Chapter 29: Two of a Kind

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Two of a Kind

For the next few minutes, we just ate.

The food was better than either of us had expected, which probably helped keep the conversation from immediately drifting back into anything too serious. Nicole seemed perfectly content with that, taking her time with her burger while occasionally glancing at me across the table.

I mostly kept eating, enjoying the fact that there wasn’t anything I needed to say.

At least, not right away.

Nicole took another bite, chewed for a moment, then looked up at me.

"So..." she said, swallowing. "How’s Chloe doing?"

"She’s fine."

Nicole nodded, taking another bite before looking at me again. "How did she take everything?"

"Pretty well, actually."

She tilted her head slightly, that little smile on her face saying she wasn’t entirely convinced. "You’re serious? She took it well?"

"Yeah." I took another bite, chewing before adding, "She even said she’s rooting for her future sister-in-law."

Nicole paused.

"Future sister-in-law," she repeated, more to herself than to me, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

I immediately regretted telling her that part.

I brought the burger back toward my mouth, already knowing that information was going to come back to bite me—

"Can I... can I hang out with her?"

Of course.

I paused, burger halfway to my mouth, then slowly lowered it.

"With Chloe," she added quickly. "You know. Like... texting her, calling her, taking her out sometimes. Big sister stuff."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Big sister stuff."

Nicole gave me an innocent smile. "Pl—"

"Don’t say please."

She giggled, clearly amused that I’d caught her.

I smiled despite myself. "Eat."

She nodded and went back to her burger. I did the same, already knowing she’d bring it up again before the day was over.

—

We finished eating a little while later, neither of us in much of a hurry to leave. Once we were done, Nicole reached for the bill, but I got there first. She tried holding onto it anyway. I gave her a look, still not entirely sure what it was supposed to mean myself. Somehow, Nicole understood it. She stared back for a second before finally letting go, pouting like she’d just lost an argument she hadn’t even gotten to make.

I paid the bill, and we headed back to the car.

The drive to Nicole’s house was quiet for the most part. We talked about a few random things along the way, nothing important enough to stick with me afterward, but it was easy. Comfortable.

By the time I pulled into her driveway, the sky had already started getting darker.

I parked, turned off the engine, and reached for the door handle, intending to walk her to the gate before heading home.

Nicole turned toward me instead.

Her eyes were bright, and she was smiling like she’d been waiting for this exact moment.

"You know," she said, "I think Chloe really does like me."

I sighed, already knowing where this was going, and let her keep talking.

"I’m just saying," she added. "I think we’re going to get along."

She looked at me expectantly.

I stared at her for a moment before finally shaking my head. "Fine. Do what you want."

Her face immediately lit up.

"Thank you."

She looked genuinely pleased with herself, and I couldn’t help watching her for a moment, thinking about everything we’d just talked about: Chloe, her wanting to text her, call her, take her out sometimes, and the way she’d been behaving around me since the start, always somehow ending up in this same position despite being older than me, more experienced than me, more established than me.

Maybe that was just what happened when someone loved you that much.

Nicole tilted her head, smiling. "What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

I opened my door. "Come on. I’ll walk you to your gate."

Her smile widened, and she nodded, looking entirely too pleased with herself as she opened her door.

I got out as well, and we walked toward the gate together without saying anything.

By the time we reached it, Nicole had stopped and was looking at me.

I raised an eyebrow.

She smiled. "Remember you said you’d spend the night after the third visit?"

I stared at her for a second. "I did not say that."

She laughed softly. "Close enough."

I shook my head, already knowing she wasn’t going to let that one go.

"I’ve still got some things to finish up," she said, glancing back toward the house. "So I might not text you for a while."

I nodded.

She kept looking at me. "But I’ll... send you a goodnight before I go to bed," she added.

I understood what she was really saying. If she went quiet for the rest of the evening, I didn’t need to wonder about it.

"Got it."

