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“Guy, your sister is on her way over," said Ariel, coming down the hall from the kitchen. “There’s the doorbell. She must be here already.”
“Did you invite Meagan over?”
“Not really, she texted me earlier and I just saw it. She’s wanting to bring Alex by — he apparently wants to get to know me better." Ariel rolled her eyes.
"I need to speak to her before you say anything." I brushed out the wrinkles in my clothing and tried to make myself look more presentable. A part of me wanted to go run and hide, but the practical side of my brain said, 'no way.' I'm a grown man and haven't done anything wrong — there's no reason for me to be ashamed. Up until now, I've never shied away from confrontations with my little sister, so there was certainly no need to start now.
The doorbell rang again followed by urgent knocking. "Hang on a second," Ariel yelled, pointing a finger in my chest. "Remember, be nice."
"I've got this!" I nodded, grinning.” Hey, sis!"
The look on Meagan's face was priceless. In any other circumstance, I would have laughed when her brows first rose with surprise before the pouty look morphed over her features. "What are you doing here?" Meagan huffed.
"Nice to see you too, sis. What brings you out so late this evening?" I asked, smirking.
Ariel stepped closer and gestured for my sister and her 'friend' to come inside. "Why don't you come in so we can talk, okay? Before things get blown out of proportion."
As he stepped inside, Meagan's friend, Alex, gave Ariel a grateful smile. Meagan, on the other hand, still seemed put out. "This is ridiculous," she said, following Alex inside, plopping on the couch.
"Oh really?" I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, eyeing this Alex dude. He smelled like weed, and his hair was a disheveled mess. Ariel sat on the loveseat across from the couch, so I followed suit and scooted over, careful not to touch her and give my sister more reason to glare at us.
Meagan sat across from us, looking angrier by the second, wrapping and unwrapping her foot around her leg. I knew this would happen eventually if Ariel and I kept talking. If anything, it was Meagan's fault for reintroducing me to Ariel in the first place. How could she not expect me to be attracted to her long-time friend? And besides, it's not like we were total strangers. Ariel and I had been acquaintances since the girls were in high school, albeit not close ones. Seeing her here again tonight was fun and brought back fond memories.
“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Meagan demanded, looking between Ariel and me.
"I think it would be best to talk about this privately." Ariel glanced at Alex, who nodded in agreement.
"No!" Meagan exclaimed. "He's my friend, and I want him here."
"The simple answer is... I’m enjoying getting to know your friend, Meagan. Don't forget, I was also around when you two hung out together as teenagers. So I don't see how you can possibly be upset about that." I looked to Ariel for backup, but she only shrugged. This was my sister, after all, and Ariel's only friend since she had moved back to the states.
Finally, Ariel took a deep breath. "Well, it turns out that Guy is my--"
"Guy is your what..." Meagan butted in.
"My friend too!"
I stood up. "Look, we are all adults here, right? Really, me being here with Ariel is none of your business. Just like..." I glared at the weirdo sitting beside her, "I don't dictate who you choose to make friends with."
"That's not true, Guy! You are telling me what to do all the time... and a time or two, you even threatened to not pay my rent if I didn’t do what you said,” Meagan huffed.
I could feel Ariel's eyes settling on me. "Whoa, back up, girl. I'll admit, I've tried to give you brotherly advice and even threatened not to do this or that.... but honestly, how many times have you listened? And honestly, how many times have I refused to pay your rent?"
Meagan looked down and shrugged.
"I thought so." I glanced over at Ariel, who was frowning at my sister.
"Yeah, but you can be mean, just like Dad." Meagan snarked.
"Oh, God. Stop!" Ariel said, shaking her head. "Let's not bring your parents into this. As far as I'm concerned, they’re saints."
"I'm not going to sit here and listen to this." Meagan stood up, but Ariel held out her hand to stop her.
"Meagan, please. Just listen to what Guy has to say. He obviously came here for a reason." Ariel looked at me pleadingly, and I knew she was right. This whole thing had spiraled out of control way too fast.
"Fine," Meagan said as she sat back down, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "But I'm warning you, Guy, if you say you are dating Ariel..."
"I get it." I heaved a sigh of relief.
