ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴠᴀʟꜱ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ

₀₀₈

𝘙𝘏𝘠𝘚 𝘔𝘖𝘖𝘙𝘌

"Is she hot?"

"Stella. God," I sigh at my sister's mannerisms. "Why is that the first thing you ask?"

She shrugs, taking a large gulp of her lemonade. I take a sip of my black coffee. Me and my sister are polar opposites. Not just appearance wise, but in every aspect.

Stella's my half-sister. Let me explain this, my dad cheated on my mom with one of his students. He was a college professor. When the twenty-something year old woman couldn't take care of a newborn child, my dad took the baby and raised it with my mother. My mom loves Stella like she's her own, but my dad has always been a bit distant with her. With us.

Stella is like a ball of sunshine and i've always been protective over her, but right now I want to roll that ball into an ocean and not let it come up for air.

Stella had asked about work and I told her about the project I was assigned to work on with Wren. Of course she perks up about the mention of a woman in my life-that's not her. So had she heard me explain anything about the actual project? No.

She fiddles with her straw until I sigh. "How have you been?"

She shrugs, but I catch a small amount of a blush fading onto her cheeks-like she's thinking of something.

"There's someone isn't there?" I narrow my eyes at her. I can read her expressions like a book, meanwhile my expressions are barely noticeable.

She mumbles something and I cross my arms and lean back in the pink metal chair. Stella picked this cutesy little café to have lunch, and all the pink decor is messing with my head-and back. The only thing that seems to cut the pink is a canvas on the wall.

"Stella..." I press. She grumbles and rolls her eyes, well she tries to, but it really just looks like a pomeranian frowning.

"Fine. Yes. Yes there is someone. But I don't want to talk about it." Why does it seem like everyone is having relationship problems? First Maxon and now my own sister.

"Why? Are they disrespectful or mean to you? Y'know you deserve better-y'know if I find out that they're hurting you-"

"No, Grumpy. It's that they aren't hurting me. Well they're not doing anything." She groans and rests her cheek in her palm. "He don't even know I exist." She mumbles.

"Then introduce yourself." Look at me, giving relationship advice.

"I can't. It's-" She sighs again. "Never mind. And don't try to change the subject. This is about you. Not me." She straightens her posture and smiles at me. "Now, what does Miss James look like?"

"Her first name is Wren-"

"Ooo pretty." Stella ogles.

"And she's probably my age." Another 'ooo' comes from Stella. "She's a little shorter then me, maybe five-ten?"

"Ugh. I love tall women." She puts a hand on her chest and sighs contently.

"You are a tall woman."

"Exactly."

I roll my eyes and continue. "Green eyes, dark hair. Don't know what her ethnicity is, dresses in pencil skirts and blouses, though this one time at the bar-" I stop.

I almost told Stella about Breakers. She does not need anymore information about my co-worker. Her description is enough.

"The bar?" One of Stella's eyebrows lift and she stares at me like i'm a child and has just been caught taking a cookie out of the jar.

"The bar mitzvah. Another colleagues kid's bar mitzvah. I saw her there and she was in a casual dress instead of a blouse." I wash down my lie with a gulp of coffee.

"Mhm." She doesn't believe me but doesn't get a chance to question it because our food arrives.

__________

After a long afternoon of questions and catching up, I finally step into my apartment. When I turn the corner, Maxon is wearing a dark blue suit and fixing the collar of it.

"Where are you going? And why do you look like one of those salsa dancers on TV?" I take in his gelled hair.

"It's bad isn't it." He groans. "I knew I should have just left it alone." He walks over to the sink and scoops water onto his hair, then ruffles it up.

I tilt my head at his panicky state.

"Oh, and i'm going on a date." He pats his hair with a cloth and smiles a big, wide grin.

"So everything worked out?" I refer to a couple days ago, when he was eating his cereal with a half frown half smile.

"Something like that." Maxon puts the cloth down and grabs his car keys. "Don't wait up for me." I nod and walk over to the fridge just as the door closes.

I let out a long sigh.

My thoughts trail to my lunch with Stella. More importantly what we talked about, what I had talked about. Miss James.

though this one time at the bar
though this one time at the bar
though this one time at the bar
though this one time at the bar
though this one time at the bar

This one time at the bar I had totally forgotten that the woman in the black dress was the same woman who, since the first day I met her, I knew I had to stay away from.

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