Page 85 of Game Changer

“I mean, well, my bashful, helpless romantic big brother would normally just bat away something like that and ignore that it was even said. You’re openly confessing your love for a woman you met online and have only known for a hot minute. I don’t quite believe it!”

He smiled again. “Things have changed, lil sis. I almost died. Life is too short to keep that shit all bottled up inside. Lisa is amazing, I love her and I want her to be mine forever – that’s all been true for a while now. The only thing that’s changed, is that I’m not really afraid to say it out loud anymore.”

“Good. It’s about time you stepped out from all that toxic masculinity, jock, horseshit you’re immersed in with that team of yours. I’m proud of you, and happy for you. You’re different with her, Pim and she clearly adores you.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t act coy. You can’t play dumb on this one. I know mom and dad have talked to you about her, Jeremy’s even getting pally with her, Brad liked her too, it feels like she’s been around for ages. It seems like she couldn’t hide it even if she wanted to. She’s got an ‘I’m crazy-go-nuts for AJ’ tattoo across her forehead.”

“Do you like her?”

“I really do. She’s compassionate and strong, she kept her head in a crisis and she’s actually quite funny. She’s strong-willed and will definitely keep you in your place. Not to mention, she hasn’t killed Jeremy… at least not yet,” she joked. “I think she’s great.”

“I have a feeling she feels similarly about you,” he ruffled her hair. “How is everything else going with you, kiddo?”

“I hate when you call me that.”

“You do? Oh, I must have forgotten. Coma.”

“Oh, come on!” she shoved him playfully. “You can’t use that as an excuse forever!”

“Watch me!”

She smiled. “I’m ok. Life is, well, life, I guess. Adulting sucks. Detroit is fun, cold as hell in winter. I enjoy my job; I have good friends…” she trailed off.

“But?”

She smiled sadly, “But I miss my big brother,” she snuggled into his chest again.

“I’m always here for you Ana Banana, you know that. I miss you too, though. We should definitely make more of an effort when you head back up north.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course I do. You’re one of the most important people in my life, pipsqueak. I miss tormenting you on a daily basis. I don’t miss you stealing my sweatshirts though.”

“Ok, let’s go back to ‘kiddo’. Could you not have forgotten the ‘pipsqueak’ thing in your coma?”

“Nope,” he grinned. “I also haven’t forgotten that you conspired with Lisa to get her here behind my back despite knowing everything that was going on with Britt – and you did it anyway.” She dropped her head and looked away. “Uh-huh. I also hadn’t forgotten that we haven’t gotten around to this conversation yet, either. I was pretty pissed at you, you know.”

“And now?” she looked up, hopefully. “Are you still pissed at me, now?”

AJ sighed deeply. “It really made things difficult for me, Ana. As amazing as Lisa is and as fantastic as it has been to see her in-the-flesh and all, it’s been so stressful. I’ve been on tenterhooks. What the hell were you thinking?”

It was Ana’s turn to sigh. “Honestly, Pim, I’m not sure. I just knew you were taken by the Irish girl on the internet and she was so keen to come and see you. I can see why now. You’re meant to be together. I didn’t really think about the Britt baggage. I was just thinking that Lisa makes my big brother so happy online, it was time to get the two of you together in real life. You tend to need a kick about things like this.”

“A kick, maybe. Some warning would have definitely been nice, too. Next time at least bring Jeremy inside, or, better yet, run it by me first.”

“Where would the fun in that have been? Or the surprise, for that matter. She wanted it to be a surprise!”

AJ couldn’t help but giggle at his little sister. Try as she might to hide it, she had always had a fairytale notion of romance. He realized that he missed having her around, even if she did sometimes go out of her way to make his life more complicated.

“Let’s figure out a weekly call or something, yeah? And maybe a visit every eight weeks if we can make it happen? Hockey season will be tough, but we can try and figure it out if you’d like.”

“I’d love that, Pim. This really has changed you, hasn’t it?”

“I think so. I know I was living a ‘too busy for just about everything’ life. But now that I guess I have a second chance; I want to make more time for the important things. The important people,” he gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Does this mean visiting mom more often?”

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