Lee comes slowly down the stairs, Crash on her heels, where he always is. “Did you tell him?”
“He saw us kissing,” I say, tapping out a nervous rhythm against the T-Bird with my ring.
She flings me a disgusted glare. “Really, Rob? You couldn’t keep your hands off her for, like, five minutes until you could tell your little brother face-to-face?”
There’s so much bitterness in her voice that she draws my attention away from what’s going on behind the car. “Are you okay?”
She blows out a long breath and lowers her gaze. It’s obvious she’s not okay, but whenever I ask her what’s going on, she gets even more irritated and shuts me down. “It’s nothing anyone can fix, so let’s just drop it, okay?”
There’s a whistle from the bluff, and I look to see Grant cresting the hill, sweaty from his run.
“Your woman looks a little old for you, Sherm,” he says, moving to where he and Adri are still talking on the other side of the car, “but just about right for me.”
She stands and holds out her hand. “We’ve met,” she says. “I’m Adri Wilson.” She shoots me an anxious glance, unsure of how to introduce herself. “Sherm’s teacher,” she finishes a little awkwardly.
“And my girlfriend,” I say, moving around the car to her side.
Sherm glares up at me, but doesn’t yell or pull Adri away.
Grant’s eyes sweep over the three of us. “Seriously?” His jaw tightens and his eyes narrow, and I’m waiting for him to explode all over me. Instead, out of the blue, he cracks up. “This is just way the fuck too funny.”
“Grant!” Lee chides.
“Dinner’s on in ten!” Ulie calls from the porch.
There’s a tense minute where we all just stand here wondering what’s going to happen next.
“What did I miss?” Ulie asks, stepping onto the top stair.
“Rob’s fucking Sherm’s teacher,” Grant says with a grin the size of Florida. “This is just too fucking twisted.”
“Grant, stop!” Lee says at the same time as Sherm yells, “Shut up!”
Grant’s eyes lower to his little brother. “Hey, sorry, dude. I didn’t mean to dis your woman.”
Burn twists into Sherm’s legs, nearly knocking him over. He grabs his leash and runs up the stairs into the house.
“Well, that went well,” Adri says, stepping up to my side.
Her arm brushes mine, and white lightning crackles under my skin. I curl my fingers into hers. “Still think he’s going to be fine with it?”
Her lips purse and she nods. “In time.”
She says it with such conviction I almost believe her.
“I can’t believe you’re fucking Sherm’s teacher,” Grant mutters as he shoulders past on the way to the house. “What a hypocrite.”
And there it is.
I take a deep breath and watch Lee and Crash follow the others in, leaving me and Adri alone in the drive.
“Do you want me to go?” she asks, turning to face me.
“Hell, no,” I say, pulling all of her soft against all of my hard. “You’re the only sane thing around here. You leave, they’re going to padlock the house and call in the men in white coats.”
“I really think Sherm’s going to be okay with us, Rob. It was just a shock, but he’s a good kid with a heart as big as his brother’s,” she says, laying a hand over mine. “I’ll talk to him after dinner. He’ll come around.”
“Come on,” I say, taking her hand. “There’s about a sixty-forty chance that whatever Ulie made is edible. So the question is, are you feeling lucky?”
She smiles and we walk into the house.
Ulie serves dinner, and Grant mostly behaves. Lee picks at her food and listens as Ulie asks some questions: how long we’ve been dating, and if people at school know. Adri answers them all. Honest to a fault.
Sherm is quiet, feeding most of his chicken Marsala to Burn under the table.
When we’re done, Adri thanks Ulie for dinner and says good night to everyone. “Sherm?” she says. “Can we talk?”
He stands and they go outside. I see them settle onto the love seat on the porch under the living room window.
Sherm nods a lot as they talk, but I can’t hear what’s being said. After ten minutes or so, Adri pulls him into a hug and he wraps his arms around her neck and kisses her cheek.
My heart squeezes into a knot. I just stole my brother’s first love. I can’t help feeling like I’m already screwing up this fresh start.