Page 17 of All That History
Hers was a familiar accusation.“It gives me a sense of purpose, in this disconcerting life,” I suggested, before taking another gulp.
“Oh, well,” she said, grinning, “in that case...”
It was the lazy conversation of people who’ve known each other for very nearly as many years as they’ve been alive.Not that the roster at the local high school had been especially full when we were all in our teens, but the attrition of people leaving town in the years since graduation meant the pool grew smaller and smaller.In a way, that’d made coming out to Catherine and Kyle feel all the more dangerous: if they’d rejected me, I wasn’t exactly sure who I would’ve had left.
They hadn’t, though, even if they’d both claimed surprise at the news.These days they mostly just berated me for not going hunting for a boyfriend, an accusation I invariably countered with the reminder that they were both single, too.I’d pointed out, once, that life would be so much easier, and tidier, if they fell for each other.Then spent the rest of the evening begging them to stop throwing peanuts at me in lingering outrage.
“So how many pounds of green bean casserole did you get through, then?”Kyle grinned as he asked it; my mom’s kitchen staples were the stuff of legend.
I wanted to smile along, but there was no way not to make the mental leap from casserole, to interrupted dinners, to Flynn and our argument.When I’d pulled into our driveway after dropping him off, my grip white-knuckled on the steering wheel, it’d taken a couple of minutes before I felt ready to emerge and face my parents.
My mom kept my plate warm in the oven.Even covered, though, it had got unpleasantly dry around the edges.I’d pretty much choked it down, refusing to allow Flynn or his frustrating mother the liberty of spoiling my evening any further.
I looked up from my glass, to find Catherine and Kyle staring at me with confusion.
“You look like you’re about to kill someone,” Catherine said.
I shrugged.“It’s just been a long week, y’know?”
They nodded agreement, and for a while it was the companionable silence of good friends.
And then, as if my thinking about him had manifested it, the universe decided to spite me once more.
I saw Catherine glance up, at the sound of the door swinging behind me.The double-take, eyes widening for a moment, before narrowing thoughtfully.
“Don’t tell me that’s...”
Glancing back, over my shoulder, I felt my stomach sink.
The blue and red striped jacket was probably doing a lot of the heavy lifting - undoubtedly stuffed with the finest goose feathers, I thought, sourly - but still, Flynn looked the epitome of a winter catalog model.Hair suitably wind-swept, but in a stylish way rather than like an unhappy haystack; dark blue jeans, and boots that were definitely designed with style in mind, not actual working.
I almost did a double-take of my own, when he pulled off his coat to reveal the black polo shirt he’d bought from the thrift store.
“Wait, that’s not...”
“Yes,” I said, interrupting Kyle as I turned back to my drink.I wasn’t sure if I was suddenly in the mood to push it away and leave, or down it, chased by five more in rapid succession.
“Is he back for the holidays?”
I flashed Catherine an unimpressed look.“You think he’d grace us with his presence for any other reason?”
She chuckled.“Oh, right.I’d forgotten about the almighty feud between you guys.”
Kyle laughed, too.“Does it count as a feud, if only one of the people involved actually knows it’s happening?”
I took another sip.Maybe Flynn had been ignorant of my frustration before, but it was definitely on his radar now.
“You didn’t tell us he was back,” Kyle said.
“I figured his mom was an effective enough publicity department,” I deadpanned.
Kyle gave me a look that said he thought my simmering vitriol was hilarious.
“You also didn’t tell us that he’s hot, now,” Catherine added.
I snorted over the rim of my glass, amused despite everything.“You’re barking up the wrong tree, there.”
“Wait,” Kyle hissed, leaning in close, “you mean he’s gay?”
