and I had clicked right back into hanging out together. Except now instead of movie night and popcorn, we had dinner dates and drinks.
“Really? Anything?” she asked, and I heard the uncertainty in her voice.
“Of course, Holly. Whatever you need. I’m there for you.”
“Oh, my god, Harv! You have no idea how much that means to me! Seriously, I was freaking out, but this is going to work!”
I chuckled. “Okay, what did I just volunteer for?”
“I’ll explain it all on Monday. You’re still off this week, right?”
“Yeah, but I need to attend a meeting Monday afternoon, why?”
“We can work around that,” she said and sounded excited.
“Alright, but again, what did I volunteer for?”
“It’s a surprise, but I know you will love it! It’s going to be so awesome.”
“You’re lucky that I love you, kid.”
She laughed. “Harv, I’m thirty-five years old now; I think you can stop calling me kid.”
“Nope, you will always be a kid to me.”
“You are hopeless. Okay, I’ll text you the address of where to meet me, and wear something comfortable.”
“Comfortable? What are you going to have me doing? Moving stuff? Oh, god! You’re going to make me paint, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “No, nothing like that. Well, you’ll be moving around a lot, but you won’t be painting. Just wear comfortable clothes.”
“Alright, fine.”
“Love you, Harv! I appreciate this so much! I’ll talk to you later.”
“I’ll see you on Monday,” I told Holly before I hung up and returned to the group I’d been talking to.
“Problem?” Wyatt asked.
“Nah, my sister needs my help with something.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Joe said.
“Oh, yeah,” Drake said, “she is one fine woman.”
“Hey, you watch it,” I growled at him. “That is my sister you are talking about.”
“Who is a grown woman and does not need you to hover over her,” Drake added.
“I only hover over her because the last two men she was with did a number on her. I’m not going to let that happen again.”
“You should bring her around sometime,” Joe said.
I frowned at him. “Yeah, why? So that you can drool and hound dog all over her? I don’t think so. I just told you that I’m not going to let another guy take advantage of her, and you immediately say you want to meet her.” I laughed. “You are not her type, Joe.”
“Man, you have no idea how well I treat girls.”
Drake busted out a laugh. “Yeah, well, maybe you’ll be ready for a serious relationship with an adult woman when you stop referring to them as girls or chicks.”
“I didn’t call his sister a chick,” Joe said quickly.
Wyatt laughed. “No, not her and not today, but you do use that term quite often.”
“I’m talking about baby chickens.” Joe grinned.
I shoved his arm. “Bullshit! Dude, this is why I’m not going to allow my sister to get around you. She is totally out of your league.”
Drake smiled. “I have to agree with you, Melton, your sister is way above his level.”
“Oh, and you think she is closer to yours?” Joe joked back.
“I didn’t say that, but yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m closer to her normal standards than you are.”
I held my hand up. “You all can stop right now. There is no way that Holly would date any of you meatheads. She’s into artsy guys.”
“Hey, I enjoy the arts,” Brett said.
“Body paints are not the arts,” Drake said with a laugh.
“I beg to differ,” Joe tacked on, and our conversation veered off of my sister, thankfully, and onto other subjects.
I didn’t think about my sister’s request to meet her again until Sunday night when she texted me an address and reminded me to wear something comfortable.
Are you going to tell me what I’m going to be doing?
You’re going to be helping me, and someone else out, and you’re going to have fun while you do it.
Someone else? An uneasy feeling slipped down my spine, and I had a feeling that I was not going to have fun with whatever my sister was roping me into.
Chapter Two
Ali
“I don’t think I can do this,” I said to my best friend Charlie. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”
Charlie gave me her best what-the-hell look that she could muster. “I didn’t talk you into this! You suggested it, Ali! I told you when you first came to me with the idea that I didn’t think it was a good one.”
I frowned at her as I jerked back. “But why isn’t it a good idea?”