"Where are you taking me, Sara?" I was getting irritated by her lack of explanation.
"Is it a crime to want to spend some quality time with my favorite little brother?" Sara said, smiling at me over her shoulder as she pulled me through the mall by my hand.
"I'm your ONLY brother." I sighed.
"And that makes you my favorite!" She said, as if that made it make more sense.
I complained again, but she paused and I crashed into her back.
"Here we are, John." She motioned to the store in front of us.
I glanced up at the sign. The Great Outdoors. "A camping shop, Sara? What the heck is up with you?"
She reminded me of the conversation our parents had with us. "The camping trip, genius. We need to buy supplies for this weekend."
"Oh, right... The camping trip." I said, less than enthused.
"Yes! Now let's go buy some cool gear. I wonder if they have stuff in pink. I love pink." She said.
Yes, Sara loved pink. Her tennis shoes were hot pink. Her tight ripped jeans did their best to contain the shapely ass that they hugged so well. Not that I was supposed to be thinking about such things, being her brother, but when it's right there in your face, even a saint would stare. Her fuzzy pink sweater begged to be petted, especially the puppies hiding underneath. Lol, remember, even a saint. Her pink choker with metal spiked studs was visible under the long blonde ponytail coming from the back of her head. She turned her head towards me. Her red-rimmed glasses contrasted with her ice-blue eyes. She popped the bubble made from her chewing gum.
She tilted her head cutely. "You checking me out, brother?"
I stammered, "No, no. I was looking at your clothing choices. Questionable."
"Oh, shut it, ass. I don't want to hear that from you. What about you?." She pointed at my clothes.
I had, this morning, when I got dressed after my shower. The mirror reflected my image, much to my disdain. My mousy mop of curly brown hair sat on my head like a sleeping animal of some sort. Hazel eyes stared back at me from the face in the mirror. My grey t-shirt had the image of a rodent holding the leash of a donkey on the front. A silver pentacle necklace hung from its black cord around my neck. I chose a pair of faded jeans and topped off the complete outfit with a pair of black converse shoes. I guess she was right. Who was I to judge?
"Ok, fair point. Sorry." I apologized.
"No problem, bro. Let's get to shopping!" She disappeared through the entrance in a figurative dust cloud. I begrudgingly followed her inside.
* * *
"I'm utterly shocked, Sara. I had no clue they made so many things in pink." I surveyed the equipment laid out neatly on my sister's bed.
A sleeping bag, a backpack, hiking boots, and a 2-person tent. All pink. Sara smiled from ear to ear. "I can't wait to get out there!" She gave me a side-hug and hip bump.
We were close nowadays. A lot more than when we were younger. She used to get me in trouble with our parents every chance she got. Now we act like best friends and hang out together, playing online games and talking about life.
"What about your friends? Aren't they going to miss you this weekend? What about your boyfriend?" I teased her.
She gave me a slight shove. "You are well aware that I don't have a boyfriend, and I told my buds that it was your weekend, so they understand. A big sis needs to spoil her little bro sometimes."
"I have no idea what you are talking about." My blank expression made her giggle.
"How about we go raid the Auric Basin before we have lunch?" she said.
"You know me too well. You're on, let's go save Tarir. Again." It never got old to me. I loved that area.
"Don't forget to pack up your camping gear, either, John." She cautioned.
I waved. "I'll remember."
She sat down and grabbed her pink cat-eared gaming headphones as I shut her door.
We saved the Exalted in style, and in under five minutes to boot. Sara brought her A-game, and I did the same. Everyone listened to the commander's orders, and it went smooth as silk. I even got a super rare drop from one of the enormous chests. It was a fun session.
My door flew open. "Lucky bastard! I've been waiting forever for that loot!" Sara tackled me.
I had been playing on my bed on my laptop. Now my laptop was upside down next to me. Sara had pounced on me and had me pinned. Her pink fuzzy boobs were pressing against my chest. Were her nipples hard?
I stared up at her face, super close to mine. "You can have it under one condition." I sighed.
"What? What do you want?" She was manic.
"For you to get the hell off me." I shoved her, and she jumped up.
"Remember, you made a deal. I moved my fat ass, and now I get treasure." She hopped up and down, clapping.
I clicked my teeth. "Pssh... Fat?" I mumbled under my breath.
"What did you say?" She squinted at me.
"I said your butt's not fat. Now get out of here before I change my mind about the loot!" I said, blushing.
She ran to the door, stopped and wiggled her butt for a second, and left.
* * *
There was a knock on my bedroom door. "It's open." I said.
