Page 3 of Lit Up by My Brother's Best Friend

“You’ve got time. These will all be gone by the time you’re back.” He waves his hand over the pool table wiggling his fingers as if sprinkling some magical fairy dust over the balls. Fool.

“Right. Just like last time when I whooped your ass.”

“Whatever, man. You had a lucky night.”

“Sure. I just happen to have a lucky night every night we play.”

He throws up a middle finger. Yup. Saw that coming.

What I don’t see coming is the call I’m getting. Why is Sierra phoning me?

“What’s up?”

“Hey…um…Whachya doin’?” I can hear the singsong playfulness strained in her voice. Like she has something serious to ask me but doesn’t want to hit me with it right away.

“At Hoppy’s playing pool with Nolan. You?”

“Well…you see—”

“Spit it out,Sweets.”

I can hear her grumble at the nickname, but I don’t care. I need something to replace the names I want to call her. This one is the safest bet.

“Okay Hunter, but please don’t laugh at me.”

“I can’t make any promises.” Especially when laughter might be needed to relieve the tension already coursing through my body.

“I need your help, and I really don’t want anyone to find out about this.” A beat passes. “I’m stuck.”

She’s in trouble? My whole body tenses. A fist clenches at my side. “Where? I’m coming now.”

“On a fence.”

Okay. That was the last thing I expected her to say.

“Oh God, you’re laughing at me.”

“No. Just—um—clearing my throat. Which fence is it?” She gives me directions and I tell Nolan I have to go. He doesn’t seem to mind since there are a couple of girls leaning against the pool table, and he’s showing a third one how to hold the cue. Yup. He’s good.

“I’m on my way. But don’t hang up on me. Just stay on the line.”

“Why?” She huffs at me, like I’m the one to be annoyed at.

“If you’re actually hanging upside down you might pass out with all the blood rushing to your head.”

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Just get here,” she whines. If she’s already whining this isn’t good. Sierra, of all things, is not a whiner. She’s the most determined, independent, and optimistic woman I know.

“Shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes.”

“Don’t speed, Hunter. I’m not going anywhere.”

But I don’t listen to her. I speed the entire way. To distract her, I make her tell me how much she’s looking forward to the town’s annual baseball tournament this summer. We’re both optimistic thatthe Beavers will beat the Otters again, but the conversation falls flat given the circumstances.

I can’t even understand how she got herself into this situation, but I’ll figure that out soon enough.

I pull up to the parking lot she told me about, and I’m scanning the chainlink fence trying to spot her while keeping her on the line.

“Sweets, where abouts are you?”

---