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“Can’t believe I made it here before Dial.” She was very much an if you’re on time, you’re late type of personality.
“That’s because I asked you to get here earlier than the others so we could talk.”
“What’s up?” Cyrus was a man of few words, so if we needed to talk, it must be important.
“First, I want to thank you for going in on the renovation with me. It means a lot to have someone I trust by my side.”
I’d invested a considerable amount of money into this venture, with a fifteen percent stake in the profits. That could easily earn me a mill a year of passive income, especially if my baby sister did her part. Fancy was the celebrity face that was going to get her millions of social media followers booking flights to Tennessee so they could sleep at the small-town country resort that she frequented.
“You know I’ve always got your back.” Cyrus was like a brother to me, and I’d do anything for him and the Birch family.
Cy took a long sip from his Gas Guzzle Gulp cup. I could sense he was about to say something that was gonna piss me off. He was shit at breaking bad news. “We need to talk about Dial.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’d heard those words… from Cy, Fancy, my momma, or potential suitors looking to get my blessing, which I never granted. “What about Dial?” I swallowed hard. Did he know I was fucking his sister? In high school, when Cy found out I was making time with Dial, we’d come to blows.
He was yelling and screaming, talking about, “That’s my sister and you’re supposed to be my best friend. What the fuck are you doing?”
“It just happened.”
“Bullshit!” Spit was flying from his mouth, and his hands were curled into fists at his sides.
“We were gonna tell you.”
“Yeah, but you just wanted to blow her back out a few times before you did.”
“It’s not like that. We ain’t done nothing like that.”
Cy pointed at me and said, “I’ma fuck you up, Ozzie.”
“You and I both know that’s a fight you ain’t gonna fucking win.” I was just as big in high school, and while I didn’t get into many fights, I also didn’t lose any.
Cyrus came charging at me like a bull, raining blows down on my face and midsection. I tried not to hit him back, pushing him away instead, but he just kept coming. My best friend was strong, but he was no match for me. When his fist connected with my jaw, I saw red and punched back. We tussled, and the whole high school flooded the football field to witness the Birch-versus-Palmer brawl.
Dial must’ve caught wind, because she came running out yelling, “What the hell is wrong with you two?”
Dropping my hands, I turned to Dial. She was wearing yellow shorts and a white crop top with a daisy embroidered in the middle. She was so beautiful even when she was mad. The corners of my mouth tweaked into an awkward smile.
While I was studying Dial, Cyrus sucker-punched me, almost knocking me off my feet.
At that point, Dial stepped in between the middle of us, saving Cyrus’s life. “Stop it. This is stupid. You’re best friends.”
“Best friends don’t scam on my sister,” Cyrus said.
“We planned to tell you,” I replied.
“There ain’t no fucking we. And when I tell my dad you’re trying to get up my sister’s skirt, I bet he bans your foamer ass from the house.”
“Foamer?”
“Yeah, you’ve been foaming at the mouth over Dial since we were little, but I never thought you’d actually act on it.”
“Shut up, the both of you,” Dial interjected. “Cyrus, you do not get to dictate who I date.”
“When it’s this one I do.” He pointed an accusatory finger in my direction.
“So, I’m not good enough for your sister?”
“No, you’re not. I’ve heard the way you talk about women.”