My mother stepped in and waved a piece of paper in front of her. "Johnny, can you go shopping for me?"
I sighed. "Why can't Sara go get it?"
She glared at me in that way only an irritated mother can. "She is busy with something else, and you are just lying around. So, please, go get my groceries? I'll let you drive my car." She sweetened the deal. She knew I loved her car.
"Okay... If I have to." I held out my hand, and she dropped her Mercedes keys and credit card into it.
She handed me the list and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Sweetie. Don't be long and be careful with my car."
I put my shoes on, grabbed my wallet, and headed out.
It's not very far to the grocery store, but this time of evening made the traffic very heavy. I pulled into the parking lot and grimaced. It was full. This was going to take a while.
I collected everything on her list and headed to the checkout line. My phone beeped, and I took it out of my pocket and checked it.
"Hey, what's taking you so long?" My sister's text read.
"Traffic sucked, but I'm almost done. I have to checkout and I'll be on my way. Oh, and THANKS for being busy. I LOVE to go grocery shopping." I texted.
"What about that cute redhead checkout hottie? You always end up in her lane somehow." She teased.
"Okay, stop teasing and get back to whatever was so important. I'll be home soon." I texted.
Yes, it was ironic. The lane that was next available had a redhead cashier. She smiled at me.
"Hey, Mary. How ya been?" I smiled as I pulled items from the cart and put them on the belt.
"Fantastic, Johnny. How have you been?" She was cute in her store uniform.
"Oh... I can't complain." I said in an old man's voice while rubbing my lower back.
She broke out laughing, and the manager stared at her until she quieted down.
"Sorry to get you in trouble." I whispered as I handed her my mother's credit card.
She whispered back, "It's okay. Some people have sticks up their asses. I think you're hilarious." She winked and slid me a piece of paper along with the credit card.
I tipped an imaginary hat towards Mary. "Thank you, have a stupendous evening, Miss!" I chirped in an exaggerated English accent. The manager glared at me as I walked past.
Mary giggled behind me, and I heard the manager clear their throat at her.
I loaded everything into the car, got in, and checked the paper. A phone number. Are the planets aligned? Mary Morris gave me her phone number.
* * *
I got home a bit after dark. I clicked the garage remote and waited for the door to open. I parked the car and grabbed the bags from the back seat.
Sara came out into the garage and grabbed the bags from me. "I'm being a kind, caring older sis." She winked.
"First this," I showed her the piece of paper, "and then you being excessively kind to me. Who are you, and what have you done with my amazing sister? Is this an alternate reality?"
When she recovered from the shock of reading the paper, she said, "You got her number? And by-the-way, I'm always nice to you, and... you... think I'm amazing?" She fidgeted.
"Yes, I did, and yes you are. Now let's get inside before the ice-cream melts. We can talk about it later." I pushed her gently towards the door.
She went through the door, and it shut behind her.
"What the hell? Sara!"
I tried the knob, but the door was now locked. "Come on, let me in DAMMIT!" I pounded on the door.
My sister laughed, then said "Hold on John, mom's getting the door."
Mom's voice came sing-song from behind the door. "Just a sec, sweetie."
The lock clicked. I turned the knob and pushed the door open.
It was dark inside.
"What's going on?"
Nobody answered. Suddenly, all the lights came on. "Surprise!" multiple people shouted. I blinked, trying to focus on where all the noise came from.
"Happy Birthday!" came the second, equally loud shouts.
I blushed, finally remembering that today was indeed my 18th birthday.
My sister tackled me and gave me a huge kiss on the cheek, narrowly missing my lips. "Happy birthday, little brother! But I guess you're not so little anymore." A tingling spark went through me I had never experienced before when she said that. My heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you, sis. I'm going to get you back, somehow." I grinned.
"Blame Mom, she wanted to have this party for you. I understand you, bro, and you'd prefer something more intimate." She winked, causing another tingle.
"Oh look, it's Grandma and Grandad. I need to go say hi to them." I made my escape from my grinning sister to where my grandparents were mingling.
I saw mom shake her head at Sara and laugh. A private joke? Suspicious. Dad appeared clueless.
My friends were next on my party train.
"Happy birthday, man." David said.
"Yeah, happy birthday." Jen said.
They were my two childhood friends. We've always done everything together.
"How about we go hang out at my house after the party?" David said.
"Sure, sounds like fun. I'd like to play games all night since I'll be out in the wilderness starting tomorrow morning."
"Eww, the outdoors. Savages." Jen shivered.
The party wrapped up after an hour or so. The cake and ice-cream had been awesome, and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.
