I grin at her. “Who knows?”
“Who cares?” she finishes my mantra, I tell her every time. “Colin, don’t you ever get tired of having a different flavor every week? Do you think at some point you’ll want to settle down?” She has a legitimate question, but this is territory I’ve never heard her broach before. I wonder why she is bringing this up? What’s happened in her life to ask such a complicated question?
“You know, Lilypad, if I could find a woman at least half as good as you, I might just consider it.”
Most older brothers find their little sisters pesky and irritating. I, however, waged a campaign for my parents to have another child so I would have a sibling. I was five when Lily was born. I adored her from the moment Mom told me she was pregnant. My excitement at having a sister never wavered in the twenty-three years I’ve known her. I cleaned up her scraped knees, taught her to tie her shoes, and threatened every boy that dared to break her heart. Whatever man dreamed himself worthy of my Lily, would have to go through me first.
“So has someone caught your eye? Is that why you’re asking the serious questions?” I have to tease her, we don’t really know how to communicate any other way.
“Maybe, but I don’t want to jinx it yet.”
“Give me a name, Lil. Is it still that little number crunching fucker?” Lily snorts out a laugh.
“Oh hell no. I know how you operate, I might want this one to keep his balls.”
Lily drives me to our parent’s house. I could stay in the corporate apartment when I come here, but I can’t resist the home cooked meals. My room is still like it was when I left for college ten years ago. There is something very normal about staying here.
I can loaf on the couch with my dad watching baseball or help plant flowers in the greenhouse with my mom. There is no one angling for my phone number just to see if I’ll live up to the hype. No one expects me to stall a lawsuit just to charge more hours. I can be myself here, not the person I’ve created.
“Aren’t you coming in?” I ask when she gives me a quick peck on the cheek.
“No. I have some errands to run, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours to get you for the party. It’s still weird to believe that Grayson has a long-lost brother who’s suddenly shown up.” I just shrug.
My college roommate, Grayson Bennett, had always been a bit of an enigma. It wasn’t until our junior year at Rice that I learned he had been raised in a boys’ home. He was always quiet, almost brooding, but I liked him immediately.
He has recently found out he has a brother living in the same home he grew up in. He’s throwing a small cookout tonight to introduce him to everyone. Between that and falling madly in love with my sister’s college roommate, he’s completely in over his head. A shudder passes through me at the thought.
“Alright. Swing back by about six to get me. Check ya, Lilypad.” Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, I unfold myself out of her car.
“Ciao, big bro.” I watch as she drives down the street until she turns the corner. I let myself in the house, finding a note left by Mom. They’ve gone to the coast for the weekend to relax. They’ll be back Monday night. Well damn! It’s nice to have the house to myself, but there’ll be none of Mom’s homemade goodness.
I open the fridge after dropping my bag on the table. It’s full of heatable leftovers. God bless that woman! I find homemade mac and cheese in a container and pop it into the microwave.
True to her word, Lily pulls up honking right at six. It’s a beautiful fall evening, so she has the top down on the convertible. We head across town until we reach the building Grayson’s condo is located in. I’ve seen more of Grayson since he has moved here from Houston, then in the last eight years.
My brooding solitary friend only recently moved his girlfriend, Izzy, into his home. Izzy was Lily’s college roommate and best friend. Lily’s college friends were always a confusing group of flirty, loud girls. I only saw them on occasion when I happened to be in town. I saw Izzy the most, but I always thought of them as more of a unit instead of individuals. Well, except for one.
I give Grayson a handshake and a slap on the back when we arrive. Izzy gives me a warm hug. I never set my sights on Izzy. She was always more like another little sister than anything else. She’s an amazing woman, and I’m glad Grayson found her.
Although from what I understand Lily actually bought him as a gift for Izzy’s birthday. I love reminding him often of his gigolo status after that. He seems to smile all of the time now. I’m pretty sure that the sudden discovery of happiness is due to Izzy.
His little brother, Teddy, is the spitting image of him with the same crude mouth to boot. I’m sure Izzy will have her hands full corralling those two.
Making the rounds, I shoot the bull with Marcus, the husband of one of Lily’s friends, for a while. He was an all-American basketball player in college that managed to marry the tiny cheerleader next to him her senior year. Grayson’s tall number cruncher is here also but he seems to be keeping a healthy distance from Lily, so he gets to live one more day.
Claire, from Lily’s college soccer team, blows in late. I swear that one will be late to her own funeral. The one friend my eyes keep searching for, however, doesn’t seem to have made an appearance. It’s probably for the best, she always manages to bring out my awkward side every time. I’ve argued cases in court for fuck’s sake, you would think I could say hello to her without stuttering.
With a mental eye roll, I wander out to the balcony to hunt for something to drink out of the cooler. Please let me find at least one cold beer in the middle of the soda. I’m digging through the massive cooler like it’s just been dropped onto my desert island when I hear her.
“I think our only option is soda. Grayson didn’t want to condone alcohol in front of Teddy.” I turn to find where the soft, sweet voice is coming from. Standing behind me is the intriguing creature I haven’t seen in too long. Or not long enough. Maggie.
She’s one of my sister’s friends from college, therefore off-limits. She’s small with long, straight black hair pulled back in a clip. Dressed in a simple long dress, her ballet flats bringing her barely to my shoulders, I can’t stop my eyes from perusing her body. She’s not the typical stunner I enjoy, but she is smiling at me sweetly with big brown doe eyes I dream of when I close my eyes at night.
“Maggie,” I say by way of greeting as I grab us both a soda. “You’re one of Lily’s friends from college? You were at the football game a couple of weeks ago.” Of course, I know exactly who she is, but that’s not the game I’ve been playing for years. Rolling her eyes at me she heads for the food table and for some reason I follow her.
“You’re three for three. Nice job, Colin. Burger?” I take the plate from her hand, adding pickles and mustard. “Interesting choice of fixings,” she states, watching me.
“I like everything with a little sass.” I hit her with my panty-dropping smile.
