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“Are you?” Her mouth opens and closes as if she isn’t sure. It’s a valid question. Why else would she not want to be with my brother? He’s a hot mess sometimes, but he’s the greatest guy I know.
“Maybe.” That’s all she says, and I embrace her again, holding on tighter than I did before. I thought she still had some issues from her past relationship with Joel, but never did I imagine that they would be this detrimental to her everyday life.
“I know he’s my brother, but you’re my best friend. So I will say only this and only say it once. He is not Joel. He is better than that. Way better than that. Don’t let that piece of shit who destroyed you for all those years, destroy the rest of your life.”
“I love you, Shay. You’re the only sister I’ve ever had. Thank you for being my best friend and sticking with me when I needed you the most. Everyone else jumped ship but you, you stayed true.”
I really love Lana like a sister and I would never do anything to risk our friendship. Every day I have to work at her opening up to me, but I am willing to do that because her recovery in mind, body, and spirit, is important to me.
“Always and forever, girl.” I wipe the tears from her soft face, her round cheeks lifting with a smile, her dimples showing. I’d never jump ship with this one, but I’ll say she does need to work on recovering; she’s a survivor, not a quitter. I want to see her learn to love and accept love.
We get back to cooking when we hear footsteps in the hall outside our apartment door.
“They’re here. You sure you can do this, L?” I ask, making sure she doesn’t feel like she’s entering a war zone.
“Yeah, yeah, I think I can. Thanks, babe.” The door opens and Trey walks in, followed by Kingston. I instantly feel my insides do a happy dance when I see Trey. Never has a man made blue jeans, a white tee, and a backward snapback hat look so damn yummy. Even though Trey and I are okay, I know he can feel the tension in the room when Kingston looks at Lana and she avoids his gaze.
“Baby, don’t leave the door unlocked, it should always be locked, remember?” Rolling my eyes at his little demand, I walk up to him, rubbing my hands off on my apron.
“We have a doorman, no one gets up here unless they live in the building. How many times have I told you this?” Kissing him once on the lips, I move over to my brother and give him a hug.
“Hey, Kings.”
“That’s my point, there could be creepers in our building, and you two are easy targets. How many fucking times have I argued this?” He retorts and I wave my hands in the air, trying to change the subject. We have had this conversation for as long as we’ve lived here and every time we let bygones be bygones. He’s crazy to think I’m going to compromise just because we’re dating.
“Don’t wave me off, babe. Lock the door. Got it?”
Irritated, I decide to let this go for now, but we aren’t finished. He can’t just barge in and tell me what to do. He turns to Lana and I flip him off quickly, giggling when Kings winks at me.
“Fine,” I lie, acting like nothing happened while his back was turned.
“Hey, L, since this girl is a stubborn pain in my ass, can you start locking the door?” he asks, hugging her then stepping back over to me.
“If you promise to bring me chocolates next time you stop by. If you are going to demand such things, you better come bearing gifts.” She smirks, her smart-ass side rearing its head. I love her.
“Deal.” We fall silent and look between Lana and Kings, they still haven’t even said hello to one another. This is freaking awkward.
I get back to working on dinner.
We’re all sitting around the table after dinner, enjoying some wine, but all I can think about is going to bed. This weekend has been chaotic and busy. Between Trey and I, and the investment process for our store, I’m beyond worn out. Sleep is calling.
“So, I asked Dad if we all wanted to head to Park City for the holidays. He has some business to do up there, and I thought it would be fun to spend time as a family, you know, in the mountains.”
I listen to Trey and pay extra attention to his hand on my neck as he massages gently. I’m a little too out of it to disagree, and honestly, I would love to go home so I just let everyone else decide. I’m too distracted by his hands on me.
“Let’s do it. I wanna fucking snowboard so bad,” Kingston opts in.
“Sure, a vacation would be nice,” Lana chimes in.
“I can teach you to snowboard, baby. You were terrible at it, back then.” Kingston directs his comment at Lana.
Finally grasping my attention, my head shoots up and my eyes open wide, landing right on Lana. Did my brother just call her ‘baby?’ Dang, I thought we were going to survive the night without a fight or the table being flipped.
“Kings, can I talk to you in the other room for a minute?” Lana asks, standing from the table and throwing her napkin down.
I look at Trey and he shrugs his shoulders. I know we both need to let it be and let them do their thing.
Getting up and heading toward Lana’s room, they leave earshot before Trey says, “That was awkward. When do you think she’ll give in and just date the big guy?” I shrug, not sure if he knows what I know about them sleeping together.
