Fall from Love

over to me.
    “Yeah, I’ll be there,” I answer and exhale loudly.
    “It was nice to meet you, Holly. Enjoy your breakfast.” She smiles at her.
    “Did she leave because of me?” Holly asks when she’s gone.
    I shrug. “No, don’t worry, it wasn’t because of you.”
    She nods. “The two of you seem to have a good relationship. That’s pretty cool for a brother and sister.”
    “Yeah, even though she’s eight years older than me, we’re pretty close. We have been ever since…” My voice fades and I try to think about something else to talk about, not wanting to dive into the depressing details of my life. “Hey, I thought you said that you came over here to make me breakfast, and it seems like I’m the one doing all the work.”
    “Oh, God, you’re right.” She frowns and makes her way over to me. “Sorry.”
    She’s standing right beside me and she smells so amazing... like flowers and rain.
    “What is all this stuff for anyway?” I ask, trying to shift my focus.
    “Crunchy French toast.” She smiles over at me, gathering up the ingredients.
    “Ah, your other specialty besides the grilled cheese.” I nod and my stomach turns a little, remembering how I felt that afternoon. The two of us have come a long way since that day. Our friendship has grown and Holly has become a very important person in my life.
    “Yep, and be prepared to become addicted. It’s probably my favorite food on the entire planet,” she tells me, opening and closing cabinets. “If I were a large bowl, where would I be?”
    I laugh. “One cabinet down, on your right.” She bends over and I’m somehow strong enough to tear my eyes away to keep from staring at her like before. A few seconds later, she’s beside me with a mixing bowl and whisk in hand.
    “What makes it crunchy?” I ask, feeling like a dumbass for asking the question, but knowing I need something else to think about besides how good her ass looks in those jeans.
    “The cereal. You crush it up, dip the bread in the egg, and then coat the bread with the cereal.”
    “Really?” I grimace, without realizing it.
    “C’mon, you can’t doubt it already. You’ll never give it a chance if you already think you’re not gonna like it. Just give it a try,” she tells me as she starts to crack open the eggs.
    “Sorry, I’ll keep an open mind. So, what can I help you with?”
    She shakes her head. “No, I’ve got this. It’s my specialty, remember? You can keep me company, though.”
    Taking a seat at the table, my eyes watch as she crushes up the cereal in a zip lock bag.
    “I can’t remember the last time a girl cooked me breakfast,” I say. “Actually you may be the first woman to ever make me breakfast, other than my mom.”
    “Well, I can’t lie. You’re kind of helping me out a little, too. After I got my car, I wasn’t in the mood to go back home.”
    Shit, I totally forgot about her car. “Sorry for running out on you yesterday. That was pretty rude of me.”
    She shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you had a good reason.”
    “So why didn’t you want to go home?” I ask her.
    “Jenna and Josh are there and…” She trails off and shakes her head.
    “Did you walk in on them having sex in the kitchen?” I ask and she stops whisking the eggs to look over at me.
    “No! Why would you even...” She pauses for a moment and then looks around the kitchen. “Oh, no. Please tell me you’re joking.”
    I smile and shake my head, then laugh when something between repulsion and shock crosses her face.
    Pointing towards the counter beside her I say, “Yeah, I walked in one night at like three in the morning. Josh has this weird thing with sex and kitchens.” I shrug. “Makes sense for him, though, his two favorite things mixing together.”
    She glances around the kitchen again.
    “Don’t worry, I scrubbed and bleached the entire kitchen the next day… twice.”
     
    ❧
     
    Holly’s unexpected visit from this morning drifts into the afternoon and is moving towards the evening. Normally, it isn’t strange for us to spend so much time together, but lately it’s just the two of us, without Jenna and Josh. I’d be lying if I said that I’m not enjoying our time alone together.
    “Sorry, I really only meant to come and make you breakfast, not take up your entire day,” she says when there’s a break in our conversation. There really hasn’t been much of one since she got here.
    “I know; you keep forcing me