Page 53 of Written in the Stars
ELLE (4:40 P.M.):hetero + contextualize = heterotextualize
DARCY (4:42 P.M.):Huh. New word. Thanks for broadening my horizons.
Elle bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
ELLE (4:43 P.M.):i made it up
ELLE (4:43 P.M.):but you’re welcome
DARCY (4:45 P.M.):Of course.
DARCY (4:49 P.M.):So when’d you stop? Heterotextualizing?
Elle chuckled as she typed.
ELLE (4:50 P.M.):shortly after I tried to heterotextualize my friend going down on me at a theater cast party when I was in high school
ELLE (4:51 P.M.):just gals being pals
ELLE (4:52 P.M.):the mental leaps and bounds were like, acrobatic
DARCY (4:53 P.M.):You’re lucky you didn’t pull something.
Cheeky. Elle could be bold, too.
ELLE (4:55 P.M.):it was good head. I might’ve strained something. I can’t remember
A minute later, her phone rang. Stomach fluttering, Elle swiped at the screen as soon as she saw theDa—appear on the screen.
“I was kidding. I didn’treallypull a muscle when she went down on me, I just—”
“Elle?”
Elle cringed so hard she was going to need to see a chiropractor. “Mom?”
Margot recoiled in sympathy, sucking in a soft gasp through her teeth.
Mom cleared her throat awkwardly through the line. “I’m guessing you were expecting a different call.”
Sweet Saturn, Mary, and Joseph.Da—as in Dad and Mom, the house phone. Kill her now.“Um, can we pretend that didn’t happen?”
“Pretend what didn’t happen?” Mom asked.
“Right, good.” Elle coughed. “You rang.”
“I did. I hadn’t heard from you in a while.”
“I guess I didn’t have much worth reporting.” Aside fromfinalizing the deal with OTP. Nothing to write home about. But she could try. “Except—”
“I wanted to make sure you were still coming to Thanksgiving.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” It was Thanksgiving. Obviously, she’d be there.
“I wasn’t suggesting you wouldn’t come, Elle. It was a question.”
Arguing wasn’t worth it. “Right. I’ll be there.”
“Good. Lydia’s bringing Marcus over on Thursday and Jane and Gabe will obviously be there with Ryland. Daniel and Mike are getting in on Wednesday so that makes nine—”
