Brother After Dark

Chapter Forty-Seven

We attended the concert with our friends, keeping at least two feet distance between us. My arms ached to hug him, my lips couldn’t wait to kiss him.

“I thought your boyfriend is joining us, Blaire,” Damien reminded us of when we all grabbed dinner at the food stands.

“He’s ah…” I trailed off, not really knowing what to say. If only I know what my imaginary boyfriend was up to!

“He’s stuck in a blizzard. Plane got cancelled,” Zach supplied for me.

“What? Blizzard? Where the hell did he come from?” Kenzo asked with a wide-eyed expression. Something told me he didn’t believe there was a boyfriend all along. After all, he knew Zach well.

Zach raised an annoyed brow at him before replying curtly, “Alaska!”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Kenzo said with a slight smirk.

Yep! He knows.

“Oh, that means you’re gonna be alone in your hotel room! We’ll room with you!” Marie said.

“Babe, three’s a crowd, really,” Damien said with a frown. He knew he was not getting some tonight.

“No. I haven’t seen Blaire in ages. Maybe you guys can camp out in Zach’s room. And Jessie and I will sleep in Blaire’s.”

“Ah…” I trailed off.

Shit! This is getting out of control!

“I think that’s a good idea!” Kenzo piped in. “I think me, and Zach have a lot to talk about anyway.”

He squeezed Zach’s shoulder. I bet that meant something to both of them.

“Yeah, whatever,” Zach murmured. “Let’s go back to the concert. I’m tired. Let’s get this over with.”

He walked ahead of all of us.

“Honey, I don’t think Zach’s okay with all this,” I heard Jessie whisper to Kenzo.

“He’s a big boy now. He doesn’t have to be okay with it to deal with it,” Kenzo said coolly. He gave me a side glance.

I nodded slightly and then looked away.

He knew about us, and I’d bet he was itching to give Zach a piece of his mind.

From there, it was so hard for me to enjoy the rest of the concert and my friends noticed.

“Honey, are you all right?” Jessie asked me on the way to the hotel.

I nodded. “Yeah, just tired.”

“Or maybe you’re disappointed your boyfriend didn’t show up,” Damien said.

I frowned at him. He sounded too enthusiastic that my so-called boyfriend was a no-show.

“Yeah, I am sad I couldn’t actually be with my boyfriend. You must be bad luck, huh.” I was only half-kidding when I told Damien that.

“Forget the douche if he can’t be with you in this. A pretty girl like you, cuz, shouldn’t be left unprotected. There are plenty of wolves around who would jump at the chance to covet you for themselves. You deserve a guy who can walk beside you all the time, protect you, treat you like a crystal ball,” Damien said.

I was about to tell him to fuck off when I heard Zach speak behind me, “Well, she also has her big brother to do all that!” His voice was thick with emotions. I could tell what Damien said got to him.

“Yeah, but you can’t keep her warm when she’s cold, can you? And I don’t just mean giving her your jacket, smarty pants. You will always just be her big brother. Blaire deserves a prince charming who will always be there to make her feel like a princess.”

“Wow, you are dreamy,” Marie said sarcastically.

“Dude, you sound like you want to be that prince charming!” Kenzo said in an irritated tone.

“Eww! No. Incest is something our family would never tolerate!” Damien frowned. “I just happen to know some guys who can and will treat my darling cousin a lot better than the way her boyfriend is treating her now.”

“Oh, are your friends cute?” Marie asked, smiling now.

“Of course!” Damien said. “If Blaire hooks up with one of them, we can double-date all the time, or whenever you’re in the States, babe.”

Marie turned to me. “My boyfriend does have a point, B. If your boyfriend couldn’t make an appearance and be with you, you deserve better.”

“Only I can say what deserve! And right now, I deserve friends who will support me when I say my boyfriend makes me happier than any other person in the world!” I said that with a snap. Then I glared at Damien, who backed down and held his hands in front of him.

I walked toward the gates, leaving them to trail behind me. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I was so pissed at Damien. How dare he say those things about my boyfriend? He had no idea that the person we were talking about could actually hear him, but he was hopeless to defend himself!

When we got to the hotel, I found that Zach has already booked a second room. He must have done it earlier when Marie suggested to all stay in the same hotel.

“We’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast!” Marie said, kissing Damien on the lips.

“Seriously, babe, I thought we were going to stay together tonight,” Damien said, his voice disappointed.

“That was before I saw B!” Marie said. “Come on, we have tomorrow night still. Jessie and I only get Bee tonight.”

I was quietly listening to them argue about sleeping arrangements. I dared look up and found Zach staring at me like he was trying to memorize my face. I knew what he was thinking and how he was feeling. I felt exactly the same. This night was supposed to be a night of freedom for both of us.

“How about you, baby. You don’t mind, right?” Jessie asked Kenzo, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Well, I don’t like it. But you know, I’d do anything you ask,” Kenzo said, leaning forward and giving Jessie a thorough kiss on the lips.

I looked over at Damien and Marie who were already making out.

I looked back at Zach again. Our friends were oblivious of us already. They were all busy making out. I wanted to reach out to my own boyfriend to give him a kiss or a hug, but we could not risk it.

“Sorry,” I mouthed silently.

He gave me a slight smile. His face was dark, like he was trying his best not to scream or punch the walls. I wanted to cry as I watched him. I wanted to reach out and lose myself in his arms, but I couldn’t! Having a relationship that borders on the taboo can be this heartbreaking. Even if you swore not to break each other’s hearts, your family, friends or your situation would readily do that to you.

Tears threatened to slip from my eyes and Zach saw this. He shook his head slightly, warning me to keep it together.

I turned away from my friends and from him.

“Okay, I think that’s enough!” Zach said in a low serious tone. “If you planned to do that all night, get your own room. Some of us are tired and have an early start tomorrow.”

“I thought you guys are leaving in the afternoon,” Marie said.

“My father’s secretary just texted me. Dad wants me back early to look into their enterprise programs.”

I knew it was a lie, but I was thankful he said that. As much as I missed my friends, I wanted Zach’s arms around me even more. And we could do just that in our shed.

“So, Bee is going to come with you?” Jessie asked. She turned to me. “Can’t you extend for a couple of hours?”

“No.” Zach’s voice was firm. “I took her here, she’s coming back with me.”

I nodded. “He’s right. Dad will kill him if he didn’t come back with me. He was sent as my chaperone, remember?”

My friends stared at each other for a moment and then said goodnight to their boyfriends without further arguments.

“Geez, when did you get such an overprotective big brother, Bee?” Marie asked.

I took a deep breath. “Big brothers are supposed to be protective, Marie. Zach’s been like that since we were kids.”

“I wonder how he reacts to your boyfriend,” Jessie said. “Considering… you know… you two almost hooked up.”

“We both got over it. At the end of the day, family is more important, right?” I took another deep breath. “I’ll be in the bathroom.”

I was two minutes away from breaking down. I was sure of it. I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight. Moreover, I wanted to run to Zach’s room so I could give him a thorough kiss goodnight.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as soon as I locked myself up in the bathroom. Marie and Jessie were my best friends, but I couldn’t even tell them. I could not trust them on this. I wanted to. But I was afraid they would be abhorred by the idea that Zach and I were having sex.

My phone beeped.

Zach: Baby girl…