I keep my eyes down, finishing a crossword puzzle I’ve been working on for the last hour. “Don’t you have a shop to open?”
The bar is nearly empty, with only a few regulars who should have their names imprinted on their stools. It’s the same thing every day. I open the bar, and they file in to shoot the shit about nonsense while sipping their beers. Once all the drinks are poured, I lean against the bar and work on a crossword puzzle to pass the time before the lunchtime rush begins. From that moment on, the bar is busy until close.
“It’s early.” She leans next to me, getting into my personal space.
“Great,” I mutter.
“Tell me about last night.” She pumps my arm, nearly causing me to miss the square with my pencil.
“It was a date.”
I know I’m not getting out of telling her details, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make it easy on her.
“I’m here. I’m here,” Lulu says as she busts through the door and power walks toward the bar. “What did I miss?” she gasps for air, clearly out of breath from her quicker-than-normal pace.
“Nothing yet.” Tate takes a sip of her coffee, making the most annoying slurping sound in the world. She knows it drives me crazy, and she has every intention of using it as a weapon against me in this conversation.
“Good. Good.” Lulu climbs onto the stool in front of us and touches her chest. “Does the cold always make it so much harder to run, or is it just me?”
“That wasn’t running,” I tell her, not looking up from my newspaper.
“It was to me. I only have two speeds.”
“Slow and slower,” I tease before she has a chance to finish her statement. I love my cousin, but I swear her ass could be on fire and she wouldn’t move any faster.
“Life isn’t a race,” she tells me.
“So…” Tate bumps into me again. “Spill the details, little brother.”
I sigh deeply as I peer over to where she’s perched. “What do you want to know?”
“Did you kiss?” Lulu blurts out.
Tate giggles. “That, but also, was it good? Are you going to see her again? Did you spend the night together?” she rattles off a few more questions, but I tune her out because my head is already swimming with too much overstimulation.
“All of that,” Lulu adds.
“The date went well. Conversation was easy. I did not make an ass of myself.”
“Shocker,” Tate whispers under her breath, but I ignore her and keep on going.
“We did not spend the night together, and yes, we kissed.”
“Ooooh,” Lulu sings. “Hot.”
“You kissed her on the cheek or the lips?”
Man, my sister is nosier than usual. I mean, she always wants to know everything, but today, she’s extra pushy and ignores all the boundaries.
“I don’t kiss-and-tell,” I explain, dragging my gaze back to the crossword puzzle.
Before I can put my pencil against the paper, Tate swipes it off the bar top. “I’m not asking for a play-by-play,” she says as she holds the newspaper ransom in her hand. “I don’t want to know everything, but tell me, did you at least kiss her on the mouth?”
“Yes,” I grumble.
Lulu and Tate squeal in unison.
“Did your toes curl when you did?” Lulu asks.
