Page 39 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
The hardwood floor against my bare feet seemed shockingly cold. My boxer shorts and a gray t-shirt weren’t exactly high fashion, but they covered enough to send away whichever Lent brother stopped by at nine in the evening.What can they want?I rubbed at my eyes, as if I could scrub away the brain fuzz I had going on.
“Sorry.” I walked past my aunt blearily, still trying to shake off the fog of sleep. She nodded, heading down her hallway without another word. I didn’t smell alcohol, but it was early.
She’d left my guest waiting in the outside hallway, since they weren’t inside the apartment when I got to the front room. Adrenaline pumped into my system, making my hand practically jerk the door open to see who might be there.
I gawked at the figure, utterly shocked.Phoenix Lent.My gaze scanned over his tousled dark hair, blue eyes and those ever-present dark circles. He seemed the least likely Lent to arrive at my door, instantly triggering my alarms.What does he want?
He stared at me for a few seconds, as if weighing my appearance against some invisible scale in his mind before he spoke. “Here.” He held out a cell phone toward me. “You need aphone. I don’t know why they didn’t get you one, but I did. It is a small problem, but one I can fix pretty easily tonight.”
I stared at his offering.He wants to give me a phone?“I’m not very comfortable with expensive gifts.” I knew from personal experience that things offered as gifts could come with steep price tags if I wasn’t careful.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as if the exhaustion might be too much for him. “They said you would say that.” He still held out the phone in his other hand, shaking it slightly in irritation. “Take it. It’s a burner. Throw it out if you don’t like it. I don’t care what you do with it, but I’m going to tell them I gave it to you, so they’ll get off my ass.”
I took the phone mostly because of his tone of voice. It was so honest and tired, and matched his worn eyes so well. The phone wasn’t a gift or an apology—he just wanted his brothers to stop being upset with him. I liked the honesty behind his intentions, the lack of strings, despite him being absolutely self-serving. Oddly, it made me relieved in a way nothing else he could’ve done would have calmed me. He took the guesswork out of his intentions, just telling me what he meant.
“Thanks.” I kept my tone polite, but then again, I usually did. I didn’t intend to reveal he found my one true weakness.
He continued, still seeming too tired to even look at me properly, “Jeremy might stick his foot in his mouth, but he’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Julian is big-hearted. Barrett is a deep thinker. They’re all in knots over you. Why is that?”
His gaze finally settled on me, so I considered his handsome face while I thought about my options. It would be easy to just shut the door in his asshole face. In fact, I should do it.
His blue eyes went hazy, and once again, I wondered if he was on something.It’s none of my business.
He rocked back on his feet, as if catching his balance. “Shit. Okay. I’m sorry.”
I blinked, utterly surprised. Did he think I was waiting for an apology from him? I wasn’t, so I sighed. “I think I preferred it when you weren’t faking remorse.”
His brow arched, very similar to Barrett’s expression. “What?”
I shut the door on his face then. The weight of the phone in my hand seemed heavy as I made my way toward the kitchen. I’d already annoyed my aunt by being home, so I might as well eat something to make it worse. The maid must have gone shopping, because the fridge was filled. I took out some peanut butter and spread it on some bread. Compared to the food with the Lent brothers, it seemed a particularly boring meal. I sighed. Who knew I could become a food snob so fast?
I turned on the phone, waiting while the screen powered up. In Chicago, my aunt gave me a phone for a while. She wanted to ensure I would be home whenhewas over, so she could have family dinners. I sighed. It was better not to think about her.
I clicked on the home page, scrolling around and getting used to the device. They pre-saved contacts in the device for me—Julian. Barrett. Jeremy. Even Phoenix. I stared at his number, rubbing my thumb across the screen thoughtfully. Did Phoenix think I would ever call him? Why would he evenwantme to?
Should I text them? What would I say? I leaned against the counter, chewing my boring dinner thoughtfully. I reminded myself of my earlier intention to never speak to them again. Or maybe not. Maybe I tried to convince myself I wouldn’t speak to them, but I liked having experiences with them. Then again, I also didn’t want them trashing me to their grandmother. I liked hersomuch.
Sighing, I clicked on their names, including Phoenix, into one group chat, because I might as well speak to all the Lents at the same time.
Hi. Thanks for the phone. I’m sorry things ended the way they did.
I clicked send, content with my message, then added,Thank you for such a good couple of days.
Simple. Polite. Perfect.I set down the phone, but it lit up a second later.
The text from Barrett was only one word.Alatheia?
Before I could answer him, Phoenix messaged.Yes. I bought her a phone. Seemed the easiest way to handle the problem.
Julian was almost immediately next.Really?
Jeremy.Awesome.
A new chat opened with just Jeremy in it, so I tapped it to read,I’m so sorry I was such an ass. I make light of things sometimes. Like, if it all works out okay in the end, why dwell on the details? I’ve had to be that way, but it’s not okay. He took your wallet and scared you.
Tears threatened, and I clutched the phone hard. His apology rang more sincerely than Phoenix’s. What had he said to me? Oh that was right. Jeremy put his foot in his mouth. He wasn’t wrong.
It’s okay. I’m obviously not normal. If you want, we can put this to bed. I’ll leave the phone for Phoenix to come pick up and say goodbye now.
