name. Second of all, he would show up at your parents’ house and ask for you. If your father sees this guy and hears him ask foryou, not only will Mike have a heart attack, but he will also cut off your precious dick for getting involved with the enemies’ son.”
Again, she has a point. “It’s not like I fucked him. We didn’t even kiss. We just talked.”
“Youtalked.”
God, I hate that I tell her everything.
“So? He showed interest.” I cross my arms over my chest, our eyes now locked.
“Did he, or did you force that interest onto him?”
I hate her.
Chapter 7
“it’s enough to drive you crazy”—by Hopeless Romantic by Sam Fischer
July 2022
“How’s my favoritehockey playing cousin?” Phoenix asks as a greeting, holding his arms open for a hug. I don’t give him one.
“I’m youronlycousin who plays hockey.” I look at his girlfriend, nodding. “Hello, Vienna.”
She smiles a little shyly. “Hi.”
I still don’t know how she of all people can love Phoenix. Vienna Storm is one of the most anxious people I have ever met. She barely goes outside, so the media says, and Phoenix doesn’t tell me otherwise either. She’s so different to my cousin, yet somehow they’re so much alike. But I mean, as long as they’re happy, right?
I have met her a couple of times before when we were younger, but the past four years, since I started college to be precise, I haven’t seen either of them at all. Not even my cousins.
“Where’s Kimia?” I ask, being sure Phoenix used to have a sister.
“Too annoyed to show herself to people until dinner is served,” Vienna tells me. Ah, sounds like the Kimia I remember.
Just when I’m about to say the same thing aloud, Vienna’s sister and her fiancé make it inside, approaching us.
Allie immediately swings her arms around me. “Ah, you’re so grown up now!” she says. We’re around the same age.
“Hi to you too, Cheeseball.”