"Which Sister?"

MILES

“I really missed my right-hand man,” my dad said proudly, patting my shoulder with a heavy hand.

I rolled my eyes playfully. “You were the one who completely abandoned me, Dad.”

“What?! That is absolutely impossible!” he laughed out loud.

“Well, he simply couldn't bear to leave his beloved behind,” my mom chimed in with a sweet smile. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, leaning in to give him a bunch of loud, mushy kisses right in front of me.

“Please stop,” I groaned, turning around and walking away from them.

“Baby, come back here!” my mom called out, laughing at my reaction.

“I am honestly not interested in seeing all of that,” I called back over my shoulder, keeping my pace steady.

I walked straight into the resort locker room bathrooms to change out of my damp tennis gear and back into my regular casual clothes. While I was standing near the sinks, a guy with brown hair suddenly walked right up to me. He was basically the exact same height as me, but he was built a lot more bulkier, like he spent all his free time lifting heavy weights at the gym.

I stood there for a second, trying my best to place his face. I thought maybe we had bumped into each other around the resort before, but I honestly had no absolute idea who he was.

“Hey, what’s up, man?” he asked, stepping into my personal space.

“Hey, man,” I replied smoothly. I reached out and shook the hand he brought forward.

“Nice tennis game out there by the way,” he said, nodding.

“Oh, thanks,” I said, shaking my head slightly as I reached into my sports bag to grab my deodorant.

“Don’t get this the wrong way, bro, but I really wanted to ask you about the girl you were playing with,” he said, leaning against the marble counter.

I froze completely. My hand stopped right as I was about to grab my deodorant bottle from the bag. A sudden wave of annoyance washed over me, but I forced my face to stay completely blank.

“My sisters?” I lied immediately.

Even though one of the girls on the court was definitely not my sister, and the other one was my cousin, I didn't want this random guy knowing anything about Ava.

“Oh, damn, I didn't know she was your sister,” he said, letting out an awkward, nervous laugh.

“No, it’s completely fine,” I said, offering him a very fake, tight smile.

“But… man, she is really, really pretty,” he continued, completely missing the hint. “If you don't mind, I would love to go over there and talk to her.”

I managed to keep my facial expression exactly the same, hiding the sudden urge I had to punch him. “Oh, so you want to talk to my sister? Which one exactly?”

“The girl who was on your team,” he said, a confident smile spreading across his face now.

Right. Ava.

I cleared my throat loudly before I spoke again, trying to sound completely casual. “Yeah, I really don't think she is interested in some guy… or any guy right now, to be honest. She’s focusing on herself,” I said, turning my back to him and going right back to unpacking my bag.

“Well, I’m definitely the type of guy who knows how to change a girl’s mind,” he boasted, which made me let out a dark, quiet scoff under my breath.

He eyed me for a second, waiting for a better reaction.

“Look, man, just do whatever you have to do, but please don't say I didn't warn you,” I said coldly.

Deep down, a little part of me was desperately hoping that Ava would never look his way in a million years. Besides, he didn't even look like her type anyway. All of the boys I had ever seen her hang out with looked completely different from this guy. Then again, I realized with a sudden sting that I actually had zero real information about her actual love life.

“Alright, thanks, man,” he said happily, nodding at me like I had just given him the golden keys to go rob a bank or something.