A few seconds later, his 23 year old sister walked in. Jeff tried not to judge as he took in her appearance. She was still wearing her pajamas, the ones she had worn the day before, and possibly the day before that. Her hair was disheveled, and she looked tired, even though she had probably been in bed all day with a bottle of wine. Before he could stop himself, the words were out of his mouth. “Another productive day of moping I see.”
Abby punched her baby brother in the arm. Hard. “Shut up! I don’t need you kicking me while I’m down.”
“Ow! Hey, sorry. I’m just saying you’ve got to get back out there and live your life. Get a job. Go out on a date. There’s plenty of fish in the sea and you should have no problem landing one.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You know why. You’re super talented and…”
His sister arched her eyebrow. “And?”
He vaguely gestured at her buxom hourglass figure that was mostly hidden behind baggy pajamas.
“Are you saying I’m pretty?”
Jeff blanched. “I said no such thing. What I am saying is that you won’t look like this forever, so best make the most of it.” He sniffed the air between them and noted, “But you might want to shower. I can smell you from here, and that stench lowers your chances significantly.”
She swiped at him again, but this time he dodged. The microwave began beeping, and Abby opened the door and grabbed the plate of warmed meatloaf. “Thanks for making me food, brat.”
“Those are my leftovers!”
“I asked you to make me something,” she argued.
“When?”
“When I was coming to the kitchen!”
“I couldn’t hear you,” he protested. He tried to grab the plate, but she retreated. “That’s the last of the meatloaf! Give it!”
“You’ll just have to eat the rest of the casserole then, brat, cause you’re not getting this. It’s the price for my silence.”
“What silence?”
Abby gave her brother a sly grin. “About your little sleep over last night.”
Jeff’s mouth fell open, and his face went red. His girlfriend, Heather, had pretended to go home last night, but then had snuck into his room and stayed until morning.
“How did you…”
Abby laughed. “Are you kidding me? You don’t sleep in a soundproof room, dummy. I could hear your girlfriend’s moans all through the house. For a little brat, you must be doing something right.”
“I’m bigger than you are!”
“And I can still put you in a headlock you can’t get out of,” Abby warned with a smile.
And that was the last that Jeff saw of the meatloaf. As he scanned the fridge for more leftovers, he appreciated the normal interaction he and his sister still had. That was something. He would have liked to tell her about his long day. He should tell someone. He texted Heather to see if she could spend the night again. He assumed by his sister’s chill response that he could get by with another sleepover with his girlfriend. But then he thought about how his sister had heard them have sex. That was so embarrassing. Why did Abby have to tell him that?
His phone dinged. His girlfriend reminded him that she was studying tonight, and told him that he should be doing the same. They had a big test tomorrow, and she was right, he should be studying. It was his worst subject. The test was like a quarter of his grade or something. But he absolutely would have preferred to get laid. Try as he might, he could not change her mind, but she did promise to come over first thing in the morning. That was something at least. Maybe she’d give him a morning bj. And since he was wishing, why not a million dollars too.