“I don’t have shit attacks” was what he said first.
Even Richard looked at Boogie.
He ignored us though. “I’m fine. Really. Not really. You could’ve told me, Peewee,” he said, turning his dark eyes to me with the start of what seemed like a hurt expression. Maybe because I hadn’t told him before. I usually told him everything.
Then again, he hadn’t told me he was even thinking about asking his girlfriend to marry him, so he wasn’t one to talk anytime soon.
I was still a little salty over it, even though I’d say we were both even at this point. But we didn’t need to get into that. What we needed to do was smooth this over, because the last thing I ever wanted to do was mess up my friendship with him, or Zac’s friendship with him.
“What was I going to tell you, Boog? ‘Hey, I’ve been hanging out with Zac a lot, and I think I’m in love with him? Again?’” I gave him a look. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything and just sprung this on you, but I know it was dumb. I knew it was dumb back when I was a teenager. I know it’s dumb and pointless now. It’s like that kind of love is the only thing my heart knows, but I’m going to get it under control. That sounds lame as shit, but it’s true. He’s your best friend, and the last thing I want is to make things weird between you two, when he hasn’t done anything.”
“It’s not dumb,” my cousin muttered thoughtfully after a few moments, after a deep sigh that had him rubbing his forehead as he looked down at his lap.
“I’m sorry. I only kept it a secret because I’m embarrassed and know better,” I told him. “I love you, and you mean the world to me. I don’t want to mess anything up.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Connie’s gaze bouncing back and forth between Boogie and me. Richard was doing the same thing, still sipping that orange soda. None of us said a word for the longest time.
Until Boogie broke the silence with another sigh before lifting his head and looking at me with a small, wary smile on his face that told me everything was going to be okay. “You can’t help who you love sometimes, even if you know that maybe you shouldn’t or that maybe it’s going to hurt.”
Well, shit. I guess in a way I’d never thought about it like that with him. I still didn’t like his future wife, but….
“He is my best friend, but so are you, B. It’s a little fucking weird—it’s a lot fucking weird—but….” He sighed one more time. “You’re really fine?”
“I only hurt myself, promise.”
Because that was exactly what had happened. I’d hurt myself. I could admit it.
But I was going to fix it. I was going to be okay.
* * *
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” my sister said a couple hours later right before striking out at me like a viper, going straight for my nipple like she was going to give it a twist.
It was more experience than instincts that had me karate chopping her hand out of the way and covering both my boobs with my hands.
She tried to go for me again, so I reached forward and pretended like I was going to do it back to her.
But I wouldn’t, because the one time I had done it, she had made sure to get me back twice as hard to teach me a lesson. Nothing was worth getting a titty twister, not even giving one.
“I was wondering what took you so long to ask,” I told her. I was still covering my nipples, and if anyone noticed, I didn’t really care. I’d been too busy reading a text Deepa had just sent me that I hadn’t been paying attention to Connie creeping over.
The message read:
DEEPA IS COOL: Did you hear they kicked Gunner out of the gym? Rumor is somebody bought him out.
I was going to have to celebrate that one later. It was too late to benefit me, but that jerk had it coming. It was about time the other owners noticed they couldn’t keep employees because of him.
Looking up, Connie leaned up against the counter of the bar at the bowling alley, because that was where we were celebrating my brother-in-law’s birthday. It had been his favorite thing to do for as long as I could remember. I used to go to his tournaments back in Fayetteville. I was just taking a break after our last game, and apparently so was my sister.
“I was waiting because I promised Richard I’d leave you alone.”
Aww, Richard. He’d told me he was sorry for blurting out my business on the drive over. Then he’d offered again to spread the rumor about Zac and steroids if I wanted.
“And I guess I was hoping my sister loved me enough to come give me all the details in person.”
I snorted and picked up my Sprite. “You really thought I was going to make it that easy?”
She sent me a flat look that had me smiling.
“And there’s nothing to tell, Con, so there’s nothing to share.”
“‘There’s nothing to tell’,” she mocked me using quotation fingers and everything. “Bullshit.”
“Not really, because nothing is going to come of it, so….”
“Punkin!” Richard shouted as he approached us from the lane he’d been bowling in while we took a break. “I thought you were going to wait to harass Peewee.”
“She just started talking on her own.”
My brother-in-law and I shot each other a look too, and we let it go.
“You’re really thinking about moving up here?”
I nodded.
Richard stopped beside my sister, draping an arm across her shoulders as he stole her beer. “You can stay with us however long you need.”
“I’m
