Kris?” Luke asked. “Tell her you’re not coming over. We’re busy.”
His phone beeped again and new words filled the screen. NOW!! No excuses or the Xbox dies!
Mike turned the phone so Luke could see it. “She knows us too well, man.”
Luke scowled. “So not fair. She knows it’s my first night back.”
Mike shrugged, pausing his player in the game. “It’s your fault you dropped the engagement bomb shell. You can’t expect her to just act like it’s any other night.”
Luke paused as well. “You sure that text is about me and not her current boyfriend, or whatever? I heard her mention that she was dating someone.”
“Nah, they’re good,” Mike said, not mentioning any names. No way he was going to open the can of worms called Caleb. That was Kris’s territory.
“Hmm,” Luke said, eyes looking at nothing. “Figured she’d find a new one while I was gone.”
Was it Mike’s imagination, or did Luke sound a bit put out? And was this the first time he’d sounded pouty when talking about Kris’s beaus, or was Mike just hearing it for the first time? Or was he just hoping he heard it so he had a reason to break up his friend’s engagement?
Man, when had stuff gotten so complicated?
“I’d better go,” Mike said, texting Kris.
“I can’t clear this level without you,” Luke whined.
“Oh, c’mon. You’ll have an army of online buddies within five minutes. And either I go now, or we both deal with an unhappy Kris come morning.”
“Fine,” Luke groaned. “But she owes me. Big time!”
“I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”
“Do,” he said, already on the task of replacing Mike.
Curious as to what had his sister calling an emergency meeting, Mike ran up the stairs and headed over to his parents’ house.
Chapter 14
What was taking Mike so long? Kris had threatened the wellbeing of the Xbox. Could she be any clearer on the seriousness of her request? And yet it had been two minutes and no Mike. Two more minutes and she might wear a track into her carpet with all her pacing.
What were they going to do? What could they do? This Rori girl seemed nice enough. Too nice for brutal punishment and yet… she was wrong. At least for Luke. Definitely wrong for Luke. It was like Newport meets skate park. Sure, there might be some initial attraction of opposites, but a sustained relationship would just be frustration after frustration. It had to be. Because if it wasn’t, that meant…
Shit. Kris couldn’t even make herself think it, so how would she handle it if Luke actually married this mystery woman? Kris was obsessing over the possibilities when her brother stepped through the window.
“Isn’t it Luke who should be using this entrance?” he teased.
“Shut up,” she hissed, keeping her voice down even though it was unlikely that Rori would hear them. “I didn’t ask you over to watch you gloat. You’re here to talk tactics. What are we going to do?”
Mike sat on her window sill and considered that. “I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. I was trying to dig a little with Luke tonight, actually. He’s still in his ‘new toy’ phase with Rori, that’s for sure. She’s all shiny and new and superficial to him. That could work in our favor.”
Kris shook her head. “That’s weak sauce. They would both concede the fact that their relationship is superficial at this point. We need to focus on fundamental differences. Core value stuff.”
“Did you get anything during your little estrogen powwow at the party?” he asked.
“Not much,” Kris admitted. “The girl knows how to direct a conversation. She’s polite without really ever getting personal.”
Mike smiled. “Which means she doesn’t like getting personal.”
“She’s for sure got daddy issues. I’m not sure what they are, though.”
“Oooh, someone’s getting mercenary,” Mike teased, his mood much lighter than hers, as if this were all a game.
As if.
“Hey, I’m just brainstorming here, okay?” Kris snapped. “What about you? I don’t hear any big ideas coming out of your mouth.”
“Hey, I suggested the take-the-shine-off-the-new-toy approach,” he countered, before adding. “Although I have to admit that she is rather shiny.”
“Traitor,” she said, even as she caught the hint of interest in her brother’s eye. “Although that does bring up the option of seeing if she likes Team Mike better than Team Luke. You could charm her.”
“Off limits,” Mike said with a quick shake of his head. “There aren’t many man-rules, but that’s one of them. No poaching.”