“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the right question,” Brandon chuckled a little, in spite of himself. “Got the right time, right?” he asked instead. It was strange, being the first to arrive. Unusual. Brandon was always on time, sure, but Leah was always earlier than he was, so getting there and finding only Kori was surprising.
He knew that Lilah wasn’t going to be there, which was a shame, because she was a good buffer for when things got awkward. He knew that Leah was upset or pissed or whatever because Brandon wasn’t “opening up” or whatever, but really, when had he ever “opened up?” It was frustrating, to be expected to be open or talkitive, when he wasn’t open or talkitive with anyone outside of his family, either, aside from his usual shoulder-chip attitude and rudeness. And he still talked to her more than anyone else. Enough that, if he knew that she felt like he didn’t talk to her? He’d be upset.
While it more than likely wasn’t a lie, Brandon could tell that there was more to Leah’s story than she was saying, and he wondered quietly what it was for a moment, letting Kori talk, before he responded. “Long as she doesn’t ask you to crossdress like she did the one time she asked me to tell her the Princess and the Pea, anyway.” He snorted a laugh.
Brandon nodded in response to Kori’s assertion that he just got here. “Yeah. Literally just walked through the door. I actually beat you for once,” he pointed at her with a little grin. “Pretty sure that means you owe me some kind of cupcakes or something. Wasn’t that what we decided way back when?” When they used to do this type of thing all the time. “Hey!” he turned to Kori. “I’m nothing if not punctual, okay?”
Cards. An interesting choice.
Brandon nodded his head and shrugged. “Alright. You ladies pick the game. I’m just along for the ride, really.” Brandon wasn’t a very good cards player--he wasn’t nearly patient enough--but he didn’t really care. That wasn’t what this was about.