Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

confection off the tray and let Clay haul me upstairs as I stumble and eat at
the same time.
“Your mom looks good,” I tell her over my mouthful.
She pulls me inside her room and slams the door. “I think she’s feeling
good, too.”
“And your dad?”
She pulls off her shirt, her black sports bra looking fantastic on her, and
walks to the window, spying outside. She shrugs. “It doesn’t feel weird.”
That he’s moved out, she means. Despite the flames and love that still
exist between her parents, Gigi decided she needed to be alone, and good for
her. Their divorce is proceeding.
“I’m glad Henry isn’t here to see it,” Clay says, “but she’s getting
younger every day. You know?”
She peers out the window, down onto the patio, and I walk over, seeing
her mother enter the small greenhouse she’d built—or had someone build—
in the backyard below. She’s discovered a love of gardening, I guess.
She’s also looking into a photography course, and teaching herself the
stock market. At first, I thought she was trying to distract herself, but it seems
to bring her joy. Learning how to grow again.
I sit in the window seat, pulling Clay down between my legs. Her head
falls back into my shoulder, and I kiss her hair.
“I’m gonna miss you,” I say quietly.
“Just be here,” she whispers. “Let’s not talk about it, okay?”
“I can’t stop thinking about it, though.” A painful lump stretches my
throat. “Maybe I can get into Wake Forest. Or you can come to Dartmouth.”
“Too cold.” She shivers. “And I’m not going to Wake Forest.”
Excuse me?
“I haven’t told my parents yet,” she says. “But after everything, I think
they know better than to stand in my way.”
“Where are you going, then?”
This is news. When did she decide this?
She pauses, threading her fingers through mine on her stomach. “I’m
staying, actually.”
“What?”
She draws in a breath and sits up, turning around to face me. “I’ve seen
the world, Liv,” she tells me. “I’ve met people. Dressed to impress. I’ve had
the same conversations with people I don’t like and networked with people I