“You’re right. Her twins are almost here, so she has enough on her plate already. You’re stuck with me, then. The family’s second-rate matchmaker. I can’t believe it. You were inseparable when she lived on our street. It would be so romantic if the two of you ended up together.”
Christopher and I both take a good look at her to make sure she’s not pulling my leg. Nope, she’s serious.
“You sound like Summer now,” Christopher says cautiously.
Alice gives us both the stink eye. “I do have a romantic side, but if the secret gets out of this room, I will kick both your asses.”
“Alice, the game’s started again,” I tell her.
“But this is so much more interesting.” She grins at me, rubbing her palms together in excitement.
“So what’s keeping you from moving from friendship to something else?” Christopher asks.
When I don’t say anything, Alice says, “Let me guess. You’re afraid that if whatever something else entails goes south, you’ll lose her friendship too?”
“Yeah, that. Exactly.” I’m somewhat stupefied at my sister’s ability to put my struggle into a coherent sentence.
“When’s the last time you got laid?” my brother asks.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” I retort.
“A long time then,” he concludes.
“Almost one month,” I say.
Alice frowns, counting on her fingers, then smiles triumphantly. “Since you started your therapy sessions with Emilia.”
I nod, scratching my jaw. “It’s ridiculous, but just thinking about going out with other women makes me feel guilty.”
Christopher stands up on his feet. “Let me get this straight. You don’t want to sleep with her because she’s your friend, and you don’t want to ruin your friendship, but you also don’t want to sleep with other women because you feel guilty?”
“That sums it up,” I say.
“You’re screwed,” my brother concludes.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Your logic is screwed,” Christopher insists, sitting again. “If you want her, go after her.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Christopher shrugs. “What’s the worse that can happen? If it doesn’t work out, you move on, and she moves on. ”
That’s exactly the problem. If things don’t work out, we won’t stay friends. Moving on will mean she won’t be in my life at all, and I’d rather have her in my life, no matter how.
“How about this,” Christopher says. “I can be her friend instead. I look the same as you. Then you can get in her bed. Or I can do what you don’t have the balls to do, and you can be the friend.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“The world is officially coming to an end then,” Alice says dramatically.
“What can I do to get the two of you off my back?” I ask, regretting my decision more and more with each passing second. Celebratory sounds come from the TV screen, a sure sign that one of the teams scored, but no one is paying any attention to the game.
“Err, not invite us in the first place?” Alice suggests.
“Great idea. I’m revoking the invitation.”
“Too late,” my sister says. “Besides, if you invited us, it’s because deep down, you know that you need to be talked into doing—”