7
A date with a Cash brother is a magical dream . . .
Until you wake up
On the way to a Japanese restaurant on campus, I kept trying to work Aegan out.
The first trait I detected: controlling.
Seriously, there was no way it was normal.
It had to be pathological because I couldn’t come up with any other explanation.
He loved being in control. First of all, he said we’d all go in his car; he didn’t suggest, he ordered, and he wasn’t up for being challenged, forcing Adrik, who’d driven over in his van, to leave it parked in front of our building.
Then he chose what we ate. When we arrived at the restaurant and took our seats around the elegant U-shaped bar surrounding a griddle where we’d experience a little show cooking, Aegan said, “The usual.” We weren’t given a menu or a choice. Artie didn’t seem bothered, and neither did Adrik.
Speaking of Adrik, what a strange guy he was. He’d spent the whole ride there looking pissed off, with the irritated, half-creased expression of a child forced to go somewhere he didn’t want to.
The whole point of going out was to see if we could somehow bring out the real Aegan.
I didn’t want to see the smiling gentleman with naturally charming dimples and a face made for political posters.
I figured that to achieve my goal, I could act like I was enjoying their company while subtly defying each of their orders.
A controller’s nightmare.
“What’s the usual?” I asked the chef in my most pleasant voice.
“Noodles, salmon, and crab rolls,” Aegan replied, staring at me.
Hell, it sounded so good that I even considered changing my strategy.
But Artie unknowingly came to the rescue.
“I’m allergic to salmon,” she said, sounding fearful.
I expected Aegan to tell the chef not to prepare salmon, so Artie wouldn’t puff up like a balloon, but instead he just watched her, half frowning as if to say, What do you want me to do? He clearly could not give a damn that she was allergic.
Another trait uncovered: Aegan lacked empathy.
“Go for something else,” suggested Adrik with the casualness of someone who solved things without overthinking. I was slightly amazed that he’s actually said that.
“It doesn’t matter, the noodles and crab are fine with me,” she said.
Artie averted her gaze, and I realized how, just hours, ago she’d been panicking over what Adrik would see her wearing. Now she looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up, utterly distressed and dismayed. I figured she’d also picked up on Aegan’s indifference.
I thought that it was good for her to see that he wasn’t the perfect guy everyone claimed he was, but at the same time, I didn’t like how he was treating her.
So, the Jude who knew how to fuck things up started taking over. My favorite.
“Wait, did he say crab?” I blurted out, acting confused. The chef and everyone looked at me. “I think I misheard. I’m like really allergic to crab. It gives me an intense, stomach-churning pain. I’ll go for something else. Can I see the menu?”
The chef leaned to the side, picked up the menu, and handed me it. Aegan was no longer going to control what we ate. Sorry, not sorry.
“Artie, help me choose please,” I asked, smiling, and her little face lit up.
The chef grabbed another menu and handed it to her.
I spent ages making up my mind, deliberately considering every choice.
I didn’t know much about Japanese food, so I just followed the simple rule: pick the dish with the most intriguing name and the wildest price.
Artie chose some noodles with teriyaki chicken, and I went for . . .
“I’ll have the karashi renkon and the tantanmen,” I said proudly and enthusiastically.
“Jude, no,” Aegan said. He spoke softly, but I could tell it was an order. And I was going to challenge him, of course.
“Aegan, I’ll pick my own food. Can you respect that without having a meltdown?” I asked in a firm tone.
I glimpsed some tension in his jaw. He stared back at me as if he was insulting me in his mind.
“I think—” Adrik tried to say, but Aegan cut him off without taking his eyes off me.
“Adrik.” His tone implied he was telling his brother to shut up. “Leave it. If that’s what she wants, it’s what she’ll get.”
I put on a fake smile.
I felt a sense of relief once the chef finished taking our orders and started preparing everything.
The table was quiet for a minute. Adrik slipped into his apathetic state, another one of his defining traits, besides being an asshole.
He was aloof, as if nothing here mattered to him, his thoughts clearly more entertaining than what was going on around him.
I wondered what he had wanted to tell me before, but fuck knows.
His brother had silenced him. Another sign that he wielded all the power.
Aegan broke the silence with a question.
“Where’re you from, Jude . . . ? Just Jude, or do you have a middle name?” He made it sound casual, but I would learn that Aegan didn’t ask questions just for the sake of making conversation. He asked questions to judge the answers.
