Page 73 of 4th Degree

If he’s trying to hide how pleased he is, he’s failing miserably. “Yeah?” he asks softly, a smile on his face. I can only nod. “I’d love to.”

I’m pretty sure we’re both standing there, just stupidly smiling at each other, when Joey bounces up next to me again.

“Okay, enough yapping. Let’s goooo!”

“Holy shit, you're eating another slice?”

I snicker at the sight of my brother's gawking face, even though I'm just as shocked by the fact that Dominic can eat a whole pizza.

“I'm a growing boy, I need sustenance,” Dominic quips, taking a huge bite that makes a third of his slice disappear.

“Yeah, right. You're, like, sixty years old,” Joey claps back. “Shouldn't you be worried for your metabolism?”

Dominic quirks an eyebrow, then drops the pizza onto his plate and lifts his t-shirt up to reveal washboard abs. “Do I look like I need to worry about my metabolism?”

I have to cover my sound of surprise with a cough. Dominic catches it anyway, and shoots me a knowing wink. I just reach for my water and take a big mouthful.

“Yeah, okay, you have abs, big deal,” Joey grumbles. But his curiosity is piqued. “So do you have a specific lifting workout? Or that’s just because of fighting?”

“I lift more now that I'm retired, but most of these muscles are just because of throwing people around,” Dominic answers, demolishing the rest of his slice. He gives Joey a curious look. “Why, you want to get into lifting?”

Joey shrugs, not wanting to seem overeager. Dominic sees right through it.

“You have a weight room at your school?” he asks. Joey nods. “I can set you up with a basic lifting routine, if you want. Something that compliments basketball.”

Excitement lights in my brother's eyes, and the sight is so rare, and sometimes feels so foreign, that I want to throw my arms around Dominic just for making it appear.

“Really? That would be awesome! My season's almost over, and I really want to be a starter next year, but I feel like I can't keep up with the seniors. If I could bulk up over the summer, though, I bet I could impress my coach.”

“Well, now, wait a second,” Dominic says, leaning back in his seat. “Bulking up and doing sport-specific workouts are two different things. Do you want muscles, or do you want to be in peak physical condition to play basketball?”

“Both.”

I huff a laugh, and Dominic shakes his head with a chuckle of his own. “Why don't I put a starter workout together for you, and then we can go from there,” he says. Then he glances my way. “And maybe we can set a goal to get you strong enough to beat up your sister.”

“Hey!” I exclaim, startled by the turn in conversation. “That should absolutely not be a goal.”

But Joey just rolls his eyes. “I can already do that. I'm taller and quicker. She doesn't put up much of a fight anymore.”

“She is pretty slow,” Dominic agrees. “Sometimes I get off three punches in the time it takes her to get off one.” The corner of his mouth twitches with a smile as he glances my way.

I can only gape at them both.

“I know,” Joey says. “You ever watch her throw a body shot? It looks like she's in slow motion.”

My head whips toward my brother. And then back toward Dominic. “How did I just become the group punching bag?”

“Easy target,” they say in unison. Grinning, they reach for a fist bump.

“You guys are jerks,” I mutter, falling back in my seat.

But inside, I love that they're getting along.

It should be surprising how easily Dominic fits into our dynamic, but it’s not. We walked in here thirty minutes ago, and immediately settled into a comfortable conversation. Dominic asked Joey about his basketball season, and Joey asked Dominic about the gym. I just sat back and watched happily. I don't know what I expected when I decided to put them in a room together, but there's been an undeniable loosening in my chest the longer they talk.

“Alright, we should probably get going,” I say, somewhat unhappily. I can't remember the last time I didn't want a night to end. But it's late, and I need to get Joey home.

“I can give you guys a ride,” Dominic says, then tosses his napkin onto the empty pizza pan. These two ate almost two whole pizzas together. “You're on the way, anyway.”

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