Page 115 of So Steady

He was the fishing hook that would keep her tethered to home. If she left, the line would stretch out behind her for miles and miles, reminding her that no one had made her feel like he did. Calm and excited at once. Sexy without having to try.

And he liked her, she knew that, he just didn’t think he could be the man she deserved. But why shouldn’t she stay and prove to him that he was? Did she have to wrangle a commitment to a ring and three kids before they went on a real date, or saw a movie, or tried tying each other up? Did she have to have a plan perfectly in place to enjoy what was between them?

Give me three months, she imagined telling him.Give me three months of dating and then say you don’t think you’re the guy for me.

She stood up, needing something to do. Something else to think about. She paced over to her old bookshelf, scanning the novels that were as familiar as her sisters’ faces—Charlotte’s Web, A Chinese Cinderella, A Series of Unfortunate Events,theTwilightseries. God she’d loved those books when she was thirteen. She moved closer, tracing the black and red spine ofNew Moon. Something was nagging at her. She pulled the book off the shelf and opened it to a random page. Bella was contemplating a dangerous cliff dive in order to see Edward in her mind. What had triggered her memory? It wasn’t the cliff diving, or the Volturi stuff…

“Holy shit, this fucking email.” Sam strode in, talking like they were already mid-conversation. “Nix, this Russian guy wants to fly me to Thailand to give him an axolotl tattoo? He’s offering ten grand! For one weekend! And a holiday! That’ll put a dent in what that fuckstick stole from us, huh?”

“Yes?”

“You’re damn right, yes!” Sam raised a victorious to the ceiling. “Tabby was saying we should break out dad’s incense. Have a cleanse. Symbolic, you know.”

“Um, sure. Smudge away.”

“Great.” Her twin paused. “You’re not re-readingTwilight,are you?”

Nicole closed the book. “No. Wait, why can’t I re-readTwilight?”

“Because it’s pus.”

“It’s not!”

“It is. Pure white and green pus.”

Nicole made a face. “They’re YA novels for teenage girls.Besides,youread them.”

“I also readCleomagazine and got a bunch of weird ideas about what to do to during sex. And I didn’tlikethem. I wanted every character to get the black lung and die. Especially that giant vampire edgelord.”

“Mmm.” It was true Sam hadn’t been particularly generous to the series. She had been forever telling girls at school that Edward was a sexual predator and sending them links to people burning the books in metal bins. But Nicole hadn’t cared about Sam’s opinion and anyway, she didn’t like Edward, she liked—

“Who was the guy you were all boned up about?” Sam asked. “That abs dickhead? Jason?”

Nicole’s cheeks went hot. “Jacob.”

“That’s right! The werewolf that lady-drip puts in the friendzone. That was incredible! I gave you so much shit about his sadboy mooning and his fake gang. Man, he was the first mildly bad boy…” Sam paused. “Holy shit. Wait…Holy.Shit.”

“Don’t,” Nicole begged. “Please?”

But it was already too late, Sam doubled over, her hands on her knees, so choked up she was laughing without making a noise, her whole body shaking.

“Stop,” Nicole said. “Noah isn’t—”

“Noah is your Jacob,” Sam gasped. “Oh my god,Noah is your Jacob.”

Nicole ran at her, intending to slap her before she could tell Tabby and escalate this whole situation, but she screamed like an eight-year-old and ran from the room. “Tabby! Tabby, come quick!”

“What?” Tabby yelled. “I’m trying to fucking meditate!”

Sam hammered on her bedroom door. “Noah is Nix’s Jacob. He’s herJacob!”

“That doesn’t make sense, you crazy moll.”

“It does if youpay attention. It’sTwilight.Nix always had a massive wide-on for the werewolf motorbike guy. We thought it was weird she wanted to fuck Noah, but it isn’t. He’s the motorbike guy! He’s Jacob.”

There was a short silence, in which Nicole hoped both her sisters had died.

“Oh my god!” Tabby gasped. “You’re right!”

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