Page 58 of Rise Above

129

Rise Above

A creak from the stairs alerted me that my Aife was

up. “Bye, Mom!” I yelled and practically broke my phone ending the call.

Aife ambled down the rest of the stairs, rubbing

sleep from her eyes. A massive yawn left her mouth, causing one to leave my own. Her hair was up in a messy bun; my shirt basically swallowing her whole. The mere sight of her sent blood rushing away from my head directly to my dick. Her small hands continued to rub her eyes.

“Who were you talking to?” Her voice was rough

with sleep as she walked into my kitchen.

“Mom called asking about Thanksgiving plans.” I

finished our omelets and placed a plate for her on the counter. “Christmas and Thanksgiving we try to spend together, but it’s hard when we’re spread all over the country.”

Aife smiled and grabbed a fork. “Thank you for

breakfast. Back to Humble then?”

“Actually…” I trailed off. “We bought Mom a

house in Bridgewater with a pool and plenty of space for all of us to stay when the time comes.”

“Bridgewater?” Her eyebrow raised. “Like the

fancy, rich area of Katy?”

“Yeah,” I said, “We wanted to spoil Mom and Dad.

So, we did.” I shoveled some eggs into my mouth, suddenly embarrassed by the wealth we’d splurged on our parents. I didn’t think Aife would judge, but the shame still burned my cheeks and chest.

130

Rise Above

“My family is like ten minutes from there. We live

off Clay and Greenhouse. I’ll also be there for Thanksgiving.”

I swallowed hard. “We should meet up if time

permits.” Was that desperation in my tone? Jesus, maybe Mom was right about me catching feelings.

“I think I’d like that.” She polished off her omelet.

“In the meantime, I need to head home. I’ve got a paper to write.”

Nodding, I watched her walk back upstairs to

change. She was done in maybe two minutes. “Will you come to my game Wednesday?” That same tone from earlier tinted my question.

Her big eyes flicked to mine. “I’ll try. Work nights

are hard. Can Dre and Nat come?”