Page 2 of Not So Very Sensible

“Not at all,” Katie said, shoving Ellie’s bag from the seat.

“Hey,” she protested mildly, earning herself a brief glance from the man before Katie insisted it was free, and he slipped into the spare seat opposite them and started talking to Katie.

Honestly. The girl was a magnet for men. Ellie withheld her own sigh and settled back in her own seat. Try as she could, it didn’t seem like anything she or Liv or EJ had said about Katie’s boy-mad focus seemed to filter through Katie’s head, as per the last sister video chat.

“There are ways to let a guy know you’re interested that don’t scream obvious,” EJ had cautioned.

To which Katie had tossed her head. “I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

Mm-hmm. That was up for debate.

“You don’t want to seem desperate,” EJ had said bluntly.

“I’m not going to hide who I am,” Katie had declared.

“So you are desperate, huh?”

Katie had scowled. “Just because you and Liv have found love doesn’t mean we all have.”

“Katie, you’re twenty-five. You’ve got plenty of time to find a nice man. You don’t need to settle for just anyone,” Ellie had said.

“It’s not settling to agree to go on a date. Honestly, what’s wrong with you three? It’s like you think I’m stupid.”

Not stupid. Just emotionally immature at times. Everything with Katie was either wonderful or woeful, and there seemed little in between.

“You’re the in between,” Katie had snarked when Ellie pointed this out.

Which was true. Elinor’s emotions tracked far more steadily, with only an occasional slight rise at certain times of the month before steadying again. She might be closest to Katie in age, but they seemed the furthest apart in personality.

Liv, the eldest, was the nicest one. EJ, the most blunt and direct one, although the past year had softened her a great deal. Ellie was the sensible one, most like their cousin Annabelle in that regard. Then there was the youngest, Katie, whose emotional highs and lows were the bane of the Bennett family’s existence.

“You can’t get too emotional,” Ellie had said. “You should learn to be a little more careful about letting people know your every thought and feeling.”

Katie simply tossed her blond braid. “I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. I am who I am, and if you don’t like it, then that’s your problem.”

Ellie tucked a chunk of her blue-streaked hair behind her ear, watching covertly as Katie interacted with the man. Katie’s insistence that her sisters were all the ones at fault seemed typical of a lot of people these days. People who came across as entitled, loudly owning their own truth rather than trying to see other people’s perspectives. And as an artist, Ellie’s whole life was about trying to find the right perspective, seeing things how others might, comparing and contrasting and finding a path in between. Hmm. Maybe Katie’s comment tracked true because Ellie was the in-between sister, but the one without EJ’s assertive personality, who was happy to go with the flow. Mostly happy, anyway. She didn’t have any of the privileges attached to being the eldest or youngest child.

The man stood as they neared another station, and she clenched her jaw as he and Katie swapped phone details. Ellie waited until he was out of earshot before she turned to her sister. “Seriously?”

Katie groaned. “Do you have to look so judgy? Mark is a nice guy.”

“And you say that after knowing him for all of ten minutes, huh?”

“You don’t need to sound so sarcastic.”

“I’m not being sarcastic. I’m being honest. Katie, you can’t afford to go giving your phone number out to just anyone.”

“He’s not just anyone.” Katie’s frown turned upside down as she smiled and waved out the window. One guess who that was at.

Ellie shook her head. “Why are you giving your phone number out to someone when you don’t even know if he’s a Christian?”

“How do you know he’s not?”

Ellie pressed her lips together as the train moved off again. Maybe she was a little judgemental, but the words she’d heard him drop didn’t exactly give good Christian vibes.

“Anyway”—Katie flipped her hair again—”at least I’ve actually met the man. The men on EJ’s app she’s always wanting me to go on could be anyone.”

“They’re not. That’s why everyone on Dream Match is screened and needs a professional social media proof to verify that they are who they say they are. I think you’re a lot safer going on something like Dream Match and finding a suitable match that way.”