LEXI

The night of our date arrives with a vengeance. Work had been panic-mode busy all day, and now, finally things had begun to slow after the lunch rush.

“Why are you humming?” Lucas asks, frowning with annoyance. “I’m starving.”

“My humming is not going to hinder how fast these burgers are cooking.” I raise an eyebrow at him over the diner counter. “Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?”

“Brad and I wanted to eat and get in a quick game of Halo before he takes off for the night.”

“Have you two been having sleepovers? You know, I can suggest a nice wine pairing to go with the burgers if you’re going romantic tonight.”

“Hilarious.”

“Men are so strange,” I sigh, turning back to the burgers, now understanding why he ordered four. “By the way, did your sweetheart tell you his plans for tonight?”

It’s ridiculous. Lucas punched Bradley two weeks ago at his birthday dinner, and now they’ve been insufferably together ever since. My wishes for reuniting the two completely backfired. I now have no time to spend alone with my almost-boyfriend.

“Brad? No, he just said he was free until five. We were both hungry, so I swung by here on the way to his...er, your apartment complex.”

“So, you come here, beg for scraps of food, and then eat it in front of the TV? Why don’t you both come here so we can all hang out together?”

“Are you getting jealous?” Lucas leans over the counter to check on the patties. “I thought you were the one who wanted us talking again in the first place.”

“Well, maybe I was wrong.”

“Nah. I missed Brad.”

“Huh, go figure. You missed your best friend.” I shake my head and mutter some more about the curiosities of men under my breath.

“You are jealous!” Lucas holds up his finger. “You think I’m spending too much time with him now that you’re dating.”

“We’re not dating yet, but we just might be after tonight.”

I flip the burger patties onto their waiting buns and bring them around in front of a stunned-looking Lucas. I smirk at his expression.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he finally mumbles.

“Bradley’s plans tonight include taking me out on a real date. Finally, a real live date.”

“What do I care?”

“You shouldn’t care at all because I’m a grown woman.”

“Where are you going on your outing?”

“It’s a surprise,” I say in a singsong voice, twirling around. Finally, after months of waiting, the day has arrived. It’s been pushed back, adjusted, updated, re-arranged, and tonight, it’s happening. “I’ve been instructed to wear a nice dress and wait outside at seven p.m.”

“What happens on these dates?”

“You really should try it sometime,” I tell him. “It’s easy. You ask a girl out, and then take her to dinner. Usually you try to talk, have an actual conversation. If things go well, you kiss.”

“Do you think things will go well tonight?” He tries for casual, but his implication is there.

“Too late for that,” I tell him. “We’ve already made out.”

“Give me the burgers. I don’t want to hear about this.”

I push a To-Go box toward him complete with four burgers and a shake. He didn’t order the shake, but Brad always does, so I threw one in anyway. “Tell Brad I’m excited about tonight.”

“I swear to God, Lex, if you make this weird I’m going to punch him again. I’ll have no choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“Fine. I’d be happy to deck you or him. There’s your choice.”

I move to the other side of the counter and throw my arm around my brother, offering him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m joking. I’m happy you guys are back together. You will make a very adorable couple.”

Lucas begins to respond, but instead picks up his burgers and heads toward the door. Before he can pull it open, Kitty presses the handle from the outside and barrels through, barely noticing that she’s almost beheaded my brother.

“Are you ready or what?” she squeals, sliding onto the same seat Lucas evacuated seconds before. “Ooh, seat’s still warm.”

“I know, you just missed my brother.”

“Hi, Kitty,” Lucas says, doing a hundred and eighty degree spin and returning to the counter. “I didn’t see you come in, there.”

“Are you serious?” I say. “She just blew right past you.”

“I came here for some burgers,” Lucas says, trying to keep things calm, and failing. “Just hanging out with my friends. The usual.”

Kitty’s staring at him like he’s grown extra heads. “Uh, congratulations?”

This is my moment to step in both as a sister and a wing-girl. “Come on, champ,” I say, rounding the counter again and taking my brother by the arm. He’s just barely dragging the box of hamburgers along. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“Maybe I’ll stay.”

“You ordered four burgers.” I put my hands on his shoulders the second we get outside. “Brad is waiting for you. Go to him.”

“But—”

“Take a cold shower, man. She’s my best friend.”

“Apparently dating friends is now on the table.”

“Your burgers will get soggy if you keep this up.”

Lucas drags himself to his car, and I feel a little bad. He has a hard enough time managing to create sentences in front of Kitty; he probably doesn’t need my discouragement on top of it.

I return, clap Kitty on the shoulder, and apologize for him.

“I don’t think you need to apologize,” she says with a forced casual shrug. “He’s kind of cute when he’s all speechless like that.”

“Not you, too,” I groan. “I’m surrounded by nutcases.”

“Says the nutcase who finally has her real first date in years tonight.”

“Is it really a first date if he’s already touched my butt?”

“Touching your butt has nothing to do with dating. This is where you find out if you really want to be romantic with him.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure we both want—”

“Not sex. Everything else. Do you want to wake up the next morning and find him staring back at you, or are you going to run for the hills?”

“I think I’d know whether or not I like him. We’ve known each other for longer than we haven’t.”

