“I have four weeks,” I say in desperation.
“She will break before that, trust me. Between you and Brian, you have the history, the sex appeal, and the ability to make her happy. She’ll see that quickly. Brian is a blip. You are forever.”
“Babe.” JP clutches his chest. “Damn, that was sweet.”
“That was sweet,” I say.
“You’re making my heart all aflutter,” JP adds. “And naturally, my dick hard.”
Jesus.
Ignoring my brother, I ask, “You really think Lia and I are forever?”
“If anything, Breaker, I love love, and I would never mess with that. I truly believe you and Lia are soulmates. I’m just glad you’re seeing it now.”
“Okay.” I nod. “So what do I do now?”
“Well, when I was spiraling, I decided to donate money to make me feel better,” JP says. “I know of a great pigeon rescue that could use another donor.”
I look him dead in the eyes and say, “I’m not feeding into your pigeon obsession. You can fuck off with that.”
LIA
“So how was your flight back?” I ask, unsure of what to say to him. His presence is completely unexpected. I’m having a hard time processing he’s even here, let alone digesting the conversation I just had with Breaker.
“It was fine. Got some work done, thankfully,” Brian says as he loosens his tie.
Yes, thank God for that. Can’t imagine what would happen if he didn’t get work done.
“Well, uh, are you hungry? I can order food.”
“I just really want to talk to you.” His eyes go to my hair as he approaches me. Does he still hate it? He hasn’t said he loves it, that’s for sure. He takes my hands in his and asks, “Is everything okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Here, let’s sit,” he says as he brings me over to my couch. Once we’re seated, a few inches between us, he continues. “I know the wedding planning has been stressful on you, and I’m worried that maybe you’re not handling it all well, hence the haircut and color.”
Excuse me?
“What do you mean? I cut my hair and highlighted it because I wanted to, not because of the stress of the wedding.”
“Lia,” he says in his condescending tone. “I’ve known you for over a year now, and you’ve never made such a drastic change like this before. I’m just worried the stress is overwhelming, your parents aren’t around, you’re trying to find some semblance of control, and your appearance is the one thing you feel you can control. So you cut your hair. I’m worried this pattern will continue, and who knows what you will do next.”
I rear back, absolutely offended by his assumption. Firstly, where does he come off, even thinking he has a say in my appearance? Secondly, does he truly not see how happy I was in that picture I sent him?
“Brian, it’s a haircut. It’s not like I went off and tattooed a penis on my face. And my decision to do this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I wanted to feel pretty.”
“You were just fine before. There’s no need to change anything.”
“Just fine?” I ask, rising from the couch. “I was just fine before? Couldn’t think of a better adjective than that?”
He presses his hand to his forehead. “Pretty, I meant pretty.” He lets out a huff. “It’s been a long day. I’ve been worried about you, and getting this flight was hard, so excuse me if my words are not what they’re supposed to be right now.”
“I need your words to not be condescending, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
“Where is this all coming from?” he asks. “I feel like you’re angry with me.”
What clued you in? Good God.
“I am angry with you,” I shout. “Jesus, Brian. This whole wedding and dealing with your mom and your reaction to my hair, it’s been a nightmare. And you . . . you never want to have sex with me. Why is that?”
He looks at me, confused. “Yes, I do,” he says.
“No, you don’t. We haven’t had sex in two weeks. Don’t you think that’s weird? Don’t you think we should be at each other’s bodies every chance we get, peeling off our clothes and finding pleasure in each other?”
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks, Lia.”
“We didn’t even have sex the night you proposed. I fell asleep while you were on a business call.”