Page 95 of Wide-Eyed
“Lyssa. And it shows how much of an ignoramus you are. Lyssa is wonderful. Her heart is massive and she’s funny and interesting?—”
“I know.”
“And yes, she’s bananas, but in the best way.” My sister was getting louder. “Banana cake, banana pie, banana smoothie—all of those things are great. And if you hurt my bestie, I will make mashed banana out of your testicles. Do you understand me?”
“Chill out, Caroline.” I almost told her that Lyssa liked my testicles the way they were, but the shrimp was shouty enough already.
“You were supposed to give her a room and show her the sights!” Caroline jabbed one of her pink talons in my chest. “Not show her your dick! What’s wrong with you?”
“Lyssa is a grown woman”—and then because I knew it would annoy her, I added—“and what she does with her body is her choice. Haven’t you heard that phrase before, Caroline? Her body, her choice? Haven’t you written it on a card and marched around with it?”
“You are the worst,” my sister hissed.
“So it’s only her choice when the choice isn’t your brother, huh?”
“Stop being a dick.”
“Um, Mike? Caroline?” Hannah called from behind the screen. “Do you know we can still hear you?”
“Does anyone want another drink?” Chase asked loudly, as transparent as his glasses in trying to change the subject.
I nudged Caroline’s shoulder. “See, Shrimp? You’re being rude.”
Then I pushed back through the swinging door and took my seat, all nonchalant.
Caroline followed five minutes later with another bottle of wine for Tessa and orange juice for her and my Dad. She glared at me as she poured, but the heat had gone out of it, so I knew she’d come around. Caroline loved Lyssa, and even though she hated to show it, she loved me too. Her shock at discovering her brother and her best friend were banging was understandable.
In time, she’d probably be stoked.
So, while my career was in the toilet, everything else was all starting to look up.
After dinner, Tessa and Hannah cleared the plates, good-naturedly competing to get Dad to call them the favorite cousin. Everyone else excused themselves to fill in fifteen minutes before Caroline was ready to serve up what would likely be an inedible attempt at apple pie.
Lyss and I went outside to sit in the courtyard. I thought I’d show her the lights I’d strung up there last summer, which were at their best now in the late evening, so she could compliment me on them. Also, it was dark enough out here that I could sit on one of the picnic benches and pull her into my lap.
“Mike!” she squealed when I did exactly that. “Your family will see!”
“Let them.” I pressed a kiss to her neck.
Her breathing hitched.
“They’ll hear,” she tried again.
“Be quiet then.” I dug my fingers in her hair and angled her so I could kiss her, enjoying the way her body went soft as she welcomed my tongue. I cupped her ass as she pressed closer to me, and she moaned.
“That’s not quiet, Princess.”
She scowled. “You’re playing dirty.”
“You love it.”
She did. She wiggled closer and wrapped her arms around my neck, suffocating me with her mouth, her tits, the sweet press of her.
I was fucking obsessed with this girl and done pretending I wasn’t.
Let the people gawk. I was happy.
When her pocket started vibrating, I genuinely thought it was her. Lyssa had been all breathless in my arms, and I knew she was getting turned on despite her insistence this was a wholesome family dinner and we could only do wholesome family things—which, fuck that by the way. Now that my family knew about us, we should be kissing whenever the fuck the opportunity presented itself.
