THEY SAY ROMANCE IS DEAD
30
Tham : I need you to call me back.
Tham : I don’t care about Jack’s and your rebellious phase, it’s important.
Prudence : Rebellious phase?
Tham : What else can I call it?
Tham : You guys won’t come back home for holidays, are skipping every check up video chat, won’t talk to any of us?
Prudence : You’re joking, right?
Tham : Look, I thought we moved on from the past. I apologized to you and Jack before you left for college, and I meant it.
Tham : And yet, I’ve never seen Jack again, and quickly after, you stopped coming back home too.
Tham : It’s been so long, whatever happened, I’m sure you guys are overreacting.
Prudence : Overreacting?
Prudence : I’ll call you back, but this weekend is not a good time for me.
Tham : As I told you, it’s important.
Prudence : Fine. Tomorrow afternoon. 5 p.m. California time.
PRUDENCE
I’m staring at my phone while Nuri and Evie are chatting happily, their glasses of wine in hand, all of us sitting on the beach, facing the ocean’s waves rolling in and out of the shore.
I’ve managed to dodge everyone’s calls all day, choosing to leave my phone on silent in my bag. But getting a text from Tham as I was texting Nate? Something is definitely off.
I haven’t talked to him in ages. After our parents told Jack not to show up anymore because no one wanted to see him, I kept going for a year or two, stopping by for thanksgiving or Christmas. But it felt wrong to be there without Jack, and everyone acting like he didn’t exist. I stopped going, and except for our parents occasionally throwing fits about it, we were relatively left alone.
However, something is bugging me about Tham’s texts. Doesn’t he know the reason Jack and I aren’t coming anymore? It would be weird that our parents managed to keep it a secret for ten years, wouldn’t it? Make it seem like we decided not to come home anymore? A rebellion of some sorts?
“Earth to Prue!” Nuri says, waving her hand in front of my eyes, effectively pulling me out of my own mind. “Something wrong? You’re staring at your phone like it stole your lunch.”
I grit my teeth, hiding it by turning my face away from them, but lessen the grasp I have on my phone, letting it drop against the fabric of my dress, between my crossed-legs.
“Just… An unexpected text. Not sure what to think about it.”
They exchange a long and strange glance and I narrow my eyes suspiciously, waiting for them to say something. Which they don’t.
“Anything I should know?”
“Anything we should know?”
Do they know about Tham texting me? I mean… Nuri could, as she met him maybe once or twice. But Evie? No, I doubt she does.
But that weird look between them…
What if Evie does know my brother? I mean, she’s not from Aspen, where we grew up and Tham still lives, but… We never know, right? Oh my god, what if they dated or something? No… Tham has been married for ages . Like way before I started college. Jack and I probably wouldn’t have been invited otherwise… And Evie is closer to our age, so she couldn’t possibly have legally dated Tham before he got married.
So why the look ?
Oh. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with Tham.
“I mean… You’ve been glued to your phone. Like, since we got here?” Evie adds tentatively.
Okay, she might not be talking about what I think she’s talking about.
“Are you, maybe seeing someone?”
“That would totally explain why you’re staring at your phone, but not why your attitude towards it drastically changed mid texting session…”
“Unless… The person she’s seeing somehow upset her.”
Do they know? About Nate? About the sudden change and what happened at the beach? Well, nothing happened, really… He just reapplied sunscreen on my back. And legs. And—damn—my ass.
Maybe I should change the topic.
And also answer Nate’s last text. I was going to before I got sidetracked by Tham’s one. Damn him.
But yeah, definitely change the topic. I wouldn’t want the information to reach Jack before I have a chance to talk to him.
“It’s not it, actually,” I say dryly, forcing a smile. “My family’s been trying to call me all day, and I’ve successfully avoided their calls, texts, and even thinking about it. But Tham texted.”
Nuri frowns, her smile completely faded. “What does he want?”
“I don’t know. He said it’s important, and other weird things that I’m not sure I understand.”
“Like what?” she scoffs.
“That he thought we moved on from what happened before when he apologized. He doesn’t seem to know why we’re… Staying away from them all.”
She rolls her eyes, sighing angrily. “Bullshit. Like your parents could hide the reason for ten years! And if they could, it’s even worse! It means none of your siblings actually cared enough to ask. I think he’s lying. There’s no way he doesn’t know.”
