Page 18 of Strip Bare

I frowned. That was true. “Why haven’t you called or texted me?”

Another laugh from her made my frown deepen. “Because life, Leo.” We stared at each other for a moment before she sighed. “We both suck. We’ll both do better. Agreed?”

I held out my hand and she shook it firmly. “Agreed.”

“Nice doing business with you.”

She was a dork in the best way and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she was here with me. We’d been fairly close when we’d been growing up and had even leaned into the whole ‘you guys could be twins’ thing. I slapped her hand away from my glass of orange juice. She may be my sister, but that didn’t mean I wanted her mouth on my cup.

“Gross. Get your own.”

“Some things don’t change,” she said fondly as she stood and walked to the cupboard to grab a glass with enough confidence and familiarity it was almost like she’d always been there. “So tell me about you and Kit.”

“What do you want to know?” I said carefully and dropped my eyes back to the textbook I’d been highlighting.

“How did you get together?”

I swallowed, considering my answer carefully. The best lies were the ones rooted in truth, after all. “We were friends and then I kissed him.” Not technically untrue.

“Just out of the blue?” Saylor leaned forward, dark eyes alight with intrigue, close enough that I could see the very light dusting of freckles on her nose.

“Pretty much,” I admitted. “You know communication isn’t my strong suit,” I joked, repeating her own words back to her, my voice sounding only slightly strangled.

“How long have you liked him for?” She wrapped both hands around her glass of juice like we were moms gossiping on a front porch in the autumn and I nearly laughed at her sudden resemblance to our mother.

“Honestly?” I took a deep breath and shrugged. “I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t like him.”

“I like seeing you happy,” she said, smiling and I smiled back. I’d never been more stressed or confused in my life, but I supposed it was true that I was happy too. Even if this thing with Kit was just temporary, it had still been a gift of sorts. It was how I’d be feeling when it ended that concerned me.

“Did I hear my name?” Kit said casually as he strolled into the kitchen. There was a smear of paint on his face and his white tee clung to his chest in a way that I found irritatingly distracting. It, too, was covered in paint. We were almost complete opposites, but seeing him rumpled and messy, happy and paint-splattered, my heart swelled.

“Leo was just telling me how he’s liked you forever,” Saylor said before I could do more than glance at her in alarm.

“Was he now?” Kit’s smile grew, his tongue piercing flashing in the light when he chuckled. “Tell me more, Leo.”

I straightened in my chair and shrugged casually. “And inflate your ego further? I don’t think so.”

“When he kissed you, were you shocked? Or did you suspect he liked you?”

“Suspect? No.” Kit leaned against the counter by the sink and I swiveled in my chair so I could keep him in my eyesight. “Hope? Of course. Nobody likes an unrequited crush. Besides,” he said, eyes heavy on mine as a spark of something seemed to jump between us, “it feels like I’ve liked Leo forever too.”

Warmth swept through me and I wished desperately that I could erase the memory of those words. This was just cruel. Definitely more painful than having to endure the surprise dates my mom would set me up on.

I unclenched my jaw and looked at Kit before shaking my head. “Saylor I—”

I hadn’t even realized Kit was moving until his warm hand cupped my chin and tilted my face upwards, his mouth covering mine and trapping the confession I’d been about to spill. He knew me too well. He licked into my mouth and a groan rumbled through his chest, so deep it nearly seemed real. Maybe Kit should ditch art and become an actor, because the way he was kissing me? Well, if I hadn’t already been in love with him, I definitely would have been by now.

“How can anyone not like him?” Kit said when he broke the kiss, his mouth close to mine as his blue eyes burned into me.

“Okay well, this just got awkward so I’m going now.”

I didn’t acknowledge Saylor’s words and neither did Kit, his gaze kept solely on me.

“Why?” he said and I knew what he was asking—why had I nearly told my sister everything?

“Because this is getting messier by the day and I just don’t know if it’s a good idea any more.”

Kit nodded slowly, dropping his hand from my face and taking a step back. “Well, your parents will be gone in a few days right? And then you won’t have to endure any more of this,” he said, gesturing to the space between us and my still-tingling lips before he moved past me and the front door slammed shut.

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