Page 10 of Problematic Summer Romance

Then, a few months later, Conor, whom at the time I considered my closest friend, told me that he was going to start seeing someone. Could I please go fuck off somewhere away from his life?

Iabsolutelycould. I went to Switzerland, and never, ever thought of him again. Conor who?Conor. Fucking. Who?

“Girl,” a voice says from above me. “You’re clearly about to murder someone, and while I’m not going to stand between you and your kill, will you run the details by me beforehand? I want to make sure that we have something to work with, at the trial.”

Chapter 5

I look up from the still water of the pool, sliding my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose. Standing on the wooden deck, wearing a bright yellow bikini that perfectly contrasts with her dark skin, looking like a goddamnsupermodel, is my favorite lawyer in the whole world. I take in the long, rounded legs, the hourglass figure, the shiny waves draped over her shoulders. My eyes stop on the wide-brimmed straw hat, and my frown turns into a cheek-splitting smile.

Nyota. The younger sister of Tisha, Rue’s childhood friend—and, of course, Rue’s friend herself. Even if Nyota’s favorite pastime is to roast them both.

“I didn’t know you took criminal cases,” I say, pushing my sunglasses back up.

“My area of expertiseisbankruptcy. But you’re clearly gonna need me, after the massacre.”

If I don’t reach out for a hug, it’s only because she looks tooperfect to be subjected to the infamy of chlorine. I watch her take the beach bed next to mine, drape a towel over the headrest, and offer a rare smile. The scent of her perfume—roses, verbena—wafts in my direction. “Is that why I couldn’t find anyone in the house? Has the butchering already taken place? Dammit, did I miss it?”

“Nope. But dinner’s in an hour. Most people are either getting ready or napping.” I woke up thirty minutes ago, groggy, not at all rested, and still very tempted to rip into something. For the safety of the antique pillows, I decided to put on a one-piece suit and vigorously swim the irritation out of my body.

It didn’ttotallywork.

“I promise I won’t spend the week boring you with my unconditional adoration, but allow me to say it just this once: I’m so fucking happy that you’re here, Nyota.”

“As you should be,” she says haughtily. But adds, “Also, likewise. You know I like to surround myself with intellectual peers.”

When Rue entered Eli’s life, she brought with her many wonderful things, Tisha and Nyota being my favorite. I found their sibling dynamic fascinating from the get-go, and felt myself yearning for a sister. Preferably, one who would make the meanest, cruelest comments about my hair, clothes, and life choices, while still sounding like she would throw herself under a bus for me.

Enter Nyota. She’s a handful of years older than me, but we hit it off the second we met. “It’s because we’re both younger sisters and considerably smarter than our older siblings,” she told me. In front of Eli and Tisha.

“I would say ‘No offense,’ ”she added in their direction.“But full offense is meant.”

Neither Tisha nor Eli seemed fazed.

Nyota and I don’t text daily updates on the minutiae of our respective lives. And yet, we keep in constant touch. We’ve developed a beautifully low-effort system to show our mutual love and respect, which consists of pebbling each other’s social media accounts with links to relevant videos and memes.

“You came alone, too?” I ask.

“I never do weddings with a plus-one.”

“Why?”

“It gets awkward for them, when I disappear with the hottest men at the party.”

I nearly do a spit take, and I’m not even drinking.

“Maya, the situation is dire.” She reclines sideways, like a post-battle Roman centurion. “It’s getting harder to meet guys that I actually want to sleep with.”

“You know, you told me that last time we spoke. But then I googled your firm.”

“And?”

“I saw your colleagues’ pictures. They look fine. The slicked-back hair does make me throw up in my mouth a bit, but you can work on that.”

“The problem is, they’re all lawyers. And I refuse to fuck a lawyer.”

“Why?”

“It’sincest, Maya. Just, tell me about the whole…” She gestures toward my face. Her long nails glitter in the late-afternoon sun.

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