Page 15 of Love Like Lightning

I don’t even consider tidying up for Simone’s sake. She’s known me my entire life, and she knows how I am. A little frazzled and not so worried about having a pristine living space. My apartment isn’t dirty, it’s just a bit of a mess sometimes.

Okay, most of the time. Save the two or three days out of the month that don’t immediately follow a particularly hardcore cleaning day.

A quick knock distracts me, and Simone breezes into the apartment, two bottles of wine tucked into her arm. “I have arrived, favorite cousin of mine.” Grinning, she shakes her hips as she walks toward me.

I take in her whole look and just shake my head. She’s recently bleached her hair again, but left the roots dark so it gives her a whole edgy look. Her signature red lipstick stands out in stark contrast against her pale skin. Simone is tall at five-ten, but she’s still rocking platform boots with her black leggings and oversized green sweater. Her eyes are lined, as always, with a dark cat eye.

If I didn’t know she worked from home, I would say she’d come straight from work. But this is just her. Always put together like she belongs on some NYC runway.

“You’ve got to stop saying that.” It’s the same thing I say to her every time she claims I’m her favorite. We’ve got a pretty big family, and we’re the only girl cousins, but there are fourteen of us altogether. She’s just a year younger than me, but she’s got enough attitude for the both of us. And she’s not shy about letting everyone know who she likes best.

“The boys are all bozos, and you know it.” She’s talking about her brothers more than the others, and we both know it.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll grab some glasses and some snacks. Take one of those to the couch.” I grab one of the bottles of wine and head back to the kitchen.

Once we’re curled up on the couch under the large throw blanket I took out for winter, we cue up our show.

“Before we start, you’re going to tell me about your little love connection from Colorado.” The insinuation that my night with Henry is something more than a one-time hookup is incredibly evident in her tone, and I don’t like it.

“It wasn’t a love connection.” I made the mistake of mentioning my night with Henry to Simone a few weeks after I returned from the trip.

She was more than a little annoyed that I hadn't told her about it when I first came home. And even more annoyed when I barely gave her any details.

I had been successfully avoiding this line of questioning because both of our schedules have been a bit busy the last couple of weeks. Apparently, my run of luck has ended.

“Well, it was something, and I want to hear all about it.” She pins me with the same glare my aunt has wielded for our entire lives.

It’s a little scary. “You look like your mom.”

“Take that back.” Her mouth drops open, and her forehead creases.

“Don’t look at me like that, then.”

“If you would just tell me, I wouldn’t have to.”

“It’s not that interesting.” I’m trying to convince myself more than her.

The truth of the matter is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about him. I mean, that night. The sex, really. It has everything to do with how good the sex was, not who it was with.

“G, you had a one-night stand in Colorado on a work trip. There’s nothing not interesting about that. Spill so we can get our hearts ripped out by a medical drama that should’ve been canceled six years ago.”

Rolling my eyes, I take a hearty sip of the chilled white wine and try to decide how much I should tell her. Pinching my bottom lip between my teeth, I decide to give her the amount of detail she usually shares with me.

Which is a lot more than I’d usually be comfortable with.

And with that, the words spill out of my mouth as fast as I can think them, and my entire face burns at the memories they conjure.

“Hot take, Owen should’ve been gone seasons ago.” Simone snickers as she pops another tiny mozzarella ball into her mouth.

“That’s not a hot take if you say it every time we watch this show.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not wrong, though.” Her red-painted mouth tilts into a smirk, and she shifts so she’s facing me.

“You? Wrong? In what world?”

“You’re right, not even possible.” I lace it with as much sarcasm as I can, although nothing will ever match her sarcasm.

“I’ve been right about every single guy you’ve ever been with. Which is why I’m glad you took a chance and decided to be a ho with this Colorado guy.”

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