Page 418 of The Sinner: James

“And?”

“And, um… That’s it. He didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t want to make a move and look desperate, so that’s that. Enough about him. I want to focus on this evening. And right now, I need to shower.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Head wrapped in a towel, and a robe tucked around my body, I prop my back against the headboard, stretch my legs, and move my eyes to the view.

The light of the summer afternoon streams through the windows, the Manhattan skyline looking mesmerizing in the distance.

I pick up my phone again, sift through the numbers, and tap one of them.

The phone starts ringing.

I don’t think he’s going to answer.

It’s Saturday afternoon, after all.

He does.

“Rain?”

He sounds surprised.

“Hey, Lex. Are you...? I’m sorry. Is this a bad time?” I ask, his heavy breaths echoing at the other end of the line.

“Nope. I’m working out. Hold on a second,” he says before going silent for a few seconds.

He comes back a moment later.

“Hey,” he says again, his voice different now.

“Do you have a moment?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“Is Dahlia back?”

“She’s coming home tonight.”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you remember my birthday four years ago?”

Silence comes from him.

I look at the phone to see if he’s still on.

“Yeah...” he says softly.

“You came to my apartment that day, and my sister saw us together and took pictures of us before sending them to James. Do you know anything about that?”

Another moment of silence comes my way.

“Lex?”

“Yeah...”

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