Kiss My Sass [Books 1 & 2]

[book 1] chapter one: an introduction of sorts

THERE WASN'T MUCH that scared me, but a furious ten-year-old sure topped the list. He sat in the passenger seat of my car, slamming the door shut behind him. He was mad, and he wanted the whole world to know. "You were supposed to pick me up forty-five minutes ago!"

"Give me a minute while I think of a good excuse."

Alex folded his arms across his chest. "That's not funny, Dani."

My foot pressed down on the gas pedal as I drove home, giving the road extra attention to avoid eye contact with him. "Would some apologetic fro-yo make up for it?"

I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye, letting out a sigh of relief when a grin made its way onto his face. He smiled so wide I could see his missing front tooth. "Can I get a chocolate fudge brown—"

I raised my right hand to stop him. "So long as this stays between us, I don't care what you get."

Alex bounced excitedly the entire ride, which made me start to question whether giving him more sugar was a good idea. I flicked on my right indicator to signal as I turned into the familiar plaza. Before I could even fully park my car, Alex hopped out, his excitement taking precedent over safety.

Again, I was really starting to question if this kid needed more sugar.

I opened my wallet and pulled out some cash as I trailed behind him. "Here's a twenty. I better get my change back."

Alex swiped the bill out of my hand. "Want anything?"

I patted my stomach as I contemplated. Spending nearly every evening on the couch eating junk food wasn't exactly doing the best job for my figure. "I should really watch the calories..."

He shot me a flat look, an unamused expression on his face. "Vanilla cake shake with extra sprinkles?"

Then again, one little dessert wouldn't kill me.

I ruffled his hair. "You're a good man."

While Alex scampered off to order our desserts, I sat at a table near the windows. Since I was a little girl, my family had always gone to our town's local diner, Stone Creek Café, for just about every damn celebration. It was a cozy little place where they had a jukebox and the workers knew everyone by name.

The only downside was since this was such a small town, everyone went here.

"Dani?" a familiar voice called out, making me instantly regret bringing my brother here.

"Shit," I murmured as I feebly tried to cover my face with a menu.

It was to absolutely no avail when the figure sat across from me, a longing looks in his eyes. "It's been a while."

"Clearly not long enough."

He looked taken aback, his mouth ajar.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?" I said dryly.