15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

I sigh, relieved. “Please. I hate this.” I face her and take a sip of my
coffee. She sets hers down beside her and then grips the countertop.
“How did that even happen?”
I shake my head, trying my best not to smile like I’m love-struck. I
don’t want her to think I’m weak, or a fool for giving in to him. “We
met before I knew you.”
She tilts her head. “Wait,” she says. “Before we got to know each
other better or before we knew each other at all?”
“At all,” I say. “We had a moment one night, about six months
before I met you.”
“A moment?” she says. “As in... a one-night stand?”
“No,” I say. “No, we never even kissed until last night. I don’t know,
I can’t explain it. We just had this sort of flirtation thing going on for
a really long time and it finally came to a head last night. That’s all.”
She picks up her coffee again and takes a slow drink from it. She
stares down at the floor for a while and I can’t help but notice she
looks a little sad.
“Allysa? You’re not mad at me, are you?”
She immediately shakes her head. “No, Lily. I just.. .” She sets
down her coffee cup again. “I just know my brother. And I love him. I
really do. But.. .”
“But what?”
Allysa and I both look in the direction of the voice. Ryle is standing
in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. He’s wearing a
pair of gray jogging pants that are barely hanging on to his hips. No
shirt. I’ll be adding this outfit to all the other ones I’ve catalogued in my head.
Ryle pushes off the door and makes his way into the kitchen. He
walks over to me and takes my cup of coffee out of my hands. He
leans in and kisses me on the forehead, then takes a drink as he leans
against the counter.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says to Allysa. “By all means,
continue your conversation.”
Allysa rolls her eyes and says, “Stop.”
He hands me back my cup of coffee and turns around to grab his
own mug. He begins to pour from the pot. “It sounded to me like you
were about to give Lily a warning. I’m just curious as to what you have
to say.”