Audre & Bash Are Just Friends(79)

Because the universe has a sense of humor, they hadn’t even begun to kiss yet when they were intercepted by a (very) recognizable female voice.

“Bash!”

They both spun around.

“Clio?” exclaimed Bash.

“Reshma?” exclaimed Audre. “What are you doing together?”

The two girls strolled up to them, clutching iced coffees. Clio looked confused. Reshma looked guilty.

“Hey, Audre,” trilled Reshma, her voice weirdly chipper.

“So, you’re Audre,” said Clio with a bright smile.

“Hold on, how do you know Audre?” asked Reshma.

“I don’t,” she answered. “Bash told me about her. How do you know her?”

“She’s my best friend!”

“I’m confused,” announced Bash, delivering the understatement of the year.

“Reshma,” hissed Audre. “What are you doing with Clio?”

“Uh… uh… nothing,” she muttered.

“Uh… uh… nothing?!” mimicked Audre, furious.

“We’re dating,” said Clio triumphantly. “I broke up with my boyfriend today.”

“Your boyfriend?” Reshma pointed to Bash. “Just say his name. He’s right there.”

Audre narrowed her eyes at Bash in a blind fury. “So it’s true?”

“Eww. Bash isn’t my boyfriend.” Clio laughed. “He’s my brother. My half brother.”

Audre flinched with her entire body. Her jaw dropped. The world stopped turning. And then she exclaimed to no one in particular, “Fucking excuse me?”

Reshma frowned in confusion (her least favorite emotion). “Clio, you said your boyfriend’s tall and kinda femme, with ‘only Black guy in the band’ energy. Plus, y’all were long-distance till recently, right? That’s Bash. He just moved here!”

“My boyfriend is the only Black guy in a band. Jake-Anthony King. He plays guitar in a 2000s R&B tribute band called Flip It and Reverse It. We were long-distance because the band was on the road for ages. They’re finally back in New York.”

Audre’s brain was spinning. “Wait. Flip It and Reverse It? Tell me you’re joking.”

“Why?” asked Clio, Reshma, and Bash.

“They’re playing at my mom’s wedding!”

“Oh, that’s what’s up,” said Clio. “I’m glad they’re getting steady work. Brooklyn’s a tough market.”

Audre was too flabbergasted to think straight. It felt like she’d hallucinated Bash and Clio’s entire relationship. What the hell? She just stood there for a moment, slowly letting the news sink in. “Bash, Clio’s really your sister?”

“Yeah,” sighed Bash.

“Your sister. Your actual genetic sister?” Her brain was a fog of disbelief. “Is… this an… incest thing?”

“NO!” wailed Clio.

“Audre, listen. I told you my dad was married three times before my mom, right?” explained Bash. “And he had daughters before me? My sisters all live in different states, so we didn’t grow up together. Clio’s the one closest in age to me.”

“Eighteen months apart,” said Clio.

“Anyway, in middle school, we found each other on IG and got hella close, even though we lived on opposite coasts. All her calls and texts? It’s ’cause she’s been trying to convince me to smooth things out with our dad before it’s too late.”

“Before he passes,” added Clio.

“Anyway. Our dad never gave her, or any of our sisters, the time of day. But Clio’s heart’s so pure, you know? She’s been reaching out to all of them, begging them to make peace. And everyone has but me.”

Reshma’s eyes darted from Clio to Bash and back again, like she was at a tennis match. All the rapid-fire plot twists had stunned her to silence.

Thunderstruck, Audre sputtered, “But… how… why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve understood!”

“Because I’m a coward. I hate that I didn’t tell you, and that you were confused. But if I explained Clio, I’d have to explain everything. And I’m fucking ashamed.” Bash stopped, glancing up at the sky for a moment, his expression tortured. “Look, my dad’s a dick—he’s mean to his wives, ignores his daughters, and he fucked up my life. He’s dying, and I’m relieved. There’s no way to explain that to a girl you want to like you.”

“But I already liked you. You couldn’t tell?”

“I wasn’t sure if you liked me or if I was just your Experiment Guy. I’m always that guy. Everyone wants to ‘try me on.’ Use me to test out their kinks or whatever. No one takes me seriously. I just… wasn’t sure.”

“But Audre doesn’t have any kinks,” protested Reshma.

Audre glared at her best friend. And then she stepped closer to Bash and grabbed his hand. She was stunned at this revelation. Bash seemed golden. People wanted to know him, and he was the object of a zillion crushes. He was hot and mysterious and new. It never occurred to Audre that Bash might be insecure. Or that he’d question how she felt about him. Hadn’t she been so obvious?

To Audre, her feelings for Bash were an obvious truth. As true as summer following spring, or the fact that she always took the lead in group projects.