“Why would he lie?” I ask, playing with the sand.
“Maybe because you wouldn’t answer him? That dude has always been a manipulative dick to you. Yeah, I know he’s your brother,” she drawls when I give her a pointed look. “But still. He apologized? So what? It doesn’t fix the 18 years he spent bullying you!”
Evie is fidgeting with the leather strings holding her belt at her waist, listening to us without saying anything. I might have brought the playfulness of our conversation a little down…
“Although, when I think about it… It’s a little weird that Tham of all people would try to reach out to you if you didn’t answer your parents,” Nuri muses. “The younger of them, what was his name?”
“Naveen,” I say with a nod.
“Yes, him! He would have been the smarter choice. I mean, from what I’ve gathered in the few times I’d been at your house, he’s the most diplomatic of the lot. Wouldn’t you have answered if he called you?”
“Probably, yes. I mean, he was the most civil…” I admit.
“So what on earth does Tham want with you?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug, exhaling slowly. “I guess I’ll find out tomorrow afternoon.”
“Oh, no,” she groans. “You agreed to talk to him?”
“I did. I want to know what made him break the silence and call me. I want to know if he truly doesn’t know why we cut the ties. And maybe I’ll let him tell me what the fuss is all about…”
She grunts in annoyance. She doesn’t like my family—with obvious good reasons, as she’s both mine and Jack’s friend—and has always been vocal about it. Before they turned their back on Jack, she was already wary of them. The way they raised us, building a wall between all of their children. The way they adopted me shortly after they found out about Jack’s disease and placed the responsibility of taking care of him in my hands when I was barely seven because it became too inconvenient for them. How they pushed us to compete against each other for their attention and affection.
She’s clearly not a fan.
“I just hope it’s not to give me shit about Amy’s pregnancy announcement that I missed in one of their last video-chats. That would be a waste of my time…”
“She’s pregnant? Again ?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re one to talk.”
“Oh come on! She has to be at number seven. Or eight? I lost count.”
I chuckle, shaking my head softly. Number seven it is. Would have been 9th, but she’s had two miscarriages in the past. I texted her when I learned about them to send my condolences and tell her I was really sad and sorry for her loss, but she never texted back, ignoring me altogether.
“Anyway, that’s why I was a little mad at my phone.”
“I’m a little relieved to be honest,” Evie says. “For a second, I thought Nate fucked up.”
“Evie!” Nuri scolds.
“What? He told you they talked! It’s not like I’m revealing classified information.”
“Oh my god, Ikram’s right, you can’t keep a secret, can you?”
“Oh come on! She’s been clueless for ages, don’t you think he’s been pining long enough?”
Nuri rolls her eyes. I can’t believe it.
“Wait, you know? Both of you?”
“I’ve just guessed a few days ago,” Evie assures me. “Weeks. When I first met you and Jack, actually.”
“And I’ve known like, forever. So don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean you’ve known? How? Did Nate tell you?” I pause, freaking out. “Oh my god, did you already know when I talked for an hour straight about the shape of his abs?”
“No, no, he didn’t tell me back then. It was just… Well, he was different after he met you. Distracted. Not sleeping around anymore. Watching you all the time, you know? That kind of stuff.”
Speechless. I’m absolutely speechless, my eyes wide, darting between the two of them, mouth gaping like a damned fish.
“You knew. All this time. And you didn’t tell me?”
Wow, my voice is getting incredibly high pitched. I clear my throat awkwardly.
“Look, it wasn’t my secret to tell,” Nuri says softly, her hand reaching for my forearm. “But I told Nate yesterday that he either had to give up or pull his head out of his ass and ask you out. And when I asked about it this morning he told me you guys talked? And I thought you were going to talk to me about it, and then you didn’t, and now I’m just dying to talk about it and know exactly what happened, because trust me when I say that I miss having a girlfriend with me to gossip all the time, and I miss you most of all and I neeeeed this right now.” She pauses to take a deep breath, Evie and I silently staring at her. “So pleaaaaaase, Prue. Tell me all about it.”
“I don’t want Jack to know yet,” I say firmly.
“Sure,” she answers after a short pause. “Just tell us!”
I sigh, closing my eyes for a brief moment to try and clear all the feelings overwhelming me.
“He asked me on a date. And I think I’m going to say yes.”