She smiled again, but didn’t move.

I tilted my head toward the house. "Go on."

She finally turned and opened the gate, stepping through slowly. She kept looking back at me as she pulled it closed, her eyes staying on me until the gate was shut.

A quiet warmth settled in my chest as the gate slowly closed. I watched it for another moment before turning back toward my car. I got in, started the engine, and drove home.

—

I pulled into the apartment parking lot a little later and headed inside. The moment I opened the door, I could hear the TV from the living room.

Chloe was stretched out on the couch, watching something on the screen. She looked over as I stepped inside.

"Ooh. You’re back."

She sat up, then stood, stretching before turning toward me.

"I made dinner."

I paused, glancing toward the kitchen. "I already ate."

"With Nicole?"

There was something suspicious in the way she was looking at me.

"Yeah."

She grinned. "You had dinner with Nicole."

"That’s what I just said."

Chloe reached for my hand and pulled me toward the couch. "Sit."

I let her.

"I’ll get you some water."

"I didn’t say I was thirsty."

"You had a long drive. You need it," she said over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen.

I almost argued, but apparently she was right. I was thirsty.

A moment later, she came back with a bottle of water and handed it to me. "From a caring little sister to her favorite big brother."

I looked at the bottle, then at her, before taking it.

"...Thanks."

She smiled and sat down beside me, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

I twisted the cap off the bottle and took a drink.

"Did you confess?"

I choked. Full-on choke.

The water went down the wrong way, and I pulled the bottle away, coughing hard as I leaned forward. Chloe immediately moved closer, one hand tapping my back.

"Are you okay?"

I coughed again, waving her off for a second as I tried to catch my breath.

"Yeah," I managed between coughs.

She kept her hand on my back for another moment, watching me carefully.

I looked at her. "You really couldn’t wait until I wasn’t drinking?"

She gave me a small, apologetic smile. "Oops."

I took another breath, finally starting to calm down.

"But did you, though?"

I gave her a look that said, Seriously? Right now?

She didn’t even hesitate. "Tell her how you feel."

I stared at her for a moment. Apparently, choking me wasn’t enough to make her drop the subject.

"To your room."

"But I—"

"Now."

She held my gaze for another second, like she was trying to figure out if I was actually serious.

I raised an eyebrow.

She pouted, finally looking down for a second before muttering, "Fine. I won’t ask anymore."

That was enough for me. I hadn’t actually meant for her to leave anyway. I just needed her to drop the subject.

I took another sip of water and swallowed.

Chloe waited, watching me for a second, deliberately making sure I was done drinking this time before speaking.

"Can I at least come pick you up tomorrow?"

I looked at her. "Pick me up. From where? School?"

She nodded.

I blinked. "In case you’re forgetting, I’m the one with the car."

"I know." She shrugged. "I just want to get out of the house." She paused, then added, smiling, "You could show me around a little too."

She had a point, but before I could even come up with a response, she started pouting. Her lips pushed forward, her eyes dropping slightly as she gave me the full little-sister pout.

"I’m always alone in this house," she said, her voice dropping a little. "It’s so boring. I don’t even have anyone to talk to."

"You’ve only been here for a day."

Chloe’s pout somehow deepened. I didn’t even know that was possible, and I’ve known her all her life.

I stared at her for a moment, already recognizing that look. She was basically a younger, more annoying version of Nicole.

I sighed. "Fine."

Her pout disappeared immediately.

She beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She leaned over and wrapped her arms around me. "Love you, big bro. You’re the best."

I smiled and patted her back. "Yeah, yeah. Don’t make me regret it."

"I won’t."

Chloe picked up the remote from the couch and turned her attention back to the TV. She shifted closer, then rested her head on my lap like she’d been doing her whole life.

I looked down at her for a second.

She didn’t even look back at me. She just settled in, apparently satisfied with how things had turned out.

I smiled and turned my attention to the screen, and we just... watched the show together.