Page 21 of Where There's Smoke

I nodded. My throat ached, and I gritted my teeth. “And his car’s in the shopagain.”

“Shit.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Did he say what’s wrong with it this time?”

“He didn’t think it was funny when I asked if the brake lines were cut.” I took a drink as an excuse to swallow the lump in my throat. “She probably smashed a window or something again. Who knows?”

Simone ran her hand up and down my forearm. “He knows he can come stay with us anytime he needs to, right?”

“I’ve told him time and again. But…” I gestured with my drink. “Everything’s fine.”

“Of course it is,” she whispered.

We both fell silent for a long, long time. Every time my brother and his wife left after having dinner with us, Simone and I found ourselves just like this: exhausted, depressed, with no idea what to say or do. We’d both long since stopped trying to come up with a solution, never mind convince Chris to implement it. Next week we’d do this all over again. Same bullshit, different week. Such was the price we paid if I wanted to see my brother on any kind of a regular basis, because he sure as fuck wasn’t allowed to come visit me alone.

Eventually I set my empty soda can on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. “So, besides having to spend the evening with Julie, how was your day?”

She shrugged and pulled her feet up under her on the cushion. “I spent most of the day cooking.” She smiled. “So, not a bad day.”

I smiled back, wishing I hadn’t noticed she’d barely touched her plate during dinner. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

“What about you?” She rested her elbow on the back of the couch. A playful grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Have fun with your campaign manager?”

“Yeah, something like that.” I exhaled. “Concentrating around him is going to be a bitch and a half.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute.” She whistled. “He is fucking gorgeous.”

“Tell me about it. One of these days, I just know I’m going to make an ass of myself in front of him. He’ll ask me a question, and I’ll say something exceptionally stupid, and…” I gestured sharply.

She laughed. “I can imagine. As hot as he is…”

“It’s not just that. He’s… God, I can’t even describe it. He’s just…distracting.”

She cocked her head, grinning. “Are you sure it’s not just because he’s, you know, a good-looking guy?”

“I have no idea.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I really don’t.”

Simone giggled. “You know, you are so adorable when you’re twitterpated.”

“Twitterpated?” I laughed. “Oh come on. I’m not that bad.”

She nudged me with her elbow. “You so are. Jesus, Jess, I’ve seen you around guys who makemetrip over my own feet, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone have this effect on you.”

I glared at her, but when she giggled again, I couldn’t help chuckling.

She snickered. “That’s what I thought.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh. “Whatever.”

“Or maybe it’s not just him.”

“What do you mean?”

Simone shrugged. “Maybe it’s you. I mean, maybe you just need to get laid.”

My cheeks burned, but I couldn’t really argue with her. “Okay, maybe.”

“Just a thought.” Some of the humor had faded from her voice.

“You might be right, but I think I’ve used enough people, don’t you?”

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