Chapter 3

I sat comfortably on the couch for the next fifteen minutes or so: right leg across the left knee, arms spread up on the back of the couch, simply enjoying the game on the tv.

The Sistership program Kayla was involved in was a mentorship program set up between the local university and a local private school that paired college students with high school students. There were a few main requirements of those who signed up, but the main aspect was simply spending time with your partner(s). Usually the college girls were paired with two or three high school girls and told to just “show them around your life, be like a good big sister, and be a good example.” It counted for extra credit for all involved parties, so it seemed like a good idea.

Another long-distance goal in the match on tv. “Wow.” What’s with multiple players scoring from distance today?

The doorbell rang then. Emma must have locked it when she left. I grabbed with my right hand, pulled myself up, and swung my legs over the back of the couch. Sure enough, the front door was locked. I turned the deadbolt and swung the door open. Feigning annoyance, I said: “No Girl Scout cookies for me, thanks,” and slowly began to close the door.

I was already celebrating that the three girls didn’t seem to know how to respond when Kayla suddenly winked and said, “We’ve got peanut butter.”

I froze. Then grinned. _She knows you too well. _I ate peanut butter on literally everything, and cookies... definitely.

"Come on in," I gestured.

Kayla immediately went in for the kiss. It was warm and soft, and we held it a little longer than the goodbye kiss from last night. Only stopping when one of the other girls suppressed a giggle. "What?" Kayla shot, spinning back to face them.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her back to me. "Don't worry about it. Probably just making it a little awkward for them." She started to protest, but I put a finger to her lips and looked her up and down. Kayla was about 5'10", and wore a white hoodie and black skirt with black... wedge sneakers? Her legs, as always, were amazing. The shoes I hadn't seen before and the overall look confused me a little, but she looked great.

I looked past her to the two girls still standing a little shyly barely inside the doorway. "Does she always dress like this around you?"

For an instant, the girls froze, apparently surprised I was talking to them. One of them–platinum blonde hair done in two braids falling in front of her shoulders; probably 5'4"; wearing a thin white jacket on top of a pink strappy tank top; jeans; and pink trainers– responded, "Well, its different..."

"Cute, just different than what she normally wears. Right?"

I felt a light bump on the shoulder.

"Yeah, definitely cute," the second girl said. She had a particularly cute nose and waves of silky brown hair. She was probably two inches shorter than the other girl, and wore a classic white Pepsi t-shirt and jean short shorts that made me a little uncomfortable.

Deciding to ease the discomfort a little for the two girls who were apparently pretty shy, I jerked my thumb and head to the left. "You two can take your backpacks to the living room. Kayla'll meet you there in a sec," I ended with a wink.

The two girls quickly bounded away and I turned to Kayla. "Remember, you're the cool big sister, not the easily annoyed sister because her boyfriend is around. You brought them over as part of your responsibility to them, so I'm not gonna be offended if I don't get all your attention."

Kayla sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing most of it to one side of her head. Today it seemed she'd put a little color in her hair because it was more blonde than ginger. She liked to do subtle changes, usually a little more red or a little more blonde; but I didn't care really because she looked good with all of them. She smiled at me, "Thanks, babe. Amazing as usual."

"You make it easy."

She blushed then put something a little mischievous in her eyes. So I grabbed her and kissed, pressing on with a little more intensity than I had with the first; she kissed back, but then pulled away. "I'm gonna go find Loren and Molly." She grinned beautifully. "You, though, should probably put some pants over those boxers.