“Which is why you’re nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Really?” Kitty looks past me to the grill. “Your burger is on fire. And if you’re cooking that for me, I can’t eat it. I’m going through a vegetarian phase, remember?”

“Oh, shit!” I smack at the hamburger patty with my spatula. “Sorry, I forgot.”

Kitty waves her hand, as if that’ll clear the cloud of smoke blooming around us. “Don’t apologize. I came over here to give you a pep talk.”

“Yeah, it worked awesomely. You’re breaking the news that I’m nervous instead of letting me ignore it like I had planned to do.”

“Honey, you don’t want to go into this feeling all uptight and scared. Or you’ll act like Lucas did just now.”

“Do I do that?”

“Like brother, like sister,” she says with an apologetic smile. “Look, I’m just trying to get you to see things the way I see them. You and Brad are awesome together, or at least it seems that way from the outside. You’re happy, right?”

I stop to consider this. Unfortunately, I haven’t fully removed the hamburger from the grill, and another cloud of smoke blooms behind me. I string a series of curse words together and smack some more until everything is put out.

Kitty comes behind the counter and shuts off the stove, unties the apron around my waist, and brings me around to the customer side.

“Rick will be here in a minute,” she says. “You’re done for the day. But you didn’t answer my question. Are you happy?”

“I am.” The words come out before I’m even aware I’m saying them, and it gives me a moment of pause. “Wow, I really am.”

“I know you are. You look happy. You act happy. You seem happy. Which is how I know this is right for you, and for Brad. He’s happy, too.”

“You think?”

“I know.” Kitty shrugs. “You’re nervous about what happens if you two decide to put a label on it. You know, girlfriend and boyfriend. You’ll have to introduce him to Lucas, your family, to everyone as your boyfriend. You’re comfortable being friends. This is new.”

“Sort of,” I admit. “What if we get together for awhile, and then it doesn’t work out? I lose a best friend and a boyfriend.”

“Or, by taking a chance, you’ll gain one of each for life.”

“I suppose. That’s a scary thought.”

“Do more of what makes you happy,” Kitty quotes. “If that’s spending time with Bradley, you have your answer.”

“I really like him.” I face Kitty, and my heart pounds hard. “I really, really like him. I almost love him.”

Kitty gives me a patient smile. “I have a sneaking suspicion you may discover that you’ve already loved him for years and years.”

I blink, startled. “What?”

Kitty gives my shoulder a squeeze. “That’s why it’s already too late to turn back. I’m not even sure you ever had a chance. He’s been looking at you with stars in his eyes since before you had boobs.”

“You don’t remember that.”

“Was your mom surprised when you brought him to the birthday dinner?” She doesn’t need to wait for an answer because I’ve already told her the story three different times. “She wasn’t. Know why? Because she knew, like everyone else, that the two of you were meant to be love birds since he pulled your pigtails.”

“He never pulled my pigtails. I looked ugly in pigtails.”

“It’s an expression. Whacked you in the face with a snowball, tripped you during tag, kicked your butt in a hockey game...”

“Yeah, all those things,” I say. “But what if he gets tired of me? Or if things change once we’re official?”

“Seriously, woman! You are hard to pep talk,” Kitty sighs with frustration. “You guys have been hanging out for weeks—months! You have years of history with the man. People get married on far less than what you two have.”

“You’re right, you’re right. This just... it feels big.”

“Yeah, it does,” Kitty says with a cheesy grin. “I’m sure it’s plenty big.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, come on, surely you’ve wondered by now.”

“Oh, Kitty,” I say, shaking my head with faux-exasperation. “I don’t have to wonder.”

It’s her turn to open her mouth and go speechless. “What have you done, missy?”

“Nothing you wouldn’t have done!”

“Speak!”

“Making out on the couch in pajamas is a pretty good indication of what to expect, okay?”

Kitty fans herself. “Well, have fun tonight, my friend. I guess you’ve got all the pep you need.”

I wave her away and stand. “Get out of here, I have to finish cooking.”

“Nope, I’m cooking until Rick arrives.” Kitty pushes up the sleeves of her gauzy, hippie outfit. “Move along and get ready for tonight.”

“Do you know where we’re going?” I round on her, suddenly suspicious. “Has Brad talked about this to you? Has he told Lucas?”

Kitty tries, and fails, to look innocent. “Not really.”

“Yeah, right. Where are we going?” I step so close to her I can smell the rose-water she uses to wash her face. She’s fancy like that. “Come on, spill the beans.”

She raises a hand, zips her lips shut. “I promised not to tell.”

“But you want to.”

“I do.”

“So, dish!”

“I can’t,” she squeaks an apology. “But it’s so adorable you’ll love it.”

“Give me a hint.”

Kitty takes my hands in hers and squeezes. “You’ll love it.”

“That’s not a hint.”

“No, but it’ll do for now. Go get ready.”

Thankfully, Rick walks in the door at that very moment. No way could I have left Kitty to watch over the joint—it’d go down in flames within seconds.

“Hey, thanks so much for covering tonight,” I tell Rick as I rush to gather my things. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” he says. “Have fun on your date.”

“Thanks!” I call over my shoulder as I rush out the door.

It’s only once I’m swinging my purse into the passenger’s seat of the car, I wonder how everyone in the world knows more about this date than me.