Shattered Pieces

Nineteen

The front door to my studio chimes, and I look up to see my brother.

"Jordan, what a surprise." I smile at him.

"What, a brother can't show up to check on his baby sister?" He walks right past me at the front desk and proceeds to look around.

"First of all," I stand from my seated position. "I don't know how many times we have to go over the fact that I'm older. Secondly, you were going to see me tonight when you showed up to watch my kid for my date with Spencer."

"Right. Me and lil G," he smiles at me.

"Please don't call him that... ever." I playfully roll my eyes at him.

"Liiiiiiiiv." Kia's voice carries as she walks into the studio. "Where are you?"

Jordan quickly turns his head to the sound of her voice, and I arch my brow at his reaction.

"Checking on your baby sister, huh?" I smirk.

"Date with Spencer, huh?" He mimics me.

"There you ar— oh, Jordan." She pauses, then a soft smile appears on her face. Not like the polite kind or the nervous kind. No, the real happiness kind, where it radiates through your eyes. "Hi."

The sound of the hi was a hell of a lot softer than when she was just yelling my name. My eyes drift between the two of them, but they wouldn't know because their eyes are locked on each other.

Why is this my life?

"Kia, you were looking for me, right?" I interrupt their completely, inappropriately awkward eye exchange.

"Right. Right!" She finally tears her gaze away from my brother and focuses on me. "I brought the outfit I picked out for your date night!"

"I didn't ask you to pick out an outfit for my date night?" I eye her curiously.

"I know, but you kept going on and on about this date, and you have to make a statement with your outfit. It is the first date, after all."

"Kia, he's my husband." I stare at her, genuinely confused.

"Semantics." She shrugs, and Jordan laughs.

"It... it's not semantics? He's actually my husband." I look between the two of them again. How am I somehow intruding in my own studio?

"Anyway, you and your husband will thank me when you see the outfit I've picked out. He's going to love seeing you in it and love taking you out of it even more."

"KIA!" My eyes bulge out of my head.

"What? I'm sure it's okay to put out on the first date when it's your husband."

Jordan just stands off to the side with a smirk on his face, eyes locked on Kia. I, on the other hand, am mortified.

"Oh! Bryce also has a later night than he originally thought, so I can actually watch my favorite 11-month-old form of birth control if you still need someone."

Jordan laughs, again. This time Kia turns to smile at him, then shakes her head quickly before swallowing her smile and focusing back on me.

"Are you trying to say my son is bad?" I tease.

"Bad? No, never!" She winks at me.

"Well, he actually already has another victim for the night. Jordan agreed to watch him... with Simone." Okay, I didn't have to throw that last part in there, but these two are playing a dangerous game, and someone in this room has to remind them of that.

"Oh." She has a soft smile again, but this one is the polite kind— the nervous kind. "I'm sure Grayson will love that!"

"Simone isn't actually in town." Jordan blurts.