She wraps her tiny hand around mine but doesn’t pull out of my grasp. “Dammit, you can’t say stuff like that to me.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too much.” She finally pulls away from me. If she only knew. It’s not even close to being enough.

I decide that now isn’t the time to press the issue, so I go back to my original point. “You shouldn’t stay alone.”

She sighs in exasperation. “Who should I stay with then?”

“Me.” There isn’t even a moment of thought before I answer. The only person she should stay with is me. I don’t really have the room for her considering Po Po has my spare bedroom, but I’d make it work. She could take my room and I’d sleep on the couch. I’d sacrifice every comfort available to me to make her life easier.

“No.” She shakes her head vehemently against the idea. “No, that’s not happening. Just drop it, please. Okay?”

I nod my head slowly, letting her slip into her car and drive away. Am I actually dropping it? Absofuckinglutely not. I’ll just have to go about it in a different way.

“So what do you need?” my sister, Kylie, asks before taking a huge bite of her enchiladas.

“How do you know I need something? I can’t just take my sister to dinner?”

She stops midchew, narrowing her eyes at me. “Sure, but you always act like you’re gonna make me pay for half when we both know you’re just gonna pay. When you straight-up offer to buy without argument, I know something’s up.”

I cough into my hand to hide my laugh because she’s got me. I don’t ask Kylie for much, but when I do, I bribe her with food first. Right now, we’re at her favorite Mexican restaurant.

“Okay, fine. I’ve got a proposition for you.”

Her eyebrows lift before she shifts back into her seat and leans back, throwing her arm on the back of her chair. “I’m listening.”

I roll my eyes. Always with the dramatics, this one.

“Umm, Kylie?”

I turn to the voice that just interrupted me. I find a guy about my height but leaner with tan skin and light-brown eyes watching Kylie with intensity. She turns to him, unbothered.

“Oh, hey Ethan. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I texted you earlier to see if you wanted to meet up, but I see you already had an invite.” He tries to hide it but I see the way his eyes look me over head to toe before he huffs his disapproval.

Kylie and I share a look as she chuckles. “Yeah. Ethan, have you met my brother, Kai?”

Ethan’s eyes widen. He clears his throat and then offers me his hand. “No, uh, I haven’t. Good to meet you, man.”

“You too.”

“Well, I’ll just go. I’ll text you later, Kylie.”

She taps her fingers against the table. Ethan turns to leave but Kylie calls him back. “Hey, Ethan?”