Page 64 of The Kid Sister

“Yeah,” Red said, “You and me.”

“I don’t think so!” The familiar voice of my brother sounded from the doorway, causing Red to startle and back away. I didn’t waste a second in darting past him.

“Sawyer? Cap?” The mountain of a man suddenly sounded like a timid mouse.

“Are you trying to date my sister, Phillips?” Sawyer stood with his arms folded across his puffed-out chest in a bid to intimidate, even though Red was both taller and bulkier than him. But his voice didn’t match his stance, Sawyer as mellow as a jazz band on a riverboat cruise, “Did you ask me if you could?”

Cullen, though, was not so composed or hospitable. He marched straight up to Red and grabbed at his necktie, pulling it tight with no regard that the shirt and tie were tightening around Red’s throat.

“You stay away from Sierra,” he said, his eyes blazing in fury.

“I just asked...” Red stuttered, his cheeks matching his name. “Uh, I was just asking...I just thought...”

Cullen released Red with a harsh shove, sending him stumbling off-balance, his fall braced by the wall. Cullen then drew me in, his arm going around my shoulder.

“You thought what?” Sawyer stepped forward now, pulling on the front of Red’s blazer, conjuring up some venom as he hissed, “You stay away from my sister.”

“I, I’m sorry, man,” Red cowered. “I’m sorry, I thought...” Sawyer let go of Red’s blazer with a less-than-gentle push, and Red’s tone changed, lashing out defensively, “She’s...she’s always giving me extra drinks, I thought she liked me...”

“You thought wrong,” Sawyer snapped. “She’s giving you extra water because that’s her job and because you sweat so much and can’t keep yourself hydrated. That’s why. No other reason. You stay away from her, you hear. Don’t talk to her, don’t evenlookat her.” Sawyer pointed his finger quite close to Red’s eyeballs, his intensity staggering me.

The muscles in Red’s throat tensed.

“Think it’s time you left,” Cullen said, and that’s when Red gaped at Cullen’s arm resting on me. And I may have inched closer to Cullen, and my head may have fallen against his shoulder. With the chaos of the moments, I wasn’t sure I’d been breathing during the entire encounter.

Red fled like a rabbit trying to outrun its predator, Cullen giving him a friendly slap on his back on the way out.

“Gee, Sierra, why are you hanging around with Phillips?” Sawyer said on an exasperated sigh.

I was immediately in self-defence mode, the insinuation unjustified. “He just decided to help me. I didn’t ask him!”

“I’m not saying you did,” Sawyer said with a grimace, “It’s just—well, there are better guys out there than Phillips.”

I nodded, peering up at Cullen with a smile, but my smug gaze averted to Sawyer. “Did you tell him?”

Cullen’s eyes darted between us in confusion. “Huh? Tell him? Tell me? What?”

And I saw that I’d misread the situation—from the way Cullen had put his arm around me I assumed Sawyer must have told Cullen that I’d told him about the two of us.

Seemed I was wrong.

Sawyer’s shaking head had Cullen frowning. “Told me what?” he persisted.

Sawyer scratched the top of his forehead. “Bro,” he said, a smirk lurking on his face, “Sierra told me about you guys.”

“What?” Cullen’s eyes widened. “What? You know?”

“I told him,” I jumped in. “I’m sorry, I had to tell him. I couldn’t stand to keep it a secret.”

Unexpectedly, Cullen let go of me and gripped the lapel of Sawyer’s blazer. “You let me ramble on and beg and plead...and you knew all along?”

Sawyer laughed, trying to release himself from Cullen’s hold. “Ha! I guessed anyway. You’re a terrible actor. You both are!”

“So, you’re cool with it?” Cullen asked in hope, though he hadn’t let go of Sawyer’s blazer, the two of them grappling playfully.

“Wellllllll,” Sawyer stretched out his response, making Cullen finally release him. “Um...I think I’ll need to chaperone the first date.”

A grin rolled onto Cullen’s face and his eyes flashed with mischief. He bumped Sawyer’s elbow, teasing, “So, hey, do you wanna go out for ice cream?”

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