Lips Made of Yarn

If Ashley opened her mouth or even so much as looked at Brendon, I either coughed loudly or instigated some type of distraction to stop her from speaking. I think she started to catch on after a while though.
Are you okay? Brendon slid me a note after my fourth violent coughing fit of the day, peering at me warily like I might drop die right there.

"What are you writing on that paper?" Ashley demanded, jumping up from her stool and trying to get a glance.
I ignored her and crumpled the paper, giving Brendon a sweet smile.

"Yes, I am," I think this whole flirting thing was starting to make sense. Add a smile with everything you say and bat your eyelashes a lot, throw in a few compliments and you’re in.
"You're what?" Ashley whined, snapping her arm forward to take the paper from my hand.
I rolled my eyes as Ashley’s face softened and she let out a soft 'aw'.

"That’s sweet Bren," She cooed. "Sincerity is a great quality. Especially in a boyfriend. A majority of girls just wish for a boyfriend that had an ounce of the sincerity you have."
Brendon was looking at Ashley as if she was crazy, and I’m sure he was fully regretting writing that note now.

"What do you look for in a boyfriend Mel?” Ashley continued and I just watched on in horror.
"Well, I’ll tell you what she looks for," Ashley hauled herself onto the counter, crossing her legs daintily and leaning closer to Brendon. "It’s always good to be compassionate too, and defiantly someone who has their egos under control. Oh, let’s not forget good looking. The initial impression, you know? A guy has to please the eye, have all the right moves, and be charming."

Still, Brendon was staring at her as if she was crazy, except for the addition of a spark of curious in his eye.
"And," Ashley leaned even closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, giving me a quick glance. "She loves brunettes."

I slammed my fist on the counter and made them both jump. My face burned scarlet as I glared at my sister, the color coming from both my anger and extreme embarrassment.
"Mel, go ahead, tell Brendon what attracts you." Ashley gave me a meaningful look, talking slowly to emphasize her hidden point.
"You wanna know? You really wanna know?" I said viciously, cocking my hip and spiting my answer at Brendon before I could stop myself.

"I love guys who are different, who don’t pretend to be someone they're not just to fit in. Guys with a great body and gorgeous face and I'll admit it!" I threw my hands up in the air, eyes bugging out. "I'm all about the ass!"

I finished my breath and spun on my heel, leaning my head on the top of the cash register. "Now will you please leave me alone?"

--

My watch struck 1 o'clock just as I was walking out of Starbucks, Ashley right behind me as we left during my lunch break. I tried everything I could think of to cover my top half, folding my arms or doing some weird arm position. Thing was, this ridiculous shirt was so damn uncomfortable, I feel like I'm walking around naked.

"Would you stop fidgeting? The shirt looks great," Ashley said distractedly, peering into the different shop windows as we passed them.
"Could you have picked a more revealing shirt?"
"I hate to break it to you honey, but that one had the most coverage in the whole place," Ashley laughed, linking our elbows together.

"So, were shall we eat?" I smiled. Ashley was acting normally, and I finally felt like I was talking to my sister, and not some overeager matchmaker. I could almost forgive her for making such a fool of me. Almost.
But now didn’t feel like the best time to start bickering.
We walked down the road a bit more, chatting about our lives and reminiscing on the past. Ashley and I had so much to catch up on it made me wonder if I’ve been putting any effort into actually picking up the phone and dialing her number just to see how her day was, and I realized I hadn’t done that in quite some time. It felt good to be relaxing and having fun for a change, mixing up my dull and monotonous life.

Somehow we ended up in a bookstore, waiting on line in the adjourning coffeehouse.
"Huh," I said sarcastically. "I leave work, where I make coffee all day, only to come right back to coffee in the end."
Ashley chuckled and was called up next, ordering a scone for each of us and a drink.

We walked around the bookstore after we had finished the scones, browsing through the shelves.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated. My only goal in life was to write and publish a book of my own, and here were hundreds of books all lined up neatly and new and ready to be read. I sighed and trailed my hand across the book covers lightly as I passed.

"Mel, come look at this," Ashley held up a thick yellow book, grin on her face. "They actually made a Changing a Light bulb for Dummies."
I laughed, looking at the different books in that section. Spanish for Dummies, Computer Drafting for Dummies, Managing an Office for Dummies. I picked up one entitled Being Married for Dummies and thrust it at my sister.

"Hey now, Rick could get some real use out of this," Ashley laughed referring to her husband, chuckling before placing it back in its spot.
Ashley continued down the aisle, picking up a book at the end to examine the back cover. I was about to follow her when my eye caught on a title on the very bottom shelf, wedged in between French and Sewing for Dummies.

Why not? It could be fun, plus, it’ll defiantly impress him. I bit my lip and bent down to pick it up, running a finger over the Sign Language for Dummies embossed text. Checking to make sure Ashley wasn’t looking, I hurried out of the aisle and to the register, digging in my bag quickly to get my wallet.