Page 65 of Show Off

“I don’t want anyone knowing that shit about you.”

“Why not?” My brother folds his arms. “It’s normal for people to be curious. I’m not ashamed.”

“And you shouldn’t be.” Why does this bug me so much? “Your personal business is your business.”

“That’s right, Dal—it’s mine to handle as I choose.” He leans in close, like he needs me to hear this. “Maybe I want people to see the reality of my life. To see therealme—warts and all. Urinary tract infections and dick dilemmas and flip-outs where I’m flinging pinecones at the house like a madman. That doesn’t bother me. You know what bothers me?”

“What?” I’m almost afraid of the answer.

“Being treated like half a person,” he says softly. “Like I’ll break if you don’t handle me with kid gloves.”

“I know you won’t.” My throat feels fiery and thick. “You’re the strongest person I know.”

“So let me be strong, Dal.” He reaches across the table, putting his hand over mine. Even now, my older brother’s palm dwarfs mine. His feels callused and rough and so familiar I feel tears in my eyes. “Let me prove I can be.”

“You already have.” I nod, so he knows I’m listening. “Okay.” I swallow hard because my throat isn’t working right. “I hear you. I’ll back off.”

“I know you’re a butthead because you love me.” He grins and wolfs down the last of his muffin. “So you mustreallybe a butthead to Lana.”

I choose to ignore that last part. “I love you a fuck-ton,” I tell him. “And I want what’s best for you.”

“I know you do. So let me be the judge of that.”

“Okay.” I draw a deep breath and manage a shaky smile. “But if you think I’m letting you have that last muffin because you’re in a wheelchair, you’ve got another th?—”

“Too slow,” he says, snatching it off the plate with a grin. “I can still whoop your ass, baby brother.”

I force myself to glare at him, even though I’m laughing on the inside. “You’d better be planning to split that.”

“No way.” He makes a big show of licking it, top to bottom and all over the sides. “Mine now.”

“Disgusting.” God, I love him.

The door chimes and we both look up. A ray of sunshine spills through, and floating on top of it…“Lana.”

“Over here,” my brother yells, and I glare for real this time. “What?” he hisses as she heads our way. “You know you want to see her.”

He’s not wrong. I stand as she reaches the table, fighting the urge to grin like an idiot. “Hey.”

Ji-Hoon swallows a mouthful of muffin. “Give me a sec to stand up and greet you.”

It’s a quip he delivers when he wants to watch someone squirm, but it rolls right off Lana. She bends with a smile to give him a hug.

“You’re perfect right where you are,” she says. “Makes it easier to throw myself in your lap.”

My brother laughs and winks over her shoulder as he hugs her back. “We were just talking about you.”

I glare at my brother. “No, we weren’t.”

“Sure we were.” Ji-Hoon grins. “We were talking about sex, anyway.”

Not batting an eye, Lana drops into the chair beside him. “Sounds titillating.”

“Very much so.” He waves in my general direction. “Tell me something, Lana—you can be honest. Ready to answer some tough questions?”

“Absolutely.” She sits up straighter in her chair and gives me a wink. “I’m very good at Q&A.”

I fight the urge to mouthgood girl, since my brother’s watching. That’s just between Lana and me.

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