“No, it’s the same old, same old”

“No, it’s the same old, same old” you say, trying not to give anything away.

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” Lou says, narrowing her eyes down to slits and grinning at you.

“And you are a terribly nosey sister.” You retort, taking your last sip of coffee.

"Me⸮ Nosey⸮ Never." Lou gasps, putting her hand up in front of her mouth.

You give her a look of incredulity.

"Why," Lou says, "I'm just looking out for the wovilest widdle bruder in the world."

"Obviously. Definitely not a vapid attempt to squeeze information out of me with flattery." You shoot back.

"It's worked on you before." Lou states, shrugging. You snort.

"Yeah, but I'm not eight anymore." You say.

"Sure. Physically." Lou comments.

"Hey―" You snap back.

"So did you actually just," Lou makes air quotes, "'pick up' Marcy or did you two dance the sideways tango?" Lou asks, cocking an eyebrow at you.

"Well―" You say, taken off guard by the sudden change of topics. You don't even get a chance to spin a yarn.

"So you did." Lou crows, a mean grin on her face.

"You don't know that." You shoot back.

"I could see that you were trying to come up with a lie on the spot though." Lou says, takes another sip of coffee, and then continues. "More importantly does Kat know yet?"

"No." You reply. You hope, you add internally.

"So you did." Lou says and smiles down at you. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"I mean is it really that much of a secret?" You ask, and point to your neck.

You see the waitress coming back, check in hand. The waitress walks up and puts the check in front of you, and then walks off.

“I’m paying.” You hear Lou hiss at you. You pass it to Lou without a fight.

“Oh.” You hear Lou say. “This is for you I think.” She slides the order back towards you. There’s a little note on it saying ‘Call me XOXO’, with a phone number underneath it. You whip your head around and eye the waitress, who's now busing another table. You stare at her. She’s kinda cute, you think looking her up and down in her pasty yellow dress uniform, white apron, and pumps. She catches you staring and once she’s done with her table, puts her hand up to her ear and mouths the words “call me”, and then walks back to the kitchen. Lou is trying her best not to break out laughing at you. You feel your face turn red.

“Oh she is getting one hell of a tip for that.” Lou cries, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Ugh.” You reply, picking up the note as Lou throws down a 30 percent tip and both of you get up from the table.

“Let’s go before any more girls throw themselves at your feet.” Lou giggles as she opens the door for you. She takes you back to your apartment, and you recognize Ben’s car sitting out front.

“Hey.” Lou says, popping the car into park. You go to open the door and she locks it. You look at her. “Thanks for not ditching me today. When are you free so I can take you out drinking?”

“You don’t have to do that.” You reply, smiling defensively.

“But I want to.” She smiles back.

“I’ll text you when I get my project schedule from Alice for the next couple weeks and then I’ll text you.” You say.

“Oh my, you two have a schedule already?” Lou chuckles, giving you a dirty smile. You give her a very mean look. “Sounds good.” She says, unlocking the door. “Love you John.”

“Love you too, Lou.” You answer, getting out of her car and walking up to your apartment.