"So what are we going to do today besides sit here and not...cuddle or kiss anymore?"

"I said watch Star-"

"I always just sit in the house. I want to get out and do something now that I have a boyfriend." She kissed him on his cheek, even if he thought their kissing and touching was taking things too far.

Tristan thought about it for a moment. "What are we supposed to do...as boyfriend, girlfriend... besides the thing I really want to do?"

She shrugged. "I've never had a boyfriend."

"I've never had a girlfriend."

She twisted her lips, thinking over this. So weird that he had plenty of girls, but none he called his girlfriend. "Can we go to the movies?"

He checked his Apple watch. "This early in the day? I only go to the movies at night."

"Well, you want to explain to Zee why we're going out to a late-night movie?"

He stood up abruptly. "Come on, let's go."

She smiled, grabbed her phone, and followed him to where their keys hung by the door. Before he opened it, he pulled her to him for a kiss.

"Tell me how to be a good boyfriend. I want to be that for you."

"I want to be a good girlfriend for you."

"You already are." He kissed her again.

They left the house and locked it then headed to his truck. She expected Zee to call and ask where she was going with Tristan, but no call as they pulled off. The nearest movie theater to them was the Esquire so that's where they headed.

"You can't eat any of the popcorn here, right? What can you eat?"

"Ummm..." She looked around at the menu. "Just water."

"Water? Girl, you think I'm paying eight dollars for a bottle of water for you when you could have brought that from home."

"So you're a cheap date?" She gave him the look she knew would get him, squint her eyes, or as he called it, squish her nose.

"Girllll!" He let out a laugh. "I got you this time, but don't play that shit again."

Tristan bought a large popcorn extra butter for himself, and a large drink. How he could eat all those empty calories and still have a low percentage of body fat was beyond her belief. They made it to their seats and she smiled thinking about being on her first date with a boy ever. And her first date was with Tristan. They were out in public, hanging out.

On a date.

Tristan leaned over and kissed her on the neck.

"Can we make out a little bit?"

She giggled at him. "Of course."

Lots of kissing and necking, she did not recall much of the movie. It was mid-afternoon, the early show, so there were not many people there.

"Where to now?" she asked him when they left.

"I think it's time for your first driving lesson."

"Oh." She stopped walking. "Zee said she would teach me because she was giving me her car."

"When is she going to do that? Why wait, I'm here and we might as well."

"In your truck?"

"What's wrong with my truck?"

"It's so big!"

He grinned. "Get used to big things, lil bit."

She elbowed him in the side but remembered seeing him earlier that day. Nice size, maybe even big, maybe average. Her mind needed to not go there if he was not ready to have sex with her.

He drove her to Forest Park and she was familiar with it from driving with Zee.

"You already got this I see."

"Yes. I had my permit before but I let it expire. I really should get that taken care of huh?"

"Yeah, let's do that tomorrow. I better get you back home, it's getting late and Zee should be back home soon."

She was enjoying being out of the house doing something for a change. Outside she felt like she had a boyfriend. At home, she had to pretend she did not. As soon as Tristan parked in front of the house, Zee pulled up right behind him.

"Oh shit," Tristan mumbled.

"Just say we went out...to the store."

"Yeah, with no bags or anything? No, let me get this, just agree to whatever." Tristan turned off the truck and stepped out.

If only they did not have to lie and could tell Zee they liked each other and were dating. Would she really throw Tristan out? She did not want to take that chance.

"What's up with y'all?" Zee asked stepping over to her side of the truck as she got out.

Before she could say anything, Tristan spoke right up. "I didn't want to leave your sis all alone, so I took her with me on a job I had."

"Now I have two people treating me like a baby!" she added, with a stomp, and marched right to the front door. Hopefully, Zee would think she and Tristan were not fully getting along. That she was over her crush on him.

"That was a good idea," Zee said as she unlocked the door. "Good looking out, Trist."

She rolled her eyes at her sister as they all made it inside the house. Zee was not that bright if she believed that little ruse. Tristan always had his toolbox with him when he went on a job to fix something. What did she think, he fixed whatever with his good looks and charm.

