Page 31 of Cautious Love

June: You are so annoying

I smile, putting my phone down. My sister June is a pistol, and she always has been. She’s a year older than me, but most of the time she feels like our little sister because she’s always getting herself into something and we are not only constantly getting her out of it, but when she was younger, no guy would touch her because that meant he’d have to face me, my brothers, and my best friend Sterling.

“Have you had dinner yet?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“Cool, I’ll make it.” She slips past me and starts pulling out a pot and sauce pan.

“You don’t have to do that,” I tell her.

“Gotta eat, don’t you?”

My stomach twists, but it’s not in a bad way. It’s something I have no business entertaining because none of this is real. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“I hope you like …” she trails off and opens the fridge, rummaging around until she comes out with chicken and some vegetables. “Honestly, I don’t know what this will be, but this is what will be in it.”

Not sure if I should agree to this, I nod. “Do you need help?” I ask her.

“Sure, help me find the rice and some cornstarch.”

I go to the pantry to my left and dig out a bag of rice and pull out the container of cornstarch.

“Okay, that’s it. Leave me be,” she says and waves me away.

I glance at the couch. I could turn on the game or keep working on the puzzle on my coffee table. Instead, I slide onto a stool at the island and watch her cook. And I tell myself it’s because she might need help, though she seems to be perfectly capable in this kitchen as if she’s been living here for years.

Thirty minutes later, she slides a plate full of orange chicken with peppers and onions on a bed of rice in front of me.

“Yes, your wife can cook,” she grins.

I chuckle as we sit down at the table, and I take a bite, trying to hide my surprise. I don’t know why I’m surprised because I watched her cook all of it, but it’s delicious.

“Well?” she asks with wide, curious eyes.

I nod and finish chewing. “It’s great.”

She smiles nervously as if my opinion matters. It makes me wonder if Grey ever thanked her, let alone told her good job. He probably didn’t, if I had to guess.

“When we were in high school, what made you like Grey?” I ask her.

She slows her chewing and gives me a look.

In her defense, the question is out of nowhere, but I want to know. She’s not who I thought she was, and I’m starting to think that she was simply pulled into the wrong crowd because they accepted her.

“Why do you want to know?” she asks with an edge of hesitation.

I shrug. “Call it curiosity.”

She pouts and takes a bite. “I don’t know if it was one thing to be honest. We grew up together, you know that. I think a little of it, when I was young, was because he gave me attention. It’s not my father’s fault because he was working a lot to keep the lights on. I’m an only child, so I got lonely pretty easily. Grey sort of lived down the street from me, so it made sense.”

She pauses, chewing.

“As we got older, though, I think it was because he was my first everything. He was all I knew, and in small town Paxton, I recognize that’s not a lot, but I don’t know why it would matter either. Does that make sense?”

I nod. “Just because it’s simple doesn't mean it’s bad.”

“Exactly, I mean I’m pretty sure half of every graduating class from Paxton High ends up married to each other or to someone in the next town over. Only a handful actually leave.”