I rolled over in bed and let out a sigh of pure contentment. I’m a lucky man.
Which is why I can’t put my finger on what’s been bothering me so much lately.
The last few days, something’s been nagging at me, but I can’t put my finger on it. Kristen’s happy with her new job, I’ve been having a blast hanging out with Stephen, but despite everything feeling so perfect, there’s something under the surface that’s just…weird.
My phone starts ringing on my nightstand and I reach for it with a groan. At first I’m annoyed, wondering who’d be calling me on a Saturday morning, but when I see the name on the caller ID, I brighten.
“Hey, Lexi, how you doing, kid?”
“I’m good, how are you?” my younger sister’s voice is chipper in my ear.
“Good, good, what’s going on?”
“Well, I was wondering if you’ve got any plans today.”
“Not really, why, what’s up?” I say, confused.
My little sister lives in Arizona, having moved and stayed after college, so I wonder if maybe she needs me to pick something up and mail it to her or something.
“Well, I just arrived at the Lacqua Bend airport and I’m about to go pick up my rental car, and I was wondering if you’d like to meet me this afternoon to meet with my realtor to go look at some houses.”
My jaw hits my chest. “Wait, what?!”
She squeals with delight. “That’s right! I’m moving here!”
“When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t want to say anything until I got the job for sure, and by then I just decided to surprise you,” she explains.
“That’s awesome, Lex, it’ll be great to have you close by,” I tell her sincerely.
I absolutely adore my weird little sister, and the few times they’ve met, she and Kris seem to have hit it off well, so I’m glad she’ll be around and we’ll get to see more of her. “Do you need a place to crash in the meantime?” I ask her.
“I’ve got a month-to-month apartment rental for right now until I find the right house, but I still want to start looking right away. So, is that a yes to this afternoon?”
“Yeah, of course! Let me just clear it with Kris and make sure she didn’t already make other plans or anything. Is it okay if I ask her to come along?”
“Of course, the more the merrier!”
“Awesome. Want me to call you back?”
“Just text me, let me know. And if everything’s a go, plan on meeting me around noon?”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Joey.”
We hang up and I throw on some boxers and head downstairs. “Morning, my love,” I greet Kristen, who’s standing at the stove with a spatula in hand, watching strips of bacon sizzle in a pan.
“Morning, babe. Did I just hear you talking to someone, or was that my imagination?”
“No, had a phone call. Guess who’s in town?”
“Who?” she asks, furrowing her brow in confusion.
“Lexi.”
Her jaw drops. “No way, really? Did we forget she was visiting or something?”