Page 3 of Where You Are

“Melanie’s home,” he simply states.

Melanie. The name sends a flash of green eyes and a megawatt smile through my mind.

“She’s back?”

“Yeah,” he confirms, not looking up. He doesn’t even look surprised, like this was expected.

“When did you know she was coming back? I’m surprised you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t realize you cared,” he quirks an eyebrow and looks up.

“I… it’s just that she’s your sister. I’m your best friend and I’m surprised you never mentioned she was coming home. Thought it would’ve come up in conversation or something.”

Nice save.

Jack’s sister who’s been gone traveling for the last two and a half years. The one I’ve had a thing for, hanging out in the far back corners of my mind, for the last eleven.

I’ve never pined or anything, just never forgotten either. Hard to with a person who has those apple green eyes and just seems to exude sunshine and warmth the way she does. I met her when Jack and I played together the first time, when he was eighteen and I was twenty-one. She was so happy for her brother and excited to see him play, and somehow it made her just seem to glow.

Every time I saw her after that, nothing changed. She came to shows when she could, but not every one of them. According to Jack, she spent a lot of time planning and working so she could save up to go journey around the globe. That had always been her ambition. The times she could make it to a show, I would talk to her afterwards. Hell, I went out of my way just to be near her and find out any little nugget about her I could. She never stuck around long though; just long enough for me to get a glimpse and a few words in. If she weren’t related to Jack, I’d feel like she was a unicorn I was just imagining or something.

On the few brief occasions I was around her, I always noticed how she had this way of making deliberate eye contact with the people speaking to her, letting them know they had her undivided attention and she wasn’t just waiting for them to stop talking, and always with an affectionate smile. So genuine, that smile, and the way it went with her eyes. She was a warm beacon, and I’d be the helpless moth, drifting towards it, getting just close enough to feel that tender happiness before she’d think of some reason why she’d have to take off, taking her glowing light with her.

“So how about it?” Jack’s voice is like a record scratch, snapping me out of my mystical reverie of his sister.

“How about what now?” I ask, feeling foolish.

“Tomorrow? I just told you Sarah’s planning on having a barbeque,” he says, holding his phone up, indicating his text conversation with his other sister.

“Oh…” I’m always up for a barbeque at Sarah’s nice house with her pool, and now there’s the prospect of Melanie being there. Two and a half years… yeah, I’d definitely like to see her again. “Yeah, count me in,” I say casually, and start busying myself picking up around the studio.

“Great. Starts at noon and goes for as long as anyone can hang,” he says, looking down and tapping out a response to Sarah before slipping his phone back in his pocket. “I have to get home to Maze. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I tell him the same and he’s out the door.

Tomorrow.Finally. I might have a chance at getting close to Melanie Krasinski. She’s got the travel bug out of her system, and if I pull her aside early on enough at this gathering, she won’t be running off anywhere.

I know a lot of people think this is some kind of cliché risk, going after the best friend’s sister, but I’ve never seen it that way. Me, Jack, Melanie… we’re all adults. Adults who can understand one human can develop feelings for another, and those feelings may or may not work out. I’ve never understood how it can mess up a friendship or a work relationship, so long as all parties can be mature and reasonable about it.

That said, I’ve never brought it up to my friend that I dig his sister, but only because nothing has ever come of it. If something were to happen, I’d have no problem manning up and letting him know. But tomorrow, I hope to finally have my chance to find out…

Chapter Two

Melanie

“Admit it,”my sister says, barely audible around a mouth full of cheese as she crams a slice of pizza into her mouth while pointing at me from across her kitchen island. “You missed this place.”

I nod with my own mouth full from my stool across from her. Since we got home, I’ve dumped my luggage, ditched the bra, showered and put on my comfy slob clothes while she ordered the buffalo white pizza from Leo’s.

“Fine,” I agree while trying to mow down my own bear sized bite. “I missed pizza.Thispizza to be exact,” I conclude after swallowing. “But you don’t know about all the authentic cuisine around the world you’ve been missing out on, sis.”

She gives me a resigned eye roll. “I know hon. And I’m jealous. Don’t you dare start talking about Thai food,” she says with a warning glare.

I hold my hands up for a second but can’t help but give my tummy a happy rub with a smug smile.

“Seriously, shut it,” she warns again.

“Okaaay,” I sing-song, “but I learned how to cook some mean noodles.”

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