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Chapter 3 - Kevin

I watched Harry drive away, taking a sip of my lemonade while Brian babbled on about something. Man, that kid was wound up! Of course, I was just as excited about his visit as he was, but now that Camille was here, I couldn’t carry on so much.

Ah, Camille. She would have made a great model, if she was interested in actually working. She seemed really content just to be my girlfriend; Dad called her a gold-digger, out for a free ride. I don’t see how that could be… after all, I don’t have exactly a ton of money myself. That will change in eleven months, of course, when I inherit Grandma’s trust fund. But Camille doesn’t know about that, so Dad can’t be right about her. Mom… well, mom doesn’t say much about anyone, really. She just smiles and nods. I wonder if she really cares about anything.

“Kev-vy,” Camille said, “I thought we were going out today. Alone.”

“We can all go out together,” I answered, grinning at Brian. I know the kid almost never gets to go out, so I’d made plans before I ever called him up.

“What about… afterwards?” she said, close to my ear. I couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated at that. I mean, sure, we had our fun, but ignoring my cousin was just plain rude. And selfish.

“Camille,” I said, trying not to show my annoyance, “this is Brian’s first night visiting. I sure can’t just leave him here, now can I? We can be alone… later.”

Her red-glazed lips formed a perfect pout. “Maybe,” she said in a pointed voice, “there won’t be a later.”

I hate games. Especially these kind of games.

“Look, honey,” I said, “how about we all three go out to dinner, have a good time, and come on back for some movies and couch time?”

Anger sparked in her perfect hazel eyes. “I am not into threesomes,” she said, giving Brian a hard look. “And I don’t think watching movies is something I want to do in a group.” She drew back and put her hand on her hip.

Uh oh. Here it comes, the ultimatum.

“Either you take me shopping, like I planned, or I’m leaving.”

“We can all go shopping if you want,” I said, pretending I misunderstood. Yeah, it was kinda mean, but sheesh. She deserved it.

“You and me, Kevin,” she said succinctly. “Or not at all.”

“Well,” I said slowly, “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

The stunned look on her covergirl face was priceless. Brian looked almost as shocked. Me, I kept my expression totally neutral.

With a frustrated cry, she spun on her heels… not easy to do in shoes that were at least three inches high… and stormed off the porch. I sipped my lemonade, watching as she walked to her car.

“You could have gone with her,” Brian said. I could tell he was feeling responsible for causing trouble between us.

“Yeah, but she didn’t want you around,” I said. “She can go be rude, alone.”

Brian grinned, then followed my gaze as she climbed into her sporty red convertible. “Man, what do you see in her, anyway?”

I laughed. “Bri, buddy, if I have to explain it to you…”

“No,” he said, blushing a bit. “I get it. I suppose she’s not bad to look at.”

“You should see her in a bikini,” I said, grinning widely. “Incredible.”

Brian mulled that one over, then nodded in agreement. Then, for some reason, he got serious just a bit. “Do you love her?” he asked.

I had to think about that one. I know the answer I was supposed to give, but… love? As in, the romantic kind of ‘spend the rest of my life with her’ love? I tried to imagine it. The two of us, ten years down the road, fifteen… No, I couldn’t picture it at all. Sure, I had feelings for her; after all, she was my first real girlfriend, we’d been together for nine months already. Seemed like forever on days like this.

“Well?” he asked again.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Yeah, I love her, I guess… how come?”

“You deserve someone really good,” Brian said. He was being totally sincere.

“Don’t we all,” I said, ruffling his hair.

Five minutes later, we were chasing each other around the porch, neither one of us having the slightest thought about Camille.