ROME
“Oh. Glad that you showed your ass up here tonight.” Sax stood up to give me a hug. Linden and Kye offered fist-bumps.
“So you all are free, huh?” Well, it was Sunday, and I had just sent Carly to her apartment. I joined them at the table at the local restobar a few blocks from the security firm.
“Just a beer for me. Thanks,” I told the waitress.
“You had dinner? Well, that’s first.” I had the feeling that I was going to be the subject of their joke tonight. “Just a beer, eh,” Kye said.
Linden snorted.
“I’m full.”
“Full, full?” Sax asked in disbelief.
I eyed them all, and my gut told me that they knew something more than I did. “What’s with the look and interrogation?”
“Guys, he thinks we are questioning him? For someone who can’t or won’t, whatever, don’t wanna tell us that he’s been dating a pretty brunette.” Kye munched on a piece of asparagus louder to piss me off.
“What are we? High school? That we should kiss and tell.”
“That’s what brothers do, man,” Sax agreed with Kye, clapping my shoulder.
“Really? I must have missed a memo or stuck somewhere in my mailbox.”
My beer arrived, and I noticed Linden was still silent. “How about you? Do you have something to say?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I get it, man. You don’t wanna tell us. I understand.”
“Looks like you all don’t agree.”
“Then tell us about the brunette.” Kye immediately put his elbows on the table, waiting for me to talk.
“I’m not dating anyone. You should tell them, Sax.”
“I just told them what I saw, man. You should have shown your ass up. They didn’t get it from me until Adley and Mykel told them yesterday at the dinner.”
Damn, that two. They couldn’t keep their mouth shut.
“I was busy.”
“Busy with the brunette. From what they said, you two seemed cozy dancing at the gala,” Kye added.
“Look.” I sipped my beer. “We can’t be dating.”
“Why? Because she’s your assistant?” Sax narrowed at me before he asked the two, “Since when did we care about who we date? If they are pretty, they like us back. What’s the problem? To hell with by the book. It’s overrated anyway.”
“It’s not about if she likes me or I like her. It’s the policy.”
“Fuck the policy. You two look perfect.”
I leaned back. I felt exhausted. No one seemed to want to understand our situation. “Storm needs the job-”
I was startled when they just burst out laughing. They high-fived, fist bumped, and Sax collected bills. My guess was those were bets.
“Fuck you, guys.” I scowled at everyone. “That’s not even funny.”
“I told you they are sleeping together,” Sax said proudly. “He just called her Storm.”
“Fuck you, Ryder.”
“They’re not just sleeping together. Our brother is in love,” Finally, Linden talked, which I didn’t like very much.
“I’m not in love.”
“Deny all you can, but you are literally shining, shimmering when you walked in earlier. I do this for a living, brother, and I did read you just fucking right. You are fucking in love with Storm.”
I shut my mouth. There was no point in denying it when my actions seemed obvious to them.
For years, they’d known me. I had no interest in dating. It just happened recently, and a lot of things were changing and going out of control.
For an instant, my fucking heart-did something stupid just hearing her name and voice, and when she smiled, all I wanted was to look at her, capture her image in my brain, and when she looked back at me, I knew she felt the same. We had this fucking fireworks like the 4th of July.
And there was something different when we slept together. It was extraordinary, genuine, pure, and blissful, and it felt like we bonded through infinity. Our feelings and our souls were linked. As stupid and cliche as it sounded, it felt that way, maybe because it wasn’t just sex.
“Hmm. Did you just fucking realize it right now?” I wanted to shut the fucking smirk out of Linden.
“She’s enigmatic, and I don’t even know her well.”
“At least you know her intention. Not just into your pants, but into your lungs,” Kye said, smiling.
“And definitely not into your pockets,” Linden added.
“You seem to know more about her than you let on, Linden. Care to share it with the team?”
