by K. A. Linde
Her body wasn’t touching mine, but she was close enough that I could feel the heat coming off of her.
My brain short-circuited when she shifted and her hip touched mine. She jumped backward, as if she, too, had been hit by an electrical surge at the contact.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” she said hastily, turning off the side lamp and casting us into darkness.
“Night,” I whispered.
She turned on her side to face away from me. While I sat there and envisioned her naked and underneath me.
I squeezed my eyes shut and told my dick to get itself together.
Fuck. I was already hard.
“I actually think I’m going to take a shower,” I told her.
“Okay,” she murmured softly.
There was something I needed to take care of if I was going to sleep next to her all night.
11
Jennifer
Graduation was bright and early the next morning.
I’d barely slept. My brain wouldn’t shut off, no matter how hard I’d tried. Not when I could hear the shower running from the bathroom and picture the water running over his naked body. Not when he lay inches away from me. Not when we were in bed together.
I’d eventually gotten up at three in the morning to pop a sleeping pill that I reserved for emergencies. But I’d taken it too late and woken up groggy. My brain was cocooned in a cloud, and every movement felt like I was dragging.
“We could get you a coffee,” Julian offered with a smile.
He hadn’t seemed to have any trouble sleeping and was his same chipper self the next morning.
I made a face. “I don’t like it.”
“But you need it. There’s a difference.”
“It tastes like bitter bean juice.”
He gasped. “You offend me.”
“Feel free to enjoy it. I will stick to my water.”
“Tea? Coke? Chocolate? Something with a stimulant in it.”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Maybe a Coke. But there’s a hierarchy of Coke.”
He arched an eyebrow. “A hierarchy?”
“Definitely. Not all Coke is created equal.”
He snorted. “Pray tell.” He leaned his elbow on the island as he waited for his pot of coffee to brew.
“Mexican Coke in a glass bottle is the absolute number one.”
“Fair.”
“Then Freestyle machine Coke. You know, the one that has the touch screens.”
He smirked. “Yes.”
“Fountain Coke. Preferably McDonald’s, followed by Coke in a can. Then comes the problem children.”
He couldn’t keep the full-blown smile from reaching all the way to his eyes. “Problem children?”
“Two liter, then twenty-ounce bottle, and then the dreaded bar Coke.” I shuddered. “Bar Coke is the lowest of lows. Only to be had when all else fails.”
“You are adorable.” He reached forward and booped my nose.
I flushed and looked away with a laugh. “Ask any Coke drinker. They’ll tell you! I didn’t invent the hierarchy. I just enforce it.”
My mom appeared then, decked out in her nicest dress for graduation. I’d carefully avoided being alone with her since we’d gotten here. I’d even waited much longer than normal before leaving the bedroom so that I wouldn’t have to endure her lecture. I wanted to have a good weekend. Julian was definitely making it better, but I couldn’t escape her forever.
“Ready to go, kiddos?” she asked with my dad trailing behind her.
“We are,” I said.
“Just waiting for my coffee.”
“Pour me a cup, too, would you, Julian?” my dad said. He sidled up to Julian and started a conversation about his car.
“Don’t think that I don’t know you’re avoiding me, young lady,” my mom said quietly.
“I’ve been with you the entire time I’ve been here.”
“We’re going to need to talk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered. I’d known it was coming. I didn’t have to look forward to it.
Once the coffee was done and in travel mugs, we headed out of the house. The BNB was walking distance to campus, which was lucky so we didn’t have to hope to find parking. We stopped in front of Bass Concert Hall, where we found Chester and Margaret waiting.
They appeared to be in a heated debate that quickly trailed off when they saw us. She couldn’t even manage a smile for us. In fact, she looked close to tears. I wanted to hug her for putting up with my brother. What was his problem?
“Chester dear,” my mom said, dragging my brother into a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He pulled back. “Here are the tickets for the hall. I’ll see you all after.”
“Good luck, Chess,” I said with a wide smile.
His eyes caught mine, and for a second, I saw that same antagonized irritation that always passed between siblings. But then it vanished, and he just smiled.
“Thanks, sis.”
He disappeared with the rest of the graduates and left us alone with a distraught Margaret.
“You want to show us the way?” I asked before my parents could ask what was wrong. They were so tactless.
“Sure,” she whispered. Then she gave me a half-smile. “Thanks, Jen.”
“Anytime.”
We all packed into the gorgeous Bass Concert Hall, the largest performance venue in Austin.
I sat between Margaret and Julian, followed by my dad and then my mom. We waited in awkward silence for the commencement ceremony to begin. I wanted to ask Margaret what had happened, but it didn’t feel like the moment to broach the subject.
Then my focus was dragged elsewhere as Julian slid his arm across the back of my seat. He wasn’t quite touching my shoulders or holding me, but I still felt wrapped in him. Hyperaware of his body, as I had been last night.
