Page 57 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“Fine,” he huffed. “But I’m not wearing anything pink.”

Ben slapped Liam on the back but looked at Sofi. “Yeah, don’t put him in anything pink. It doesn’t go well with his pasty white skin tone. He’ll look like a raw chicken breast.”

Rome, Ben’s cousin and Liam’s other groomsman, laughed. “Yes, leave the pink for those of us with more melanin.” He gestured to his brown skin that was a few shades lighter than Sofi’s. “We carry it off better.”

“No one is wearing pink,” Sofi said. Mentally, she corrected herself. No oneelsewas wearing pink. When it became clear that she wouldn’t be able to get a dress that matched the rest of the bridesmaids in time, Sofi had been forced to pivot. Luckily, she had a gorgeous fuchsia designer dress from an event she’d attended in Paris. It would match the flowers perfectly and as it was also sequined, it was close enough in style to the other bridesmaids that the overall look would still be cohesive.

Ben clapped. “Great. Now that we all have accepted the addition of pink to the wedding colors, can we get back to talking bachelor party?” He waved his phone around. “Dev, who regrets that he has to be training instead of here, has suggested Vegas.” He looked at Liam. “This sweaty gym sock has already said that he doesn’t care as long as there are no strippers.” Ben turned his attention to Leo. “You in?” His tone was more a statement than a question because who wouldn’t think that Leo’d love to party in Las Vegas. He was a party guy after all.

Except Leo didn’t seem thrilled by the idea at all. He pulsed the stress ball in his hand repeatedly and Sofi could practically feel his desire to fidget. “Sounds a little cliché if you ask me,” he said, he was trying to come across as nonchalant, but Sofi could hear the tension in his voice.

She frowned.

“I agree,” Rome said. “That’s why I suggested Catalina Island. It’s still fun, but more chill which is more Liam’s speed. We can hang out on the beach, hike, fish, maybe charter a yacht.”

Leo was already shaking his head. “Liam doesn’t do boats.”

Liam’s head shot up and he glared at Leo, obviously mad that Leo had brought it up. After a boating accident had claimed his father’s and grandmother’s lives in front of him, it was hardly surprising Liam wasn’t an avid sailor. But he still didn’t like it brought up and usually everyone was careful to not do so. “And Leo doesn’t do planes,” he said with a challenging look at Leo.

All the eyes in the room shot to Leo, who was busy glaring at Liam before he schooled his expression into something that resembled light amusement. “I went to Puerto Rico at least once a year most of my life and, guess what, I certainly didn’t walk there.”

“And when was the last time you’ve been?” Liam asked, already knowing the answer.

Leo shrugged. “It’s been a few years, but I’ve been busy working.” “A few years” was generous. From her calculations, it had been close to ten years if not more.

Slowly Sofi was beginning to put things together. She’d never understood how Leo just happened to have duty every single time his family booked a trip to the island. A few times could be called bad luck, but every single time for a decade? That wasn’t coincidence. That was avoidance. “Leo’s scared of flying,” she said, reaching the conclusion Liam had obviously come to before. She hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but when Leo’s glare turned on her she realized she had.

14

Leo felt his face heat. He hated being put on the spot. If he wanted attention, he sought it out. He didn’t like it being forced on him as was currently happening. It reminded him too much of all the times his teachers had suddenly called on him in class just to prove that he hadn’t been paying attention. As if Leo were a liar who didn’t own up to his shit. He’d always been the first one to say he’d drifted off, so there was no need for the gotchas they pulled. All it did was make him look stupid in front of his classmates which then caused Leo to act out because if he was going to look like an idiot, he was going to do it on his terms.

Doing things on his own terms was sort of Leo’s entire life motto. Which was exactly why Leo had stopped flying as soon as he could.

Leo fucking hated flying. He loathed it with every fiber of his being. It wasn’t that he was scared of heights or anything. It wasn’t even that he had visions of the plane crashing. It was the feeling of being stuck in a tiny space, unable to move, for a prolonged period of time. It was torture to him, which was why he’d used his job as an excuse not to go on trips. Sure, he’d been forced to volunteer to work holiday shifts and missed out on some family trips to Puerto Rico, but it had been worth it.

His disdain for flying began when he was young. His family used to go Puerto Rico at least once a year to spend a holiday with his mom’s family. The seven of them would have to figure out the best way to travel when there were only six seats in any given row. Leo had almost always gotten stuck sitting with his dad, who constantly berated him for talking too loud, moving too much, and just being an overall pain in the ass. Of course, for a long time no one knew it was due to his ADHD, but by the time they realized it the damage had been done. Getting on a plane triggered him like nothing else. To him it felt like being strapped into a straightjacket and having his legs chained together. Flying to him was the equivalent of getting buried alive, but he’d thought he’d done a better job of hiding that fact.

If the way neither of his siblings would meet his gaze told him anything, it was that he wasn’t as good of an actor as he thought. As he was prone to do when called out, Leo just rolled with it. “I’m not scared,” he said. “I just hate being stuck in one small space for that long. It stresses me out.”

“I feel that,” Liza said. “Small spaces stress me out too, but probably for a different reason than you.”

“You know you can take meds for it,” his cousin Lucy said. He could tell she was trying to be helpful. “There’s no reason to let your anxiety stop you from flying.”

Leo scoffed. “I don’t have anxiety. I have ADHD and those meds you’re talking about probably won’t mix well with my ADHD meds. They’re designed to do the exact opposite things.”

“That’s true,” Kamilah said. “One’s an upper and the other is a downer. Although, I’m sure a doctor would be able to help you find the right medication and dosage. If you’re interested in that.”

Leo wanted so badly to tell them all to mind their own business. If he needed anyone’s advice, he’d ask for it. But he knew that they were only trying to help, it was what his family did. Never mind that often their helpfulness came across as pushy and had the tendency to make him feel like they were talking down to him as if he were too dumb to figure things out on his own. He knew that at least when it came to Kamilah, she wasn’t judging him. His sister was probably one of the least judgmental members of the family, but that was probably because the rest of them had spent too long making her feel like she didn’t have a say in anything important. Ugh, why was it so hard to have a family that was actually functional and not problematic? Sitcoms managed to do it just fine and those had to be based on some real families.

“I’m not interested,” he said. “Anything I want and need is right here in Chicago. There’s no reason for me to trot the globe.” He hoped that his tone put an end to that discussion, but just in case he decided to change the subject too. “Now, who’s ready for watermelon margaritas?”

A chorus of “me” filled the air and Leo got to work.

After the watermelon margaritas came the strawberry vodka lemonade, a classic cosmo, passionfruit mules, something called a Rosa 75 which featured Aperol, pink tequila, and cotton candy, and a spritz he concocted with rosé, a bit of gin, some hibiscus syrup, and pink grapefruit juice. By the end of the night he wasn’t sure which drink had been chosen as the best or even if they’d voted at all. It wasn’t because he was drunk either. After spending hours making drinks instead of drinking them, he was sadly sober. Everyone else was drunk though. Especially his lightweight sister and her equally lightweight best friend.

“I’m so happy right now,” Kamilah was saying. “This is exactly what I needed. Who needs a bachelorette party when I have all of this?” She gestured around herself, sloppily causing herself to almost topple off her stool.

“Nice try, bitch,” Sofi said from her side. “You’re still having a bachelorette party even if I have to kidnap you to do it.”

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