"Well, lucky for us, we are staying at a hotel this weekend," I say, and she shakes her head.
"Did you tell your mom yet?" she asks, rolling her lips, knowing full well that my mother will not be happy about that little part.
"I will," I say, turning down on my street. "Tonight after dinner when I say goodbye." I pull into the driveway. "Also, it’s good to note I’m going to be blaming you." I get out of the car before she chews my ass, and I’m not even on her side of the car yet before the front door opens and my mother comes out.
"Hi!” she shouts from the top of the porch and waves her hand at us. "Just in time, I just took the pie out of the oven." I wait for Harlow to get out of the car to join me and slip my hand in hers.
"Hi, Mom," I say, walking up the step and kissing her on the cheek.
"Hey, honey," she says, smiling at me. "Harlow, looking beautiful as always." She pushes me out of the way to kiss Harlow’s cheek.
"Thank you so much for having me," Harlow says, and every single time I look at her, I fall more and more in love with her.
"Travis, why don’t you go get the bags out of the car, and the girls will go and wait in the kitchen?” my mother says.
"Yes, Travis, why don’t you do that?" Harlow says, knowing full well we aren’t staying here. The last time we stayed here, she refused to have sex with the fear that my mother would hear. It was a long four days, and by the time we got on the highway, I had to pull over.
"Why don’t I do it later?" I say, ignoring the look Harlow is giving me. "Is the pie warm?"
"Probably too hot to eat just this moment," Harlow says, and I glare at her. "So it’s the perfect time to get the bags."
Thankfully, another car comes down the driveway, and I’m saved. I look over and see that it’s Shelby. I lean over. "Tonight, I’m going to make you pay for that," I whisper in Harlow’s ear.
"With your mouth or your fingers?" She winks at me. "Either way, I win." She kisses my neck and then greets my sister.
"Did you bring me the dress?" Shelby comes up the steps and takes off her glasses, putting them on top of her head.
"Nice to see you, Shelby," I say, putting my arm around Harlow.
"I’m not talking to you." She looks at me. "And you know why."
I look at her, shocked. "What did I do now?"
"That’s enough, you two," my mother says as Shelby glares at me, and I stare at her with my mouth hanging open.
"By the way," Shelby says, "Suzanne from the hotel says that everything is set for you when you arrive." I glare at her.
"What hotel?" my mother asks.
"Oh, you didn’t tell Mom?" Shelby says, and I want to push her shoulder and hope she falls down, but I did that when I was eight, and I got the spanking of my life. "Travis is staying at the hotel."
"What?" my mother says out loud in a gasp.
"Let’s eat pie," Harlow says, clapping her hands together. "I’m a little hungry."
My mother looks at Harlow, who walks up the steps and asks her if she can have water. My mother will never be rude and say no, so she turns and walks into the house with Harlow.
"Who hurt you as a child?" I ask, and the question makes her laugh as she punches my arm and walks into the house. "But seriously, why are you pissed at me?"
"Oh, I’m not," she says over her shoulder. "Just keeping you on your toes." She throws her head back and laughs.
"Why couldn’t I have a brother?" I look up at the sky, shaking my head, and then walk into the house, hoping my mother forgot about us staying at the hotel. She did not.
"There you are." I look over my shoulder and see my best friend, Bennett, walking toward me. His tie is to the side, and I know that he hates wearing suits. I’m at the bar waiting to get something to drink. He stops next to me and slaps my shoulder. "I fucking hate wearing a suit."
I laugh at him, turning back and leaning on the bar. He’s in law school and he better get used to wearing suits, "The key is to leave the top shirt button open."
"It is," he says. "It’s this whole restriction." He motions with his arms, trying to cross them together. "It’s like a straitjacket."
I can’t help but laugh. We have been best friends since we met on the first day of kindergarten. The both of us cried the whole day, so we kind of sat together being miserable until dismissal. "Saw your girl when I walked in. She’s a beauty," he says to me, holding up his hand and ordering a beer, when the guy drops my own beer down in front of me.