“No. You just throw cocktails at people’s clothes.”

I glare at her.

She arches her eyebrow. “I’m not shaming you. I’m making a point. You both had a bit of a rough start. That night didn’t bring out the best in him. It certainly wasn’t you at your best, either.”

I have no comeback for that. Because she’s right. Which is very rude.

“Let’s move on,” I tell her. “To what you really want, coming in here.”

Jules gives me one of her long, incisive twin stares, a small notch forming in her brows. “I . . . have something for you.”

Ooh, I love gifts. Hate surprises, though. “What is it?”

Her expression clears as she holds out her hand. “Give me your phone and you’ll find out.”

I slap a hand on my skirt pocket instinctively. “Hell no. Last time I gave you my phone, my lock screen changed to your only tattoo, and we both know where that is.”

Jules bats her eyelashes. “I was intoxicated when I did that. Right now I’m sober as a saint, and trust me, you want this.”

“Explain yourself, JuJu.”

Turning, my sister examines the bottles of perfume lining the wall alongside candles and incense that are based on signs of the zodiac. I blame Sula for my newfound obsession with all things astrological.

“BeeBee, I know you don’t like me to tell you your business, but there are some things that only the older and wiser understand. And I am older than you.”

“By a whopping twelve minutes!”

“Firstborn wisdom is innate,” Jules says serenely. “Twelve years or twelve minutes, it makes no difference.” Spraying a mist of perfume, she walks through it.

“That’s not even your sign,” I grumble.

She ignores me, replacing the cap. “Listen, I just want you to be happy, and you’re not happy. You don’t date anymore. You haven’t gone out in ages—”

“I’m happy because I don’t date anymore, because I haven’t gone out in ages.”

Jules lifts an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yes! That’s the truth.”

Well, the partial truth. I’m happy that my heart’s not getting crushed. And my heart can’t get crushed if I don’t give it to someone. I do miss sex, though. I just don’t want my feelings tangled up in it, not when they’re even more sensitive than my body. Casual hookups are the ideal solution, but finding someone who’s up for that isn’t easy when I can’t find it in me to socialize beyond my group of friends, all of whom are either partnered or pseudo-siblings.

In short, I’m backed into a corner: for me, sex generally happens in relationships; I don’t want a relationship, and I won’t do what it takes to have sex outside of one.