Chapter 19 #2
“Yes.” Jer shoved Julian. “Eighteen years of sharing space with him. Literally every second of my existence.”
Julian laughed. “You wouldn’t know what to do without me.”
“So, the plan, if I remember correctly…” Phoenix rubbed his eyes. “Is Jules gets Alatheia all day, right? Afterward, we have dinner with the parents and Granny. Then Jeremy gets her all night. Right?”
Jeremy nodded. “That’s the plan.”
Phoenix rose and stretched. “Happy Birthday, brothers-of-mine. I will see you at dinner, then. I’m going skating.”
“Thanks,” Julian said then grinned at him. “Be safe.”
“Nah. Where is the fun in that?” He squeezed my arm on his way out the door.
Barrett groaned. “I actually have to go to the library. so I’m going to be gone most of the day, too. I let the parents know we’re having dessert here, so I’ll clean up before you all arrive.”
I gawked at him. My cake? They are all going to eat my cake.
I didn’t mind baking for us, since failures could be laughed off.
It was a different story if we were feeding their whole family.
“Guys, we need to supplement the cake. I don’t think it’s very good.
I mean, I tried, I really did, but I can’t feed your mother that cake.
Barrett, could you bring home a pie or something?
Do they sell tiramisu at the grocery store? Can we order one?”
He laughed. “She’ll eat the cake. It’ll be wonderful, don’t stress. See you at dinner.”
Julian rolled out of bed then walked over to me. “Movies in my room. That way, if Barrett needs his room, he won’t interrupt.”
At least one of us planned ahead. I wouldn’t have thought to worry about Barrett, but he remembered.
Jeremy kissed my cheek. “You hardly moved last night, the best snuggle ever. I’ll see you at dinner.
Don’t forget, I get you all night, so try to take a nap today in the midst of your movies.
I intend to keep you out all night.” He paused, seeming to notice my expression.
“You know I’m just kidding, right? I know you would hate that… but I scared you for a second, right?”
I laughed, because my social anxiety would’ve hated every moment of it. I followed him to his bedroom, where he ducked into the bathroom quickly. When he came back out, he wore pajama pants from the night before and I licked my lips at his body.
Julian climbed in next to me, and I tried to keep my hands to myself. “Are you hungry?”
“It’s your birthday. Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What do you want?” I ran my hand through his soft air as he rested his head in my lap and wrapped his arms around my waist.
He lifted his blue-eyed gaze to meet my own. “I want food delivery,” he admitted. He rolled to a sitting position and started scrolling on his phone. “Let’s eat in bed together. Pancakes?”
Pancakes in bed? “Maybe we could eat on the floor? It could get…sticky.”
“That’s probably a good call. Okay, let’s order.”
Julian actually wanted to spend the whole day watching movies in his bed. We ate pancakes on the floor and then cuddled up in bed watching his choice of movies. He liked plays made into movies, which wasn’t surprising considering his life goals.
I needed to get to work on Poor Relation.
I had left her and her potential love interest in a bit of a precarious situation.
..and therefore the readers hung on the cliffhanger, too.
They might or might not get caught making out on the train on their way back to the city, which would be a problem for him.
He wasn’t meant for her, since his aunt wanted him to date and marry a girl with status.
Being with him would pull her out of Poor Relation status.
The guys hated the plot altogether. No matter how much I told him that the character wasn’t any more them than Gretchen was me, they refused to believe they didn’t play a role in my writing.
By contrast, I never felt better in terms of our relationship. I wished we had more time for more movies normally, honestly. So far we’d watched A Streetcar Named Desire, Amadeus, and Fences.
He kissed my neck, bringing my senses to life and making my bones melt. “This was my dream,” he said against my skin. Barrett came and left the apartment a while ago, and I could see sunlight waning out the window. Phoenix hadn’t returned yet, and I didn’t know where Jeremy went for the day.
“Watching movies with me…” I said as I lifted my eyes to his. “Seems more like I am the one who got the present.”
