Page 33 of More To Us

"Same here. I don't want to ever give up my music because I don't know how I'd fill that void." I'm not sure she heard me. She's looking down, lost in thought, so I give her hand a squeeze to get her attention. "So tell me about growing up in Michigan."

As she talks, I watch her, noticing how she tenses up when talking about her parents, but then relaxes when she talks about her brothers. She must not get along with her parents or maybe she's just mad at them about something.

"Do you like having three brothers?" I ask. "Or did you want sisters?"

"I'm okay with brothers. At least I never had to share my clothes with anyone. My friend, Amber, has sisters, and they were always fighting over their clothes. So you have three brothers too?"

"Yeah. All older. Nash is technically my half-brother. His mom took off after he was born so my mom raised him. He's the oldest, and then there's Jake, the second oldest, and then Bryce and me."

"Does it suck to be the youngest?"

I smile. "Shit no. Being the youngest is awesome. My mom spoiled me, knowing I was her last kid. And she wouldn't let my brothers pick on me. But of course they still did when she wasn't around."

Our food arrives and we continue talking about our families as we eat. Then just as we're finishing up, her phone rings.

She checks it. "It's my mom. I'm sorry, but I need to answer this. She freaks out when I don't answer."

"Go ahead."

"Hey, Mom. Can I call you back later? I'm out with a friend." She listens. "No, not Amber. She's out with Matt. I won't be out late. I'll call you as soon as I get home. Yeah, love you too. Bye." She hangs up. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine."

"She's just worried because I've never lived away from home like this. She calls at least a couple times a day."

"Do you guys get along?"

"For the most part, yeah, but there's stuff we disagree on. But that's true for everyone, right?" When I don't answer, she says, "Oh, God, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I know what you meant."

The waiter returns with my change. "Have a good night," he says, then walks away.

"You already paid?" Kira asks.

"When you were on the phone."

"But it was supposed to be separate checks."

"It was, but I paid for both of them. You were busy. I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Let me give you some money." She reaches for her wallet.

I hold her arm. "No. Really. Don't worry about it. Consider it a welcome to Chicago dinner. From your new friend."

She puts her wallet away. "And trainer. Hey, we forgot to talk about my workout plan."

"I've got it in my truck. Let's go somewhere else and go over it. There's a coffee shop close to your apartment. You want to go there?"

"I don't drink coffee but yeah, we can go there."

"I don't drink coffee either." I smile. "Another thing we have in common. But they have juice drinks and other stuff."

"Sounds good."

At the coffee shop, we get some drinks, then find a table. But as soon as we sit down, a girl comes up to me.

"Austin, can I get a photo with you?" She holds her phone up.

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