Sometime after dinner, Alec drifted back to his place, and Rosalind turned in early. Jane dashed away to the porch bedroom to write, and Batty retreated to her bedroom with a book, so it was just Skye and Jeffrey out on the deck with a bottle of red wine. Part of Skye wondered if her sisters had quietly disappeared on purpose. Jane, ever the romantic, surely had.
They talked for ages in the dark. Jeffrey told his favorite story about how Skye had yelled about how she didn't want to make brownies for a snobby rich boy the day after they had met. He had told it a million times until it had become more of a legend. Skye remembered it for what it was – an outburst from an angry girl who couldn't control her temper and was judgmental to the core.
Jeffrey liked to glamorize the way Skye always said whatever was on her mind. Jeffrey had always wanted to be like that, but he never had the guts.
Then Skye had come blazing into his life, like a warrior heroine.
When Jeffrey finished that story, Skye had told the story of him and the bull. She had been so mad at him, but she knew an alliance was necessary to save Batty from the raging monster.
They moved past the Arundel summer to other memories. They talked about all of Jane's boyfriends in high school. They chuckled over Rosalind's various hairstyles in college. They carefully danced around the fights Skye and Jeffrey had in high school, when Jeffrey wanted to date her. He had apologized afterwards. He had admitted it had been wrong for him to push for something Skye clearly didn't want.
Skye had never explained that it wasn't that she didn't want it. It was that she wasn't ready. And maybe she had wanted it too much. She had known she would mess it up. She had known it would end with blood on the floor. Probably hers.
At last, they ran out of stories for a moment. They stared in silence out at the stars.
"I'm glad your back," Jeffrey said.
"Me too," Skye said.
"Whatever the reason," Jeffrey said. "You belong back here."
"Hmm," Skye said. "My old friend Jeffrey would ask me straight out what happened. He wouldn't dance around the reason."
"You're right," Jeffrey said. "So spill, Skye. What happened?"
"Dusek cheated on me," Skye said.
"The asshole," Jeffrey said.
Skye shrugged and stared out at the great blackness. She remembered being a kid and trying to find a black hole up there in the vast dark.
"I wouldn't have spent three years with an asshole," she said. "You know that."
"Don't defend him," Jeffrey said. He reached out and touched Skye's forearm, ever so gently. Skye had the faintest glimmer of blonde peach fuzz dusting her arm. It seemed to gleam in the dark.
"I'm not, but I don't think I was a very good girlfriend," Skye said. "I was kinda complacent. He was smart and nice and easy to be around, so I just went with it. I should have stopped and wondered if it was actually working. But I didn't because only part of me was really in it. The rest of me was focused on school and research and other things. I think I spent more time thinking about my rec soccer team, honestly."
Jeffrey nodded and smiled. That was his Skye, tough as nails.
"Well, you may be right about the other things, but Dusek wasn't smart," Jeffrey said. "Any guy who had even a part of you, and then threw it away is an idiot."
Skye's brow furrowed and she stared hard at her knees.
"Thanks," Skye said.
"Oh my god," Jeffrey said. "Are you crying?"
"Shut up," Skye said.
Quick as a whip, she whisked a tear away and then punched Jeffrey in the shoulder.
He smiled and punched her right back. Skye relished the pain.