Page 115 of The Show

Lauren took a large glug of wine, then gave a dramatic shudder. “Sorry, it’s going to take me a little time to get used to you saying things like you want my brother back.”

I huffed a smile at her.

“How d’you actually feel about him?”

I pulled the tie from my wrist and scraped my hair back into a messy knot. I was about to say it out loud for the first time; it was the conclusion I’d been coming to before the last twenty-hours had happened. And now that I might have lost him, it only helped bolster what I was certain I felt.

“Before you yelled at me, I was thinking that maybe I was falling in love with him.”

Her jaw quite possibly hit the floor. “Whoa! Holy shit! This is huge. SHIT! You and my brother?! So what are you going to do about your mom? Can’t wait to see him take on Abigail.”

“Don’t think we’ll have any trouble there,” I laughed, remembering my mom’s confused face. “He already told her to stop sticking her nose into my life.”

Her jaw hadn’t still fully gone back from when I said I was falling in love with Penn, and now it dropped even further. “Wow.”

“I know. I should have snared him years ago,” I laughed. “But after he left, I told her. I told her everything, and how I felt. How I’d always felt about her control, and that it had to stop.”

“HOLY SHIT! What is happening today!? It’s like the Twilight Zone! What did she say?” She picked up her wine and drank it, but without ever taking her eyes off me to continue.

“She took it well, but Penn had just left and she made me go and find him.” My heart sunk heavily. “Only I can’t.”

She was just about to respond when we were interrupted by the intercom.

“There’s no way that’s pizza already. If it is, I’m tipping a hundred dollars,” Beulah said, hitting accept on the buzzer, without bothering to check it. “I’ll get the door.”

She ran off down the hallway like she’d never eaten pizza before.

Lauren jumped off her stool and moved to stand in front of me. “I am so sorry for my part in this, Lowey. I really am.”

I pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, but you’re overestimating yourself. It’s my fault, and I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner; it must have been a shock. Not sure how I would feel about one of my friends dating Ryan or Trey back in the day.”

“Andie McGuire did back in tenth grade, remember?”

“Huh.” I pulled back and looked at her. “Oh yeah, I’d totally forgotten that. Wonder what happened to her.”

“No idea. I assumed you murdered her because she slept with Ryan,” she winked.

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. “Yeah, alright, I deserved that.”

“I’m kidding.” She kissed my cheek. “It might take a little getting used to, but I’m really so happy. Penn was quite vocal about how much he loves you, and for how long.”

I grinned, because I could very well imagine how vocal he’d been. “Yeah. It’s wild isn’t it? How did that even happen?”

“Beats me.”

We both looked up as Kit followed Beulah into the kitchen, bearing a bag of limes in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other. She dumped both unceremoniously on the counter and took a seat next to Lauren. Beulah got to work filling four glasses with ice and lining them up, then grabbed a handful of limes and began squeezing them out.

“So…” Kit started. “I’ve found out where Penn is, but I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

Beulah cleared away the rest of the wine and glasses, and passed us all fresh tequila and sodas.

Kit picked up hers. “He’s gone to Texas.”

“Is that the new bar that’s opened on Madison?” Beulah asked, with a slightly confused head tilt.

Lauren shook her head. “No, I think it’s in The Village. Why’s he gone there?”

“No,” Kit put her glass down. “Texas. The state. He’s in Houston, Texas.”

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