Page 6 of My Crush's Brother

The thought pisses me off. “I need to get laid,” I say under my breath as I comb my hair. I quickly throw on a flannel, jeans, and my work boots and step out into the sunshine.

“Take any seat in the house, boys. I’ll be right out with ya,” Delilah shouts at us as she ducks into the kitchen.

“Man, this place hasn’t changed a bit. Still looks exactly like the day I left, including Delilah.” Trevor glances around the restaurant.

“You realize you’ve only been gone for about six years now; it’s not like it’s been decades.” The Place has been in our town for as long as I remember. Delilah and her husband Chip ran it. After Chip passed a few years back, she managed to keep it going with the help of some locals, including her son, Will, who attempted to manage the bar. The only thing he ever did was hit on women and ignore paying customers.

“Boys it’s so good to see you back together. Give me a hug, Trevor.” Delilah scurries over to our table with outstretched arms as Trevor stands to embrace her. “You look more and more like your dad every day, you know that? I just wanted to say aquick hello. I’ve got to get in the back so Pearl will be out shortly to get your orders.”

I forgot Pearl always worked the weekend morning shifts at The Place. I’m about to tell Trevor what happened last night when out walks Pearl. She’s holding her notepad against her chest with her chin as she ties her apron around her waist. “Morning, gentlemen, what can I get started for you?” she says before looking up.

Our eyes meet when she finally lifts her chin and grabs the pencil from behind her ear. I can see the blush start at her neck and quickly creep up her entire face. She involuntarily crosses one arm over her chest as if she’s covering herself.

“Hey, P, I didn’t know you still worked here. That’s crazy! What’s it been now? Ten years?” Trevor asks as he gives her a friendly bump on the arm.

“Uhh…uh, yeah. It’s been...just about ten years.” She squishes her face as she scratches behind her ear. She is doing everything she can not to look at me.

“I thought you guys already played catch-up. We ordering or not?” I say a little gruffly.

“Well, apparently someone’s a little hangry.” Trevor laughs. “I’ll do the egg white omelet with extra veggies, turkey bacon, and black coffee.”

“Turkey bacon? Seriously, bro? You watching your weight?” I roll my eyes.

“Umm, I don’t think we have turkey bacon? I’ll double-check with the cook but probably not. I’m sorry.”

“No worries. I’ll just do a side of fruit. Some of us care about our cholesterol,” he jokes as he leans across the table and pokes at my stomach.

“I’ll have the ultimate breakfast platter, extra bacon,” I say without even looking at the menu. “And a screwdriver.” She glances up at me from her notepad with a bit of a strangelook before turning on her heel and walking away. Before she can get too far, I say after her, “Oh, and, Pearl, make sure the screwdriver is virgin.”

She stops in her tracks and turns back around slowly. “So, orange juice? You want a glass of orange juice?” she practically spits out. I just smile broadly as the blush returns to her cheeks and she stomps off.

“What was that about?” Trevor looks between us.

“Nothing. So, what’s going on with you and the woman back in Chicago? Ma said you scared her off?”

“I didn’t scare her off. We’ve been dating since undergrad; we’ve lived together for about two years and I proposed. She seemed genuinely happy and said yes, but about a month ago, she decided she needed space.”

“Someone else?” I ask.

“What? No. No, it’s not like that. She said that she feels like we should take some time apart. We’ve been together for so long, and through some pivotal years in our lives. She just thinks she needs some time before making a commitment like that.”

“To sleep around, then?”

“You know what, Blake? I’m not going to share shit with you if you just make it all into a joke or turn it into some bitter diatribe about you and Tracey.”

I raise my hands in surrender. “Sorry, was just teasing.” The silence returns between us just as Pearl approaches with our drinks. I don’t bother teasing her anymore; I want to return to the conversation with Trevor.

“Food should be right up, boys,” she says, walking away from our table.

“Well, you’ve always got a number one Trevor fan in Pearl if things don’t work out with your lady.” I toss it out there to test the waters.

“Ha, yeah. P and I are like brother and sister; that would be weird. Besides, I can guarantee you she never saw me in that way. To her, I was just her nerdy best friend that might as well look like a Ken doll down there.”

I smirk to myself. Man, he’s a complete idiot. Even though I’m nine years older than both of them, I saw it from a million miles away when they were growing up. I didn’t realize that she still felt that way about him, though.

“I want to work things out with Katherine more than anything. She’s the love of my life and my best friend. I get that she feels like she’s been in this relationship forever, I just...I really hope she sees that I’m the man she wants to marry.” He takes a sip of his coffee and looks out the window for a moment. “I forget how beautiful it is here. How much I miss the mountains.”

“Think you’d ever move back?” I ask as I see Pearl come through the kitchen door with our food.

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