“Not true,” he replied, shaking his head. “Can we do this every year? For my birthday, unless I have to work and can’t come home that day. In those cases, we can just do it on a Saturday. Or a Sunday. So can we?”
I grinned at him, stroking my fingers through his hair again. “Yes.”
“Awesome. Even more awesome because you just said yes instead of telling me unless I get sent away.”
I swallowed and looked away, but I told myself I wasn’t getting too relaxed, and nothing would bite me in the ass at any second.
Other than the PI, my family hadn’t bothered me in quite some time.
I still didn’t know what my aunt had meant by handled.
But later Kit planned to share what he found in the folder, which should give me a lot of answers.
Still, it was hard for me to imagine them wanting to send me away.
For the first time ever I had good grades and didn’t get in any trouble.
Even the day I stormed out of the classroom didn’t cause so much as a ripple.
Then again, Collins seemed downright subdued the next day and every day since.
Her class practically became a study hall.
If my family kept a tail on me 24/7, they would know I had made friends, but none of them were particularly nefarious. I even played a sport.
I spent no money and didn’t even live in their apartment.
So why bother to send me away? It seemed like less trouble overall for them to continue to ignore my presence altogether.
Or so I could hope.
I showered then met Julian in the hallway.
No other brothers lingered in the apartment since they all said they would meet us for dinner.
The twins didn’t pick a fancy place, so likely wouldn’t come home to change first. Still, I slipped into a black skirt that clung to my rear a little bit more than I liked and a white tank top—an outfit I noticed they all seemed to really like on me.
“It’s getting a little chilly at night.” Julian said from where he leaned against his doorframe. “Grab a sweater.”
I nodded. Good call. I should remember summer had ended so things could get chilly at dusk. I put in my sapphire earrings then slipped my pearls around my neck before I grabbed a white sweater. When Dina bought me clothes, she really thought about almost everything.
I wanted to pay it forward, so to speak.
If I got the chance later in life, I wanted to help someone like she helped me.
I didn’t put on the sweater but stared at myself in the mirror for a few long moments, considering my profile and how much I had changed with age.
My appearance overall would do, but I doubted I’d ever see the day where I stopped worrying about what their parents thought of me.
I sighed. Okay. I shouldn’t say never. Nothing in my life had ever made sense, and I couldn’t have predicted any of it, no matter how perfect it felt.
Julian moved behind me, wrapping his arms around me as he dropped a kiss on my temple. He was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, and his blue eyes met my own in the mirror.
“You look really good,” I whispered to him, because he looked hot, like some actor or something.
He kissed my shoulder, and his gaze seemed hungry. “You look better.”
I blurted my curiosity. “Does it feel different to be eighteen? Like, is there suddenly a sense you’re an adult?”
He laughed. “No, not at all. I think I felt different when I turned seventeen? There was a sense of, okay, Barrett is going to be graduating soon. We knew soon we would need to step up and be grownups, but I don’t know. The answer is no, I don’t feel different, anyway.”
I smiled at him. “Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. I love you.” He took my hand to lead me from the apartment.
“Do you miss sleeping in your room?” I asked, honestly curious. We headed toward the elevator together.
He shook his head. “I never think about it, and I mean never. It’s just a place to store my things.
We do really need another bedroom, so you could have your own space, too.
That way, you could kick us out if you wanted space.
And it would give all of us more one- on-one time with you, since that’s how my parents do it. ”
I really never thought about it. “I would miss us all being together. I sleep so well knowing you’re all nearby.”
“Me too. It does feel like it’s supposed to be.” He paused. “But there will come a time we will all want some alone time at night.”
I didn’t misunderstand him. “Right.”
“Given that we are unlikely to move to different apartments for a very long time, you’ll be stuck sharing Barrett’s closet. Actually, you can spread out your clothes, if you want. You’re welcome to some of my closet.”
I shook my head, thinking it would get confusing. I struggled to remember where I put things already, so leaving them all over the house would make it worse. Still, Barrett might prefer it. “Let me ask your brother if he wants some more space.”
