“Sounds good.”
“Yay! Thank you. Want to go pick it up now? I missed lunch.” Ava glanced down Kennedy’s body, her brows knitting in confusion. “Did you just do an interview without any pants on? Oh my God, you’re my hero. That is totally badass and awesome.”
“That’s me, an awesome badass.”
“And how rude of me not to ask how it went.”
“No worries, and I think it went well.”
Ava jumped to her feet. “That’s great! Can I borrow your black baby tee I love so much?” She didn’t wait for an answer, instead ransacking the top drawer of Kennedy’s dresser like a dog looking for a bone.
“What’s wrong with yours?” she asked, scooting to the foot of the bed. Ava had the same ruffle-edged tee in white.
“It’s in the laundry. Found it!” Ava waved the shirt in the air and turned around. “Thank you. I’ll be ready in ten.”
Kennedy smiled as she watched her sister skip out of the room. Why Ava needed to wear that shirt to walk down the block to pick up food to bring back to their apartment, Kennedy didn’t know.
She swapped her interview blouse for a soft crew neck T-shirt, then pulled on a pair of drawstring linen pants. And because she always liked to add a few inches to her slight, five-foot stature, she slipped her feet into her favorite black strappy four-inch sandals. Being taller gave her an extra boost of confidence. People always thought she was years younger than she actually was, which, in medicine, didn’t really do her any favors.
“I’m ready! You ready?” she called out from the living room a few minutes later.
Glancing around the room, Kennedy saw Ava had textbooks and college-ruled notebooks strewn all over the coffee table and couch. Despite her protests, her sister loved school and really wasn’t that sad to be taking up some of her summer before her senior year at UCLA on women’s studies and global healthcare.
“Ready!” Ava flounced into the room with a giant grin. She looked adorable in a pair of beige capri pants and the ruffled tee. Her hair, a shade darker than Kennedy’s blond, hung in waves around her shoulders.
They linked arms and left their apartment.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ned. Thanks for letting me move in with you this year and for taking such good care of me.”
“I’m happy to, but you know…”
“I know. If you get the job in Boston, I’ll be without you. Which, for the record, will suck immensely, but I hope you get the position anyway.”
“Thanks, kiddo.”
“Please do not call me that while we’re out. It’s bad enough I still get carded for R-rated movies.”
“I still get carded for R-rated movies,” Kennedy admitted.
“The curse of Martin genetics. Speaking of, have you talked to Mom or Dad lately?”
“No. Dad was away on business and I haven’t connected with him since he’s been back, and Mom is busy with wedding planning.”
Ava squeezed her arm. “Wow. I think that’s the first time you’ve mentioned the wedding so nonchalantly.”
“I guess enough time has passed that I’m not as affected as I used to be.” The wedding being their middle sister Victoria’s.
“That’s good.”
“Very good. Now, let’s talk only about happy things for the rest of the night. Deal?” Only the two of them—thick as thieves since they were young—thought their sister’s upcoming wedding lacked a happy occasion vibe. Although, given the circumstances, Kennedy was sure a poll of strangers would agree she had every right to be upset.
“Deal.”
They had a great time eating pad thai on the couch and watching 27 Dresses for the umpteenth time. Afterward, they talked and giggled about everything and nothing until they repeatedly caught yawns from each other.
“Good night,” Kennedy said, heading to her bedroom.
“Sleep tight,” Ava said, walking to hers.
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” they said in unison.
Kennedy washed her face, brushed her teeth, and slipped on her comfiest nightgown. Crawling under the cool covers, she gave silent thanks for Ava. They might be eight years apart in age, but they always looked out for each other.
Right in the middle of a fantastic dream starring Anthony Mackie—who was just about to unzip his Captain America uniform—a phone rang. It took her a fuzzy second to recognize it wasn’t dreamy Anthony’s phone but one actually near her ear. She sighed and reached for her cell on the nightstand with one eye half open to see the screen. Reed.
She closed her eye and rolled over. She and her ex-boyfriend had remained good friends over the years, but that didn’t mean he could wake her at 1:07 in the morning. They definitely didn’t have that kind of a relationship anymore.
The phone slipped from her fingers as she tucked her hands under her pillow and hoped she would fall back asleep.
After a moment of wonderful silence, the phone rang again.
Because there was always the weird chance her best friend or someone in her family had an emergency at the exact same time she’d been woken by another call, she looked at the phone. Still her ex. Maybe he had an emergency?
She bolted up, phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Ken-ned-eee,” Reed greeted-slash-slurred.
She slouched, elbows on her thighs. Not a crisis, just a drunk dial.
“Hi, Reed. How are you?” The last time they’d talked rather than texted had been three weeks ago. His engagement to Elle, a woman she’d seen pictures of but never met, had reshaped their close relationship. As happened with major life changes.
“I dunno,” he said.
Hmm. Not exactly the answer she wanted to hear. “Where are you?” Music and voices blared in the background, suggesting a bar.
“Bash-ler party.”
“Your bachelor party?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay, go find your brother and tell him it’s time to go home.”
“Not at home. In a wind song.”
What? “Reed, where are you?” He must mean Windsong, the small town where he was getting married. His entire family was flying in from Baltimore for the big day. The background noise ceased, followed by the sound of…running water?
Reed sighed in contentment. Oh no. He did not take her into the bathroom with him. “Ew, Reed!”
“Sorry,” he said, at least having the decency to sound contrite. “For a lot of things.”