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“That would’ve been great for you, wouldn’t it? Then you wouldn’t have to live with someone who is braver, smarter, and cooler than you. If only you weren’t such a pussy. Tut-tut-tut.” Camryn tutted in mock sympathy. “But what can we do? This is who you are.”
“You’re so annoying.” As they walked to the elevators, she asked, “What are you even doing here? Were you waiting to scare me?”
“No, I got in at the same time you did and decided to wait for you here.”
“Wait!” Xolani’s stopped walking “So you saw me out there?”
“Uh-uh, but you didn’t see me. You were too busy.” Curiosity in his gaze, Camryn asked, “Who was that dude?”
“That dude?” Avoiding her brother’s keen eyes, Xolani closed the distance between them and the elevator. As she pressed the up button, she said, “He’s just a friend.”
“A friend? For real?” Camryn’s eyebrows flew up. “My friends don’t hug me like that.”
“Mine do,” she retorted, but in her head she was agreeing with her brother. That was definitely not a friendly hug. Barry had hugged her like he wanted to fuse their bodies. What was that man’s deal?
“Something is going on with you and that friend of yours,” Camryn declared even as the elevator doors opened.
“Nothing’s going on, and mind your own bees wax.” Xolani got into the elevator and her brother followed her in. Eager for a change in subject, she asked, “Why are you coming in so late anyway? I thought you didn’t have any event today?”
Her brother said, “I spent the day house-hunting.”
“What?” Xolani’s head spun around so fast she almost broke her neck. “Why?”
Camryn was a filmmaker who did event videography and photography on the side. A year, he’d started his own company, and it was still getting on its feet. That obviously meant that his financial situation was a bit precarious. He’d decided to rent a place with a friend to save money. But just a few months later, the friend announced that he was moving states, leaving Camryn in a bind.
When Xolani discovered she was leaving the country for an extended period, she’d offered him her place. Even if she wasn’t living there, she still needed to pay her mortgage, so why not help her brother save money?
She asked, “Aren’t you happy staying with me?”
“I’m happy, very happy.” Camryn sidled closer to her and hooked his arm into hers. “But my studio’s landlord has been working my last nerve. The Karen is always dropping in unexpectedly, trying to install cameras, chatting up clients, trying to see our books so she can be certain we’ll pay next month’s rent…”
“That’s illegal.” Xolani saw red. “What the hell is wrong with her? We should sue her. I’ll come and see her tomorrow with my lawyer and_”
Camryn interrupted her tirade with a burst of laughter. “You’re doing it again.”
Still furious but now also confused, she curtly demanded, “Doing what?”
“Remember when I was in middle-school and you heard that I was being bullied?”
“Oh, I remember.” Xolani sneered. “Those damn Keller twins.”
Those rowdy, ill-mannered siblings from hell had gone after her brother because he was nerdy and quiet. When Xolani heard about it, she’d stormed straight from her high-school to the middle-school next door. By the time the teachers caught wind of her presence, she’d already captured the twins by the scruffs of their necks.
Hours later, Xolani and Camryn’s parents had been called in to explain why their high-school-age daughter was threatening to slap the black out of ‘innocent’ middle-school children. The incident ended with a suspension for both Xolani and the Keller twins. Afterward, no one dared to even look at Camryn the wrong way.
Remembering that time was enough to resuscitate Xolani’s rage. She ranted, “They’re lucky I didn’t snap their scrawny little necks.”
“But I’m glad you didn’t. And you certainly don’t need to do it this time.” Camryn led her out of the elevator once it opened up on their floor. “I’m a grown man, Xo. I can handle my business.”
“Grown?” She looked him up and down. Even though he was taller than her, she scoffed. “Where?”
Camryn laughed. “You see it.”
She turned her face away from him. “I see nothing.”
“Anyway, I’ve decided to move studios, and while I’m doing that, I’ll look for an apartment that is close by or maybe even in the same building.” He added, “That way I can get rid of commuting costs, and maybe even get a deal on the rent.”
His rationale was sound. But Xolani still didn’t want him to move. Though they always seemed to be at each other’s throats, it was all in good fun. She might throw a tantrum if Camryn even dared to touch her phone, but she’d give him her kidney without a second thought. She loved him, and she liked living with him.
