3. Briar
3
brIAR
“He’s here from New York City,” Oakley says.
“What’s he do in New York?” Haze asks.
Oakley shrugs. I don’t really expect an answer. Most of our questions like these go unanswered. “I don’t know. There’s a warehouse that houses all of Voss’ motherboards or whatever. Uncle Noaz watches over it.”
“His motherboards?” Honey Bee asks, raising a brow. “This sounds like a sci-fi movie.”
I smirk, bringing a bite of the chili Brek made to my mouth. It’s strangely good, considering I think this is the first time he’s made chili. I’m not sure where he got the recipe, but he should definitely keep it.
Oakley laughs. “I really have no idea. I get weird answers that are all kind of different.”
“You ever get the feeling that they’re not who we think they are?” Brek asks. He’s looking into his chili bowl, moving it around with his spoon. I’m not sure he meant to speak out loud.
“Meaning?” Levis asks.
Brek doesn’t answer for a minute. Eventually, he looks up and shrugs. “I don’t know. I get the feeling there’s a lot of secrets wrapped around them.”
As one, we all look out the window at the big house across the street. No one is outside. There’s a single light on this side of the building shining through an upstairs window. Oakley said that’s his room with Loren, which I wasn’t surprised to learn.
Otherwise, the house is dark. I’m reminded of when we first moved here and there were rumors going around the neighborhood that it was haunted. The memory makes me smile.
“Every family has secrets,” Honey Bee says.
“Mmm,” Brek responds, nodding absently. His family life isn’t the best. No matter what he does, he isn’t good enough where his father is concerned. As far as I know, he’s always been very open about his family, but I would imagine he has family secrets too. Or maybe just secrets his family keeps from him.
“Voss’ work is pretty wild,” Honey Bee says. “Watching him work on a computer is like living in a science fiction movie. It’s filled with symbols and screens that pop up and disappear without his hands moving from the keys. It’s wild.”
Oakley nods. “It is. He can also make phones and tablets do things you never knew they were capable of. I know they’re mini computers, but man, their potential is unbelievable.”
“So all those motherboards are necessary then,” Levis comments.
Honey Bee shrugs. “Possibly. But I feel like all someone needs to do is protect them and keep them cool. Wouldn’t that be something the VD family would just hire out? They really have Noaz tending to them? ”
We look at Oakley for an answer. While most of us hang out with them often enough, Oakley lives there. He grins and says, “I truly don’t know. I’m telling you the bits of information I do know.”
“Okay, fine,” Honey Bee grumbles and leans forward. “I want to hear all about Daddy Jalon’s new girlfriend.”
Oakley laughed. “Her name is Jeannette. She’s a big corporate something or other who travels a lot. I’m imagining a forbidden office romance between them. You know, throwing shade at each other when others are around, but as soon as everyone’s gone, they go at it on the conference room table. An enemies-to-lovers kind of thing. And when they go public, it’s a big corporate scandal that results in some monopoly empire, but they don’t care because they’re so in love.”
We remain silent for several minutes as we stare at Oakley, who grins, putting another spoonful of chili in his mouth.
“You have a lot of time on your hands, don’t you?” Levis teases.
Honey Bee snorts.
“The glamorous life of a househusband,” Oakley comments.
I shake my head. “What part of that was fact?”
“Only that she’s a corporate… something, and I think they met through work. At least, I’m relatively sure someone said that. The brothers are all whispering, while Daddy Jalon’s been silent, except I’m sure he has a secret smile.”
“She’s beautiful,” Honey Bee says. “Not that I’m surprised to find the woman who catches Jalon Van Doren’s eye to be gorgeous.”
“Mmm,” Oakley says, shrugging. “Honestly, I find her a little bland. I’m not sure she likes that they all live together, either. ”
I tilt my head to the side as I imagine this scenario. I’ve seen this woman and I can’t imagine her being bland. She smiles a lot and laughs with them. She doesn’t look upset at all that they’re living together.
“How serious is it?” Honey Bee asks.
Oakley shrugs. “No idea. To my knowledge, this is the first girlfriend he’s had since his divorce. I don’t know if that’s a reflection of the dissolution of his marriage to the woman who gave him six boys or… something else.”
“Huh.”
We’re quiet as we continue to eat. Because it’s so quiet, we all hear Honey Bee’s phone chime. She leans forward to grab it from the table and a smile spreads across her face. “Got to go,” she says, getting to her feet.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Out.”
“With who?” Oakley asks.
Honey Bee rolls her eyes. “It’s just a hookup. No need to get so nosy.”
We watch as she slips into her sandals and pulls her purse from the hook. “Be back later. Don’t wait up.”
With that, she’s out the front door. We watch as she crosses the yard to the driveway, where we lose sight of her. But a minute later, her headlights flash, and she backs out.
We continue to watch.
“I’m betting two minutes,” Brek says.
“Nah. One,” Levis argues .
I don’t know who’s keeping track of the time, but sure enough, the door across the street opens and someone steps outside. It’s dark enough that we can’t make out who it is. Not that it’s necessary, we already know.
Then a car pulls out of the driveway and heads in the same direction that Honey Bee went.
“How long before we call her out?” Oakley asks.
“She can’t possibly think we’re that oblivious,” Levis says. “Like we wouldn’t notice she and Myro sneak out at almost the same time every single night.” He shakes his head and gets to his feet, bringing his bowl to the kitchen.
Not going to lie. I find it rather amusing since her first response to Myro had been irritation. She was definitely not impressed with him.
