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Nico
“Do you want some ice cream with your hot fudge?”
My sister Lily giggles, dribbling chocolate ice cream down her chin. It’s a nice complement to the hot fudge goatee she’s rocking right now. She’s normally such a happy kid, but ever since Grandpa died, she’s been a little lost.
Just like me. Just like everyone.
So, I promised her a trip to the mall. Ice cream and toys can work wonders on a little kid. And the proof is in the fudge smeared all over her face.
“Can I have some of yours?” Her big brown eyes widen, and she clasps her hands together. “Pleeeease?”
I snicker and push my half-eaten bowl of vanilla with strawberry syrup toward her. I have this thing about berries and sugar. Maybe it’s because I act like a complete asshole a lot of the time and need the sugar to battle that alter ego. You know, to keep me human. That’s why I practically live on Jolly Ranchers. I can’t get enough of the fruity flavors. They battle the dark and make it bright, if only for a little while.
Maybe it’s my mind’s way of telling me that I’m in the wrong line of work. Maybe I should have become a dentist instead.
I glance at my watch and sit back in the hard, plastic chair. It’s pretty damn obvious that the food court doesn’t want people taking up residence here. Twenty minutes in one of these chairs and my back will be out of whack for the next hour. I shift myself as Lily slurps the melted ice cream from her own bowl before digging back into mine.
“Nio, loo oh eeh!” Lily’s mouth is full of ice cream, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to speak.
I furrow my brow. “Um, wanna try that again?”
She points to something behind me. “Loo! Yay!”
I twist in my chair, still unable to decipher my baby sister’s ice cream language. A sharp pain zips down my back mid-twist, and I silence a groan. Fucking chairs. Within half a second of seeing what Lily saw, the pain is forgotten. It is quickly replaced by embarrassment, regret, and disgust.
Hot pink strands of hair peek out from under a gray wool beanie, cheeks rosy from the cold, and full glossed lips are curled upward for the benefit of the sticky little person sitting next to me. Yes, there is absolutely no confusion about who is lucky enough to capture Shaye’s attention. In fact, her eyes never once stray from Lily. She approaches the table with a bright smile plastered onto her mouth and drops to her knees next to Lily without so much as a flip of her hair in my vicinity.
“Hey, Lilibelle.” Shaye gently tugs on one of Lily’s pigtails and flashes her a dimpled smile that I wish to God was directed at me, not that I deserve it.
“Hi, Shaye!” Lily throws her arms around Shaye’s neck.
“Lil, you’re covered in chocolate, and I don’t think Shaye—”
There it is. She turned so fast in my direction and glared at me. The look that can freeze water in a hot tub. One second, and I already feel the blood chilling in my veins.
“You don’t know anything about what I want.” She plasters a sweet smile on her face for Lily’s benefit because I sure as hell know she’s hiding a look that would give my baby sister nightmares if it surfaced.
“Yeah, boys don’t know anything,” Lily chimes in, snuggled up to her partner in crime. Great, now I’m getting it at both ends.
Shaye slings an arm around Lily’s shoulders and focuses on her once again. “I heard your dad got you a puppy. What’s his name?”
Lily claps her hands and lets out a little whoop. “His name is Snickers! He sleeps with me at night. He’s so warm and cuddly. Will you come over to meet him soon?”
Shaye twirls Lily’s hair around her little finger. “I sure will. I’d love to meet him. Snickers, huh?” Her eyes flicker over to mine. “Does he love peanut butter as much as your brother does?”
Despite the tension, I can’t help but allow the smirk to lift my lips. The dog loves peanut butter more than anything else they’ve fed him, and it’s one of the reasons why I have steered clear of my parents’ house as much as possible since Snickers showed up on the scene. The last time peanut butter so much as hit my lips, my face blew up like a Thanksgiving Day parade balloon. And since the dog has an exclusively peanut diet, I don’t need him slobbering all over me and risking facial edema.
“Yes! He eats it all the time!” Lily giggles and scoops up another spoonful of ice cream. “Want some?”
Shaye rubs her belly and groans. “I would, but I just ate lunch.” She peeks at her watch. “I promise to come and visit soon, okay?”
Lily nods and shoves the heaping spoonful into her mouth. “Mm-hm.”
Shaye rises and tickles the underside of Lily’s chin. “See you later, pumpkin.”
“Wait!” I jump out of my chair, and Shaye stops, her back to me. “Why don’t you sit for a minute?”
She turns slowly, giving me time to peel my eyes off of her ass. It should be illegal to wear jeans like that. Seeing her tight ass swing from side to side is enough to plunge me over the brink of sanity. A smile lifts her lips, and her tone matches the sugary sweet concoction in Lily’s bowl. “I think you made it pretty clear the other night that your table is full, so thanks, but no thanks.”
