Project Date by Kate Perry

his couch.
    “Want me to make breakfast?” she asked after a long stretch of silence.
    “I thought we’d go to Mom and Dad’s. They probably want to see you.” Since you’re their favorite.
    She ducked her head, suddenly very concerned about a loose string at the waistband of her shorts.
    I frowned. Something was up. “What is it?”
    “Well—” She bit her cupid’s-bow lips that were a perfect shade of raspberry without lipstick.
    I waited. When she said nothing, I barked impatiently. “What?”
    She mumbled something, her chin tucked against her chest.
    “What?”
    “They don’t know I’m here.”
    At least I could hear her, but I was confused. “Where do they think you’re staying? Mom wouldn’t let you stay in a hotel.”
    “No, Mena, they don’t know I’m here .”
    I nodded. I got that, but I still didn’t understand where they thought she was staying. It’s not like Daphne has any friends.
    “ Here ,” she repeated. “In Portland.”
    “In Portland?” Then it dawned on me. “They don’t know you’re here?”
    Even her scowl was enchanting. “That’s what I said.”
    “Where do they think you are?”
    “At home in Palo Alto.” She narrowed her deep ocean eyes at me. “And I don’t want them to know.”
    Whoa. A threat from the perfect one. I couldn’t help grinning malevolently. “What’ll you give me to keep quiet?”
    “I won’t tell Mom it was you who broke that antique lamp in the living room.”
    Damn. I studied my sister with new appreciation. That was a good one. I didn’t know she had it in her. But I couldn’t let her know about my admiration, so I said, “Mom won’t care. That was twenty years ago.”
    “Yes, she will, and you know it.”
    True. Mom tended to cling to transgressions.
    Still, I couldn’t help needling Daphne more. I shook my head and tried to look concerned. “I don’t know. That means I have to lie to them. I don’t feel right about that.”
    She gave me an annoyed look. “You’ve never had qualms before.”
    Also true, but I wasn’t going to admit it. “It’s going to be hard. Real hard.”
    “I’m sure your conscience will find a way to deal with it. I’m going to take a shower.” She got up and went to my office, closing the door firmly behind her.
    I stretched my arms out on the couch behind me and grinned. Teasing her was one of life’s greatest pleasures.
    But I sobered as I wondered why she wouldn’t want our parents to know she was here. Something was going on, and it didn’t seem good.
    I stared at her bedroom door. Should I go ask her?
    Nope. I shook my head. Our relationship wasn’t exactly close, and she’d rejected my concerned overtures before. She was SuperDaphne anyway—she probably had it all under control. What did she need help from me for?
     
    I don’t know why I felt compelled to hang out at home to see if Daphne wanted to do anything, but I spent a couple of hours waiting for her to come out of her room. It became apparent that she wasn’t intending on emerging any time soon (I put my ear to the door to make sure she hadn’t fallen over in there and knocked herself unconscious).
    I had no problem with her being reclusive. Fine with me if she wanted to lock herself in there the whole time she was here. The problem was my computer was in there with her, and I needed to go online to check out Barry’s blog. I only had two weeks to get him back—plenty of time, really, but I didn’t want to leave it to the last minute.
    I sat at my kitchen table, tapping my fingers against the wood. I stared at my office door and tried to guess how long she would be holed up in there. I mean, I thought she’d have to use the bathroom eventually, but I had doubts she was really human, so maybe not.
    I would have called Matt; he’d let me use his computer any time. But I knew how he felt about Barry and my plan.
    Leaving work or the public library.
    Work would be convenient, but the library would be anonymous. The Web