Careful: twists and turns up ahead.
Love has never worked out for Ann in the past, and she's long since sworn off of it. But, when her brother starts bringing around a new friend named Ether, everything changes.
At first, they acknowledge their mut...
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I assumed that Dawn would be riding to school with Paris and I since he had a job in the front office now. Honestly, I assumed he would have to be at school earlier than the students but I was wrong about both things. Ether was sitting in our living room chatting with Mom at 6 in the morning and I could only guess that he was there to drive Dawn.
Mom wasn't a chatty person, at least not to me, but the way she was talking to Ether was as if he was her second son. Sometimes, I had the odd feeling that my mom had wanted two boys instead of one.
Mom didn't notice when I came out of my room, but Ether did. His eyes roved over my outfit: a baby blue tracksuit and a pair of chunky white sneakers, nothing too special but his face made me feel like I was wearing something revealing. The way his lips curled up into something less than a smile but more than a grin was so satisfyingly appreciative that I had no choice but to like it. Ether was good at flattery, I could tell that just by looking at him.
"It's about time you got up," Mom stated before gracing me with a kiss on the cheek. "Mom, I've been up."
"Hush and eat your breakfast before it gets cold." I obliged her by taking the plate she had prepared with plant-based bacon and an English muffin.
If I had to summarize my Mom and I's relationship, I would say it was a mix of affection and unnecessarily snappy conversations. My Mom was sassy to a fault and I often took the brunt of it. One would think she would understand that we shared the same hormones so maybe she would direct more of her sass at Dawn, but she chose to disregard that information. The amount of times I had been in a full-out argument with my mom were countless compared to the times Dawn had argued with Mom.
Absent dads tended to produce overly-aggressive moms.
No matter though, I wasn't exactly the easiest daughter to have either.
Dawn came out from his room at the same time that Paris called me to come outside. "See you, Ma." I shouted on my way out, Ether came out right behind me with his stinky cologne funking up the place. Seeing my wrinkled nose, Ether goaded me, "Is something wrong, Ann?"
Going to the mall to help Ether pick out a new cologne would be a date without question; I wouldn't be tricked into doing something as intimate as that for a guy like Ether, or any guy at my high school for that matter. Most of them were the same. So, in response to Ether's question I simply shook my head "no."
"We'll see if that answer changes by the end of the day."
"You just make sure my brother doesn't catch on to whatever game it is that you're playing."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're playing the game just as well I am."
"I don't play games." I stared directly into his face to make sure he got my point, "I say what I mean and I mean what I say."
"But you also entertain."
"If I entertained, you wouldn't be seeing the back of my head in the next two seconds."