“He won’t.” Jules laughed. “Just if you want to.”
We said hello to the doormen. They treated me like a resident lately. I didn’t even notice it anymore, which in and of itself was bizarre but good.
I put my head on Julian’s shoulder, and he sighed. “Thank you for today.”
“No need to ever thank me for anything.” I kissed his hand.
Ten minutes later, we made it to the restaurant, a cozy place with soft, golden lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
Red walls featured gold tapestries adorned with dragons and phoenixes.
The red was different from Dina’s apartment, brighter.
Each table was set with porcelain plates and bowls, and the scent of stir-fried vegetables and meat immediately made my stomach growl.
Julian squeezed my fingers. “We’ll have a table in the back. It’s always the same one. Nothing changes here, which I love. We used to come once a week with Granny when we were little, then it became our birthday spot. She still comes a lot with her friends.”
He led me toward the back, where a large table waited for us.
We were last to arrive, so I glanced at my phone to make sure we weren’t late only to see we were right on time.
Everyone stood to greet us. Julian hugged Jeremy, saying something I couldn’t hear.
Jer grinned at him and patted him on the back.
There was a seat empty next to Dina, so I took it. Jeremy sat on my other side and kissed my cheek. “Have a good day?”
“It was fun,” I admitted with a grin. “I’d never seen any of the movies we watched before, and they were all just amazing.”
“Yeah. . .you made Jules’ day.” He grinned. “He can’t get any of us to watch that many of his favorite movies in one sitting.”
I shook my head. “I guess the question now is…what are we doing tonight?”
“You’ll see.” He winked at me, so I focused on dinner and let him surprise me.
Conversation flowed easily, and even Phoenix seemed alert. He hadn’t hurt himself skating, which was great since a few times he came back with bad road rash. They teased each other and talked, but I did notice they engaged more with their granny than their parents.
Rosalind leaned forward at one point to admit, “This is great. I really can’t remember the last time none of them got unhappy and stormed away from the table.”
Barrett shook his head. “Still early. Anything can happen.”
She rolled her eyes but laughed. “No, seriously, I was hoping, Alatheia, you might be available for lunch next weekend.”
Everyone went eerily silent, waiting for my answer as if it mattered, but Phoenix turned to her before I could summon my voice.
“Is this a good lunch or a bad lunch? I don’t want her to have lunch with you if you’re just going to complain or say mean things.”
Rosalind held up her hands, her smile genuine. “A good lunch. I owe your girlfriend a lot of apologies. I was certainly not at my best this summer, so I would really like to properly apologize and get to know her.”
“I would like that,” I lied. I really wouldn’t, but that seemed like the right answer. She scared me more than a little, but I wouldn’t get over it if I didn’t try.
The conversation perked back up, as if the glitch never happened, and I looked at Dina. “Can I ask you a question?”
I noticed her skin seemed a little off, paler than normal, but not so much that I wanted to mention it in front of everyone. Still, I wondered if she wasn’t sleeping. “Absolutely. Always. You look so pretty tonight.”
“Thank you. I was wondering…since you came from somewhere else, too, you weren’t raised in the Life. Is it possible you have advice about how to handle something? A situation?”
She nodded. “I honestly would be more shocked if you didn’t have a million questions. Go ahead. What got you wondering?”
I sighed. “How do you handle it when they argue?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Specifically? Like about what?”
“About me. About how to divide the time evenly, and make sure everyone’s needs are met, but there is only one me. It doesn’t come up a lot, because mostly it all evens out. But sometimes…I don’t know what to do.”
Dina lifted one shoulder, her expression distant.
“Nothing. Do nothing. When it comes to balance, they were brothers before they were yours. Their rivalry practically started in the womb. They compete, but they will adjust over time. If one of them gets really upset, you’ll know they need you. Leave it unless it explodes.”
I nodded. Her practical advice actually made sense to me. Watching them together, it was easy to see. They were always brothers, and they always would be. I found their connection beautiful.