Date = 5 April
Place = San Francisco (Enrique’s home)
POV Aria
“Ug, I despise tea,” Mel pulls up her nose as soon as I enter the room with two mugs. She puts on a severe pout, like every time someone dares to drink coffee in front of her, so I grin knowingly … and bend down to hand her one mug.
“That’s why we’re not having tea,” I wink at her surprised face and I sit down, legs crossed, next to her on the sofa, turning to face her. We’re both freshly showered and in comfy tracksuits that I stole … eh … borrowed from Enrique’s closet.
“Eh, you figured out a way to brew me some baby-safe coffee,” I shake my head. These Blackburn children are always a little over-hyper … except maybe for Ilkay.
“Wait, I hate that caffeine-free stuff too … can merely drink only boiling water with milk; it will taste the same. It’s not that, is it?” Her suspicious look on the cup, topped with cream and chocolate crumbs.
I click my tongue, “Tsk, nope. ”
She takes a small sip, leaving a ring of cream around her mouth. Her face lights up and she licks it off without hesitation. I knew her sweet tooth would appreciate some delectable hot chocolate.
“I found this article in the magazine while I was waiting for you … ” she says slowly, her face plastered with vulgar improperness, and I can only think what the article is about. Sex.
“Signs that he’ll be good in bed.” And my guess was spot on. The book gets folded double. Then she looks around.
“Pen?”
“In my bag.” Reminiscing through my bag on the ground, the dreaded envelope is pulled out and I almost go into cardiac arrest. I totally forgot that was in there. She drops the envelope on the table without a word and searches further until at last, she finds what she’s looking for. She puts the back of the pen in her mouth and picks up the magazine again.
“Let’s see how our guys compare …” she reads the first option, “Number one: If he has a storybook stare, in a way that makes you the best kind of nervous, it’s gonna be outstanding sex. It just is.”
“Okay, you can definitely tick it off; it’s like these guys invented that look.” I’m trying my best to keep my mind off the envelope haunting me with its presence. “One more perfect than the other … I just can’t tell you who has the sexiest eyes.”
Mel nods over eagerly; agreeing without question and I’m sure she has some green orbs on her mind right now. Damion sure has beautiful eyes … so does Jackson with his stormy blues … Alejandro with his icy stare … Ilkay and Logan with their steel gazes … and Axel with that vampire gape. But it’s not the ones that turn my knees into jello or send shivers down my spine.
“BEAST stares,” I giggle and she burst into laughter, holding one hand on her tummy. The baby … I glance at the envelope on the table.
“Exactly,” Mel stops laughing. She told me all about her conspiracy that men attend a special place to learn how to manipulate women. And it makes total sense to me. She reads from the magazine again.
“If he drives a sports car, he probably has a turbo engine to excel you down the road of ecstasy,” she titters and shakes her blonde head, “Well, seems that this article was written just for our men.”
“Does that mean you also harbor a jetpack down there since you’re now driving a sports car?” I inquire, thinking about her super cool green customized brand-new out-of-the-box Lambo that she received from Damion’s sponsors – just because she’s his girl.
“Oh yeah … freaking hell! I love my new car so much,” she hugs herself shaking her body. “And think, maybe one of these days you might be driving a new Ferrari.”
“I would not say no to that!” I beam. No normal sane person would refuse a free car. She winks at me and focuses on the article again.
“If he dances like Channing Tatum, or fights like Oliver Queen, he’s definitely got the moves to be a Magic Arrow in bed.” Well, well, well. I glance at the dancing trophies in the cupboard along the wall … the poor one that’s lost its glass recently. I know by now that the Blackburn children excelled in sport … athletics, rock climbing, skateboarding, and so on and so on … but the brothers all chose one to pursue; Enrique danced, Ilkay surfed believe it or not; Logan played football (still does) and Jackson went into all sorts of fighting … no surprise there. Hockey is just something he does to keep himself occupied … or that’s what Enrique told me once. Mel chuckles again and follows my gaze.
“Okay, so a definite mark for Enrique …” she makes a right mark on the page, “Damion and Jackson fight like ninjas … ”
Right, so it seems we’re gonna go down the list of all the guys, “Logan … eh … ”
I unwillingly look at the envelope when she mentions her youngest brother, biting my lip. Could it be the truth? And how would Brian know all this? Maybe everybody knows and he’s just playing me for a fool?
“Okay sister, I can’t do this anymore … spill the beans.” I jolt when the magazine drops to the ground with a loud thud; her face serious. What beans? I don’t want to spill anything, especially not with the chance of her spilling her little bean prematurely. So I act ignorant and dumb.
“Eh, what beans? Oh, Logan … I’m sure he’s movable enough to be good in the sack.” But I should have known my contracted-sex-partner-boyfriend’s little sister is anything but stupid. She puts down her empty cup and picks up the dreaded envelope.
“This beans.” She holds it up in the air and I think my heart is having convulsions. Flip. I stare at her tummy, hoping the baby is staying put. Ug, Aria, she hasn’t even seen what’s inside yet. I have to convince her to leave this alone.
“Mel, please,” I plead … and I’m willing to beg, anything, but she can’t open that.
“Aria, listen,” she puts the envelope down between us, and I’m thinking of grabbing it and running away … but I know Mel is pretty fast … and I’m not.
And what if she runs and hurts the baby that way? Ug, what to do?