The Better Brother

Thursday dragged on miserably. I barely worked that day. Marcy kept asking if I was okay, but I was more than okay. Just the prospect of seeing Julie again was enough to keep my spirits high. I was concerned about how into her I already was, but I decided to run with it. What was the worst that could happen?

“I’m out of here,” I told Marcy as I pulled my office door closed behind me. “See you tomorrow.”

“Have fun tonight, Mr. Smart.” Marcy grinned slyly.

“Been eavesdropping, Marcy?” I asked.

“Never.” Marcy winked, making me laugh. I shook my head and hurried outside, climbing behind the wheel of my car and speeding toward home.

Once I was showered and dressed, I left to pick up Julie. She came to the door dressed in a simple blue dress that made her eyes even more striking. Her hair was curled slightly, drawing my eyes and making my heart race.

“You look gorgeous,” I said. “Not that you need to be told.”

“A woman always needs compliments,” Julie said wisely. “Even if she says otherwise.”

I laughed and held out my arm to her. She took it and let me lead her to the car. We climbed inside, and I drove us to Dallas. The restaurant I picked was a classy steakhouse that was reasonably casual. It left room to relax without the pressures of overly-fine dining.

“This is great,” Julie said as we sat down. “Steak sounds amazing.”

“Oh, thank god,” I said. “I was worried you’d be one of those salad and soup girls.”

“Salad and soup?” Julie raised her eyebrows.

“You know the kind,” I said. “They’re too afraid to eat on the first date, so they order something tiny and pick at it nervously. Drives me nuts.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me.” Julie laughed. “Food is life.”

“Amen to that.” I grinned just as the waiter appeared.

We ordered a bottle of red wine and a steak each. By the time the food arrived, we were so deep in conversation that I barely noticed my plate. If it weren’t for the way Julie’s eyes lit up when she saw her steak, I wouldn’t have eaten a bite.

“Oh god,” Julie moaned. “This is so good.”

“It really is.” I laughed and took another bite.

Just as Julie opened her mouth to speak, my phone rang in my pocket. I frowned and grabbed it quickly, ready to silence it. When I saw Josh’s name flashing across the screen, I looked up at Julie with an apologetic grimace.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “This is my brother. Do you mind if I…?”

“Not at all,” Julie said. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” I answered the phone quickly. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, man,” Josh said. “Are we meeting up tonight or what? You never called me back.”

“Oh shit,” I said. “I’m sorry. I totally forgot. Work was crazy this week. Can we do something next weekend?”

“Sure thing,” Josh said. “Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

We said goodbye, and I hung up, eager to get back to Julie. She smiled politely as I tucked my phone back into my pocket.

“Sorry about that,” I said. “My brother and I have been working on our relationship lately.”

“Yeah?” she asked.

“We try to meet up once a week,” I said. “But with our schedules, it doesn’t always work out that way.”