The Better Brother

“Don’t get all anxious over it,” Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. “It’s just going to be for a few hours. Come on, just humor me.”

“All right, fine. I know you’re going to drag me by the hair, no matter what I say.”

Alyssa grinned excitedly. “You know me so well. After the spa, we are going to go downtown to do some shopping. I promised my dad that we’d pick up some lunch for him, too, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

My conversation with Gabriel replayed over again in my head. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but it felt strangely intimate. I hadn’t expected to tell him as much as I had, but the way he had looked at me, with a mixture of genuine concern and something else I couldn’t quite name, had brought it out. He was so easy to talk to, not at all like most parents. Not to mention he was hot as hell and just being around him did all sorts of things to my body. I tried desperately not to think like that, but I couldn’t help it. When he had brushed past me in the kitchen, a jolt of liquid heat and shot right to that sweet spot between my legs. It was going to be a long two weeks if I didn’t get

ahold of myself.

We finished up at the spa an hour later. I followed Alyssa around the boutiques in downtown Chicago while we searched for the perfect dresses to wear for tomorrow. It felt nice walking arm-in-arm with Alyssa through the crisp winter air. It was much better than going back home to New York City for an entire break of awkward interactions.

“Perfect,” Alyssa said when I pulled out a black cocktail dress off the rack in a small corner boutique. “Look at it, Penny. That will show of your killer legs!”

I held it up to me to take in the length. It was short, much shorter than I was comfortable with, but it didn’t show a ridiculous amount of cleavage, either. It was a simple, little black dress meant to stun, but I doubted it would look stunning on me.

“It’ll show off my pale legs, you mean,” I said with a grimace. “I’m going to put it back. I’ll just wear leggings and a nice blouse.”

Alyssa snatched the dress from my hands. “Fuck no. This dress will look amazing on you. We’ll buy some stockings if you’re worried about it.”

“I am worried about it. I haven’t tanned in months.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Alyssa said, sighing and leading me up to the dressing room. “Come on. Try it on, you are going to look amazing. I already bought my dress.”

I glanced at the bag that she held in one hand. A shimmery pink dress that barely reached the top of her thighs was folded neatly in the bag. That was the beauty of Alyssa’s athletic body, though. She could slip into the skimpiest dresses or anything in reality, and pull it off because she spent hours at the gym working out.

I undressed in the privacy of the dressing room. I was taller than Alyssa and thin, but my hips were curvier and my breasts were fuller than hers. I pulled the dress up and it was unforgiving, hugging every curve I had.

“Come out,” Alyssa said. “Let me see how you look.”

I opened the dressing room door. “It’s horrible, Alyssa. I am not buying it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You look sexy as hell. Go look in the mirror.”

I walked barefoot to the room full of mirrors at the end of the hallway to gaze at myself in disbelief. The tiny dress hugged me tightly, but there was still enough room to breathe comfortably. Nothing was spilling out, either. It was a modest dress compared to the one Alyssa had bought. And she was right - I did look pretty good in it.

Alyssa’s hand skimmed my bare shoulders as she tossed a few strands of my hair over my collarbone. “See? You’re going to get a lot of men drooling over you. Maybe we should buy some bras and underwear at Victoria’s Secret, just in case—”

“That is not going to happen tonight, Alyssa! Don’t even drag me into that store.”

Two hours later, I followed Alyssa out of Victoria’s Secret with a bag of bras and panties tucked neatly inside a bright pink bag. I scowled when Alyssa grinned triumphantly at me.

“I hate you,” I said. “Don’t look so smug.”

“You’re going to look hot beneath that dress. Which reminds me.” She leaned in to point to a small outlet store that said, “Brazilian Waxes Fifty Percent Off.”

“Oh, hell no,” I said.

“Either shave down there, or I’m taking you to that place,” she said, laughing.

I nudged Alyssa in the ribs hard as she burst out laughing even harder.

“Very funny,” I said. “I don’t shave down there if I’m not trying to impress anyone.”

“When was the last time you even tried to impress someone?” Alyssa asked curiously. “I mean, you’re holed up in the library a majority of the time.”

I didn’t even want to think about the sad excuse that my personal life was. It had been a long time since I’d been with a guy. A very long time, now that I thought about it. I couldn’t even remember the guy’s name that I had hooked up with. “It’s been a while,” I admitted. “Not that it matters to me. I’m perfectly fine not worrying about shaving my legs and downstairs area every single day. It’s actually nice.”