"You don't look happy."
"You either." I take a long sip. It tastes like love. Like a love I'm desperate to deserve again.
"Yeah." He stabs the plastic with his straw. Brings the drink to his lips. Takes a long sip.
This is getting to be an alarming trend.
What's wrong?
Nothing. Frown. Grunt.
I'm doing the same thing.
I'm going to be a psychologist and I can't talk about my feelings.
It's sad. Really, it is.
I want to be able to do this.
And I want to know him. The parts that hurt. The guy behind the breezy smile.
I play with my straw. "Your sister?"
"Yeah." His eyes go to the shiny silver table.
"What's the situation there?"
He looks to me and raises a brow. "The situation?"
"I don't need details." In theory. "You… you look upset. There's something there."
"Yeah." He leans back. Runs his hand through his hair. "I don't usually talk about it."
"You don't have to. But I… is there anything I can do?"
"I doubt it."
"My sister and I… we stopped talking a few years ago. We didn't really grow apart. We were close. Until we weren't."
"You got into a fight?"
"Yeah. A huge one. She asked me to make a choice, and I didn't make the one she wanted."
He tilts his head to one side. "That's vague."
"And the details about your sister being a thorn in your side?"
"Fair enough."
"That was almost two years ago, that Lily stopped talking to me. It was sudden. She was always that type of person. She did what she wanted. How she wanted. When she wanted it."
"What did she want from you?"
"To…" How do I explain this without explaining it? I have to tell someone about my past eventually. Maybe even Walker. But not yet. I'm not ready to cross that bridge. "To change my life."
"Convert to Scientology?"
"No. She was right. Trust me." I bring my drink to my lips and take another long sip. It still tastes like love, but the sweetness is gone. It's over-steeped, astringent, bitter.