“It’s a funny story,” I admitted. “I’m from all over the place. And no, I don’t have a middle name.”
“From all over the place? How so?” he asked, interested.
I didn’t mind explaining.
“Well, I traveled all over the place with my parents from a young age because of their religion. They lived in different countries as missionaries, so I’d say I see myself as having different cultures and nationalities.
They moved here when I was ten and we stayed after their church was hit by a massive scandal and ultimately dissolved. ”
Artie was amazed, yet disturbed. “Wow,” she said.
Whereas Aegan didn’t seem the least bit surprised by my story. “It sounds like things were tough, right?” He nodded, half analyzing me. “But here you are years later, at one of the country’s most expensive universities.”
I grinned broadly. “Yeah, here I am.”
What? Did he expect me to explain how I’d paid the Tagus tuition fees? I wasn’t granted a scholarship, that’s for sure. I’d only paid for the first term with savings, but he didn’t need to know that. There were several ways to get into Tagus.
Before he could ask me another question, Aleixandre showed up. He looked really chilled out.
“I’m late because I was playing basketball with some friends and lost track of time,” he explained, taking a seat next to Aegan.
Basketball? And not a drop of sweat on his face?
Wearing jeans and a sweater? And not a hair out of place, his hair slicked back as always?
His cheeks were slightly flushed, suggesting he’d exerted himself at some point, but .
. . was that really what he’d been doing? For some reason, I suspected not.
Aegan threw him a slightly annoyed look, but Aleixandre didn’t notice; he was watching Artie and me with a curious amusement—gentle, not at all mocking like Aegan’s.
“This is Artemis,” Aegan said. “And you already know Jude,” he added, pointing at me.
“Jude, how could I forget.” Aleixandre nodded and appeared to stifle a laugh. I’m not sure what he found funny.
What’s more, the way he pronounced my name sounded weird, making me a little uncomfortable.
“Nice to meet you, Artemis,” he added, and looked at her somewhat strangely.
“I’m a sophomore,” she replied. Her voice sounded kind of discouraged.
Aleixandre narrowed his eyes, studying her like a face like he was trying to place it in his mind.
“Are we in any of the same classes or something?” he asked her.
“No, I don’t think so,” she said, scratching her nose.
“It’s just that I think I’ve seen you before,” he insisted.
“Maybe in the hallways or around campus,” Artie suggested.
Aleixandre tightened his lips, made a clicking sound with his tongue, and shook his head. “No, that’s not it . . .”
“She’s already told you you’ve probably seen her around,” Aegan butted in, trying to put an end to it. “Tell me how the charity event is going.”
Aleixandre immediately started explaining.
It was funny to see that nobody else shared his enthusiasm.
Aegan listened to him wearing a serious face, nodding.
Adrik, well, he didn’t seem to give a shit about anything, giving off a distant and impassive vibe.
He was staring into the void as if he wasn’t there, with us.
Artie also remained strangely lost in thought.
“You should ask Jude for her measurements,” said Aegan, which piqued my curiosity.
“What?” I asked, jumping into the conversation. “Why?”
“Because you’re coming with me to the charity event,” Aegan replied, picking up his glass to drink some water. His movements were undeniably graceful.
At his words, though, I froze. Go with him? I hoped he could read my thoughts on my face, because my mind was screaming, What’s wrong with you, dude?
“It’s in two weeks,” Aleixandre explained. “It won’t be held here on campus because it’s being organized on behalf of our dad at our country house in the town. It’s a big event that’ll be in some magazines, so we’re thinking about having our girlfriends wear something that matches our suits.”
“Like you guys are Hugh Hefner and the girls are your bunnies?” I blurted out, surprised at how ridiculous it sounded.
“Yeah, but more elegant.” Aleixandre nodded, laughing in pleasant surprise.
I looked at him to see if he was joking, but judging by his face, he wasn’t.
Then I looked at Aegan, who had just set the glass back on the table and licked his lips.
Perhaps this is the way things went at elite events.
Maybe the guys and girls made sure their outfits didn’t clash so they’d stand out.
But I didn’t like that he assumed I would go.
“The problem is that I’m not your girlfriend,” I said, unable to hold back.
“You don’t have to be, to be my plus-one,” he assured me calmly.
“The other problem is that maybe I don’t want to go with you,” I shot back.