Page 97 of The Sounds of Her

“We didn’t graduate from White Plains Senior High. We got that boxed off once we were in LA. Our parents made it a part of the deal. If they took us to LA to record before school finished, then we had to finish with tutors so we could graduate.”

“That’s smart of them. You need something to fall back on,” she laughs at the absurdity of that. “But you’re saying you’ve not had a single relationship since school?”

“Like you, I’ve dated, but I can’t say I have had a girlfriend.”

“Wow, we’re a real pair, huh?”

“It suits us, I guess.”

Brooke goes quiet for a minute. I take the time to drink her in, naked in my bed. One leg is bent and out from beneath the sheet, the creamy expanse of her thigh giving me ideas of wrapping it around my neck.

“So, has there been anything recently?” she asks.

This is why I didn’t want to go down this path. I could lie. It’s not as if I didn’t know we’d get closer this week, but lying in bed talking about who we are, is more intimate.

“Yeah,” I admit after a moments silence.

Brooke shifts onto her side, drawing her legs up.

“It was a mutual convenience,” I say.

Her brow pinches. “You mean you meet up for sex?”

“Right.” I watch her for a reaction.

Brooke doesn’t strike me as the kind to worry about shit like that. I don’t know her well enough to be sure. My statement hasn’t made her recoil in disgust.

“I thought she was someone I could trust.” I almost choke on the word. “It’s easier that way, given the lifestyle.”

“You don’t trust her now?” she asks.

“We’re all wrong for each other, even though it was casual.”

“Sometimes things like that run their course, I guess.”

My reasons for ending shit with Madison have nothing to do with compatibility. I want Brooke to understand I’m not interested in anyone else.

“It’s done.”

“Me too,” she whispers. At my quizzical look, she explains. “I had one too, for a while.”

“You wanted it to be more, or he did?” I ask, reading something in her expression.

“Maybe?” she frames it like a question. “I thought about it, but for a lot of different reasons, it never would have worked out. We’re too different.” Her eyes cast downwards, avoiding my gaze.

“Who is he?”

“You going to tell me who she is?”

We stare at each other in silence. I want to know who this guy is, but it means telling her about my shit. She will never run to the press or threaten me. I don’t think she would ever deliberately hurt me or anyone else, for that matter. It’s not in her nature.

Thinking about her with another guy irritates me. It’s not jealousy, I’m not the jealous type. It could be because I’ve never been with someone I care enough about to get jealous.

This is veering into dangerous territory. I like Brooke. I can’t deny we have chemistry, we’re great in bed. And I trust her.

I push the covers back and get up, reaching for my underwear. My heart is pounding, I have to take a few deep breaths to get my shit under control.

“Archer?” her voice is laced with concern.