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“Figures.” Collins rolls her eyes, then tips the can back, draining the last of the contents.
“What?” I challenge her.
“I’m out.” Leland bolts out of the building.
“Me too.” Lawson follows accordingly.
Both leave with dust floating in the wind as I turn my attention back to this complex creature of simplicity.
“Hey, Lawson,” Collins calls out. “Hot date?”
“Yeah.” His face burns with a fresh blush.
“Who?” Collins teases.
“Massey.” Lawson looks down at his feet as he responds.
“Where are you taking her?” she asks.
“The Hutt.” He finally makes eye contact with his sister.
I’ve never had a sibling, so I am enthralled by their connection and communication.
“Cool. Be good to her.” Collins throws her can toward the trash bin but completely misses. “Shit.”
Lawson dips, picking up the can and tossing it in the trash. “I will. I promise.”
He gives me a quick fist bump and walks out. I stare at my hand, feeling on top of the world. Exhausted but so satisfied. It’s a hard feeling to explain.
A few minutes of silence pass before Collins speaks. “What are you still doing here?”
I look at her differently at the moment. “You’re not leaving?”
“No. I’ve got some work to do, my girl,” she says with a smile.
I have no clue what it is about that hunk of junk that gets her to smile like that, but I do know I want to find out.
“Oh.” I honestly don’t want to leave. The apartment is smaller than I’m used to, and the neighbors are loud and nosey. I’ve been to the bar too many times to count, and the same girls fester around like a bad wart. “Mind if I hang out for a while?”
“No friends or girls to annoy?” she snarks.
“Nah, relationships are equivalent to messy and complicated.”
“Agreed,” she jibes.
She doesn’t say much more, which compels me to want to talk. “Usually, girls want a lot more, and I can’t give it to them.”
I need to shut my trap.
“Can’t or won’t?” she asks.
“Huh?” Confused by the question. No one has asked me that question before. In all fairness, I never spent much time with them. Quality time with a woman is new to me. Fuck. What is this island doing to me? “Well, both I guess. I’m here temporarily anyway, so a long-term relationship isn’t the smartest. I’m here for work.”
Collins stops at whatever she is doing in her car and looks at me with more confusion. She turns back to her girl and continues to her task. She doesn’t press for anything further.
“Why are you not out living it up?” I ask. I really need to stop talking.
“No one to go out with,” she coldly states.
