Page 64 of Ordinary Secrets

That can’t be true.“How many girlfriends have you had?”

“Eh. Let’s not talk about that.” Trey passes me the bowl, then picks up his phone and pretends to read the snickerdoodle recipe.

“That many, huh?” The dough isn’t completely incorporated yet, so I resume mixing it.

“No. I just didn’t invite you over to talk about other women.”

“Sorry, I was just curious.”

Trey steps around to the other side of the island and takes a seat on one of the barstools. “How ’bout this? For every personal question you ask me, I get to ask you one.”

“Deal. I’ll start. How many girlfriends have you had?”

“Just one.”

That’s it?One seems low for a guy with a face like his. Although, to him, women he’s slept with and women he’s called his girlfriend are probably two different things.

“How long did that relationship last?”

“Nuh-uh.” He wiggles a finger. “You’re jumping ahead of the game here, Miss Rance. I believe it’s my turn.” He thinks while I line the baking sheet with some parchment paper. “Did you take your mom’s last name or your dad’s?”

“They got married before I was born, so technically, I have both their last names.” Between my palms, I roll some dough into an inch-wide ball, dip it into the cinnamon sugar, then place it onto the parchment. “So how long did your relationship last?”

Trey digs his fingers into the dough and repeats my process. “Shit, I dunno. I think Jess and I made it, like, three months.”

“Do you still talk to her?”

“Not really. And now, I get two questions. First: You mentioned that your parents worked together. Do you know which company they worked for?”

“No...” I don’t understand why Trey is so interested in my family. I suppose since he doesn’t have a family of his own,it’s reasonable to be curious about mine, but he asks about my family a lot.

“Second question: Have you ever Googled your parents?”

“No . . .” I narrow my eyes. “Should I?”

“Nah.” He rolls out another dough ball. “I was just wondering ’cause I Googled mine recently.”

“Did you find anything interesting?”

“Not really, and now it’s your turn.”

“Okay.” I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot, so the question comes easily. “Your bad-boy habits. All the fighting, drugs, and girls, and stuff... has it stopped?”

“That’s a hard question. If you wanna know when I stopped doing drugs, it was about two years ago. The fighting stopped around then, I think. As for the girls, I’ll still occasionally enjoy a good time here and there. I mean, if the opportunity presents itself.”

It makes me happy to know he’s been clean for two years. I’m not happy to know he still sleeps around, although I’m not surprised. “What changed you?”

We roll out a few more snickerdoodle balls before Trey finally looks at me. “Two things. First: music. The first time I picked up a guitar, I was hooked. Whenever I play, my mind feels less... chaotic. When I moved out of my hometown, I left my guitar behind, and it all went downhill from there.

“A few years later, I came to LA and met Kevin in a guitar store. We got to talking, and he told me about his dream to play in a band. I said I wanted to help him live his dream. So we started our band, picking up Marcus, Emmy, and Liz along the way. Once everything took off for us, I decided it was what I wanted to focus on, so I dropped the bad habits.”

I finish rolling out the last doughball, then turn on the sink to wash my hands. Trey comes up beside me, running his palms under the faucet too.

“What was the second thing that changed you?”

“Liz.” He doesn’t offer any further explanation, and it makes the jealous green monster awaken inside me. Liz seems to be important to him. I know they’re close. I just wish I knew exactly how close.

Are they the type of friends who come with benefits? Judging from the way the Internet talks about them, yes. Liz kept glaring at him for talking to me and not her at his house party, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a past.

---