“Pretty much.” Dallas burped. “It’s annoying as fuck, though.”
“Really, DD?” Dex laughed. “You could at least say excuse me.”
“It’s not me,” Dallas argued. “It’s this baby.”
“You blame every damn thing on my niece.”
“Because it’s true. My body is not my own right now. Heartburn, gas, hot flashes, pain in my groin. Pregnancy is not for the faint at heart.” She dipped a chip into the cheese sauce. “Hm. This is good.” Then, she broke a piece of her pretzel off and popped it into her mouth.
“Damn, sis.” Asa slid into the booth next to his sister and swiped one of her nachos. “You’re eating again? Didn’t you just eat a slice of pizza and a hot dog?”
“Hey.” Dallas smacked his hand. “Don’t touch my food, shit.”
Asa shook his head. “Yo’ ass is greedy as hell.”
An argument ensued between Dallas and Asa about food, personal training, and…Similac versus breast feeding? And Dex had seemingly tuned them out.
I leaned closer. “What just happened here?”
Dex motioned for my other leg and removed that skate as well. “Dallas thinks she’s the boss.”
A chip hit Dex in the nose. “I heard that,” Dallas said. “And Iamthe boss.”
Grinning, Dex, threw the same chip back at her and it landed in her hair. I covered my smile, but Asa fell on the floor laughing.
Dallas caught my attempt to hide my amusement and said, “Chicks over dicks, Char. You already know this.”
I choked on my drink. Patting my chest, I told her to warn me next time. “You’re so silly for that.”
Dex kissed me, then stood. “I’ll turn the skates in, and we can go.”
Once he was out of earshot, I met the amused eyes of Dallas and Asa. “What?” I asked.
Dallas smirked. “Asa, leave.”
Asa snickered. “I’m not going anywhere, sis.”
Unphased, Dallas said. “You absolutely are getting the hell out of here. Or I’ll tell all your dirty little secrets.”
The two siblings stared at each other for a moment. Asa broke first, “What do you know?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter, does it? Especially if you leave.”
Asa muttered a curse. “You get on my damn nerves.”
The gleam in Dallas’ eye returned. “I love you, brother.” She kissed his cheek. “See you in a minute?”
Without another word, Asa walked away, grumbling something I couldn’t quite make out.
Curious, I leaned forward. “What is his secret?” I whispered.
Dallas waved me off. “Girl, I don’t know. But Asa’s so damn secretive, I knew I could get him to leave if I said that.”
“Well played.”
“Enough about my little brother. Spill.”
I’d managed to avoid this conversation up until now. Every time we’d seen anyone in his family, Dex had been with me. But I’d seen the looks, the promise in his sisters’ eyes. This day had been coming for a long time. They were super protective of each other, had always been ready to dog walk anyone who messed with one of their own. The stories of epic cuss outs and fights in the name of defending a sibling were well known in our town. I’d even witnessed several incidents in my teenage years, mostly because Blake liked a good beatdown. I’d even heard about a bar fight just last year. I wasn’t nervous though, or even intimidated. Justus and Elise were the same way.
