The summer she turned eighteen, Aislinn was spending the majority of her free time at her best friend Kim's house. The girls had been thick as thieves since kindergarten. In fact, Aislinn still had the macaroni portrait that Kim had made of her with "my frend ayslon" scrawled at the bottom in crayon.
Kim had a brother, Kyle, who was one year older than the two girls. Growing up, Kyle had never wanted to play with the girls. But whenever they decided to play House, Kim forced Kyle to be the pretend father, and Aislinn the pretend mother, saying it would be weird if she pretend married her own brother. Kyle would scream and put up a fight whenever they tried to play with him - except when they played as a pretend family. But that had been nearly thirteen years previously. Now, he was nineteen and coming home from his first year at college.
The girls had their graduation ceremony at the end of May. Soon, Kim would be heading out to California to learn fashion design in the fall, and Aislinn was staying in their Chicago suburban town to figure out what she wanted to do in life. Aislinn and Kim spent every moment possible together, knowing that in just a few short months they would be separated for the first time in over a decade.
One day in late June, the girls were tanning by Kim's pool when Kyle pushed open the sliding glass door holding the phone.
"Kimmy, they need you at work." He said, holding out the phone for her. Kim groaned and stood up, taking the phone. After a short conversation, she hung up and handed the phone back to her brother, who disappeared back into the house.
"Leslie called in sick and they need me for the lunch rush. I'll be there for like three hours, but you can stay and use the pool. Pick out some movies and we'll have a marathon later to make up for this. I'll pick up snacks on my way home."
"Sounds good to me. See you in a few hours." Aislinn said, flipping over to tan her back.
"Okay, I'll see you around two-thirty." Kim went inside to change, and not long after, Aislinn heard her car leaving the driveway. She tanned for half an hour longer before the heat really started getting to her, and she jumped into the deep end of the pool.
The cold was a little shocking, but it felt good in comparison to the blazing heat. She floated without direction for a while, but a sudden growl from her stomach signaled it was time to eat something. Knowing she had permission to ravage their kitchen, Aislinn climbed out of the pool and dried off as best as she could. When she was no longer dripping, she wrapped the towel around her head to dry her hair and went inside.
Something smelled delicious. She wandered over to the kitchen and saw Kyle facing away from her, working at the stove. She leaned against the doorframe.
"What is that amazing smell?" She asked. Kyle turned and Aislinn could have sworn that his eyes were roaming over her body before he looked her in the eyes and answered.
"Chicken tacos," he said casually. "Want some?"
"Hell yeah," she answered enthusiastically. "Let me go change and dry my hair." She grabbed her bag from the living room before going into the bathroom on the first floor. She hung her towel and swimsuit on the towel rack and changed into a pair of denim shorts and a blue tank top. She dug Kim's hair dryer out of the mess that was the sink cabinet and dried the remaining pool water out of her hair. She brushed and fussed with it until she was satisfied with how it fell around her shoulders, parted on the right side the way she liked it, and left the bathroom.
"What can I do?" She asked when she got back to the kitchen.
"Chop up some tomatoes while I grate the cheese." He motioned to the island counter where a ripe tomato was sitting on a cutting board.
"You trust me with this knife?" She joked.
"If you wanted to kill me, you've had thirteen years to do it." He teased back.
"Maybe I was just waiting for an opportunity. We are alone, maybe I'll make my move now."
"Maybe you will." He said mysteriously. With all the ingredients ready, the pair fixed their tacos and sat down at the counter.
"So, how's college?" Aislinn asked.
"Crazy. I've started dealing drugs and sleeping with professors in exchange for grades." He joked.
"Smart. Got to keep that scholarship somehow."
"What about you?" He asked. "I seem to remember you always struggled with science. Getting any help with that?"
"Yup," she answered, matching his sarcasm. "I'm sleeping with the class nerd in exchange for being his lab partner."
"Who knew a shy little thing like you could grow up to be a grade a slut?"
"Shut up!" She laughed. "You're the one banging professors at least twice your age."
"Good point." He conceded. The lighthearted tone abruptly left his voice. "You're not... actually sleeping with that kid, are you?" He asked cautiously, sounding unsure whether he wanted to know or not.
"Why do you care?" She asked. He shrugged. "No, I'm not. My lab partner is Jessica Pierce."
"Oh." That was all he said. He seemed embarrassed, and wouldn't meet her gaze. Aislinn checked the time on her phone, both having finished their lunch.
