Free In Search of Lucy by Lia Fairchild Page B

asked as he looked over Kyle’s shoulder. Kyle was sitting at the kitchen table looking through his yearbook. Alex sat down next to his big brother and leaned in. “What’s up, bro?”
    “Oh, hey, Alex,” Kyle said, not even looking up with his greeting. It was late morning, and Alex was wearing navy blue sweat bottoms and a white undershirt.
    “Uh…hello?” He stretched out the “o” sound.
    “What?”
    “What are you doing?”
    “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m looking at my yearbook.”
    “Yeah, but why?” Alex reached across the table for the opened box of cereal and carried it over to the counter. His hair was a shade darker than Kyle’s sandy locks, and it always seemed to have that I don’t care look to it. With his eyes still on his brother, he reached back and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. He’d already made himself right at home though he had only been staying with Kyle for three days. Stuck with a giant student loan and no job prospects, and not wanting to live with their parents, Alex had asked Kyle if he could move in “for a while.” Kyle wasn’t too worried about what that meant. The two got along well enough, as far as brothers go, and Kyle was actually looking forward to a little change in his life. He himself would admit that things had been pretty mundane as of late.
    “Just wanted to see what someone looked like back then.” Kyle flipped through the pages, carefully combing each side, then finally stopped and pointed to a photo. “And there she is.” He skimmed his hand across the top of his hair, ran it down around his head, and then rested it under his chin with his elbow balanced on the table.
    Alex set the cereal box down, did a side hop around the counter, and slid perfectly into the chair. “Who is she?” Alex always had women on his mind, but those days there wasn’t much else, so he was game for a little female intrigue.
    “Lucy Lang,” Kyle said with his finger and his gaze still on the picture.
    “Not bad. So what’s the story?”
    “No story…yet.”
    “There’s always a story.”
    “Not for you, little bro.” Kyle gave Alex a little puppy pat on the top of his head.
    “C’mon, is that all I get?” Alex sighed. Then he got up and went back to making his breakfast. “I hate it when you do that.”
    “Do what?” Kyle asked defensively.
    “You dig through all that crap in the garage to find your yearbook to look up some chick and there’s no story? You gotta give me something. Did you guys hook up or what?”
    “I really just met her a couple of weeks ago, but I plan to ask her out.”
    “Plan to?” Alex grabbed a few pieces of cereal and popped them in his mouth. “Is that a long-range plan?” he asked sarcastically. “C’mon, bro, what are you waiting for? You worried about Shannon?”
    “Definitely not. Shannon has been over for months.”
    “See, you never tell me anything.” Alex walked over to the table with his cereal and gave Kyle a smack on the back before sitting back down. “We’re roomies now, bro. We gotta tell each other crap like that.”
    Kyle smiled and appreciated his brother’s pushiness. He didn’t mind that he was the one who was supposed to be giving the advice since he was four years older. Charm was Alex’s biggest asset. Two inches shorter than Kyle, his five-foot-ten frame was pretty solid. He had about eighty percent of Kyle’s looks but a hundred and ten percent more personality. Neither was jealous of the other, and Kyle didn’t mind benefitting from Alex’s talent for getting what he wanted.
    “Now let me tell you something. Get on the horn right now and give her a call.”
    “This girl is different though. I already called her once, and she hasn’t called me back yet.”
    “Oh, so you mean she’s a bitch?” Alex said with a sly smile. “You have been known to be attracted to those.”
    “Shut up, man.” Kyle got up from the table and carried his bowl to the sink. He washed the bowl