Twenty-Three
Devon
I bound out of bed in a panic when I hear Wes calling from downstairs. Bollocks! How could I have forgotten about brunch with Kira today? I hastily tug on a pair of jeans and a knitted jumper and then scoop Wes’s joggers up from the floor before bounding down the stairs.
I stop dead when I catch sight of the scene playing out in the kitchen—Kira with her head turned determinedly away, and Wes standing there awkwardly with a fruit bowl covering his cock.
I hand Wes his jogging bottoms and he hurries out of sight to tug them on.
“Kira. What—I mean, how—how did you get in here?”
Kira lets out a huff of annoyance and hits me with a hard glare. “I have a key, remember? What I’d like to know is what West Holt is doing here. In your kitchen. Naked .”
“Getting snacks,” Wes says, returning to the kitchen.
“I didn’t mean—” Kira just shakes her head in frustration and glares at me. “You know what I meant.”
My brows shoot up and I exchange an amused look with Wes before turning my attention back to my sister. “Um…that’s kind of a long story.”
Kira shrugs. “Fine. You can tell me over breakfast.” She casts an assessing glance at Wes. “You too. Get dressed, you’re coming with us.”
“Uhh…that’s not really—”
My words stop short at Kira’s arctic look, and I gesture for Wes to go along with it. He shrugs and disappears back upstairs, presumably to throw on some clothes.
“Wes Holt?” Kira hisses at me once Wes is out of earshot. “ Really?”
I fix her with a hard glare of her own. “Drop it, Kira.”
Her face forms into a concerned frown as she studies me. “You don’t like… fancy him, do you?”
I sigh, glancing behind me to make sure Wes is still upstairs. “I don’t know, okay?” I admit. “I don’t know what this is. But I’d really appreciate it if the judgey comments could be kept to a minimum.”
She holds her hands up in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay. I’ll be good. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
I let Kira choose the bunch spot and she takes us to one of her favourite cafes, a few streets away from my place.
“This is nice,” Wes says as he rounds the table the waitress has just shown us to and slides onto the padded bench, with me following after. “How come you’ve never brought me here before?”
“Because we’ve never gone out in public together before,” I say dryly, reaching for the water bottle that’s resting on the table and filling my glass.
Kira arches a brow as she sits on one of the chairs across from us, but says nothing, simply reaching for one of the menus. I know the interrogation will be coming, though, and I really wish we weren’t in such a public place.
I grab a menu for myself and stare at it like it holds the secrets to universe. If I can stay completely engrossed in this for a while, it will hopefully delay Kira’s barrage of questions.
Far too soon, however, the waitress from earlier re-appears at our table to take our order.
“I’ll have the choc chip pancakes, with chocolate sauce, and a chocolate milkshake,” Wes tells her, throwing in one of those dazzling smiles that are liable to blind someone.
My brows shoot up at his ridiculous order. “Would you like a side of diabetes with that?”
He smirks at me. “If you’re that concerned about my health, I guess you’re just going to have to help me work off the calories later.”
Kira lets out a groan of annoyance, which draws the waitress’s attention. I don’t catch what she orders because my mind is focused on Wes’s hand, which is currently making its way slowly up my thigh, toward my…
“And for you?”
I practically jump out of my seat when I realise the waitress is addressing me. Wes, the bastard, chuckles and moves his hand away. I, meanwhile, take a second to gather myself before placing my order.
“Um, yeah. I’ll have the winter berry muesli, an earl grey, and an orange juice.”
Wes groans. “Are you kidding me? You could have that exact thing at home.”
I shrug. “It’s what I like.”
“God, you’re boring,” he says with a dramatic eye roll.
The waitress lets out a soft chuckle, smiling indulgently at Wes and me, as though we’re the cutest thing she’s ever seen. I shift uncomfortably under her gaze, distracting myself by taking a sip of my water.
“I’ll be back soon with your drinks,” she says, taking our menus and heading off to the kitchen.
I startle as Wes’s hand lands on my thigh again, but he doesn’t slide it up my leg this time, simply resting it there as if that’s the most normal thing in the world.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I tug it out, surprised when I see it’s a text from Wes.
A quick glance under the table shows me he has his phone in his other hand.
Wes Holt: Jeez you’re jumpy!
Me: What do you expect? You’re groping me in front of my sister!
Wes Holt: This isn’t groping. I can show you groping ??
Me: DO NOT show me groping!
He lets out a rumbling chuckle that draws Kira’s attention. She sets her own phone down and leans forward, her arms resting on the table as she pins us with a scrutinising look. “Okay, I want to know how this happened. When it happened. What exactly is going on…”
“How thorough do you want us to be?” Wes asks. “I mean, do you want to know where? How many times? What posit— oomph,” he breaks off with a groan as I elbow him in the side.
“Sorry.” I offer Kira an apologetic wince. “He’s not exactly trained for polite society.”
Wes shrugs. “Hey, I’m trained. Private school alumnus, remember? I just prefer to be my natural, uncouth self,” he says with a wink in my direction.
I groan, shaking my head in exasperation. I’m never going to live that word choice down.
Kira just stares as though she’s watching two snails mating. “Right. I’m still struggling to see how this could have happened.”
I shrug. “So am I, to be honest.”
Wes nods in agreement, which only seems to aggravate Kira further.
“Oh, thank god,” she mutters as our drinks arrive, diving on her cappuccino as though it’s a life raft.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demand as Wes reaches over to take a long sip from my orange juice.
He shrugs. “I was thirsty.”
“You have a giant cup of liquid sugar right in front of you,” I point out.
“I was thirsty for orange juice.”
I roll my eyes. “So, order an orange juice.”
“It doesn’t taste the same.”
I let out an exasperated huff and take what’s left of my drink back from him.
“What are you, five?” I take a generous sip of my drink before glancing back up at Wes to find him fixing his puppy dog eyes on me.
Yeah, nice try. Those eyes might be enough to get his way in bed, but not when it comes to orange juice.
“Drink your own bloody drink, arsehole. You’re not getting any more of my juice. ”
“Wow, did I tell you how sweet you guys are together?” Kira deadpans.
Wes flashes her his megawatt smile. “Thanks, we really are, aren’t we?”
I just roll my eyes and set my juice down—out of Wes’s reach—so I can make up my tea.
“So, Kira,” Wes says as he sips on his milkshake, “what’s new in the world of floristry?”
Kira’s eyes narrow. “Are you seriously asking me about my job right now?”
Wes shrugs. “Isn’t that what people normally do when they go out for brunch? Catch up on each other’s lives?”
She considers him for a long moment before responding. “Okay then, seeing as how we’re catching up. I’d like to know what you’re doing with my brother.”
“Having a ton of really hot sex,” Wes says without missing a beat.
“Is that all it is?” Kira presses. Her tone is neutral, but I can tell by the white knuckled grip she has on her mug that it’s costing her to ask these questions about my sex life.
Wes gives my thigh a gentle squeeze before responding. “That’s kind of between Devon and me, don’t you think?”
It’s strange how relieved I feel right now to hear him evade the question rather than answer in the affirmative. I have no idea when it happened, but that question’s been getting more and more difficult to answer recently, and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one struggling with it.
I rest my own hand on top of Wes’s, sliding my fingers between his.
He gently shifts his hand so his is palm up underneath mine before linking our fingers again.
It’s such a simple gesture, but at the same time it feels monumental; like the first time we cuddled.
Holding hands is just something we’re going to do from now on, I can tell.