LEE: See you in 10.
I wandered downstairs and decided to wait for Lee outside. I sat on the front steps leading up to the porch and just enjoyed the sunshine. I’d been so busy the last few weeks, I hadn’t really had the chance to spend any time outside, other than walking to and from classes. Working nights at the bar meant I tended to sleep late, and by the time I got moving, I was generally too late for something to spend much time in the sun.
The crackle of the gravel under the Jeep’s tires caught my attention and I couldn’t help but smile at my older brother. Lee was behind the wheel of his Jeep, his blond hair just starting to grow long enough I figured it had to be driving him crazy. Ever since he had been in the military, he had kept it in the military “high and tight”.
Lee and I had been close when we were growing up, but he’d decided to join the military when I was a sophomore in high school. Nicki and I had only just started dating when he went off to basic training and he had been deployed overseas by the time Nicki had left for Florida.
I grinned at him and ran around to the passenger’s side, throwing open the door to the Jeep.
“Is this seat taken?” I asked, lowering my voice comically
“Are you on ‘roids again?” he laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Fuck no! You know I don’t do that shit. This body is one-hundred percentau naturel!” I answered, smoothing my hands down my chest as if showing off a new car.
“Pity the same can’t be said for your hair…” he snarked as he turned the car around.
“Hey!” I exclaimed in mock outrage. “No fair! Lay off the locks!”
“So where to?” he asked as we got to the end of the driveway.
“How about Wally Waffle?” I suggested. “They just opened their new place on Tallmadge Circle.”
He groaned.
“You just want to get me killed on the Circle,” he said. Tallmadge Circle was a historic area in a nearby suburb. Some places called them “roundabouts.” It was a circular intersection that surround an area of green space that held the original town hall and church buildings.
There were at least eight streets that led on and off the Circle and navigating them all safely was a challenge. You took your life in your own hands when you drove there. It wasn’t bad for people who knew the area and knew how to merge on and off it, but if someone was from outside the area, it usually caused problems.
“Dude, you have lived here your whole life,” I said, shaking head at him. “How could you not know how to drive the Circle?”
“Iknowhowto drive it,” he said peevishly. “It’s all theotheridiots in the world who don’t know how to drive it. Did you hear they have so many accidents there they’ve turned it into a ‘no fault’ area? You get in an accident there and the cops won’t even ticket you.”
“Is that what you and all your Uber driver friends talk about?” I teased. “What areas you can have an accident and not get in trouble for?”
“No, we sit around and talk about our asshole passengers,” he said, eyeing me pointedly.
“Fucker,” I said, laughing. “Good thing you’re driving. Otherwise I might have to hurt you for that.”
“As if you could,” he snorted at me.
I looked at him and grinned.
“You really think you can take me, old man?” I taunted.
We were stopped at a red light and he’d slipped the car in park and held me in a headlock before I even saw him move.
“Uncle!Uncle!” I said, tapping the armrest in surrender.
He laughed, releasing me right before the light turned green.
“Guess you’re buying lunch,” He said.
“Joke’s on you,” I grumbled, embarrassed he had gotten the best of me. “I was planning to, anyway.”
“Yeah, right…” he snorted. “I can’t remember the last time you paid when we went out.”
“That’s different,” I said, one hand running through my hair to fix the damage his shenanigans had caused. “I act as your wingman when we go out. Can’t have our nation’s veterans go too long without getting laid.”
