Page 220 of Masters of Pleasure
Friday night, she was in the bathroom getting ready to meet Law at Marquis while Noelle had taken over the main room.She was reading on the couch, making very loud, pointed sniffing noises every few minutes.Not as if she was sniffling or she had a stuffy nose.She was huffing her breath out her nose as loudly as possible to show her displeasure.
It was incredibly distracting.It was also a stark contrast to the last time Iris had been getting ready to go to Marquis, and Noelle had jumped in to help with her hair and makeup.
This time, she didn’t offer that olive branch, trying to pretend like nothing had happened.
Which probably meant she expected Iris to apologize
When Hell freezes over.
Yup, that was Rae’s voice in her head, but Iris wholeheartedly agreed.Last time, Noelle had offered the olive branch, pretending everything was fine—even though it hadn’t included an apology or fixed anything.They’d gone right back to the norm of Noelle doing what she wanted while Iris tried to work around her.
It had taken other people pointing it out for her to really notice, but now that she had, she refused to do it again.
Her phone quacked.
Noelle sniffed.
Iris ignored her and checked the message.Andrew.She sighed as she opened the phone to her brother’s text.
I heard you’re going to Marquis with Law again tonight.You sure this is what you want?
Typical Andrew.No contact until he wanted to interfere in her life.
Would you prefer we came to Stronghold?
Iris smiled wickedly as she sent her text.She already knew Andrew’s answer would be no, but if he was going to be an interfering butthead, she wouldn’t take the opportunity to taunt him.She hadn’t heard from him all week and wondered if someone had told him about her and Law being at Stronghold last Saturday or if people were keeping it from him.Whatever.He didn’t get a say about what she did or who she did, no matter how much he wished he did.
You would think by now, he’d have learned that lesson, but apparently not.
A moment later, her phone quacked again.Noelle sniffed again.Iris gritted her teeth.Between her roommate and her brother, her mood wasn’t where she wanted it to be before her date with Law.She checked her text from Andrew.
You know that’s not what I meant.
Even over text, she could feel his censure as if he was her dad or something.She rolled her eyes.
Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.Try paying attention to your own life instead of mine.
This time when her phone quacked, she waited until she was done applying her eyeliner to look at it.Her stomach was a tight knot.She didn’t like fighting with her brother, but sometimes he drove her nuts.The only times he seemed to really care about what she was doing was when he didn’t like what she was doing.
She’d gone weeks without texts or calls from him, and even now, he wasn’t checking on her to see how she was doing but because he disapproved of something she was doing.Iris knew he loved her, but sometimes, she wanted to kick him.
Like when she checked the message.
I’m asking because I care.
No, you’re asking because you don’t like a choice I made.If you cared, you would have asked how I was doing and told me to go have fun, the way Kate did when she texted me earlier today.
And Send.
Iris pressed her lips together.If he texted back, she wasn’t sure she wanted to look at it.Of course, she did when her phone quacked again.
Have a good evening then.Stay safe.
She shook her head, but her stomach settled a little.
At least he was trying… unlike someone.Noelle sniffed again.
“Do you need a tissue?”Iris asked, keeping her voice sugary-sweet.If Noelle could end a fight, pretending like nothing was wrong, she could, too.A moment passed.
