Damn, this girl has a lot of energy! I thought as I practically ran to catch up with Alex and the others.
“Can’t keep up, Richardson?” Alex teased, looking at me over the rim of her sunglasses.
“What do you do, drink plain caffeine in the morning?” I retorted, smiling. JC chuckled.
“Just a cappuccino from Wawa,” JC answered for me. I smiled at him.
“Can we sit down for awhile?” Brian asked, breathlessly.
“How ‘bout here?” Alex stopped directly where she stood, causing me to run into Brian. I looked up and saw a sign that said Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor.
“ICE CREAM!!” Brian cheered, running into the parlor. Alex and JC laughed while I just chuckled and shook my head, following them. After we got out ice cream, we sat down at a small, four person table.
“So, had enough yet?” Alex asked, obviously amused by mine and Brian’s flushed faces. I nodded and looked over at JC.
“Let’s see,” Brian said. “We’ve been to the Naval Academy, on paddle boat rides, and to every shop in a five mile radius of Annapolis Harbor.”
“How do you keep up with her?” I asked. He shrugged and smiled, taking her hand, which was resting on the table.
“I’ve had practice,” he said. “I’ve known her for two years. There is no way anyone could get away with knowing her for that long and not had to keep up with her. It takes awhile, but you get used to it.” I eyed them.
“How long have you been dating?”
“Two years last Wednesday,” I said, looking at JC. I’m sure the love that was shining in his eyes was mirroring mine. I looked over at Brian. He seemed to be in a daze, counting the tiles on the ceiling.
"You guys really love each other, don't you?" Kevin asked. I looked at JC, who was smiling mischievously, fingering the ring on my hand. I smiled at Kevin and held out my hand to him. He gasped at the ring.
"Oh my god, congratulations!" he said, getting up and hugging both of us. "Brian, did you see the ring?"
"It looked bigger yesterday," Brian commented, still in a daze. When he realized what he said, he looked at me, his eyes wide. I looked back at him with the same worried expression on my face.
"What do you mean, 'It looked bigger yesterday'?" Kevin asked slowly. No one answered. "Brian, talk."
"I, umm . . ." Brian stuttered. I sighed. The cat was out of the bag . . . though, that probably wasn't a good thing.
"We met for lunch yesterday," I told Kevin. 'He also came with us for dinner." Kevin turned on Brian.
"You didn't tell me you were going out to lunch with my own sister?" he practically yelled.
"It's not like it was a date or anything," Brian said, helplessly.
"It was just a harmless lunch," JC said, trying to protect us.
"Did Nick know?" Kevin asked. Brian and I both shook our heads frantically.
"I made the plans and went out when he was walking around with Matt," Brian lied. "Kevin, I didn't want to overwhelm Alex with us both being there. I promised her that we'd go out alone and just get to know each other. That way, no one got hurt in the end."
"Not 'no one'," Kevin said, glaring at his cousin. "I got hurt."
"Why the hell did you get hurt?" I asked, growing defensive. Kevin turned on me.
"Because you met with my cousin instead of me."
"Hey, I'm meeting with you now, aren't I?"
"But, I was trying to reach you and you just decided not to answer,' he argued. "Yet, you answer when Brian calls."
"I told Brian to tell you that I don't know how to get my voice mails on my telephone."
"So, you decided not to get in touch with me and to hurt me, right?"
"Hurt you? Hurt you? Don't give me this little 'innocent' crap," I growled. "Who do you think has been hurt the most here, huh? Who? Me, Kevin. Me. I was dejected by the woman who gave birth to me and my real mother died when I was young. Do you know how much that hurts? And do you know how difficult it is to be a girl brought up with a father and two brothers? No, of course you don't. You have a small idea of what I've been through, yet you still try to make my life harder. And, guess what? You've succeeded. My life is now hell, thanks to you." I took a deep breath and stood up straight, walking out of the restaurant. Once outside, I ran down the sidewalk towards the hotel.
"Alex!" I heard JC call. I didn't slow down. "Alex, baby, please." I ran onto a back street and leaned against a brick wall. "Lexi." I turned at the soft sound of JC's voice. he came up and wrapped his arms around me, letting me sob on his chest.
"How come it always happens to me?" I sobbed, my chest heaving.
"Shh, " JC soothed, rubbing my back. "I don't know, baby, but everything will get better. I swear to it."
"How do you know?" I asked, my tears subsiding a little bit. I looked up at him and he brushed my hair off of my face.
"Because I'm psychic," he joked, smiling down at me. I smiled slightly and he kissed my forehead. "Why don't we go somewhere and relax?" I nodded and leaned my head against his chest. "how 'bout we got back to the hotel, grab whoever's there, and take a swim in the pool?"
"As long as I get to dunk you," I joked through the few stray tears still streaming down my face. He laughed, kissing the top of my head.
"Deal."