We dissolve into giggles.
“Daddy? You make me want to join a strip club so I can look for my soulmate because that’s where you met him right?”
I nod happily.
“Yep, and who knew?” I joke. “I think the Krazy Kat is hiring, by the way. If you’re serious, that is.”
Rach just rolls her eyes.
“Please Lina. Look at me. I’m huge! Who wants to see me in a lingerie clomping around the stage like an elephant?”
But I grow serious then.
“You’re gorgeous, Rach, and honestly? I’m a big girl too, and trust me, I made plenty dancing. Lots of guys want something to hold onto,” I say saucily.
She nods. “I’ll definitely give it a think.”
My mouth drops open.
“No way.”
She dissolves into giggles.
“You’re right, it’s just that I’m still in school, and it’s taking forever,” she moans. “I want this pain to end. I need money, not more tuition bills!”
“But you’ll be done with your degree in May though, right?” I ask.
She nods.
“And not a moment too soon! Get ready, Prescott, for your new physical therapist! You can call me Dr. Feelgood.”
I burst into giggles.
“Stop it,” I plead. “Seriously, or I’ll never stop laughing.” I wipe a tear from my eye and lean back on my bed. “But more than that, Rach, Tim is just the sweetest, most caring guy. He anticipates my needs and is always so supportive. I can’t believe that I’ve landed him.”
She nods. “That’s what I want to see in a man: someone who takes care of his woman no matter what. If you’ve found a guy like that, you’d be crazy to let him walk away.”
“I know, right?” Then, I help myself to another slice of pizza and chase it down with a long sip of soda. “But can I tell you a secret, Rach?”
She laughs.
“Of course, sweetie. You can trust me, Lina. I still haven’t told anyone that you were the one who put gum in Sandra’s hair in the fifth grade.”
“Good!” I laugh. “You take that secret with you to the grave!”
My buddy giggles too.
“I know right? I hear Sandra still has that crazy carroty-orange red hair, and that she passed it on to her kids too! But what’s on your mind, girlfriend?”
I bite my lip.
“Well, I haven’t been completely honest with Tim.”
My friend looks at me questioningly.
“But about what? What is there even to lie about?”
I blush.
“It’s not really a lie. It’s just that I haven’t told him the whole truth. You see, he doesn’t realize it, but we’re actually stepsiblings. Well, former stepsiblings, that is.”
My friend’s jaw drops to the ground.
“You’re brother and sister?” she stammers.
I wince.
“Sort of. Well, used to be at least. My mom was married to his dad a long time ago, but it was a nothing marriage. I don’t think the union even lasted two years.”
Rachel’s eyes widen.
“But then how come Tim doesn’t know you? Two years is a long time, girlfriend!”
I sigh.
“Well, I think it’s because I was in elementary school, whereas Tim was already in high school. Do you remember how back then, I lived for a year in that mansion over in the Prescott Hills Estates?”
Rach squints her eyes.
“Sort of. Not really.”
I nod.
“Well, it’s because my mom was married to Tim’s dad for that year, so we moved into their house. But after they got divorced, we left for Texas.”
Rach looks thoughtful.
“So Tim doesn’t remember that part of his life.”
I shake my head.
“No, he does, he just doesn’t remember me. Or at least, he hasn’t put two and two together. He probably just remembers some idiotic, knock-kneed girl with braces and glasses. He doesn’t realize that that girl is me.”
Rach shoots me a long look.
“Dayum. Well, are you going to tell him? I mean, this is pretty big, right? You used to be related.”
I swallow heavily.
“I keep meaning to, but then we get distracted by … well, you can guess.”
Rach shoots me an arch look.
“Sex?”
“Exactly,” I nod. “I swear, I want to tell him, but then we’ll start kissing, and then …” I shrug helplessly.
Rach merely frowns again.
“Yeah, but hasn’t he asked any questions about your family? Or about where you grew up?”
I nod.
“And you’ve been lying to him?”
I protest. “It’s not really a lie! I just haven’t told him everything about me. Like he knows that I moved to Texas, and that I used to live in Prescott, but I haven’t gotten into any details. I know I have to tell him some day, but being with him has been so wonderful, and I don’t want to ruin it because what if he says the stepsibling business is too weird and perverted? What if he refuses to have sex with me after he finds out?”
Rachel huffs out a long sigh. She swirls her wine a bit, and then puts it down and fixes me with a look. “I know you love this man, and I know you don’t want things to end, but you can’t keep living like this. You have to tell him, even if it is weird and perverted. To be honest, Lina, it’s crazy you’ve been dating this long while living a lie.”