Thank God I’d taken my anxiety medicine this morning. Maybe I should have popped half of a Xanax as well to deal with all of this. But it was too late now, and Julian was almost touching me, claiming me.
I wanted to say it was all fake. That was what we’d agreed to after all. But he didn’t have to do that, and he didn’t have to take care of me, like he had been this whole trip either. I glanced over at him and found him staring down at me. Our eyes met as the lights dimmed. Shadows moving through his dark irises. I couldn’t read him, and I so wanted to know what he was thinking.
“What?” he whispered as the first speaker walked out to a round of applause.
“Nothing.”
Then I faced forward, like a coward.
Commencement ended with fanfare, and we spent the rest of the day taking pictures and doing all the things Chester insisted needed to be done for him to leave Austin. Margaret abandoned us by lunch with the promise to come out for the graduation party tonight.
“What’s going on with them?” Julian asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Doesn’t look good.”
“No. Chester has always been…volatile.”
“I was going to say narcissistic.”
I laughed softly. “Yeah. Being told you’re a genius at a young age really hits you in the ego.”
“I bet.”
“But I’ve never seen him act this way with Margaret.”
“Well, I hope everything works out.”
“Me too,” I said, watching her leave.
“So, about this party,” he said thoughtfully. “What should I wear?”
I chuckled. “Whatever you have is good. We’re just going to an event at a bar downtown.”
“Well, how about this?” he asked, leaning against the table next to me while my parents ordered lunch.
“Hmm?” I was distracted by his nearness, the soft touch of his arm against mine.
“You tell me what you’re wearing.”
“I brought, uh…a sundress. It’s green,” I said helplessly.
“Green.” He nodded. “I can work with th
at.”
I didn’t think anything more of the conversation as my parents brought subs back for us. Not until much later when I came out of the bathroom in my green sundress and found Julian standing in an outfit that perfectly complemented mine. Soft gray slacks, a purple V-neck with a little green logo, and loafers. He looked sharp as hell. I would have liked nothing more than to stay in and take all of those clothes off of him.
“How’s this?” he asked with a smirk. He must have already seen my assessment.
“I like it.”
He nodded, pleased. “Good.”
My mouth was dry as I stared at him. I took a step backward, trying to keep my brain from short-circuiting. Because, holy hell, Julian Wright was so fucking hot. It was practically sinful.
I snatched my purse off of the table, and it rattled with pills. I winced at the sound, hastening out of the room, nearly running right into my dad.
“Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?” he asked with a laugh.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine, pumpkin. Are you ready for the graduation party?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
But I wasn’t sure I was ready. Chester and Margaret were fighting. Julian Wright matched me, as if we’d planned our outfits. My parents were accepting of all of it. Everything felt strangely uncertain. Still, I swallowed down my unease and followed everyone out to my parents’ car.
We drove in circles until we finally snagged a spot in a parking garage not too far from the banquet hall downtown. A group of STEM students passed us into the graduation event. Chester was one of three PhDs graduating along with a dozen master’s students. The entire chemistry department came out to celebrate their achievements.
We loaded up on appetizers and grabbed drinks from the bar before staking out a space away from everyone else. It was a long hour before the party had begun to dwindle. My parents had been speaking to the dean for at least twenty minutes. Chester had disappeared.
“This is lame,” I said. I stood from where we’d turned into wallflowers and brushed off my dress. “Want to head to another bar? I think I’ve been to one or two down the street.”
Julian shrugged. “Sure. Should we say something to your parents?”
My gaze slipped over to them, and I sighed. “Probably.”
Just as I headed over there, Chester reappeared. His cheeks were flushed. “Leaving already?”
“We were going to go get a drink.”
Chester nodded. “I know just the place.”
“You want us to go with you?” I asked dubiously.
“Why not, little sis?” he asked.
Because he’d been avoiding us since we’d gotten here. Something was up with my brother, but I had no idea what it was. I wanted to ask if Margaret was going to meet us since she’d never arrived at the party, as promised, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
It’d be easy to just tell Chester no and walk away. But I couldn’t say no to anyone, let alone a brother who seemed to actually want my attention.
“All right,” I said. I glanced up at Julian.
He shrugged. “Fine by me.”
We said good-bye to our parents and then headed out onto the balmy Austin street. Chester chatted amicably the entire time. I barely heard what he’d said, but thankfully, Julian kept up the conversation easily. This was why I’d brought him anyway, right?
Chester finally stopped in front of a large metal door.
“What’s this?” I asked curiously.
“Our stop,” he said with a wink.
Julian and I exchanged a glance and then both shrugged.
“House party?” I said.
Chester smirked and knocked on the door. A slot opened, and he slipped a small card into it. We waited outside for a few minutes in silence. Then the door creaked open.
“Welcome to the Lounge,” a gravelly voice said.
“Where have you taken us?” I whispered reverently as I looked inside.
