The slap outside his head in a restaurant clued him in quickly that his sister was less than happy with him. Making her follow up of "What the fuck did you do?" unnecessary.

"Well hello to you too baby sis. I thought you invited your brother to lunch not get violent on me. You're not going to find or keep a man if you keep that up."

Keisha sits down in the booth in a huff, slapped her purse down on the table, knocking the silverware askew. Her eyes narrowed as if she wanted to skewer him alive then feed him to ravenous dogs, starting with his dick first.

His little sister had always looked up to him. She used to run to his room during thunderstorms and he would read her favorite fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood to calm her down. He taught her how to ride a bike and roller blade. When she had her first date he helped his dad put the fear of god, the devil and all kinds of demons into the guy about where his hands, mouth and dick better not be if he didn't want to lose them. Granted she came home early pissed and refused to talk to them for two weeks. But she came home as pure and untouched when she left.

And her looking at him now with no trace of the usual adoration in her eyes -missing those days were things were simpler Joseph wished for them back- meant only one thing. She knew about what happened.

Two days. It'd been only two days since that night. Two days of torturing himself from thinking about her and dreaming about her. Of wanting to taste her honeyed tanginess on his mouth again. To hear her screaming his name as she came on his cock. Two days that felt like two millennia worth of hellish misery from being away from her. To top it off, his sister found out and he deserved every tongue lashing coming his way. Still he was relieved that someone outside them knew because he desperately needed that tongue lashing to keep his fraying resolve coming apart by a tug of loose thread.

"Why did you do it?" demanded Keisha, her lips thinned in the don't bullshit me look to make his step-mother, Keisha's mother, Yuko, proud. "You were supposed to go over there and apologize. Not do a hit and run!"

Joseph sighed and opened his mouth to plead his case when the waiter came by to take their order. By the time he left to get their drinks -virgin strawberry daiquiri for Keisha and cranberry vodka for him- he realized he had no case at all but one. The truth.

"Sorry Key," he sighed, the weight of what he'd done and how much he fucked up it was as if he'd taken over Atlas' sentence. Scrubbing his face in his hands, he threaded his hands together and leaned towards the back of the booth like a puppet who'd just had their strings cut. "I did go over to apologize. But then she was standing there..she drives me crazy..she-"

"You like her." His head slowly shook from side to side in denial at her astuteness. "You like her a lot."

"I can't Key. I don't"

Keisha unfolded her arms and smiling pityingly, leaned across the table and patted his hand. "You mean you won't. Why not just go for it? Come on, I'm giving you an out from my don't touch my friends rule."

"Not much of an out since I've never went after your friends," Joseph snorted.

"Well that goes to show how much I care about you and Layla." Keisha sits back and scans her brother's face. "Unless I'm mistaken that you care nothing for her and manipulated her to get her into bed when you knew she had feelings for you. If so then you're a dick. And I'm telling mom."

"Really?" His head looked up sharply into her face and realized she wasn't kidding. "You're going to tattle on my mom. Thought we were grown adults."

"Yup," she nodded and accepted her drink from the waither. "Besides only one of us is acting like a 'grown adult.'" She said 'grown adult' as if was something so distasteful even brushing her teeth and gargling Listerine could remove the taste out of her mouth.

Joseph took a sip of drink and wished he ordered straight vodka instead. He was going to need it. But since he'd been walking around like a condemned man ever since he fled Layla's bed he took his sister's verbal flogging without complaint. Much.

"She's a baby Keisha."

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes. Slamming her glass down, a little of the red icy confection sloshed out over the rim, trickling down the stem and unto her hand. "That's what you're on. God how could you be such a condescending jackass in this day and age? You've got forty-year old women dating twenty year olds. And you're actually sitting here telling me you can't date someone seven years younger than you!"

Joseph didn't know what to say to that. He'd been holding on their age difference like a mantra to keep himself at a distance from Layla. Partly in fear he didn't want to scare her away with how much he desperately wanted to slide his cock inside her. Blot her innocence. At the same time he didn't want to taint her innocence with the indomitable passion he felt for her when they first met. Even two nights ago he still managed to temper that same passion, only giving a taste of what he really wanted to do to her.

But how can he fully break away from the chains he placed on himself for so long? How can he go to her and not destroy her?

Keisha stared at him as if she'd wait until the end of time for his answer. An answer she would have to wait longer than that as he didn't have one, when she suddenly smiled.

