Too Keen For Me

Chapter 19: Hands Tied

I walked into the house, hand in hand with Miles. "I'm home!" I said as I closed the door behind us.

"Great!" Mom said as she continued to cook in the kitchen, completely oblivious to the fact that Miles was holding my hand.

Tristen walked out of the kitchen with a smile.

I instantly released Miles' hand as I ran to great my brother who I hadn't seen in months. His normal dark curly hair was shaved, and his clothes hung loosely from his frame. He looked like a different person, but it didn't stop me from crashing into him.

"TRISTEN!!!" I exclaimed as I hugged him tightly.

He chuckled as he held onto me. "Missed you too, sis."

"When did you get in?"

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Ten minutes ago."

"Just in time for dinner," Mom said as she turned off the stove.

Tristen just shrugged, then looked over at Miles with mischief in his eyes. I quickly braced myself for his stories. "So this is the man that Isla is always talking about," Tristen said to Miles.

My cheeks grew hot. Tristen loved sharing all the gritty facts about me, and now the rest of my secrets would be out in the open within minutes.

"Hey, I'm Miles," Miles said as he shook Tristen's hand.

"You don't go by Kit?" Tristen asked as he shook his hand.

Miles shook his head. "Not really. It's just a stage name."

"Cool. Want to know some things about Isla? I'm a well of knowledge." Tristen winked.

And here it went. I swore he lived to embarrass me. "Ok, that's enough," I said as I tried to push Tristen away, but he didn't move.

"I would love to know more about Isla."

"Come then and grab a seat, I can tell you all that you want to know." Tristen walked past me with Miles on his heels.

I stood in the hallway as I looked at Everly who merely smiled at me. "Uggggh. Tristen, really? I've only been dating him for a matter of minutes. Don't scare him off," I said sarcastically.

"Wait, what?" Everly asked as she put down the phone.

"Yeah, Isla finally caved and agreed to be my girlfriend," Miles pipped in with a smile as he sat on the couch.

"Yay! I'm so excited for you two!" Everly gushed. "Did you hear that, Mom? Isla's dating Miles!"

Mom nodded from the kitchen and said, "I thought it would come a little sooner to be honest."

Tristen started laughing, clearly amused, but I shot him a look, warning him to stop.

Without saying anything more, I walked to the family room and sat down next to Miles. If Tristen was going to share, I needed to be here for damage control. Instantly, Miles wrapped his arm around me and brought me closer.

"So what do you want to know about Isla?" Tristen asked.

"Everything," Miles said eagerly as his eyes sparkled with excitement.

I shook my head. I didn't think that was a good idea, since I wasn't as perfect as he thought. Maybe it was better to keep some closets left in the dark.

"Did you know my father gave Isla the nickname 'star catcher'?" Tristen asked.

Ok, there were worse things that Tristen could share. This one wasn't that bad.

"Why?"

"Because she had a habit of catching stars," Tristen said with a smile.

But in reality, Miles crashed into me, not the other way around.

There was more to that nickname than Tristen was sharing, but I was glad he didn't go into details. Dad thought I was a star catcher because I caught people before they plummeted to the earth in a fiery explosion. He thought I had a gift for helping people.

"But you know what I called her? P.I.B," Tristen said.

I chuckled as I remembered the time when that nickname was made. "Pain in the butt," I said, referring to the acronym. I hadn't heard him call me that for a long time.

"That's pretty great," Miles laughed.

"Isla, can you get the door?" Mom asked from the kitchen. "I think Zoe's here!"

I nodded then turned to Miles and kissed him lightly. It gave me butterflies and set my skin ablaze. I would be back soon enough to do damage control. "I'll be back in a minute."

As soon as I opened the front door, Zoe wrapped her arms around me. "Hello!"

I chuckled. "Hello!" I pulled out of her embrace as Miles walked closer to us. "I wanted you to hear it from me, we're dating." I grabbed ahold of Miles' hand.

Zoe screamed with excitement. "NO WAY! YAY!" she said as she clapped her hands.

"Ok, enough standing around because the food is finally done! Come and sit down," Mom called out from the kitchen.

With empty stomachs, all of us sat around the table that was set with food. Before long, we were laughing, talking, and eating the food that Mom worked so hard to make.

"No, I'm telling the truth Mom, no parties," Tristen said as he raised his hands in defense. But I knew Tristen was good at lying.

"Let me see your grades and I'll be the one to believe that," I smirked as I bit into some green beans.

"Well, we all know that you were the one with the best grades. Speaking of which, how are your grades? I expect you to get all the scholarships for next year," Tristen said as he finished the last bit of food on his plate.

I smiled at the thought of leaving this town with a scholarship. "That's what I'm hoping for."

"You'll get it." He pulled out his phone and stood up. "This meal was great, thanks Mom."

"Where are you going?" Mom asked.

"I'm meeting up with some friends. It's been a bit since I've seen them."

"You don't want to hang out with us?" I frowned.

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "We will hang out when I get back."

But I already knew what that meant. We weren't. He would get back later than I wanted to stay up. Once again, he was pushing me to the side. "Sure."

He smiled. "See you then."