“I need you to promise.”
“I promise.”
“Don’t forget. A man never breaks his word.”
Milo stood straighter, suddenly serious. “I am a man of my word.”
“That you are.”
For a kid, Milo was remarkably great at keeping secrets, which was perfect, because Lori would probably have a heart attack if she knew the stunts Milo and I had pulled together. But what Lori didn’t know didn’t hurt her.
We ate at one of the best fried chicken joints in town, then headed to my apartment. On the way, I thought about Paige again. Screw this. I was going to text her and invite her over. Chances were high that she already had plans.
Will: What are you doing tonight? Any chance you’d like to hang out with me and Milo?
She answered a few seconds later.
Paige: I’m on my way home from an out-of-town conference. It’s a two-hour drive so I won’t be in until later. But I could drop by with dessert.
I lowered myself on my haunches until I was level with Milo.
“Do you remember Paige? My friend from the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“Would you be cool with her stopping by later with dessert?”
“Sure. Can she bring nachos? I can eat them for dessert.”
I ruffled Milo’s hair, texting back Paige. Energy filled me at the thought of seeing her tonight. I knew why Milo liked spending time at my apartment. It was in a complex with seven buildings, each no higher than three stories. There were also two pools and a playground for kids, though he hadn’t wanted to use the latter in years.
When Milo and I entered my apartment, it immediately hit me that this place looked like a damn tornado had blown through it. I was usually messy, and the messiness increased by a factor of ten whenever Milo slept over.
“Buddy, we need to clean this place up a bit before Paige arrives.”
“Clean?” Milo looked crestfallen. I couldn’t blame him. I’d never asked this of him, much to the chagrin of my sister. This was karma biting me back. I mentally went through the arsenal of methods I usually employed to convince Milo. They might include bribing. I decided to go with honesty.
“Ladies don’t like messes,” I explained.
“Ooooh... you want to impress her?”
“Yes. Yes. That’s it.”
“You could try jumping from the top of a tree. Marshall and Xander from my school tried to impress Anna, so Marshall jumped from a low branch, then Xander climbed to an even higher branch.”
I stared at him. Were boys really that ridiculous? If my young years were any indication, the answer was a resounding yes. “Buddy, that’s a very, very bad idea.”
“Anna was impressed, though. She even went to the school doctor with Xander when he broke his wrist.”
“Yeah, but breaking your wrist to get a girl’s attention is stupid. Don’t do it.”
“And you think that cleaning up will work?” Milo asked skeptically.
“Well, let me put it this way: not cleaning up will definitely not help.”
Grudgingly, Milo agreed to help. We spent the next fifteen minutes picking up stuff from the floor, only to place it on the couch or the table, where it also didn’t belong. This wasn’t productive at all. Finally, we fashioned out a plan. We’d stack the stuff lying around in the empty dresser in the guest room, where Milo was sleeping. We’d almost managed to make the space look presentable when the doorbell rang. I swept my gaze across the room once. Much better than before.
Milo jetted to the door before me, opening up. The corners of Paige’s mouth lifted in a smile when she saw Milo.