Page 13 of Getting It Twisted

He may be coming for my heart, but I’ll come for his throat.

Later that day, when I’m home sharing dinner with April and George, I say it. It just slips out of me.

“Nathan is here.”

They stop their conversation, and George turns to me. “Come again?”

“Nathan is here. In town.”

“Nathan?” George splutters, rice flying over the table. “Nathan Antler? When? Where?”

“He was here last night, at the party.”

April frowns. “I don’t remember a Nathan.”

“He came by today too at work.”

“Wait a minute, so youtalkedto him?” George asks. “What did he say?”

April taps her well-manicured nails against the table. “You gotta fill me in, guys. Who’s Nathan?”

“He’s my ex . . . best friend.” All of a sudden, this conversation feels like a mistake.

She raises an eyebrow. “Ex-best-friend?”

“We had a falling-out, and he moved out of town.”

“Yeah,” George says. “And you still haven’t told me what all that was about. Dude left town like a hit-and-run.” When I don’t reply, he holds up a hand. “Fine, fine. But if you want our advice, I’m just saying . . .”

I shake my head. “Why he left doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s back.”

“Sure he wasn’t more than a friend?” April asks, fluttering her eyelashes at me.

George squirms in the chair, looking deeply uncomfortable, and my silence says it all.

April gasps. “So he was! He’s your . . . ex?”

“Not . . . exactly.”

George scowls, as if the memories are just as bitter for him as they are for me. “Youwere head over heels for him though.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Oh, please. You lit up like a lighthouse whenever he was around. And whenever he wasn’t, like on our family dinners . . .”

“. . . I was bored as all hell. I remember.” I roll my eyes, but I’m unable to help the curve of my lips as I recall the way Nathan used to occupy my mind. The uncomplicated, childish fun we had together. The way he used to make me laugh so hard I didn’t even have to smoke a bowl to feel high. During those precious years, it was me and him against the rest of the world. Against all those people who didn’t understand us. Who didn’t love us. Who didn’t want us. He slung his arm around my shoulders and said, “Fuck ’em, you’re with me now,” and everyone and everything else paled in comparison to what we had.

But that was a long time ago now. He might act like things haven’t changed between us, but they have. How could they not? He hurt me. He left me. Nothing can erase the last five years, no matter what he says or does.

“More than bored,” George says. “You looked as if you wanted to crawl out of your own skin. As if you wanted to leave the shell of you behind, float up into the sky, and go join souls with him instead.” He makes a wavy gesture with his hand in the air.

“It’s pretty common, you know,” April says. “I used to have a crush on my girlfriend in high school.”

George gawks at her. “You did?”

“Yeah.” She smiles and looks away for a moment, lost in memory. “Anyway, Daniel, what did he say to you?”

“He said he wants to ‘reconnect.’” I say the last word with air quotes, mimicking Nathan’s casual drawl.

---