"Okay then." She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes glinting trouble. "I gave you my blessing and it's your problem if you don't take it. Can't help that you feel so strongly about a measly little seven years age difference."

Wary about what his sister could possibly be up to now Joseph remained quiet and nodded. His sister was not someone to give up so easily. And at least without inflicting pain and shedding blood to those who deserve it. If he didn't know she was one hundred percent human Joseph would've sworn she was fifty percent wolf hybrid.

"I'll just," she paused as two steaming plates of grilled chicken and artichoke fettuccine alfredo for her and sirloin steak with asparagus in mushroom sauce for him were placed in front of them. Thanking the waiter, she picked up her fork and knife, cleanly slicing into the chicken. He dug into his food as well and tried to ignore the prickling irritation on his head which turned into an inferno red haze when she said, "fix her up with someone. Think I can find an older, dark skinned brother so fine she'll go 'Joseph who?' Yeah, that's exactly what I'll do."

Appetite gone, Joseph clenched his fists around the silverware hard enough to bend them then unclenched them, letting them land in a loud clunk beside his plate. Then watched as she lifted her daiquiri in a toast.

"Congrats brother. You're off the hook. But you still have to apologize. Again. Properly."

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Keisha watched with a smug grin on her face as her brother paid the check and left the restaurant with a to-go box of his uneaten food.

Served him right.

She waited several moments, tracking his movements as he went out the door turned right and didn't turn back around to confront her. After five minutes and done waiting, she pulled her phone out of her back, went to her contacts and started a three way conversation with Bea and Felicite'. They couldn't get Jenna as she was in class and Layla had already left to do her part.

"How it'd go?" asked Bea.

"Oh he was mad." Keisha chuckled before continuing, "so mad he wanted to strangle something. Good thing he loves me too much that my neck was spared."

Bea cackled like a villainess from a b-rated movie while Felicite' tried to shush her.

"Calm yourself Bea," then turned the conversation back to her, "you know your brother, you're sure this will work?"

"Course it'll work. Operation Urkel will not fail."

"We're not calling Layla and Joseph's second chance to get it right that."

"I know my brother," Keisha hedged in, "and he's a stubborn sonuvabitch."

"Could tell that."

"That doesn't sound good for our friend."

"Yeah. But I weakened him for ya so right now he's probably thinking and torturing himself about all the kind of ways the man I'll hook Layla up with will do to her."

"You're evil," Bea said, her tone suggesting it was a compliment rather than an insult while Felicite' tsked in the background.

"Well I hope this works and your brother knows what he has in her."

"Me too. Because if the damn fool doesn't I will help her find someone better. He can grow old, alone and grouchy and have no one to blame but himself."

"You got that right. And fool or not, she still got us." Keisha nodded in silent agreement as if Bea and Felicite were in the booth with her. "And when she ready, I expect you" Keisha could picture Bea pointing her finger at her chest, "to make good in helping in finding her man three times the man your brother is."

"Way to set the bar Bea."

The image of a her newest find, Alejandro, popped into her head. Strong jaw that refused to be hidden in the shadow of his scruffy beard, deep brown eyes that passed through your clothes and into your soul when he looked at you and skin so chocolatey brown it made a woman want to lick him all over to find out whether he tasted sweet or bitter.

Keisha squirmed in her seat. Somehow she knew he was capable of both. Very capable.

"Alejandro/Anton," she whispered, relishing how his name made her want want to unfurl her tongue around his strapping cock. The man goes through women like a sick person goes through tissues for him not to be packing.

"You say something," asked Bea.

"Nothing." Putting Alejandro out of her mind - she doesn't shit where she eats- she gathered her purse and to-go box, leaving the restaurant. "Gotta go. Thanks for including me in getting through my dunderhead brother."

"Thanks for stepping up."

"I worried about putting you in the middle and making you choose."

Keisha smiled as she made her way towards the metro and stopped before the escalator. When Layla became friends with these women she admit that she was a little bit jealous. Layla was the sister she never got to know. So her finding her mystic sisters felt as if they were stealing her away. Pulling Layla away into a world she couldn't follow let alone belong.

She couldn't be more glad to be so wrong. They accepted her into the fold. Though at first cautious she kept apart from this new dynamic. Now she gladly send them customers. Getting your fortunes read is the thing now for bachelorette parties.

"Like I said before there's nothing to worry about. Hoes over bros." Besides it'll be great if Layla became her true sister.

They said their goodbyes and as Keisha walked down the escalator she mentally crossed her fingers, wishing both her brother and best friend good luck.

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