CLANDESTINE | HS |

TWO

Harry

Don't get me wrong — I love my job.

The master's degree on the wall of my office wouldn't be there if it wasn't something I enjoyed doing.

Most of my days were spent in and out of meetings, doing research, and sometimes I even get to sit in front of a drafting table with a pencil in my hand.

However the weekends could never come fast enough.

Friday's were the best day of the week.

I think everyone knows that.

For me, it meant leaving behind my office and forgetting about all of the projects until Monday morning.

It meant that I could work on my own projects.

At home, alone.

My only problem was that this Friday, today, I wasn't going to do anything alone.

No, not at all.

Because when your one and only sister has a birthday dinner and asks you to come, you say yes.

No matter how much you want to just go home.

So I got dressed and took an uber across town to the upscale restaurant and then stood outside for ten minutes before finally getting the energy to go inside

I didn't know what it was that made me so hesitant to go inside, truly.

My sister Lauren is one the best people I've ever known — the one person I've been able to count on my entire life. Celebrating her wasn't something I'd been able to do until I moved closer a little over a year ago when I got hired at Porter Designs as an Architectural Engineer.

Leaving my old job and my own life behind wasn't easy, but it was worth it.

Weaving my way through the people crowding the restaurant, I feel a little bit of the apprehension in my chest settle at the sight of my sister standing at the table in the back.

As she hugs someone, she sees me over their shoulder and waves at me, the excitement written across her face as I return the gesture. Once I'm within her reach, she pulls me in so close and wraps her arms around me in a hug so tight it feels like my lungs just might explode from the pressure.

"I'm so glad you came!" I can already tell she's had a shot, maybe two.

Reaching up to ruffle her hair, I laugh. "Did you really think I would miss it? Welcome to the thirty club."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Scrunching up her nose, she sticks her tongue out. "My youth is gone."

"It's not gone, you're just being dramatic." Giving her a playful glare, I look around at the table. "Anywhere in particular you want me to sit?"

There's so many people moving around that when she points to an empty chair, I don't even think twice — I sit.

With all of the chaos surrounding her I find that my biggest mistake was in not looking to see who else was at the table, which is why I find myself sitting across from the one person I shouldn't.

Logan Banks.

I guess saying I shouldn't sit near her isn't quite the right way to phrase it. More like, I don't want to sit close to her.

With her long, dark hair and mostly dark eyes, she's the exact kind of woman that no matter how little I interact with her — she'll stay on my mind for far too long.