Once again, I stare out the window at the Van Doren house. Somewhere inside is a beautiful woman who, for some reason, I can’t stop thinking about. A woman who is apparently seeing Jalon. Wonderful.
When several more days go by and I see Jeannette outside constantly, I can’t help but play back Oakley’s assessment of her and how it just doesn’t match the image I see. There’s no way that woman is bland. Also, I know Oakley’s fake behavior; the persona he takes on to be polite. Even from a distance, I know that’s not how he’s interacting with this woman. Something isn’t sitting right.
So as I stare outside while they pile onto the front porch, I set my laptop aside. It’s not like I’m getting much work done as I obsess over this woman from afar. Stepping into my shoes, I pocket my phone and head out the front door .
Most of the Van Dorens are outside. Loren isn’t, but Oakley said he was out dealing with a contract for a couple of days. Voss and Myro also aren’t there, though I don’t know where they are.
In Loren’s absence, Oakley is almost always sitting close to Imry. When inside and on the couch or something, he’s usually between the triplets, with Imry on one side and Avory and Ellory on the other. I have this strange image in my mind that they’re the bull mastiffs in charge of Oakley’s safety when Loren isn’t around.
Strange, since they’re more like… dalmatians. Pretty, intelligent, kind of snarky, and with a bite if need be. Except these dalmatians are identical, which can be disorienting in and of itself.
Jalon’s sitting on another chair with a coffee mug in hand as he listens to one of the triplets talk. For months, I was convinced maybe their voices were slightly different, but I’ve come to the conclusion that even those are identical.
I only know Imry is on one side because the other two are always together.
Jeannette’s back is to me as I climb the steps to the porch. Her long dark hair is around her shoulders. She’s wearing a jean skirt, a tank with a pink cardigan over it, and sneakers. It’s a little contradictory since she doesn’t look corporate right now. I was sure Oakley said you could always tell she was some rich business mogul.
My heart races as I approach. Which is absolutely ridiculous because she’s Jalon’s girlfriend!
Oakley grins at me. “Hey, Briar.”
His greeting has Jeannette turning to face me and she’s just… perfection. Up close, she’s simply stunning. Beautiful contours. Vivid eyes. A small, breathtaking smile .
“Have you met Uncle Noaz yet?” Oakley asks.
His words don’t register for a minute, but then I hear them. Uncle… Noaz…? Another glance around shows that the only person here I don’t know is Jeannette…
Oh, my fuck. I got something very, very wrong.
This woman—maybe woman?—gives me an amused smile. How the hell am I looking at him? Her? What are their pronouns?
“Hello,” Noaz greets in a voice that is all sorts of masculine. She holds her hand out to me and I take it reflexively. “Briar, was it?”
I blink out of my stupor and nod. “Yes. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
“Who?” Oakley asks.
Shaking my head, I answer, “Never mind. Hi. I’m Briar.”
Noaz’s smile spreads and yep, my heart is still stuttering all over the place. Beautiful.
“Briar,” Noaz says. “Nice to meet you. I wondered when you’d be over.”
“Oh?”
“Oakley talks about you often, and I’ve met everyone else. You were being a recluse.”
“Ah. I was…” my voice trails off. I don’t even have an answer. “I have no idea what I was doing. Working, I suppose.”
“You edit, right?”
I nod. “For now.”
“Briar is at a crossroads. Doesn’t know what he wants to do with his career,” Oakley adds .
“Just like you,” Imry says, bumping his shoulder into Oakley’s.
“Yes, but I got married. That seems like an acceptable future.”
I frown at him, but from the way Oakley’s smirking at me, I think that comment was just something to get me going. I don’t care that he’s a househusband or whatever, as long as that’s what he wants to do with his life. I’m not convinced it is. He’s not even convinced it is. I just don’t want him to settle on something that could create unrest and resentment later.
Which might be slightly hypocritical since I’m definitely settling right now while I determine the path I want to take in life. I feel like I just need one thing to go right, and everything else will fall into place.
Instead, I’m hovering in limbo.
“Stop trying to get him worked up,” triplet number two to his immediate left says. “You know he gets frustrated when he thinks you’re throwing your life away to make our brother happy.”
I roll my eyes as triplet three laughs and triplet two gives me a sly smile.
Ignoring them all, I face Noaz again. They’re grinning. “Maybe you’ve been avoiding them.”
Seriously, I need to know what pronouns I’m supposed to be using. My head is all over the place, but my heart continues to race. This isn’t Jeannette, which means this isn’t Jalon’s girlfriend. That means Noaz is… single?
Wait. What am I even saying?
“Possibly,” I answer, unsure what we were even talking about now. I feel internally flustered. “They need to be split up into separate rooms. They’re less pushy that way. ”
Imry cackles. “Good luck, bro. Seriously.”
Avory and Ellory lean against each other and I’m positive I’m receiving a challenge in their eyes.
Anyway…
“Would you like a drink, Briar?” Jalon asks.
“Yes, but I think maybe I need something stronger than you’re offering.”
Oakley and Imry laugh.
Jalon inclines his head. “You know where the bar is. Help yourself.”
I can feel Noaz watching me, their eyes burning into my skin. It takes a lot of effort not to stare because fuck; I want to. I’ve never seen a more beautiful person in my entire life.
I’m not generally a drinker, so I don’t actually grab a drink. Instead, I take a seat, which puts Noaz in my direct line of sight. Let’s not pretend I don’t find myself staring more often than I should. At least when they’re speaking, it’s acceptable. But they don’t speak as often as needed to explain away how I can’t look away.
Noaz Van Doren is just… enthralling.