“I didn’t do it, man. You’ve never asked me to do it before. When I checked her photo, I knew what you wanted. You can’t care for someone by knowing them or judging them by their past or background. Ask yourself? Does her past affect your relationship with her once you know it? Will it change how you feel about her? Does it matter that you know? Maybe. But it doesn’t define who she is now. Don’t hold back if you genuinely feel about something about her. Let your guard down for once, bro.”
“Is she really pretty?” Kye asked, more curious.
Linden nodded.
“Yeah. Very. Like modern Audrey Hepburn. She’s brunette, long wavy hair, green almond shape eyes, a younger Adriana Lima’s body, and the-” He made a sign of tits. And I just glared at him as he talked about my girlfriend’s body.
“You should stop now.” Kye elbowed him, his eyes pinned on me.
“Really? You just describe my girlfriend as a sex symbol, asshole.”
Again, they barked out laughing, and I wanted to break their faces one by one.
“Girlfriend. Take note. Girlfriend. I should have recorded it.” Sax tsked as if he had landed a huge job opportunity. “He just admitted that they are dating, and it only took a little body shape for him to admit.”
Kye cleared his throat. “So, this is serious? When can we meet her? You should introduce her to your brothers, you know.”
“She met My mom and Rune.”
“They met her?” they asked in unison.
“We were not dating yet, but yeah.”
“Wow.” It was Sax. “We’re going to visit Beck this weekend. You should take her with us, bro.”
“She would love it. She likes nature and animals, but I’ll take a rain check.” As much as I loved them to meet her, I would love to have her all by myself.
Kye looked impressed.
Linden smiled, even if it was just a millisecond.
“What?” I asked him.
“Nothing.”
***
“Can you come down?” I parked my car outside her apartment building.
“It’s late. I have work tomorrow, Langston. And everyone in the building is already sleeping.” It made me smile every time she called me by my family name.
“Just five minutes. I promise.”
“God, you’re unbelievable.”
“Fine. Meet me at your door.” I walked toward the lobby.
“Don’t.”
“I’m already in the lobby, sweetheart.”
“Jeez.” She hissed over the phone. “What’s wrong with you? You don’t accept no for an answer.”
“At least you know me now.” I entered the elevator and punched her apartment floor number.
“I’m going to be late tomorrow. You don’t know me if I have a lack of sleep.”
“Fine. Report at nine.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. What is it that can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“Me. I can’t wait. Patience is not my strong suit, sweetheart.” I walked into her apartment, and the door was slightly ajar.
She must have heard me coming as she peeped her head through the door. She looked hot and sweet in her pink and blue PJs.
Glaring, she whispered, “Why are you here?”
I pushed the door open, cupped her face, and captured her lips. My other hand was on something I wanted to give her.
I sucked her gasp and kissed fiercely. I slid my tongue into her mouth as I had the chance. The sweetness of her mouth flooded my taste buds. She was just so irresistible. She clung to me, pressed her body against mine, moaning. And I was already hard, bulging, and eager to escape from my pants.
Then she pushed me, catching her breath.
Being confused and having a hard-on was a bad combination. “I missed you.”
“You can just text me that you missed me.”
“I wanted to see you and kiss you goodnight.”
“You can see me tomorrow. And I was just with you earlier.” Her eyes squinted. “And it feels like you wanted more than just to see me, Langston.”
I smiled and fixed the front of my pants. “Sorry. He gets too excited.”
She folded her arms over her chest, and I got a chance to glimpse the swell of her tits.
“No way. Go home.”
“I will, sweetheart.” I took a step and wrapped my arms around her for a hug. “I’m gonna sleep alone, lonely in bed. And thinking about you naked while I pump myself, but it is not enough.”
She giggled. “That’s very detailed.”
I gave her the envelope when we pulled apart. “Think about it, okay?”
“What’s this?”
“Night, sweetheart. You can read it later.” I kissed her cheek while she was still staring at my offer.
I turned on my heels before I gave in to my temptation, kissed her, and took her to her bed. “Lock the door. See you tomorrow.”