Just Remember to Breathe (Thompson Sisters)

on my ear.
    The cast made getting dressed awkward as hell, but that’s what I got for punching a wall. The hardest part was lacing up my boots, but I’d been managing it okay.
    My phone chimed. Text message from Alex.
    Meet us on the green? Carrie wants to meet Sherman. *Hugs*
    I messaged back:
    Be there in ten. Love you.
    “Come on, Weed! We got to get going. Her sister wants to meet you.”
    That was all the motivation Sherman needed to speed up. Thirty seconds later we were on our way, heading the two blocks to the green where Alex and I met every other morning.

    A couple of ostriches (Alex)
    I heard the intake of Carrie’s breath before I saw them coming.
    “You’re right,” she whispered. “He is hot. Jesus, so is Dylan. He doesn’t look much like the kid you had pictures of from Israel.”
    Dylan and Sherman were walking toward us. Sherman was extremely tall, gangly, but strongly built, with powerful arms and legs. He had short-cropped hair and white teeth and would have looked damned good on a recruiting poster.
    Next to him was Dylan, wearing that black, slightly too-tight t-shirt that made me just ache to rip it off. I wanted to growl. He looked at me across the field and smiled, and I felt myself blush.
    “Um… yeah,” I said. “Somewhere along the line he grew up.”
    “I guess you did, too, sis,” she said, eyeing me.
    Knowing that I was planning to seduce Dylan that night, I’d gone all out. I was wearing a short black dress that felt almost insubstantial, with strappy heels that added about four inches to my height. I’d spent a long time on my hair and makeup, and I hoped it would have the right effect.
    I saw Dylan catch his breath. There was no question at that moment what he was thinking about. I smiled impishly at him, and he approached and kissed me roughly.
    “Wow,” he murmured. “What’s the occasion?”
    “You are,” I whispered.
    I stepped back, then introduced my sister to Sherman and Dylan.
    “It’s really nice to meet you both,” she said. She was staring at Sherman. At six-two, she didn’t meet many men her own height, much less taller than her, but he was taller than any of us. It was a little strange to see my sister overwhelmed by anything, but Sherman was pulling that off pretty well.
    She might have been here to report back on Dylan and me, but it looked like she was getting more than she’d bargained for. For the first time in our lives, my sister looked uncomfortable in her own skin, her eyes darting everywhere, hands curled at her sides.
    “So, um…” she said. Wow. Carrie did not say “um.” Ever. She continued. “You were in the Army with Dylan?”
    Sherman smiled at her, his white teeth gleaming. He said, “Yeah… I had to drop out of college in 09, and ended up enlisting.”
    “Oh? Where did you go?”
    “Stony Brook,” he said. “It’s actually not all that far from here….”
    He continued, but I missed it, because Dylan and I fell back a few feet behind them as they talked. I took Dylan’s left hand in my right. He moved a little closer, and naturally, without thought, my arm went around his waist, his resting on my shoulder.
    “Hey,” he said.
    “Hey to you,” I said.
    “They sure hit it off,” he said quietly.
    “Oh, my God. I’ve never seen my sister so off-balance. She’s in absolute lust.”
    He chuckled. “I feel almost insulted. She’s not interested in talking with me at all. I thought she was here to… um…” His face twisted in anger. “I can’t remember the word,” he muttered.
    “Spy,” I replied quickly, not wanting to see him so unhappy.
    “Yeah. I thought she was here to spy on us.”
    I laughed. “She is. But I think plans just changed.”
    He nodded. His eyes were far away. I looked at him as we walked. Something was off. He was here, but not here. It wasn’t just the passing aphasia. It was his entire demeanor. It was as if he was huddled in on himself, defensive. I hadn’t seen him like this since the couple of weeks after we first ran into each other again.
    I took a deep breath, leaned my head on his shoulder, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
    He tensed a little, so I stopped walking. He did, too. I turned toward him, putting my arms around his waist and resting my head against his chest, taking a deep breath.
    “It’s complicated,” he said.
    “That’s nothing new,” I replied. “You can talk about it.”
    He sighed and whispered, “I don’t deserve you, Alex.”
    I frowned,