Page 16 of The Start of Someday

I can deny, deny, deny, and possibly avoid a conflict with my brother, making up some bullshit explanation about how obviously he would have been staying at the resort, don’t be an idiot.

Or, I can just be honest with him about it.

Understandably, the last thing I want to do is tell my brother anything about my sex life, but we’re always honest with each other, even when it’s hard. I don’t want to start lying to him now.

“Because it was me,” I finally say, shrugging a shoulder and trying to play it off like it’s the simplest, not-a-big-deal thing in the world. “I was the person he hooked up with last night.”

I watch my brother blink a few times. And then continue blinking, almost like he’s a robot that’s short-circuiting.

“Let’s go grab a drink,” Andy says, tugging Briar away from the table with speed and efficiency I can’t help but admire.

Their departure leaves just my brother, Jackson, and me at the table, along with a heaping ton of tension if the way Rusty is looking between the two of us is anything to go by.

For a brief moment, I wonder if he might let it go. If he might be a pseudo-parent instead of an angry big brother.

And then he speaks.

“You hooked up with my fucking sister?” Rusty hisses, glaring at his friend.

“I didn’t know she was your sister last night,” Jackson says.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes, I do. I wouldn’t lie to you. She didn’t tell me her name.”

I cringe, wishing that hadn’t been shared. I can get over needing to come clean to my brother about the fact that we hooked up, but the things I do in my private life should still be somewhat private. Rusty doesn’t need to know I went home with someone without exchanging names.

And of course, at that bit of information, his attention shifts to me.

“You went back to some random guy’s hotel room and didn’t even know each other’s names?” he says, his eyes narrowed. “What kind of trashy shit is that?”

I pull my shoulders back and glare at my brother, surprised by the direction the conversation has taken.

“Excuse me, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” I say, sarcasm evident in nearly every bone and muscle in my body. “Did you just call me trashy?”

“Did you. Go home with someone. Without knowing his name?” His words come out in short chunks, his entire body bristling with irritation.

“Do you. Remember the name. Of the redhead from last week?”

Rusty’s eyes narrow at me. “We’re not talking about me,” he says. “We’re talking about my baby sister.”

“And if your baby sister wants to go hook up with somebody, name or no name, you don’t get to have an opinion.”

“Fuck if I don’t.”

“Oh really? Mister brings-all-the-girls-home-all-the-time is gonna have an opinion on me hooking up?”

“It’s different.”

“Is it? Is it different?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because when you do it, it’s all fun and fucking, but when I do it, it makes me a whore?”

My brother’s expression shifts, something a little more like contrition hidden beneath his anger, but I’m too enraged to care.

“You are being the biggest hypocrite right now,” I spit out, righteous indignation flooding my body. “If I were a guy, you’d be patting my back if I’d found someone hot to go home with last night. It wouldn’t have even occurred to you that there was an issue with not knowing someone’s name.”

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