Page 55 of The Last Lavender Sister

“So, interesting, you two,” Nora said, reaching across Brynn for the bottle of cabernet. Brynn topped off her pinot gris.

She took a moment to catch on. “Oh. You mean Aster and me?”

“Yep. I saw you holding hands a few minutes ago, so I imagine your cute letter-writing has blossomed.” She said it with a smile, but there was an undercurrent attached. The wordcutehad a pointed edge. It didn’t sit well in Brynn’s chest.

“We’re seeing where things go.” She sipped her wine and turned to rejoin the group.

“She told you that? Interesting update. Good to know.” Nora bit her lower lip. What was she driving at? She was baiting Brynn. But why? While she should have walked away and left Nora unsuccessful, something made her take a swipe at what Nora was trying to offer up.

Brynn shifted her weight, unsettled. “Is it? Interesting, I mean.”

“Well, to me. Given our history. Mine and Aster’s.”

“Right.” Confusion. “History.” Maybe she meant their roommate status. Brynn decided to leave it alone. She followed Nora’s gaze to Aster and shifted the trajectory of the conversation. “She’s pretty great.”

Nora folded her arms, still holding her glass. “No one like Aster. Unique in her talent and the way she approaches the world. Wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes.” Brynn agreed very much with that sentiment. “And I’m really happy we’ve reconnected. It’s so great to see her.” She was staying vague on purpose. She didn’t know Nora and decided to keep her cards close to her chest. Something told her that was wise.

“Hey, I get it.” Nora turned to Brynn fully. “As someone who has been there with Aster in the will-they, won’t-they romantic sense, I certainly understand the appeal. She’s hot as fuck and doesn’t seem to know it.” She fanned herself. “That adds to the whole thing. Right?”

All of this felt weird. Romantic sense? She was lost and struggling. Alarm bells were beginning to sound. “She is that.”

The moment felt like one of those tsunami movies where the wave rumbled in the distance while the people on the shoreline had an inkling thatsomethingwas off but weren’t quite sure what.

“But also incredibly intelligent.” Nora laughed to herself. “How many people are that smart and look so good naked?”

Every part of Brynn went cold. She nodded and sipped, downshifting. Her brain went to half capacity. Her defenses flared. But the awful thread was loose now, and she couldn’t keep her fingers off it. “What do you mean? You guys were together in some way?”

“Oh yeah.”

“I didn’t realize.” She stayed as casual as her body would allow. She needed to hear what Nora had to say. She and Aster told each other everything. No details were spared. Certainly, not relationship ones. Or so she thought.

“We have a thing. Or maybe the word ishadnow that you’re here. My door was open to her, and well, she used it.” Nora bopped her headto the music and stared off at the others, who were lost in their own conversations.

“Oh.” In her brain, Brynn heard the sound of brakes screeching to a halt. Across the apartment, Aster nodded along with something one of the guys was explaining with vivid gestures. She seemed like an entirely different person now. How was that possible? She pulled her gaze away, still stunned. “Friends with benefits or…?”

“That’s just it. We’ve never really assigned it a name. We just really enjoy each other in a lot of ways.” She shrugged. “Have you ever just really clicked with a person? That’s us. From the first day of classes, really. Everyone said we were inseparable. It was kind of sweet.”

Brynn’s breathing went shallow, and nausea swirled like poison in her midsection. “You saidrecently.”

Nora met Brynn’s gaze in half apology, half victory. “I did say that.” She went up on tiptoe and shouted across the room. “Janice, I know you’re not about to do that shot without me. I’ve had a night.” Back to Brynn. “Excuse me.” And she was gone, leaving a whole lot of destruction in her wake. Brynn was numb, and her brain was about two beats behind, stuttering with new information that simply did not make sense with anything that she’d known to be true. They weren’t in a relationship. Aster didn’t owe her that kind of loyalty. She was free to sleep with whoever she wanted to. The problem was something else entirely. She’d offered Brynn the illusion of transparency when that hadn’t been the case. They’d written letters and seemingly held nothing back. Aster never mentionedany of this. Not an inkling of a physical connection to her roommate. Why? And what else didn’t Brynn know? More alarm bells.

Almost as if their brain waves connected, Aster turned midconversation, searching the space for Brynn. When she saw her face, her brows came together in concern. She immediately set down her drink and made her way across the room. “Are you okay? You look like something might be wrong.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Just a weird night.”

Aster interlaced their fingers and gave Brynn’s hand a squeeze. “Okay. I hear you. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I just talked to your roommate and am a little confused. So…you and Nora?”

Aster’s eyes darted across the room and then back to Brynn. She blinked a moment, still yet to say a word.

“Aster. You can just tell me. It’s me.”

But Aster was busy doing the math, and that didn’t bode well. “Yes. We’ve been…It was never anything serious or formal. It’s not something to worry about. I promise.”

None of this felt right. Almost like they’d slipped into a parallel universe Brynn didn’t know existed. “Right. I hear you. But how come I didn’t know?”

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