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Lorraine was just finishing her toast when she heard the sound
of a
basketball bouncing outside the back door. She threw the remaining
crust
into the trash can, ignoring a scathing look from the cook, Maggie,
and
headed for the door to investigate. She’d almost made it when
she heard
her father’s voice. “Hey, Lorri ...”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“Have you seen Ro this morning?”
“There’s a note on the table -- she got up early and left for
Raleigh.
She says she’ll call you later.”
“Oh, okay ... second question: is your sister around?”
Lorraine shrugged. “I think she’s still in bed.” She didn’t
add that
Catrina hadn’t likely been *in* her bed until very early that morning.
“Lazybones,” Carlos said affectionately. “Where are you off to?”
“To see what’s up on the basketball court ...”
“Okay, see you later, then.”
Lorraine escaped the questioning gratefully and headed out the
door.
She looked towards the small basketball court to find her brother,
Nick, and
Brian bouncing a ball between them absently, deep in conversation.
When
Derek noticed her on the porch, he waved at her. “A-ha!
There’s our
answer! Come on, Lorri!”
“Your answer to what?” she asked, trotting over.
“We needed one more person for our game. You in?”
She tightened her ponytail and grinned. “Sure, why not?
Who’s
playing who?”
Nick grinned, gesturing at Brian. “Well, he and I have to
play
against each other, because we still haven’t settled a bet ...”
Brian sighed. “You’re just looking to get your butt kicked,
yet
again.”
“In your dreams.”
As they bantered playfully, Lorraine made an executive decision.
She knew she couldn’t play on the same team as Nick -- she had a very
good idea of what he’d done with Catie the night before, and that made
her
uncomfortable around him. So, she said, “If you guys are done
trash
talking, we can get on with it. Nick and Derek, me and Brian
... is that
okay?”
Nick grinned at Derek, who shrugged. “You’re on. Hey,
Lorri, so
that everyone’s got something riding on this, loser takes winner out
to the
Rydell Steakhouse when we get back to Raleigh.”
“Sounds cool to me.” She turned to Brian, who handed her
the ball
with an eyebrow raised.
She just bounced the ball and walked towards the hoop as Derek
laughed. “Don’t worry, Brian, I have one sister who plays like
a girl, and
Lorri isn’t it.”
An hour later, all four were sprawled on the concrete, wiping
sweat
from their faces. “Do you guys concede?” Lorri asked, grinning.
Nick groaned, while Derek mimed waving a white flag in the air.
“We surrender, we surrender.”
Brian and Lorri sat up far enough to share a high five.
“I’m sorry I
ever doubted you -- I’ll play with you any time,” Brian told her.
“Ditto,” she said. “By the way, Derek, I’ll take the prime
rib at
Rydell, with all the fixings.”
Her brother groaned. “You’re going to break my bank account,
aren’t you?”
“Yep!” Lorri said cheerfully.
Nick sat up and looked at the two of them. “Hey, why don’t
we just
make it a group dinner, when we get back?”
Lorri looked at him ... he was looking right back at her.
She was
glad that she was already flushed from the game -- that way, he couldn’t
tell
she was blushing. “Well ... okay, I guess. Should we invite
Catie along?”
she asked pointedly.
Nick looked away from her, while Derek groaned. “No, uh-uh,
she
orders even more than you do. And, don’t tell her, but spending
time with
her is getting to be a bit old pain in the butt.”
They lapsed into silence again. Finally, Brian stood up
and offered
his hand to Lorraine. “Will you help me sweet talk the cook into
some
breakfast?” he asked her.
She let him help her up. “Sure,” she agreed. She could
feel Nick
watching her again ... it was disconcerting. What was his game?
“Maggie
doesn’t like me very much right now, but I’m pretty sure you can charm
her,” she told Brian, trying to ignore Nick.
“You guys coming?” he asked Derek and Nick.
Derek waved them off. “Nah, I already ate. You guys go ahead.”
Nick shook his head. “I think I’m gonna shoot some more
hoops ...
get in some practice. We’ll have to have a rematch before we
leave,” he
warned them.
Brian said something to him over his shoulder, but Lorri missed
it as
she walked back towards the house. She wasn’t sure what was going
on ...
Nick had obviously had sex with her twin sister the night before.
So, what
was he doing, staring at her? She shook her head. Yeah,
right, Lorri, she
told herself, like it has to be something sexual. Maybe Catie
told him
something horrible about you last night ... that thought made her shudder.
She wouldn’t be that cruel ... would she?
As Brian caught up with her, she tried to put it out of her mind.
It --
he -- wasn’t worth worrying about. Really.