"I'm making dinner tonight," she announced to them. "Anyone want to help me?" She fixed her eyes on Tristan.

"I'm not hungry, especially if you're making some nonmeat, earth-friendly, faux meat monstrosity you call food."

She gave him a playful push.

"I'll eat whatever," Zee said, "But I can't help, I need to take a long shower and rest after my day at school today. Just let me know when the food is done and I'll be back down."

Zee dropped her bag in the den and then headed up the stairs, leaving her with Tristan. She turned to him and gave him another playful push.

"You really don't want anything I make?"

He grinned, pushed her toward the kitchen then put his arms around her. "I want all the things you make girl, just not your food." He kissed her neck.

It felt reckless kissing while Zee was in the house, but it also felt good. She leaned in close to him and planted a kiss on his lips. Now they would be back to pretend, roommates, somewhat friends in front of Zee. She hated it. Her first boyfriend and she could not shout it to the world.

"I think I will make beans and rice."

"Beans and what? Rice? And what else?"

"Uh...we need a veggie?"

"You need a veggie, I need some meat!" Tristan opened the freezer. "You make yours, I'm adding smoked sausages to Zee and mine."

She busied herself with making the rice, measuring enough servings out, rinsing it thoroughly, and adding enough water for it to cook. Tristan reached for the cans of beans for her and she opened them to warm them up. She cut up red and green bell peppers and onions to add to the beans as they boiled. She also seasoned it with a touch of salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder.

"It does smell good." Tristan was busily sauteeing sliced sausages. It smelled good. The smell of meat did not bother her, but the thought of eating it did.

"Zee will appreciate you're adding meat."

"We can't all care about the dead animals like you. I mean, if they ain't taste so good, maybe I would stop smashing them...but as long as fried chicken, pork chops, and hamburgers taste good to me, I'm eating."

"Don't you care about your health eating all that fried food?"

"First of all, you see how I eat. I do not eat it every day. Nothing wrong with bad things occasionally. I eat healthy most of the time. Make my shakes in the morning with extra protein and added veggies sometimes. Baked chicken and fish mostly. Limit my carbs sometimes."

All of that and working out every day did his body good.

She plated her food just as Ze came downstairs.

"It's nice you two are getting along and I don't have to smack lil homie in the head for disrespecting my sis."

She opened her mouth to say something but Tristan stepped right in.

"It's like I have two nagging little sisters."

She scrunched her face at him for saying that. She knew he was only putting on a facade for Zee, but it still kind of stung.

"I'll be your nagging lil sister all right. Plate up my food, I'm starving. I'm so tired of school and work. I should have taken the summer off like you."

"I'll be damned if I do all-year-long school. I would have dropped out."

They brought their food into the dining room and ate at the table, eating like a family. That is how they did it whenever they spent the weekends or summer with their GiGi.

"I have a little over four weeks before my classes start back up. Ugh!" Johanna stuffed food in her mouth. Before, she looked forward to starting her second year of college, but now all she wanted was to spend more days like today with Tristan.

"You love school. Weirdo," Zee said to her.

"I know but, I just want to hurry up and finish and get a nice job teaching somewhere."

"It's good that you like kids, cuz it wouldn't be me," Zee stated.

"That's why I choose to teach something I love, like English. I hope I make a great impact like GiGi did on her students. Oh Zee," she placed her fork down. "Have I told you about GiGi's journals?"

"What journals?"

"They are like her diary, from when she was a teenager." She glanced over at Tristan who listened while he ate and not focused on his phone like he normally did when they were all at the table. "Talks about meeting our grandfather and all the...things."

She was not sure if she wanted to go into the sexy details with Tristan sitting right there. She did not know if Zee wanted to know all the details. She still prayed her grandmother would not curse her down for reading them. Maybe she wanted them destroyed after her death. There was nothing in her will about them.

"Oh, that's pretty cool," was all Zee said.

"You write in a journal too?" Tristan asked her.

She stopped herself from blushing at his question. Sure, all about him but she could not say that.

"I wish I could write like my GiGi. I can't get my thoughts to flow so poetic like her. One day."

Maybe now that things were spicing up with Tristan, she would be motivated to write better entries in her journal.