Secrets and Stolen Kisses

03

"Don't worry, Mimi," he put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll get you through—"

"Babe, there you are!"

Nate didn't even get to finish his sentence when he turned away from me and hugged Andrea. "Hey."

"Hi, Andie," I greeted her.

"Oh, hi," she waved at me quickly before turning to Nate again. "Now that we're dating, I get to sit beside you at lunch, don't I?"

I stopped in my tracks momentarily. Nate only liked to sit at the end of the table, and the seat beside him was usually... mine. Was it hers now? Where the hell was I gonna sit?

Nate shrugged. "I guess so. I'm sure we can figure something out."

Like how I had to figure out where to sit so I wouldn't have to see their PDA.

At lunch, I ended up sitting beside Archer, further from Nate, which was honestly fine by me. It meant I had somewhat of a barrier between me and the new couple. I usually sat in front of Archer, so I didn't move very far, but it was good enough.

It wasn't like I could go anywhere else anyway. Our lunch table was always packed because my brother and Nate liked to sit with their basketball friends, and I just happened to tag along. There were other people on the table too that weren't part of the team. Alexia sat at the table too, but she was at the other end.

"Psst, Maddie," I looked up from my plate at the sound of someone calling me.

The girl to my left, Kim, smiled at me and whispered, "So I heard that the rumor about your brother getting a girlfriend over the summer isn't true."

I shut my eyes and sighed. "Yeah, it's not."

"Really? So, do you think you can maybe—"

Kim was honestly not the type of girl that usually talked to me about Archer. She was cool but sweet, and I wasn't about to tell her off. I raised a finger. "One sec."

"Archer, switch seats with me," I swatted my brother's arm.

He stared at me confusedly. "What? Why?"

"You like Kim, Kim likes you, talk to her," I revealed bluntly. I was honestly so tired of everyone asking me to put in a good word for them. They can do it themselves.

"Wh-what?" Kim's eyes widened. "I didn't say that."

"Just switch with me, Arch," I asserted.

The two of us changed seats, and I was forced to sit in front of Andrea who was being all flirty with Nate.

If my brother and Kim end up marrying each other and having babies in the future, I'm telling their kids this story. And if not, I'm still telling Archer's kids this story to prove to them which one of us was the better sibling.

"You're coming to the hangout we're having at my house next Saturday, right?" Nate asked Andrea.

"Of course," she nodded. "Wouldn't miss it."

~~~

Soon enough, the weekend rolled around, and it was time to attend the Reed family's annual charity event that they host for Nate and Jake's birthdays.

I'd had a dress ready for a while now, and I was so excited to finally be able to wear it. My mom always picked stuff out for me, but this was the first time she didn't, and that only meant I could be a little more adventurous with my outfit.

Nate had asked me on Friday to come with him to the hotel early so he had a second opinion on everything before the event started. The invite said that the ballroom doors would open by seven, but I was doing my hair by two because he said he'd pick me up at three. We also asked Archer if he wanted to come with us, but he said he wasn't up for it. He was gonna work out instead, which was supposed to be more fun apparently.