“Jay could have a nipple on his forehead and he’d still look good.”
“Isn't that the truth? Not like he couldn't pay to have it taken off.”
My next piece of sushi stops halfway to my mouth. Her words strike me as strange. “That sounds expensive.” Avery flushes for a moment. Obviously she forgot that Jay lives in the same crappy building that I do. He obviously can’t afford to have that type of surgery. Not that he needs it because he doesn’t have a third nipple. At this point, I’m not even sure why I’m still thinking about this.
“It’s newsworthy is all I’m suggesting. Sure he’d get it done for free.” I guess that was true; I’ve never seen anyone with a nipple on their forehead. Unless you count that monstrosity of a pimple I got in the 8th grade. It had been so bad that Avery made those headbands that go over your forehead make a comeback for three whole months at school so I could hide it.
“I slept at his place last night.” Avery’s chopsticks fall from her hands as she stares at me with an open mouth. “Not like that.” I wave my chopsticks in the air. “We had dinner and then we passed out.”
“Passed out where?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to be a reporter one day?”
“Never said I didn't want to be one.” She gives me a look that says she’s not going to stop pushing until I spill all of the details and of course I will. Avery isn't only my sister but my best friend too.
“In his bed watching TV and eating pizza. I swear it was nothing more.” I drop my own chopsticks, not feeling so hungry anymore.
“There’s more.” She looks at me like she can see straight into my brain.
“Pretty sure I was all over him in my sleep. Then when I woke up he was gone. I was sure I’d overstayed my welcome.”
Avery bursts out into laughter so hard everyone in the restaurant turns and looks our way. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You haven't worn shit out.”
“Okay, what if he thinks I’m a prude.”
“You kind of are.” I stick my tongue out at her even though I know it’s childish. “Hey, I didn't say there was anything wrong with that.” I look down at my food. I feel way out of my element when it comes to Jay. I’ve never dated, and I have no idea what the heck I’m doing.
“I am a prude.”
“You’re just waiting for the right one.” Am I? I suck down the rest of my water.
“I think I’m scared of being hurt.”
“That too,” Avery agrees.
“I want that excitement and thrill I get when he’s near.”
“Well, it’s not as if you don’t know where to find him.”
“He could be out.”
“He’s at home.”
“How do you know? Plus, when did you even switch over to being on team Jay?”
She holds up two fingers. “One, I listened to him talk.” She puts one down. “And two, I have no doubt the man is at home waiting for you to show up. He’s not the kind of man who gets his feelings hurt when he’s told no. He’s the kind that works harder to get what he wants.”
“Why me—”
“I will come across this table if you finish that damn sentence. When are you going to get it through that head of yours that you're not that fourteen-year-old girl anymore? There isn’t one guy that we went to high school with that wouldn’t fuck you.”
“Well, I was trying to eat.” I push the plate across the table to her.
“What about you, Dove? What is it you do when you want something? I’ve never in my life known someone your age who can fight through life the way you always have. Even if it turns out he is a dickhead and I have to Lorena Bobbitt his ass, we all know a broken heart can’t take you down.”
My eyes start to sting. “But how many times can something break before it can’t be put back together?”
She reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “If that day ever did come—which I don’t think it will—it’s me, Dove, your sister, that will always be here to help you put it back together.”
“How did I get so lucky to have a sister like you?”
“I promise you, Dove, that feeling goes both ways. You slapped those rose-colored glasses right off my face. Now that we got all the mushy shit out of the way, are you going to keep pretending that you came to dinner with me because you really wanted to? Or are you going to admit that you’re here because you’re avoiding the sexy man next door?”
“Don’t call him sexy.” Avery only laughs more. “I love having dinner with you.”
“I know. I got the bill. Get your ass out of here.”