Elias
Fucking nightclubs.
The bane of my existence.
My brother’s lucky I love him, otherwise I would not be seated in some small-ass booth with my two cousins pressed up against me on either side.
I vowed to myself that when I hit twenty-five I would stop going to nightclubs because I have no place there…
and yet here I am, thirty years young, and surrounded by people a decade younger than me.
Oscar sits at the head of the table and takes a drink of champagne as his dazed eyes look around the table at all of us. My cousin Zac and I share an amused look as my little brother stands from where he’s sat on unsteady legs.
“I just want to thank you all for coming to celebrate my engagement,” Oscar slurs as he holds his glass up. “It only took me seven years, but I finally locked her down.”
Avery, the youngest of us all, rolls her eyes and tugs on the sleeve of his jacket to pull him down. “Sit down, goofball,” she grumbles, but I see the small tilt of her lips as she leans over and places a kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations, Ozzy.”
The three of us listen as Oscar drones on about how beautiful his bride-to-be and mother of his child is, and how he can’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.
It’s nice, really, seeing him all love struck like this.
Oscar and Isobel met when they were nineteen, and he has been smitten ever since—and he always makes sure every fucker knows it, too.
I remember the day he met her.
It was two in the morning, I was picking him up from some college party, and he got into my car with a starry-eyed gaze and a grin stretched from ear-to-ear.
They had been introduced to one another through one of his classmates—and have been joined at the hip ever since, the two of them became even closer when Isobel gave birth to their daughter, Olivia.
Zac lifts his glass from the table and hums approvingly at the leggy blonde who walks past with an overexaggerated swish of her hips.
She knows what she’s doing as she looks over her shoulder and bats her thick and clumpy lashes over her blue eyes.
Zac, the idiot he is, laps up the attention as she winks at him, and he wastes no time downing his drink before rubbing his hands over his jean-clad thighs.
“I’ll be right back,” he says as he stands, his eyes not once leaving his pray as she walks down the hallway toward the bathrooms.
Avery sneers slightly at her brother’s endeavors. “Don’t rush back, pig.”
He looks at her with a cocky grin and reaches around me to pinch her cheeks. “Don’t worry, sis, I’ll be taking my time with that one.” With a parting wink, he takes off in the same direction as the blonde.
Avery takes a look around the bar and lets out a loud and irritated sigh. “Couldn’t we go somewhere a little…” She trails off, her eyes flicking toward her brother who is now ducking behind a partially open door. “Classier?”
Oscar rolls his eyes at our cousin as he refills her flute with the bubbly drink.
“This place is fine, Ave,” I mumble, digging my elbow into her side. “Stop complaining and drink your drink.”
She wraps a dainty hand around the glass and brings it to her ruby-painted lips.
Even though there’s an eight-year age gap between Avery and me, we are the closest out of all the cousins.
Growing up, Oscar and Zac were always the boisterous ones, whereas I was usually happy hanging on the sidelines.
Avery grew up with her brother’s fiery attitude and zest for life, but amidst the madness, she often enjoyed quieter moments.
On family vacations, while the boys were splashing around in the pools, Avery and I usually sat together on a sun lounger or at a table playing card games together.
“I’m going to get something else to drink,” Avery says, and I watch as she slides out of the booth and heads past the dance floor toward the bar.
My eyes hone in on the woman standing in the middle of the dance floor. I watch as she wraps her arms around her slender friend and pulls her into her body. The two of them are laughing at something, but I can’t keep my eyes off her.
Her body looks fine-as-fuck in the dark dress that hugs her curves fiercely, the material clinging so tightly it looks like a second skin.
I allow my eyes to wander down until they land on her ass, and the sight alone has my mouth drier than the Sahara Desert.
Thick, plump, and perfectly round, her ass leaves little to the imagination, and the thought of palming both cheeks in my hands has me clearing my throat.
It takes an ungodly amount of effort to steer my face away from the lower half of her body, but when I do, my eyes drift over her petite waist and wide hips. Her tits are being restrained by the high neckline but I can tell from here they’re the perfect size. Not too big, but still a handful.
And that face.
Absolutely breathtaking.
Large light eyes that shine under the light bouncing off the disco ball above her head. Her nose is slightly upturned but lifts higher when she smiles, and good god, if that isn’t a sight that would send a grown man straight to his knees.
Her light, most likely blonde, hair falls in soft waves around her face and over her slender shoulders and lands halfway down her back.
It looks as soft as silk, and I can almost feel it’s satiny texture slipping through my fingers or wound tightly around my fist. I clench my jaw at the thought of the latter.
As her eyes meet my own, Avery steps in front of me, and I let out a groan that has my brother chuckling under his breath.
“Stop being creepy,” she chastises as she sits down. “She’s way out of your league.”
I roll my eyes and look back out to the dance floor to find that the mystery woman has now gone. “I wasn’t being creepy,” I grumble, looking around the room for any sign of her.
Oscar clears his throat from where he sits, looking down at his phone with a frown. “Isobel can’t get Olivia to settle. I’m going to have to go home.”
Just as he starts to stand, Avery’s hand shoots out and pulls at him back to sitting. “You’re wasted,” she says, “Isobel doesn’t need to look after two babies tonight.”
My brother glares at her and pulls his arm back, nearly smacking himself in the face in the process. “I’m fine. I’ll just call an Uber.”
Avery looks over at me, her green eyes wide with exasperation. “Will you tell your brother to stop being a loser and that he’s not allowed to leave.”
Oh, here we go.
“No. Elias, will you tell your cousin that I’m a grown man who doesn’t need some bratty teenager telling me what to do.”
