Risky Affections

"Tami!" someone shouted, and I spun around, my heart jumping into my throat. And there he was, my big bro Blake. A happy rush hit me. I sprinted towards him, smacking the ground with every step, and threw my arms around him like we hadn't seen each other in forever. The world disappeared into the background. He smelled like the same old cologne he's had forever, with a bit of sweat and that one-of-a-kind Blake scent. "Look at you." he chuckled, giving me a little shake. Those eyes of his had that same cheeky twinkle as always. "You've gotten taller." I rolled my eyes but couldn't hide my gin "And you're still the king of the cheesy compliments." He chuckled ruffling my hair playfully before stepping back to inspect me again. "What trouble have you been causing?" "Me? Innocent as a lamb!" I crossed my arms but I couldn't hold back the smile. "Okay, fine, maybe just a little here and there. He smirked and shook his head, his eyes still sparkling. "Mom's been worried about you, you know?" "Mom worries about everything." I said, waving him off. But deep down, I knew he was right. He leaned in, whispering, "She'd love to hear your voice, you know, instead of imagining the worst." A soft blush crept across my cheeks at the thought of Mom "I'm okay," I protested, feeling a little guilty. "You're looking good," I said, checking out Blake's gear. Classic band tee and those jeans he's had forever. "Thanks," he said, blushing a bit. "Been working out, you know, staying fit." "Who's the hunk now?" I teased, poking his side. "What's the deal? Got a secret admirer?" Blake cracked up. "Just trying to keep up with you, squirt." "Come on, you're not that ancient," I joked, but something felt weird. Like there was something behind his smile. "You know, just dealing with the grind of life," he said, waving it off. "I feel ya." I scanned the street we'd played on as kids. Everything looked the same, but somehow different, too. "Remember when we used to ride our bikes down here?" He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, the good old days." And just like that, we were back in our old stomping grounds, swapping stories and catching up, like we hadn't missed a beat. It felt like home. Blake's gaze dropped to the tattoo on my neck, a tiny swirl that I got on a wild whim."I see you got tattoos," he said, sounding both shocked and interested. I shrugged, playing it cool, but inside, I was flooded with memories of that night. It felt like just yesterday, my first taste of alcohol burning down my throat, the laughter ringing in my ears. My friends had dared me, egging me on until I finally agreed. "𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘪! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦!" 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦. "𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦!" 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘻𝘻 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺-𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯s. 𝘞𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵!" 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. Blake leaned in closer, eyeing the tattoo like he was trying to read my soul."What were you thinking?" he asked. "Not much, really," I said, trying to act like it was no big deal. "I just felt like switching things up." He smirked a bit, shaking his head. "You? The queen of trying new things?" I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smirk back. "Yeah, yeah. You know me too well." "It's not like you went full rebel or anything," he said, trying to keep it light. "Just this one and another on my wrist," I said, hiding my hands behind my back. His eyes squinted a little. "You're serious about this?" I took a breath. "Yeah, kinda." I didn't want to get into the whole rebellion and freedom speech. "You're not just being all edgy?" he asked, poking fun. "Nope," I replied firmly. "It felt... freeing." He chuckled, and his cheeks turned a bit red. "I can't believe I actually missed you," he murmured. "I said I wouldn't, but seeing you again... I did." I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Oh please, you were dying to see me." He rolled his eyes and pretended to be offended. "I had a life here, you know!" "Sure you did," I teased, nudging him. "You and your gym sessions." He huffed out a breath and couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips as he leaned on the lamppost. The sun was setting, making everything look all warm and nice, and our shadows stretched out like we were giants on the sidewalk. "Alright, alright," he said, giving in and scratching his head a bit. "Maybe I thought about you once or twice." "Once?" I played it cool, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, you can do better than that." Blake chuckled, shaking his head like he couldn't believe I was pushing him on this. "Okay, fine, a few times. But only because Mom wouldn't stop mentioning you!" It totally made my day to think he'd missed me at all. We've always had this connection, you know? Like a secret code just between us, all wrapped up in joking around and stuff we used to do. "What did she say?" I asked. "The usual," he said, making a pretty good impression of her. " 'You haven't talked to Tami? She's out there having the time of her life, and you're stuck here." I couldn't help but feel bad for her. Every time she talked about me, it probably made her worry lines deepen. "I wasn't that far away," I pointed out. "To her, you might as well have been on Mars," he said, smirking. "Look at this place, it's like time stopped or something." "Yeah," I nodded, looking around. Everything was just the way I remembered it. "Can we swing by Mom and Dad's first?" I asked. "I really want to see them." Blake looked kinda surprised, but he nodded. "Sure, let's go." I didn't want to seem too eager, so I just said, "It's just been a while, you know? And their kitchen is the best." We started walking, the sun making us look like we had those long, dramatic shadows like in the movies. "Remember when Dad tried to make spaghetti?" I said, smiling at the memory. "The smoke alarm was going nuts!" Blake laughed with me. "How could we forget? He acted like it was supposed to be like that-'extra crispy'!" We turned down our street and I felt this buzz of excitement. The big oak tree was still there, waving at us like it knew I was coming home. "We're here," Blake said, kind of quiet. I took a moment, just looking at the house-our house. The door was that same faded blue, and the flower pots looked like they'd been standing guard all this time. It hit me, how much I missed this place. "Are you okay?" he checked in. "Yeah," I said, taking a deep breath. Before I had a chance to think twice, I hopped up the stairs and rapped on the door like it was on fire. My heart was going boom boom in my chest with each hit, like a drum solo in a rock concert. A moment later, Mom flung the door open with a gasp and her eyes got all wide and sparkly. "Tamaya!" she exclaimed, and before she could say another word, I jumped on her like a little kid. I buried my face in her shoulder and took a deep whiff of her usual lavender-y, home-cooking smell. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "Mom," I mumbled into her shirt. "Oh honey, I've missed you so much!" She pulled away to look at me, her eyes all watery. She held my cheeks in her hands like she was holding a precious china doll. "You're looking fantastic!" "Thanks," I mumbled, trying not to blush like a tomato. "Blake here tells me you've been stirring up some trouble," she said with a little wink over my shoulder at him. That smug look on his face said it all. "Whatever, I've just been living a little," I shot back, trying to play it cool. "Good to hear," he said with a chuckle, leaning on the doorway like it was his personal throne. Mom's expression got all serious again. "But you're okay, right? That's all I care about." "I'm fine, don't worry," I told her. I stepped inside, taking in the familiar clutter of shoes piled near the door and the faint aroma of something bubbling on the stove. "Where's Dad?" I asked, glancing around the room filled with family photos lining the walls - my childhood in frozen time. "He's out in the garage, tinkering with that car of his," she said with a hint of a smile. That thing had been his baby for ages. "Figures," I said with a laugh. That car had been a project for as long as I could remember. It's like he poured more love into it than into anything else. Blake pushed off the wall. "I'll go grab him," he offered, heading down the hallway. Mom and I just looked at each other, her eyes still full of that mom-worry. "You've really changed," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're all grown up." I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the little grin. "Just trying to keep it together, you know?"