Brother After Dark

Chapter Forty-Six

Blaire.

I stared at my friends blankly. Then I turned to Damien. “Hey, Dame. Nice to see you again,” I said, stepping forward and giving him a hug.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he asked. “I was wondering if we can finally get an introduction? You didn’t come here with just your big brother,

you? That would be boring!”

“Ummm… yeah. He’s chaperoning me,” I said quickly. “I was going to meet my boyfriend here. Zach agreed to hang around with me until he comes.”

“Zach’s your brother? And you have a boyfriend?” Marie asked.

“And you didn’t tell us?” Jessie asked accusingly.

I smiled at them sheepishly. “I guess. It’s just recent. I didn’t get a chance to tell them yet.”

“Recent?” Damien echoed. “You’ve been rejecting my boy Ricky during our family reunion because of this guy. And that was more than a month ago!”

Oh please! Put a gag on this guy’s mouth!

I shrugged. “Still new to me.” I gave Damien a sharp look.

“Wait. Your brother…” Jessie asked. “As in, the owner of the locket you wore around your neck?”

“Oh yeah. He gave it to her that day his father took him away,” Damien replied.

“Damien.” Zach’s voice was cool, but sharp. Full of warning and authority.

“Oooppps. Sorry.” Damien’s voice was suddenly unsure and weak. “It’s just… it’s exciting to know that my new girlfriend is friends with my cousins. Such a small world, right? Now, we can all hang out!”

“Yeah, speaking of that, you guys go get us some drinks! Shoo!” Marie told Damien.

It took a moment before Damien figured it out. “Okay, sure.” He turned to Kenzo and Zach. “Let’s go get some beer so these girls can talk about us, huh.”

I wanted to stop them. I looked at Zach helplessly. He smiled at me apologetically. Then he gave me a small wave and went off with the guys.

I stared back at Jessie and Marie. They both have their brows raised, demanding answers.

My phone beeped.

Breathe. You got this. And I got you. Always.

I smiled at Zach’s message. Then I turned back to my friends.

“Who texted you?” Jessie asked. “The boyfriend who you forgot to tell us about? Or the brother you forgot to mention is back in your life?”

I sighed. “I’m sorry, guys. It had been a complete mess for a while!”

“Zach? Zach is your brother? I mean… didn’t you sleep together at the Red Fest?”

I shook my head. “No, we didn’t.”

“Thank God!” Jessie said.

“But you two were all over each other! You kissed! Front, back and center of France, might I say!” Marie said.

“Yes, we did!” I said, tears were brimming in my eyes. “Imagine my remorse when he showed up in my living room and my mother told that my brother was finally home.”

“But… you’re not related by blood, are you?”

I shook my head.

“Okay, that’s a relief.”

“Everybody else sees him as my brother. My parents adored him. They worshipped the land he walked on, while they could barely tolerate me. You can see Damien sees us equally, when only I was related to him by blood.”

“Is that why you decided to fight what you have? We knew you were falling fast for each other overnight. Then suddenly, nothing happened.”

I nodded. I hated lying to my friends, but I needed to protect Zach. My father would disown him if anybody found out that his favorite son was corrupting the only daughter he has. It would tear my family apart. My mother would not withstand the shame this would bring the family. Their children would be a hot, sordid topic during luncheons with their peers in country clubs, afternoon teas. They would disown Zach and think of him to be untrustworthy and ungrateful. Zach has a bright future ahead of him. I can’t take that future away from him.

“We can never be. We made a mistake. We didn’t recognize each other. Remember I sported an anime-inspired hairstyle? He looked different now, I couldn’t recognize him. If you didn’t hold my locket hostage, he would have seen it and recognize me instantly. It was…”

“Tragic,” Jessie breathed. She was looking at me apologetically.

“You two looked so smitten that day,” Marie said.

“We were. We already loved each other to begin with,” I said.

“Your brother was your ideal guy, well, before you met Zach. I’m sorry, Blaire. You and Zach would have made a really beautiful couple.”

“But wow. It must have been so hard for you in the beginning.”

“It was hell. But… we’re past that now. It was a struggle for a while. And please… no one needs to know. Damien is my cousin. He can’t know about that night at the concert.”

Both my friends nodded. A tear escaped my eyes. I hated this feeling. I was supposed to be telling them excitedly that Zach and I are a couple. That he is the love of my life and that I have never been happier than I am now.

But I couldn’t risk it. The minute Damien knew, he would tell my family and God, they would condemn Zach. It would be harder for him than for me. They’re my blood, they could never turn away from me. He was older, he was the guy, they would think he should have controlled our situation. They would never believe that he tried to fight it. I was actually the one who made the decision to cross the line.

I could not have Zach lose this family the second time around because of my indiscretion.

“And the boyfriend?” Marie asked. “Zach’s okay with that?”

I shrugged. “He’s here to chaperone me, right?”

“Wow! I don’t know whether to feel proud or sorry for him! That must have taken a lot of courage,” Jessie said.

The boys came back carrying a bucket of beer.

“Come, let’s find a spot to enjoy these babies,” Damien said, putting an arm around Marie.

Jessie smiled at me before taking Kenzo’s arm.

I watched my friends walk away in the arms of their boyfriends. For a second I wished I could do that with my own boyfriend. But how? Everybody knew him as my big brother.

I sighed glumly and turned to Zach. He was watching my expression carefully. I smiled at him.

“I guess heaven can wait after all,” I said.

He nodded slightly. “What did you tell them?”

I shrugged. “That I found out you were my brother and we had to stop what we started at the concert. I told them that Damien can’t know. They felt… sorry for me because they thought the guy I met at the concert would have been perfect for me.”

“Do you feel… sorry for yourself?” His voice was somber, his expression unreadable.

I shook my head instantly. “Why? Apart from the fact that we can’t do some PDA anymore, you’re still mine, Zachary Reed. And my friends were right. You are perfect!”

I tried to make the mood lighter but in a way I do regret the fact that we cannot freely express our feelings for each other. There were a hundred of ways this night could turn out and I could not believe our misfortune of running into my friends and my cousin.

Of all days! This weekend was supposed to be about the two of us. We were supposed to have a little normalcy in our relationship. We wanted to leave reality behind and be… free! Reality followed us here, caging us, entrapping us in its talons, now more than ever.

“You deserve better than this.” I heard the sadness in his voice.

I shook my head. “I deserve you! Nothing less than that,” I said. “And if this is the price to pay for that happiness, then so be it.”

He leaned forward slightly, as if he was going to kiss me and then suddenly he remembered that it was no longer safe to do so.