I was bashing my Xbox controller, focused unblinkingly on the TV ahead.
"You're cheating," whined Kara.
"Bullshit."
"You are so cheating!"
I threw up my arms in a victory sign as the image on the TV flashed. Kara rolled her eyes as she tossed her controller aside. I laughed and shrugged at her apologetically. It was one of the upsides of having my sister move in with me. I had someone I could pummel in video games whenever I felt like it.
At that moment, though, Kara certainly looked the part of an older sister. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was scowling at the TV.
"Come on, you'll get better! You just have to keep practicing. Like...a lot," I said mischievously.
"Whatever. I'm going to bed. You wanna do something fun tomorrow?"
"No can do, sis. I'm hanging out with Tracy for most of the day."
My sister placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Right. Of course. The only girl you ever wanna spend time with now, huh?"
"She's my girlfriend, what d'you want me to do?"
"It's fine. I get it. Just don't complain when I meet a guy and start ditching you..." said Kara sternly.
I chuckled. "Sure, you'll get a free pass."
Kara yawned and stretched her arms over her head. The waistband of her leggings slid down a bit, while her undersized t-shirt rode up, leaving her navel and a strip of midriff exposed. I would never have said it out loud, but I had to grudgingly admit that any guy who landed my sister would be as lucky as heck. Her delicate face, framed by her straight blonde hair, was about the prettiest you'd ever see. Combined with her slim, soft, 5'7" body and near-perfect tan year round...I was sure most guys couldn't hope to do better.
Obviously, being siblings, we were at each other's throats more often than not. That meant I would never in a million years have told her that she was an attractive girl. It was my duty to give her as much shit as possible, and she was happy to reciprocate.
"Look at you; wearing those gym outfits when we both know you've never worked out," I teased.
"Shut up!" Kara ended her stretch and placed her hand over her bare stomach as she walked away. "Goodnight! See you in the morning!"
I hadn't been so keen on my sister moving in with me. But she'd fallen on hard times and she was desperate, so refusing hadn't been an option. A few months later, I couldn't imagine her not being there. We'd become so close that I would have really missed her if she'd left. For all the ribbing we gave each other, I knew she was a good sister and I could count on her anytime.
There was one problem, though. My sister and my girlfriend, Tracy, didn't like each other. Neither had said it explicitly, but I knew both girls well enough to know when they didn't like someone. I knew Kara resented Tracy for being the "new girl" who was suddenly the focus of my time and attention. And she couldn't be convinced that Tracy had my best interests at heart.
Tracy, meanwhile, didn't like that my sister lived with me and thus had an outsized influence on my thinking and decisions. I had naively hoped that they would come around to each other, but that didn't seem to be happening.
****
The following morning, I walked into Kara's room, looking for a phone charger she'd taken. She was lying on her back in her pajamas, with her iPad propped on her thighs. I was surprised to see her watching a video about boxing.
"Thinking of taking up a new hobby?" I snickered.
Kara glared at me. "What, you think I wouldn't be able to box?"
"Duh. You're as unfit as fuck."
"Please. I could totally win a fight."
I laughed and shook my head as I turned to leave the room. My sister was so easy to goad. If I suggested she wasn't good enough to do something - anything - she would reflexively insist that she could do it. I was nearly at the door when she piped up again.
"I'll bet I can box better than Tracy, that's for sure."
I turned around with my eyebrows raised. "You don't seriously think that, right?"
"What? You don't think I could beat up your girlfriend?!" Kara was sitting upright on her bed now, her face defiant, with her hair messy from her head being on her pillow.
"Tracy works out. Like, a lot."
"So? I could still take her in a fight. I'm like, three inches taller than her."
"Kara, stop thinking about it. I'm telling you, you wouldn't win."
"Fine. You wanna bet? I'll text her right now."
"What? What are you doing?"
Kara ignored me as she picked up her phone and rapidly tapped out a bunch of texts. A few moments later, she looked up triumphantly.
"All set! Tracy said she's in." Kara held up her phone and shoved it toward my face.
"You're kidding." My jaw was slack. "Wait, hang on. You and Tracy seriously agreed to box each other? Like, for real?"
"Oooh, what's the matter? Don't wanna see your precious girlfriend get beat up?" Kara chewed her lip as she sneered at me playfully.
"No, more that I never thought I'd see my sister and my girlfriend get into a freaking fight, let alone with each other."
"Well, you can thank your darling sister for making it happen!" Kara spread her hands and did a mock bow. "Look, we even decided what we're gonna wear."
"And what would that be?"
"Running shorts and sports bras," announced Kara cheerfully. "I've got a super cute one of each I've been wanting to try out."
"Sis...you aren't really gonna do this, right?"