her and I always let her know it.
“Also a Negative. Went all the way in for class and the Professor has the measles. What grown ass man has the measles? Anyway, day off for you, brother dear?” Sinking back into me, she laid her head at my shoulder.
“All day, Red. I’m starving; want to order us some Chinese? My treat since you’re a poor student.” We shared a look and she patted her flat stomach.
“I do come by for the visits but I love the perk of food, bro. Two number twelves for you and some egg rolls?”
Gigi looked like a perfect juxtaposition of our parents. Her long dark hair usually fell to the middle of her back, but it was in messy bun atop her head. With an angular jaw, fine nose and fair skin she looked very much like Mom. Gigi was tall and slim like Pop, almost as tall at me and I topped out at a respectable six-four.
Regan and Teagan had more of mom in them; smaller, curvier and with heart shaped faces. All of us had the dark hair like our father and hues ranging from moss to hazel eyes like mom. Gigi got something of her own though, with two different colored eyes. It was her favorite thing about herself and when she did herself up you knew it, because they stood out.
Unhooking the menu for China Wok from the stack of take-out menus hanging beside my phone, she ordered us lunch. Though I was officially a bachelor I didn’t really live like one. I hung out with Gigi and Tegan a lot and spent most nights working or alone home with Mr. Belvedere. My place, though no mansion, was clean and had comfortable leather furniture and I even did my laundry on a regular basis. All the decorating had been Regan, of course.
I mean she did have a degree in it even though she hardly needed it. I expect the degree helped her get her shop, Fancy That, opened up down by Wicker Park. Tegan just finished her own degree awhile back, which I benefited from greatly; a nerd to end all nerds she was a gaming programmer. We spent our time together playing video games as she built them. It was a sweet perk of having a nerdy sister.
“Cage. How many egg rolls?” Realizing Gigi had been calling me for a while, I focused and answered her.
“At least four. For me. How many ever you want, Red.” She made her unique eyes go wide playfully before turning back to complete the order.
Growing up I had always been close to my sisters, something that was rare it seemed. Finn, who I had forgiven for his fuck up with Ariel, had four siblings, none of who he was close to. Finn got along with Gigi, and in fact I was working overtime to thwart what I was sure was a crush on her part. For whatever reason, Gigi had always been closest to me. I had walked her to and from school from the time she was in braids until she no longer wanted her big brother around.
For different reasons, I was close to Regan and Tegan, who were older than me by four years. Barely a year apart themselves, they had been inseparable. Carbon copies of Mom they were often mistaken for twins. They were the type of girls everyone liked and wanted to hang around with. Which made it easy for me to hang out with all the chicks during high school, something I always appreciated. Though we had our moments, as all siblings do, they never made me feel like I wasn’t wanted.
When they began dating, I stepped into the big brother role immediately. Even though their boyfriends were obviously always older. I always felt it was my duty to watch over them. To be sure they were treated right. Even now when they were in serious relationships, with guys I liked, I was always ready to kick someone’s ass if I had to.
That had always been my job with Gigi, of course. Perhaps our closeness was because Gigi and I were just a few years apart. I knew she had briefly dated a douche her first semester at college. I had been there when it took pints of ice cream, sappy movies and those filthy novels to get her over him.
Though I kept the details to a minimum, she knew about the
Lisa Mondello, L. A. Mondello