“You think ? Wow, and they say romance is dead…” Nuri rolls her eyes but Evie pinches her arm with a frown.
“That’s it? He only asked you on a date? Girl, we went on an hour-long shopping trip!” Evie groans. “We assumed he would have kissed you, or I don’t know, give you an orgasm or ten in that time.”
I spit my wine on the sand in front of me.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the ten orgasms. One would have been good enough.”
“Are you girls insane?” I hiss, dabbing at my lips with the towel we brought in case we wanted to take a swim. “We were in a public place! With my brother .”
“So, you’re telling me, if you were on that private beach, right where we are now, and your brother was nowhere in sight, you—”
“No!” I yell, cutting Nuri off. “It’s not—we’ve just started talking about it. We’re not going to have sex on the beach.”
“No one said anything about having sex,” Evie shrugs, taking a sip of her wine.
“Lots of ways you could get each other off,” Nuri adds, nodding her approval. “Actually, I’ve heard back in college that—”
“No! Don’t say anything! What I’ve heard is enough, and I don’t want to think of him with other girls just when I’m actually considering it myself.”
They both narrow their eyes playfully, exchanging another glance.
“So you’ve thought about it,” Evie grins.
I groan. “Of course I thought about it! You made me sit on his lap for hours last weekend! How can I not think about it after that?” I ask, and Evie blushes, her grin turning into a wince. “Wait, was there really no other seat, or did you make this up to—”
“I’m sorry!” Evie pleads.
“Oh my god, you—”
“Okay, let’s not say things we might regret when everything actually turned out fine,” Nuri placates. “So what did you guys do for an hour at the beach? Did you just draw and ignore him?”
Blood rushes to my face and I lift my wineglass to my mouth, taking a big gulp.
“Nothing much,” I say, my voice not as assured as I would have hoped, the memories of his hands roaming all over me vivid in my mind.
“Oh no, she’s lying,” Nuri chuckles. “What happened?”
“Nothing! We just… Respected Ikram’s strict sunscreen schedule.”
I roll my eyes and take another sip when I see them giggling like schoolgirls over such a small thing.
Why do I feel heat pooling between my legs when I think about it? It was nothing . Just some kind of practical massage. But it did make me wonder about all the other places his hands could touch. All the different ways his body could be pressed against mine. Inside mine . What his voice would sound like, a little breathless in my ear, muffled in my neck. How his lips would feel against my own, or other sensitive places. If his teeth would scrape or nibble at my skin.
Yeah. I’m all worked up just thinking about a massage.
And I definitely want to draw that moment he was pressing against my back at the beach.
“Where is he taking you for the date? And when is it?” Evie asks, pouring another round of wine for everyone.
“Actually, I didn’t say yes. Yet.”
“What?” Nuri scowls.
“I mean, I was going to! But then Tham texted me and I got distracted, and—”
“Then what are you waiting for? Text him back!”
“What, like now?”
“Yes now!” They both yell in unison.
“Okay, okay…”
I pick up my phone and open our last texts. He asked me about an hour ago.
Nate : But hold all those thoughts, and go on a date with me.
Nate : Tuesday night? I have a consult at the precinct, we can go from there.
Prudence : I’d love to. Should I bring sunscreen?
I nibble on my bottom lip when I see the three dots appearing and disappearing, waiting, both Nuri and Evie sitting next to me, their eyes locked on the screen.
Nate : If you want my hands on you, you just have to ask, sweetness.
Nate : But no, no need. Bring comfy clothes that make you feel pretty.
Prudence : Comfy but pretty clothes?
Nate : Not what I asked. I want you to feel pretty.
Prudence : Okay…
Nate : Tuesday. We’ll meet at the precinct. I’ll wait for you in your cubicle if you’re late.
“If you want my hands on you, you just have to ask, sweetness,” Nuri drawls, trying to mimic Nate’s deep voice with a sultry look.
“Don’t laugh, that was actually a pretty hot line,” Evie giggles.
Yep. Definitely picturing his hands on me now…
“Come on, let’s go search your closet for something that makes you feel pretty ,” Nuri cheers, standing up with her wine glass and darting towards the stairs of the house, not even turning to check if we follow.
What does he have planned? Is he taking me to a restaurant? A walk somewhere?
My heart skips a few beats.
I can’t wait to find out…