my brothers girlfriend

first impressions

ONE - LISA

My older brother had been dating his girlfriend for two months when he decided things were serious enough to introduce her to the family. It was only myself, Kai and my parents, and it would be the first time we would meet someone Kai was dating.

He had first told me shortly after they had started dating. It was his final year and University and they had met in the library. Kai and I were not close. We tended to stick to our own things and spend more time with our friends than each other, but when he came back to visit our parents, he had been excited to tell me about this new girl he had been talking to her.

I hadn't thought much of her when he showed me a picture of her. She was cute, I guess. She was younger than Kai but older than me, and hadn't quite shed her baby fat yet. Her smile was distinctive. It was her feature that stuck out most to me.

When Kai knocks on my door to see if I'm ready, I can tell he's nervous.

"You ready?" He asks, leaning against the door, looking blankly in my direction.

"Almost," I tell him, though I don't think he's waiting for my answer. "Are you okay?" I ask him out of politeness, not entirely expecting him to say anything other than 'yes'.

"A little nervous, I guess." He straightens up and suddenly seems more engaged in the conversation.

"Oh. I'm sure it'll be fine. I can't think of any reason it won't be," I assure him.

"Well, actually, it's Jennie who's nervous," he explains, stepping further into my room.

"As long as she isn't rude, I'm sure mum and dad will love her."

"I don't doubt that. I know mum will love her, but I wanted to make sure you would."

"Me?" I ask in surprise and he nods. "Well, I haven't even met her yet," I turn back to my mirror, applying the finishing touches of my makeup.

"I know, but can you please be welcoming to her?"

I narrow my eyes as the implication that I would be anything other than welcoming. "I'm not a monster, Kai."

"I know, but she's more like me than you, but I don't want that to stop you from being friends with her. And I mean real friends. I don't want anything to put her off us."

"You mean, off you?" I slip into my heels, leaving the room while Kai follows after me.

"Well, yes. I just want her to feel at home."

"Fine," I sigh, as if he's annoyed me. "I'll make sure your girlfriend feels welcome."

"And you'll be friends with her?" He asks with a mildly irritating glint of hope in his eyes.

"Yes, sure," I dismiss him with a wave of my hand even though we're both going in the same direction.

He celebrates with a fist pump anyway before moving ahead of me. We meet again in the car before driving to the restaurant.

+

We arrive before Jennie does which irks me because I'm already starving, but it's not long before Kai receives a message from her. I glance over the menu again whilst her leaves to get her, even though I've not only already decided what I'm going to eat, but I've already mentally tasted how good it's going to be.

I sense Kai approaching so I've already plastered a smile on my face when I look up to greet Jennie. Our eyes meet for a brief moment as she smiles politely back at me before turning her attention to my parents.

I don't register the details of their interaction. I'm stunned. I recognised Jennie from the picture Kai had shown me but it truly had not done her justice.

She was absolutely striking. More than that. She was undeniably sexy.

Shamelessly, I scan over her body. Her outfit is appropriately conservative enough for meeting your boyfriends family for the first time, but it didn't matter because I was already undressing her in my head.

She turns to me and I stand for a friendly embrace. Her body is warm against mine and her smell is captivating. She introduces herself even though I already know her name. Her bubbly voice would usually annoy me but it's subtle enough that it only serves to pique my intrigue.

It only registers how wrong it is of me to analyse her like this when she takes her seat next to Kai, promptly reminding me that they were in fact a couple and this wasn't a girl I was meeting at a party.

I rub my lips together as I sit back down. My mum has already began quizzing Jennie, which I'm grateful for since this would not be an ideal time for the attention to be on me.

I hang on to every word she says without even meaning to, but I'm conscious of not seeming overly interested so I only engage in conversation at particular times so the attention isn't switched to me and so I don't find myself having a conversation with Jennie while everyone else listens.

We order our food and by the time it arrives I've already learnt Jennie's age; twenty years old, two older than me and one younger than Kai, and the degree she's studying; psychology. Both of these things seem to make her more attractive and I quickly realise it's not the things making her attractive but it's her making them attractive.

I notice it when she picks up a fork and takes her first bite of the night. I found every single thing about her sexy.

It's apparent to me that this is not an appropriate situation to be in but it's not exactly something I can turn off. I figured as long as I bit my tongue and kept my perverted thoughts to myself then it didn't matter that they existed. I'm hopeful the attraction will pass eventually before it can cause any trouble.

Before the night is over, my mum has invited Jennie over the next weekend to get to know her better. When she ropes me into her plans by telling Jennie I would be there too, my initial reaction is excitement, but dread quickly follows.

There isn't much time to dwell on it before the night is over and we leave the restaurant together. I say goodbye to Jennie along with my parents before Kai walks her to her car.

She lingers on my mind long after we arrive home and is my last thought before I crash for the night.