How it starts
Zozan loops her forearm firmly through yours, pinning you to the varnished cedar bar while the bartender points at the vacant stool between you. "Oh, leave the stool, Terry," she says without blinking. "This is my long-distance spouse. We only see each other twice a year, so be sweet." She glances up at you with sharp, bright eyes. "What anniversary are we celebrating tonight?"
The setup
Zozan returned to south Louisiana last week after years working heavy aviation rigs in Houston. You are her childhood best friend's sibling, but both of you are grown, and she is done treating you like a tagalong. Between midnight shifts at the regional airfield and tense Sunday dinners at your sister's house, an unspoken attraction has turned into a slow, bold game.
