Loan Shark Love

“Yes?” I answer, finishing my pizza slice with the ranch slathered on it.

“Do you mind if I come over there and sit with you on your side of the booth?” Rose asks, her cheeks glowing a rosy red. “It’s just a little cold in here.”

“Come on,” I tell her, getting up so that she can slide into the seat on my other side. “Are you warm enough now?” I ask as I move back into the spot beside her.

“This is a lot better,” Rose tells me, pressing her leg to mine.

The sweet, older waitress comes over to the table, carrying two candles, and she looks at us both when she sees Rose snuggled up on my other side.

She sets two candles on the table and lights them for us, touching my shoulder as she passes. I think that her name is Penny, but I can’t be sure if it is or not.

“Thank you,” I tell her, and she just nods, smiling softly. “They’re lovely.”

“That was nice of her,” Rose says, and she lays her head against my shoulder. “Do you two know each other or something? I mean, do you know her?”

Is that a hint of jealousy I hear from the woman beside me? I’m almost sure I’ve imagined it, but I can see that she’s waiting for me to answer her question.

“This is where I come to de-stress while I’m in the city,” I tell her. “Natalie likes cinnamon bun breadsticks and cream cheese. You might like them too.”

“Will she be very mad that you left her?” Rose asks. “Your sister, I mean?”

“No,” I tell her with a laugh. “She was getting free drinks from men at the bar.”

“That must be nice,” Rose mutters, sighing under my arm. “She’s really pretty.”

I squeeze her tight, pulling her closer to me so that she has to look up at me. Her eyes are big and soft, whiskey brown. Her mouth is plump and soft-looking.

When I lean down and kiss her, Rose doesn’t pull away, and she deepens the kiss.

“You,” I say as we kiss, whispering into her mouth, “are a dream that I don’t ever want to wake up from. Please stop bringing yourself down, Rosie. Just stop.”

Rose opens her eyes slowly with her nose brushing mine. Her hand slips over the nape of my neck, warm and gentle across my skin.

I love the feeling of it. Of her.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she says, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What can’t you believe?” I wonder, pressing a gentle hand to her cheek.

She smells like peaches and cream, and I want to engulf myself in her scent.

“I just can’t believe that I’m here with you,” Rose whispers. She shakes her head, unsure of herself. “And I can’t believe that you…I mean that you….”

“That I want you, too?” I finish for her, raising an eyebrow. “Well, I do, Rosie.”

“I like that,” Rose says, looking up at me with a smile. “Rosie.”

“That’s what you are,” I answer, pressing my forehead to hers. “You’re my Rosie.”

Rose blushes, and I press my fingers gently to the heat in her cheeks, feeling her embarrassment against my skin. She finishes her pile of breadsticks, and we sit quietly in the dim light of the lamps for a moment, drinking each other in.

Suddenly, my phone begins to go off in my pocket. I pick it up, pressing it to my ear. I already know who it is even without having to look at the screen.

“Yes, Nat?” I ask my half-sister patiently, sighing. “Is there something you need?”

“Where are you?” Natalie yells on the other end, speaking over the loud music. “The driver said we have to pick you up. Where did you go? I had three free vodka spritzers in one go, and then I ditched those three guys at the bar. I’m bored now.”

“Come to Slice’s,” I say to her without actually answering any of her questions. “I’ll have a box of cinnamon breadsticks waiting for you when you get here.”

“You know what?” Nat calls through the phone. “I’m just going to ignore that you didn’t answer my questions, dear brother. I really want those cinnamon sticks.”

“I’ll see you here in a little bit,” I tell her. “Tell Aaron not to speed when he gets out on the road. I want you to get here in one piece, okay?”

After I hang up the phone, I catch Rose staring at me with an affectionate smile.

“What is it?” I ask her, and Rose leans up to kiss me again, brushing my mouth.

“I just think you’re sweet, that’s all,” she tells me with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I care about the people in my life,” I tell her, and I wonder if she knows that she is quickly becoming one of those people. “I keep them safe if I can.”

“Natalie is lucky to have you,” Rose tells me, looking shy again.