this box?”
“One second,” I tell Benji as he lifts my suitcase by the handle. I race into the kitchen and grab a few processed, prepackaged snacks Timothy loves. I stuff a few hot chocolate packets in the box as well. I’m tearing off a sheet of paper from the magnetic pad on the fridge when my cell phone chimes.
“Hello?” I answer.
“What’s up, sis?” Dennis says into my ear. My other younger brother’s timing isn’t great.
“Hey! How are you? What’s going on?”
Before I can answer, he launches into a story about a guy he knows who works for Owen Construction who knows Nate. He’s chattering about how that made him think of me but doesn’t connect those dots to any one thing in particular. I “uh-huh” my way through the conversation while trying to write a legible note to Timothy. I manage to write something that makes sense (I think) and sign it. Manuel takes the paper, puts it in the box, and then takes the tape roll out of the junk drawer.
“Den, I have to go. I’m so sorry. I have a flight to catch.” I put my hand on my forehead, having the sneaking suspicion I’m forgetting something.
“Where are you going?” Dennis asks.
“Florida.” It hits me just as Manuel pulls a strip of tape over the box’s top. “Wait! When he was home on spring break, he left one of his books here.”
“Why are you going to Florida?” Dennis asks into my ear as I reroute to Timothy’s bedroom.
“Uh, a fundraiser. Benji and I are about to leave for the airport.”
“Boss man picking you up?”
“Yes.” I sort through the books on Timothy’s bookshelf and grab the book he needs for class. “And I don’t want to miss our flight.”
“Impossible,” Benji says as I race by. Whatever that means.
“That book isn’t going to fit,” Manuel tells me as he winds the tape back onto the roll.
“It’ll fit. Can you overnight the box? I’ll get you some money,” I tell him as I grab my purse. “Is twenty-five dollars enough?”
“Cris.” Dennis sounds frustrated.
“I’m sorry, Den. I’m not trying to ignore you. I just have a few things going on. What about your friend, again?”
The phone vanishes from my hand and Benji says, “Dennis, Benji. How are you, man? I’ll have Cris give you a call when we’re in the air. You going to be around for a while?” A pause and then, “Yeah. You got it. Thanks.”
Call ended, Benji slides my cell phone into the front pocket of my jeans and tucks my wallet into my purse. He follows me to the kitchen where he holds the box flaps down as Manuel applies the tape.
“We have time to drop this off,” he tells my brother.
“We do?” I ask.
“Yeah, Firecracker. We do.”
Manuel jerks his gaze from Benji to me and back again, processing the nickname. I give him a tense smile. Box tucked under one arm, Benji places his hand on my lower back. “Say bye to your brother. I’ll be in the car.”
He then sets a kiss on the corner of my mouth and walks out the door. Now I’m left in my kitchen facing my brother’s narrowed gaze. He doesn’t look happy.
“Don’t.” I point at him. He wants to know everything, but this might be too much to know. Especially when I don’t have time to explain. Not that I would share details. “I love you.”
He’s normally recalcitrant, so I’m surprised by his returned “I love you too.” At least he sounds sincere when he adds, “Have a nice trip.”
Benji
Two hours later we’ve landed in Florida and a car is taking us to the hotel. I surprised Cris with a private jet rather than flying commercial. As she boarded our airliner, her cheeks tinged pink and her eyes crinkled at the sides. Totally worth it.
We made a quick stop to drop the package at the post office before a cozy flight south. We didn’t have sex on the plane, but I’m not going to say it didn’t cross my mind. I want her losing her virginity to be right. Unfortunately, doing things right means not inducting Cris into the mile-high club on the first go-round. On the flight home, however, anything goes.
I put a pin in my libido and hand the valet the keys. The hotel I booked is a ritzy, modern-day masterpiece. Nothing’s nicer than a Crane hotel.
We check in amidst white and glass and sleek, modern furnishings in the lobby and then take the elevator to the top