Avery whips her head around to face him, her dark auburn hair brushing over my shoulder. “I’m twenty-two, dumbass.”
“I’m twenty-two, dumbass,” he mocks. “Start acting like it then.”
In my peripheral, I see her hand clench against her thigh.
“Avery, breathe, girl.” She glares at me.
“Oscar, she’s right. You’re far too drunk to go home right now, and you’re only going to make Isobel’s life harder.
You’re going to come back to my place and sleep it off and I’ll take you home in the morning. ”
He huffs. “I don’t want to stay at your place, I want—”
“That’s your only option, bud,” I tell him as I stand.
After a few minute of sulking, he begrudgingly gets up from the seat and stands beside me.
We’re close in height, but I have a few inches on him, which pisses him off more than it should.
I get my six-foot-one frame from my mom’s brother, whereas Oscar gets his barely hits six-foot height from our father.
“Just know I’m pissed at you for not letting me go home,” Oscar tells me once he regains his balance. “But thank you for being a responsible asshole.”
“Did you need a ride home, Ave?” I ask.
She loops her arm through her purse and nods. “Please.”
Zac is still nowhere to be seen, and I imagine it’ll be a while before he makes an appearance. “Make sure you tell Zac you’ve left so he doesn’t worry,” I tell her.
Avery nods, her fingers typing rapidly against her phone screen. “All done.”
Oscar grabs my arm and pulls me toward the exit. “C’mon, old man. The faster we get back to your place and sleeping, the sooner I get to see my girls.”
By the time we get back to my apartment, it’s one in the morning. Avery decided to come with us for a bit to make sure Oscar was okay, and once he was asleep, I drove her back to her apartment in the West End. According to her, Zac was spending the night in Yaletown with his new friend.
I know it’s early from the way the birds are chirping softly outside my bedroom window, but I leave my eyes closed to allow myself a few more moments of peace before my brother comes in and demands to be taken home.
He’s been moving around in the living room for the last twenty minutes or so, and I know he’s probably giving me a chance to get more sleep, but from his fast-paced movements, I can tell he’s eager to get home.
Just as I figured, my door opens less than a minute later, and he’s gently shaking my shoulder. I peel my eyes open to see him hovering over me. A tired sigh passes through my lips as he looks at me sheepishly, his dark brown hair sticking up in different angles.
“Morning,” I mumble groggily. “How’d you sleep?”
He shrugs and watches as I hoist myself out of bed and over to my dresser.
“As good as you can on a couch,” he comments. “You need to get a new one, the springs were digging in my back all night.”
I scoff as I pull out a T-shirt from the top draw. “Maybe I’ll just let you sleep on that nice little bench across the street. You might have to share it with it’s usual resident, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”
Oscar rolls his eyes and nudges his shoulder with my own. “I’m only joking.”
I make a quick effort to get dressed and usher him out of my room.
He sits on the couch as I slip my feet into a pair of Converse and my arms into the brown sweatshirt I left hanging on the coat rack.
He’s already got his shoes on and is raring to go as his knees bounce up and down, watching as I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and my car keys from the console table in the hall.
Having an interior designer as a cousin definitely has its perks.
When I moved in, Avery was more than happy to help me decorate the moderately-sized apartment.
The hallway walls are painted a cream colour that contrast nicely against the black door and dark wood flooring.
The furniture is mostly industrial with some greenery and the odd trinket here and there on top.
Avery insisted I get a floor-length mirror to put at the end of the hall, and as much as I wanted to hate how it looks, I couldn’t lie and say I don’t love how it pulls the space together.
“C’mon, Grandpa, let’s go,” I call to my brother as I unlock the front door. I wait as he jogs through the door before I follow.
It doesn’t take long to get to his place in North Briarwood, and every time I pull up in front of his house, I grumble under my breath at how lucky the son of a bitch is to be able afford a place like this.
Mind you, he’s worked his ass off in order to afford this home.
His drive and incredible work ethic have allowed him to be the great success he is.
Starting his own tech company when he was eighteen put him miles ahead of everyone, and his company has only expanded over the years.
Working long hours and having a lot of sleepless nights sure as hell have paid off in making sure his family is well looked after.
I’ve worked as my brother’s accountant since he started and now, as his CFO, I plan on being by his side for the foreseeable future. I work in his office in Downtown Vancouver three times a week and the other two at home.
Before I can stop in his driveway, the front door swings open to reveal a heavily pregnant Isobel, who looks tired as she bounces an excited Olivia on her hip.
Oscar is out of the car and bounding up the stairs toward his girls before I can even put the car in park, and I watch as he wraps them both in his arms and hugs them close to his chest.
As I get out of the car, I hear Olivia’s giggles as her dad peppers sloppy kisses over her face.
I remember the day he came home and told us Isobel was pregnant.
Mom had been disappointed at first that her twenty-two-year-old was about to become a parent, but that disappointment soon turned into pride as she watched her son transform into an amazing father.
Isobel looks over her fiancé’s shoulder and waves. “Morning, Eli.” I take the steps two at a time and kiss her cheek before kissing the top of my niece’s forehead. “Thanks for bringing this one home.”
I reach forward and take Olivia from her arms as Oscar pulls Isobel into his arms and kisses her softly. “Hey, pretty lady,” I say to Olivia as she grips my T-shirt in her small, yet strong hands.
Olivia is my brother’s mini-me, with the same dark brown hair and hazel eyes, but she gets her cheeky grin and pale skin from Isobel.
“Care for a coffee?” Isobel asks as she steps into their house.
“You know me too well.”