Chester grinned. “A secret bar. It used to be a brothel.”
I squeaked.
He just laughed. “Can’t handle it, sis?”
His eyes were a challenge. This wasn’t my scene. Not at all. But I couldn’t back down from that look either. I reached for Julian’s hand for strength and then pulled him across the threshold with me.
12
Jennifer
The former brothel was a cascade of shadows. Reds and grays and blacks decorated the room, shading the black leather booths in darkness and revealing the brown lacquered bar. We passed the booths, only getting eclipsed views of the people within. They could have been as devious or innocuous as possible, but everything felt charged with energy and awareness.
“This is your room,” the attendant said, stopping before a frosted sliding glass door.
He tapped twice, and the door slid open. Inside, there was a floor-level sunken tub and a dozen people that I’d never met. Half of them had dropped down to their unmentionables and were submerged in the bath. The rest were drinking fancy concoctions.
Chester entered first, and everyone cheered at his presence. “I brought my sister and her boyfriend.”
“The more, the merrier,” a guy said, tugging on Chester’s collar and dragging him toward the bar to choose a drink.
“What am I seeing?” I whispered to Julian.
He laughed. “A bar.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“A fancy bar, but that’s all,” he added.
“Do you think they clean this place?”
He snorted and covered his mouth as he walked us around the room to look at the drink menu. “I’m sure it’s been scrubbed clean.”
“I’m glad there aren’t black lights.”
He stopped and turned to face me. “What? Prudish?”
“In public? Yes!”
“This is mostly private,” he offered.
I shook my head and then checked out the drink list. There were amazingly bubbly and elaborate concoctions that I’d never heard of before. Most of the ingredients didn’t even look familiar.
I shrugged. “Just pick one out for me.”
Julian nodded and wrote down our orders, stuffing the slip of paper into a slot that must have taken it back to the bar. Only a matter of minutes later, our drinks were rolled in on a gold trolley by a man in the shortest shorts I’d ever seen and nothing else.
I blinked and tried not to stare. Everything about him was exposed. Though not much more than Chester’s friends lounging in the sunken tub with soaked boxers or thin lace panties and bras, revealing practically everything underneath.
I thankfully took my drink and downed most of it in one long gulp. I needed to be drunker for this.
“Whoa there,” Julian said with a laugh.
“It’s delicious. I’ll take another.”
He shrugged. “Okay, but do you normally drink this much?”
“She doesn’t normally drink. Isn’t that right, sis?” Chester asked, appearing at our sides. His shirt had been removed, and he was surprisingly built with long, lean muscles. The last time I’d seen him, he’d still been the scrawny chess player I had known.
“I drink,” I countered. “Just…not a lot.”
“What do you think of the Lounge?”
“It’s…different.”
Chester snorted. “In the best way.”
“Do you come here a lot?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes. We’re celebrating.”
“Where’s Margaret?”
His face soured at the mention of his girlfriend. “Not here.”
“Are you all right?”
“Peachy,” Chester said with a sigh.
I opened my mouth to ask more, but Julian touched my elbow. I was pushing Chester’s buttons the way he pushed mine. But I should let it go for now. It clearly wasn’t helping anything.
“Is that a number seven?” Chester asked, looking at the yellow drink in my hand.
“Yes,” Julian said.
He held his drink up. “And a number five.”
“Good choices. Try a number twelve,” he said, his smile returning. “It’ll loosen you right up.”
“Chester, get in here!” the same guy who had pulled him into the room called. He was sitting in the tub in nothing at all.
My cheeks heated, and I quickly averted my gaze. I guzzled the rest of my drink. Yep. More alcohol.
I dropped the drink down. “I’ll take a twelve.”
Julian looked at the menu and frowned. “There’s eight shots in that. You’ll die.”
“Oh, wow. Eight?”
“Why don’t we go somewhere else?”
“What? Why?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“You’re not comfortable here. I’m starting to think Chess brought you here, knowing you’d be uncomfortable.”
I met his dark gaze. “You don’t seem uncomfortable.”
Julian smiled, the look he gave me was licentious and inviting. “I can’t say that I mind being here with you, Jen.”
“Oh?” I whispered as the drink I’d finished buzzed around in my brain, slowing my response time.
“Can you honestly say you don’t feel it?”
“Feel what?”
He sighed. “Anything.”
I blinked at him. What was he asking? Whether or not I felt something for him? Wasn’t it the most obvious thing in the world? Could I be any more obvious about my feelings for Julian Wright? I didn’t think anyone in all of Lubbock was unaware that I’d been into him since the day I’d met him. That couldn’t be what he was asking.
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head, disappointment clouding his handsome features. “Nothing. Do you still want the twelve?”
“Share it with me?”
“All right.”
He wrote it down on another slip of paper, and our drinks appeared again. He’d gotten me the twelve, as promised. Another number five sat on the tray for him as well.