Whispering With You

5. I know all about your big brain.

Sutton

A LIGHT FLIPS ON AND MY HEAD pops up, blinking to adjust to the sudden brightness in the room. Vivi plops down onto the couch next to me and offers me the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. I grab a handful, shoving one into my mouth.

"Thanks," I mumble with my mouth full. I glance at the clock on my laptop. "Shit. I didn't realize it was this late."

"You've been working on this all day, Sutton. I'm sure it's perfect by now." Vivi looks over my shoulder at the laptop screen as she munches on chips.

Ever since Kelly said I should present my idea to Jensen like I would a boss I wasn't related to, I've been working diligently to formulate a plan to show him I'm serious. When I started working today, the sun lit the living room. Apparently, the day passed away without me noticing, and Vivi had to turn on the light in the dark room when she came to find me.

"Look," I say, shoving my phone into my sister's face. "I did an informal poll on Lake Hope's community Facebook page and look at all these comments. People love the idea." I scroll through the comments, stopping to read a few, my face beaming with excitement. "He can't say no now, right?"

Vivi licks the ranch seasoning off her fingers as she looks at me. "You're really getting into this, huh? I've never seen you like this before, all dedicated and shit. What's gotten into you?"

Closing the lid on my laptop, I set it on the coffee table and tuck my feet under me. Shrugging, I grab another handful of chips from the bag. "I don't know. I just believe in this idea. Kelly says if I want Jensen to take me seriously, I need to be serious. So..."

"Kelly, huh?" She waggles her eyebrows at me.

I swat at her arm. "Shut it, sis. I don't want to hear it."

"Is that why you're still wearing his shirt, too? Does that somehow help the brainwaves as you commit yourself to being serious?" When I shoot her a dirty look, she throws her head back and laughs. "God, Sutton. You two are ridiculous. You know that, right?"

I rise to my feet, stealing the bag of chips from her lap. "Whatever, Viv. Just be ready to lead the kid yoga because I'm going to crush this meeting with Jensen tomorrow." With that, I skip out of the room and close myself in my bedroom.

Once I'm settled in bed for the night, I scroll through more of the comments on the Facebook post, smiling at all the interest in Yoga on the Farm. I close out of the app and pull up my texts, typing up a quick message.

ME: It's ready. And I'm gonna crush it. You're looking at the new instructor of Yoga on the Farm.

KELLY: I'm actually looking at a bunch of letters that you just texted me.

Rolling my eyes, I finger open the camera on my phone and take a quick selfie of me sticking my tongue out; and then I send it to him.

ME: There you go, smartass. Now you're looking at the new yoga instructor.

KELLY: Very professional, too.

KELLY: Wait, is that my shirt you're wearing?

ME: Don't think too much into it. I haven't done laundry. I spent all day working on this proposal for J.

KELLY: Whatever you say, baby girl.

ME: *gif of NSYNC doing Bye Bye Bye dance*

KELLY: *gif of Backstreet Boys walking in slow motion down a stage toward camera*