them on the spot. It was the most normal familial relationship I’d encountered since being on the Upper East Side.
“They’re amazing!” I cried.
“They are. Though they’re also the worst,” he said with a shake of his head that said he loved them fiercely.
“How old are they? They can’t be that much younger than you. They look like supermodels.”
Lewis chuckled. “Uh, Charlie is twenty, and Etta is seventeen.”
“Oh my god!” I gasped. “Do girls on the Upper East Side just come from a different planet? Etta is Melanie’s age, and she seems so much more grown up.”
“You have to grow up fast to live here. Be glad that Melanie is still so young and innocent.”
I still couldn’t believe it. If Melanie dressed and acted like Etta, my dad wouldn’t let her leave the house. What a different world.
“Also, that’s quite an age difference,” I noted. “Mel and I are seven years apart, but you guys are, what? Nine and twelve years apart?”
“Yeah. My mom and dad fell in love young. When my mom had me at eighteen, everyone said she’d never amount to anything. That they’d only gotten married because he’d knocked her up. Thirty years later, and she’s the ambassador to the United Nations and the most incredible person I know. She waited to have Charlie and Etta until after her career took off, just to prove everyone wrong. She’s pretty much goals for everything in life.”
“Wow! She sounds amazing. Like someone you’d read about in a textbook.”
He grinned, clearly proud of his mother and all she’d accomplished.
The lights flickered, announcing that the opening show was about to start, and the crowd erupted in applause.
“How long have Penn and Katherine been gone for to get that drink?” I asked. “They’re going to miss the opener if they don’t hurry.”
Lewis leaned back again. “I’d get comfortable. They’ll likely be gone forever.”
I arched an eyebrow in question. “Why?”
“Katherine hates waiting before the show. Usually, she shows up right as it starts or waits backstage or in a lounge or something. I’d be shocked if we saw her again before Chloe comes on.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointed. I’d wanted to spend time with Penn. I’d thought we’d have the night together even if we were with his friends…and he hated the music.
“Oh boy,” Lewis said. “So…you and Penn, huh?”
“What? No. Why would you think that?”
“You have that…look. Trust me, I’ve seen it a lot.”
I frowned at that. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re together, right?” he asked, leaning away from me.
“We’re not together. We’re just, you know, casual.”
“Uh-huh,” he said disbelievingly as he rose from his chair.
I bit my lip and turned back to the stage as the lights faded completely. A minute countdown showed on the screen for the opener. Penn and Katherine weren’t going to come back for this. They were going to stay out wherever they were. Alone. And I didn’t know if something was going on.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked when I got to my feet.
“What’s that?”
“Are Penn and Katherine…you know, something?”
He grimaced. “Define something.”
“Together? Or have they been together?”
“You’re asking this because you and Penn are so casual?”
“Ugh! Never mind.”
“Look, Penn doesn’t want Katherine,” he told me. “They’ve been this weird thing for years, but if he wanted to be with her, he already could be.”
That helped marginally. At least it mirrored what Penn had said.
“And Katherine?”
He stared down at me, and I could see that he didn’t want to answer.
“Katherine only wants what she can’t have.”
“So…if Penn and I weren’t casual?”
“She would be worse. So much worse.”
Great.
Peachy.
Fuck.
Penn
23
Katherine lounged comfortably in the private room she’d dragged me into. I should have known better than to think she wanted to get a drink and then go back to our seats. She detested waiting. She was the kind of woman who always had to arrive fashionably late. Make an appearance.
I’d only come for Natalie. And I wanted to head back already.
Normally, she couldn’t even drag me to this kind of show. She knew that I didn’t really like mainstream music. Not that Chloe wasn’t talented, but it just wasn’t my normal music.
It wasn’t like I was going to try to get Katherine to an acoustic show at a small venue. I knew that she would never show up for that. So, it was particularly painful that I had to be at this one. If Natalie hadn’t seemed so excited, I’d still be back at the beach house, working on my book.
“Oh, don’t look so glum. Just one more