“Is everyone in your family tall?” Mike asks Kaidan, as they settle into a game ofCall of Duty.
I crash land onto the foot of his bed, already scrolling on my phone for emails. There’s no work this week, giving everyone time off to be with their families with Christmas around the corner and rarely we find people in need of granite to be installed this time of year. They don’t want the mess that it creates, and I don’t blame them. We’ve had a great year, so it’s good to have a break.
Kaidan rolls his eyes, his lip already curling as he senses the follow-up questions. It’s Mike’s first time over at the Greenhorn household. “Yes, but it’s just Dad, my sister, and I. Mom’s pretty short.”
And like clockwork what they all say comes from Mike’s mouth, “Why didn’t you mention your sister was hot?”
Normally I laugh, Kaidan’s agony over the question used to be hilarious, but I grow more tired of it every time someone new points it out…and for very different reasons than Kaidan. I feel possessive, like I should’ve warned them of her beauty.
Or I could claim her as mine and off limits.
Technically, Kaidan’s never stated she’s off limits to anyone, and he’d be the one to have to do it as her brother.
“Gross, Mike.” Kaidan growls and in a timely fashion executes the opposition in the game.
Mike looks to me and Hector, who is doubly quiet, scrolling through Instagram as he sits quietly beside the two gaming. “You can’t tell me you two don’t see it?”
Oh, I see it.
She’s tall, great rack, and has a sweetheart cleft chin, something she shares with her brother. Jordan’s always had a darker girl-next-door look to her with dark eyebrows and brown hair that falls into her face just as easily as she smiles.
She’s always there for us, too. Dropping everything to rescue us, drive us, and scold us but ultimately, protect us from getting into trouble. When I lost my dad, I didn’t know where to go but there Jordan was, ready to take my ugly sobs and to soothe my fear of the future with the lack of a father figure. She never shamed me for showing my emotions. Just held me and rocked me as I worked through them. I needed that and Kaidan’s got the emotional equivalent of Jell-O.
Smartly, Hector doesn’t answer, laying back on the floor. When he pointed it out to Kaidan back in high school, he’d been tackled harshly in the next touch football game. I knew better from the start. I kept the knowledge of just how attractive Jordan is to myself, always have.
I laid eyes on her at fifteen, she was an older-woman visage of prowess, in her last year of college, taking Kaidan and I to school on her way to her classes. I knew back then nothing could happen.
And honestly, I’m not sure anything ever could. Would I risk losing both Kaidan and Jordan just to find out?
Kaidan ruins Mike inCall of Duty, not even letting him get a shot off in the game, putting him to shame for daring to speak of the forbidden topic of how hot his sister is.
Hector sits up, “Greenhorn Christmas party is at Chartreuse Clover Pub, right?”
“Like every year,” Kaidan and I say in unison.
“Can we invite some women?” he asks hopefully.
“Only a date,” Kaidan answers. “We’ll bar hop later though. Tell whoever you want to come to meet you at the club down the street. We’ll head there after my parents head home.”
They make plans for the night, mapping out potential spots and sharing which girl they’ve been talking to lately. The Greenhorn Christmas party is a good time every year. It’s a catered affair with booze, stupid games. The Greenhorns rent out half the pub on the Saturday before Christmas and celebrate. Mrs. Greenhorn loves that it keeps her house clean.
“I need a drink,” I declare standing. “Anyone else thirsty?”
“Another one,” Kaidan declares, crushing the can in his hand and throwing it enthusiastically against the floor.
Way to act like you’re ten, bro.
I take the stairs two at a time, sliding into the kitchen with momentum that slams me into Jordan. I grab hold of her to keep from toppling over.
“Shit, sorry,” I apologize, squeezing her waist gently.
Her light blue eyes peer up at me as her cheeks brighten. I watch her pale pink lips move and inhale slowly. I would just need to tilt my head down only a little to kiss her. To finally get a taste for her after all these years.
I’m staring and it finally hits me that she’s asked me a question. “What?”
“I said, did you walk down the stairs or crash land?” she repeats, pulling out of my grip.
“Bit of both,” I smirk and lean myself up against the fridge.