The Introvert's Guide to Online Dating - Emma Hart Page 0,34

rant from our mother when I’d caught Kins reading it in the bathroom with a book she’d stolen from our grandmother.

Me being an asshole teenager thought I was being a good kid by telling our parents what she was doing.

Mom had grabbed her own copy, sat next to her on the floor, and said she’d talk to me later.

She, in fact, had not, but I knew enough to know that you never insulted a person’s reading material.

The rant had come later after she’d collected facts about how booming the romance book industry is.

That’d shut me up.

I lead the way. Kinsley was always a step behind me, even when I reached back to pass her a water bottle. It was warm but not too hot thanks to the shade provided by the trees that stretched up endlessly into the air. We passed tracks from various animals, everything from raccoons to deer to bears, and Kins squealed when she thought she saw a mouse that was actually a squirrel.

I chuckled but kept on going. The fresh air was doing me some real good, and by the time we got to the clearing I’d earmarked for lunch, I felt a million times better than I had when we’d set off.

“Are we stopping?” Kins pulled an earbud out and looked around. “Gosh, I haven’t been up here for ages.”

I smiled at her. “Me either. This was our favorite spot as kids.”

“I’m pretty sure I used to study up here.”

We found a spot away from the tourists who were taking photos of the view and laid out the blanket. Don’t get me wrong—it was beautiful, and you could see the mountain peaks on a clear day like today, but it was the clean, fresh air that was my reason for coming up here today.

Having my sister for company wasn’t that bad, either.

She drove me insane, even at our age, but she was the closest person to me.

“You made potato salad!” She grabbed the Tupperware tub and pulled the lid off.

“No, I bought potato salad.” I put two paper plates out and retrieved the flask of coffee. “Coffee?”

“Always.” She served us up the salad and swiftly made her way through the rest of the food, giving herself a plate almost as big as mine, while I poured the coffee.

We ate in relative silence, only briefly commenting on the birds or the good food.

It was normal.

It was what I needed.

I wanted it to last for the rest of the hike, but unfortunately, I knew my sister far too well to expect that to happen.

“So it didn’t work out with Cora.”

I side-eyed her. “No. It didn’t.”

“Tori wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would she?”

“Kinsley, I told you I didn’t want to talk about her.”

“I know, but I think you need to.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin and set it down. “You rarely hike, Colt. If you’re up here, it’s because you’ve got a lot on your mind, and I know it’s Tori.”

I rubbed my hand down my face, then leaned back with a sigh. “I’m sure Josh filled you in. I don’t know that there’s anything to say. She called it quits, so that’s that.”

“Is it, though?”

“Yes, Kinsley. Yes, that’s it. That’s the end. If that’s really what she wants, then I respect her decision.”

“You’re a fool to accept it without question.”

“Your mind has been addled by your books.”

“Better a mind addled by books than one addled by stupidity. Like yours.”

I shot her a look. “I’m not going to burst in like some knight in shining armor. I’ve done nothing wrong. She wants to date, and that’s fine. What we have—had,” I corrected myself. “—wasn’t serious.”

“You know what your problem is?”

“I don’t, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“Both of your problems, actually.”

“Go on. Enlighten me.”

“You don’t talk to each other.”

I met her eyes. “Talking wasn’t really what we had in mind when we jumped in bed together.”

“But it’s not just that, is it? Maybe it was six months ago, but it’s not now. You’re just too freaking scared to tell her how you really feel.”

I said nothing.

“Literally all of this—” She waved her arms around. “—Can be solved if you just talk to each other. You’re both wallowing in indecision and spiteful little comments because neither of you possess a pair of balls.”

“I have a pair of balls.”

“Colton!” She shoved me so hard I almost fell over. “You know what I mean!”

“Historically, we don’t talk. It doesn’t end well for us.” I sat