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“There you go. Basically, become disgusting, and I think we’d have a real shot at happily ever after.”
Our laughter fades and then we’re sitting in the first lull of conversation since she showed up at my door.
“I don’t get it. You party with your ex when he was that big of a jerk to you?”
She crosses her arms and hangs her head, looking vulnerable for the first time since I met her. “I don’t party with him. He just always pops up wherever I am. We run in the same circles. It’s just easier to keep the peace, I guess.”
I nod but I must seem unimpressed because she reaches out to touch my forearm, like she assumed I was going to leave and was trying to prevent me from doing so.I’m not going anywhere, pretty girl.
“I know how that sounds, but I’m not trying to get him back or anything. He just got to me more than I like to admit, and um…” She stops blinking like she’s trying to focus on something. Trying not to cry again. Once she’s composed, she adds, “Sometimes if you pretend like something isn’t a big deal, it eventually just stops feeling like a big deal. It’s the only coping mechanism that’s ever worked for me.”
“So he just gets away with it?” I ask.
“Well, I mean, he doesn’t get to have me.” She lifts her shoulders then drops them like their too heavy to hold. “That’s all that’s in my control.”
I pat her hand, still resting on my arm. “Yeah, that seems like punishment enough.”
She glances over her shoulder, then back to me. “Is your shower being repaired?”
“No. Why?”
“There’s no door. How do you keep the water in?”
He smiles. “It’s designed like that, doorless. It’s floor-to-ceiling tile, so you don’t need to keep the water in. It’s supposed to feel like a spa.”
“Fancy,” she mutters. “You know, my cousin Finn just moved in next door. That’s how I found out about this party to begin with. He told me the same builder made all the houses in this neighborhood, but his shower is nowhere near this nice.”
“It was one of the liberties I took when I bought the house. I had them rip out the old shower and make this instead.” I rub the back of my neck, feeling uncomfortable. I’ve done a pretty damn good job keeping my wealth under the radar since I moved here. I never know which of my eccentricities are going to tip me off.
Finn, Lennox’s cousin, actually stopped by a few days ago to introduce himself. He’s a good guy. Someone I could see myself being friends with. When I poured my new neighbor a friendly drink, he happened to notice my collection of bourbon and whiskey was worth well over ten grand. Which is why I put those bottles away before tonight. I’m not trying to lie to anyone. I just don’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention.
“Then if it’s working, may I use your shower? I’ll be really quick. I don’t know what Charlie was drinking, but I smell awful.”
Now that she mentions it, the smell of her sweet citrus perfume has been doused out.
“Sure. You want me to throw your clothes in the washer?”
She twists her lips. “Won’t that take a while?”
“I think my machine has a rapid wash setting. Why? Am I keeping you from something?”
“It’s your party. Don’t you need to get back down there?” She glances over my shoulder.
I find her eyes again. “You brought me beer.” I wink at her. “Stay. Hang out. We can turn on the TV.”
She tries to hold in her laugh, but it breaks through her lips. “Are you inviting me toNetflix and chill?”
“What is that?”
“You don’t know what a pitch jar is or what ‘Netflixand chill’ means? Are you a million years old?”
I lift my shoulders. “I had a…let’s call it sheltered childhood.”
Lennox’s teenage years were probably filled with public school and house parties. I went to private school and graduated early. And when I drank as a teenager, it wasn’t because I was sneaking around. It was because I was spending a lot of time in Germany, where it was legal to do so. I didn’t have the urge to rebel. I liked school. I liked traveling. Grandma and Grandpa filled my life with all the extravagant adventures money could buy. Looking back, they were probably trying to keep me distracted. Between never knowing my dad and losing my mom at seven, I could’ve turned into a troubled, brooding teenager. They just wanted me to have some semblance of a happy childhood.
I did. Childhood wasn’t the problem. Adulthood has been the real bitch.
“Netflixand chill means sex. Or at least third base. It’s when people literally make plans to do nothing except…you know. I mean, sometimes you bring snacks.”