“Dude, same. My quads hurt every time I breathe. Cal, can you massage me later?”
“Can you do all of us?” I asked, chuckling at the menacing glare I got from Zade. “It’s only seven, Kenny. What were your plans for the rest of your birthday?”
I wish I could read her mind.She bit down on her lip and used her pointer finger to wipe away the chocolate—a totally innocent gesture, but it got my blood hot.
“I don’t know. This has been perfect so far, hanging with all of you.”
“You’re so chill. I wanted to go out all night, no curfew, all that when I was your age, still living at home,” Callie said, and I had to agree. When I’d been nineteen, I’d wanted to raise hell, fuck shit up, get laid. If she wanted any of those options, I’d gladly sign up. But I knew that wasn’t her.
Kenzie shrugged, took the final piece of the cake and put it into her mouth with an inquisitive look. “If there’s a place with games…not athletic ones, like dumb ones, I’d love that.”
Callie and Greta cheered and jumped from the table. “Okay, we have options. Bowling, mini-golf, an escape room…” They continued naming different places to go that would all cost money. I studied Kenzie’s reaction, trying to figure out why she carried a wave of sadness when she’d admitted the day had been perfect. I came up blank, but an idea struck me.
Growing up with little money, we would have card tournaments for hours when other kids went to the movies or the malls. Kemps, spoons, rummy, speed. They were fun, competitive and decks of cards were cheap. “I have an idea.”
All five of them looked at me and I grinned. “Card games. We can each donate one thing for the prize. It can be anything you want, but winner takes all. We can go out and get some beer and play here? What do ya think, Kenz?”
Her face lit up. “Yes. I love that. Gives me and Zade another chance to kick your asses.”
“Thatta girl. Keep it up and you’re in line to be my fourth favorite lady. You know, behind my mom, sister and Callie.”
“What the fuck, Zade?” Greta fired at him, but he just winked. Greta made an annoyed expression, but it soon turned into a crazy smile. “I love this card game idea,” she said, already starting to clean up the kitchen. “Go get booze, boys, and we’ll get the place ready.”
“Done.” Zade stood and pressed a quick kiss on Callie’s head before grabbing his keys and heading to the door. “Hilly, TJ, let’s go.”
“I’m coming, hold on.” Aaron pointed at his sister. “Any requests for beer?”
“Surprise me.”
“That I can do.”
We left the apartment and I chose to sit in the back of the car. That left Zade and Aaron able to talk in the front, ideally, so they wouldn’t ask me too many questions. They had been respectful since knowing I had kept something from them, but they were aggressive, intrusive and persistent. It took two minutes for Aaron to spin around and stare at me with an odd expression. I tensed, waiting for the interrogation, but what he asked had nothing to do with what I thought.
“Has Kenzie talked to you about our parents at all? She’s worrying me with how calm she is about everything. She’s…acting way older than she is and it’s freaking me out.”
I’d thought the same thing, too.“Not any time I can think of. She seemed a little sad up there.”
“Yeah. I know. I think it’s my fault.” He sighed, sounding mature beyond his age, and I imagined him and his sister had to be, for their parents. “Last year, I wasn’t able to go home and that was right when our dad got really bad. Bad as in we didn’t know if he’d make it through the summer. I called her, but she spent the entire day alone in that house plagued with sadness while they were at the hospital. Fuck. She’s alone a lot.”
Zade let out a low whistle and held up one hand, like he was a fucking student. I snorted.His sister’s a teacher, so it makes sense.
“If I may, I have an observation.”
“Why are you talking like a twat?” I asked.
He ignored my question, but Aaron’s shoulders shook in a laugh. “She’s clearly more mature than all of us combined—just let her figure shit out. She speaks her mind and if she didn’t want to be here, with you and all our crazy asses, she wouldn’t. I think it’s that simple. From what I know from dealing withmysister, fretting and overdoing it will backfire. And you fret, Hilly.”
“I annoy myself. Shit. Let’s just stop this and get beer. That sounds better.”
“Fine by me,” I added and wished I had her number so I could text her. Greta and Callie made her nervous, I could tell. She was in good hands, but they were a lot to handle and despite Zade’s insightful observation, I worried about her.
And not in a brotherly way. Not one bit.
Zade pulled in to the corner liquor store and we hopped out of his car, waving at two dudes. They smiled, gave us high-fives and the three of us shared a look. This was our life.
“I’m getting some Coors. It’s easy to drink and won’t fuck me up for tomorrow,” I said, not adding that it was cheaper than the others. Not spending more money than the allowances I had was tricky without drawing attention to it. I hated to admit it, but people bought us drinks all the time and I reveled in the fact it wasn’t my money.
One more year. Just one.
