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Just as I’m contemplating running my tongue along the lines and ridges, he turns just enough to give me a soft, fond smile. “Evan could be here any minute. I’m sure you don’t want your brother finding us like this… what do you say we get ourselves cleaned up. You have a shower, I assume?”
Caught off guard, I blink. “Huh? Oh… Evan, right…”
His smile grows. “You alright there, Iz? I didn’t short-circuit your brain or anything did I?”
I reach behind my head and chuck a pillow at him. He deftly edges it and gets to his feet. He has me slung up and over his shoulder before I can launch a second pillow attack.
“Put me down!” I giggle as he jogs toward the bathroom. This is fun. I don’t remember Nathan and I having fun. He and Evan had fun… lots of fun… usually at my expense, because I was the little sister. The unwanted third wheel on their adventures.
The only thing Nathan and I really had were a handful of stolen conversations, late at night, when Evan had already gone to bed. It was during one of those late-night conversations that Nathan had opened up to me about his parents and made it crystal clear that they were the reason he never wanted kids of his own.
Which directly led to the situation we are now in.
I try not to think about any of that though, and enjoy this new, playful Nathan, who is standing in my cramped shower with hot water running down the hard lines of his chest and abs… and lower.
Which gives me an idea…
“What are you up to?” He asks as I sink to my knees. This is something I never experienced with Nathan, and I'd always wondered what it would've been like. I’ve wondered about a lot of things.
“I have a favor to repay,” I say innocently before taking him in my mouth.
We barely make it out of the shower before Evan rings the doorbell. I stop in the process of toweling off my hair to marvel at the fact that he rang the bell instead of coming in. He likely knows what we’ve been up to. That thought makes my insides squirm. Evan knows. My brother knows about me and his best friend… and the world didn’t end, so that’s something, I suppose.
The instant I open the door, Rory spots Nathan, lounging with Murphy on the couch and lights up like she has every time she’s spotted him lately.
“Nathan!” She bounces on the couch cushion beside him. “Uncle Evan didn’t tell me you’d be here. Can you stay and watch a movie with us? Uncle Evan said we could have popcorn!”
I shoot Evan a look and he mouths, “Sorry. Didn’t know if you would be home….”
With a roll of my eyes and turn to my daughter. “Slow down,” I say. “It’s a school night. We will have to rain check on the movie.”
Rory sticks out her bottom lip. “This weekend can we watch a movie?” I eye Nathan, wondering how he will handle this.
He nods and says. “Sure. Your mom’s right. It’s pretty late, but I would love to watch a movie with you sometime this weekend.”
I suspect that Rory will have him wrapped around her finger in a heartbeat if I’m not careful. Maybe she already does.
“Will you read me a story?” She asks, flashing her big brown eyes at Nathan. Yep, she definitely does.
My gut tells me to put a stop to this now, but I suppose there’s no harm in one bedtime story. “Roar, why don’t you go get changed and brush your teeth? Nathan will come read to you in a minute.” Once she’s gone, I collapse on the couch beside Murphy. “She likes Grimm’s Fairytales,” I say.
“Noted,” Nathan says, as he saunters off toward the hall where Rory’s room is.
“How was shopping?” Evan asks as he comes to sit cautiously beside me like he’s worried I’ll attack.
I run a hand through my hair and sigh, dropping my head back along the couch cushion. “Shopping was… something.” I turn my head slightly to look at him. “I think Nathan knows… but he hasn’t said anything and I don’t know how to bring it up.”
The guilty look that crosses my brother's face stops me in my tracks. “Evan?” I sit straight. “Please tell me you didn’t…”
He winces and starts babbling. “He cornered me. I—I panicked! I couldn’t lie to the guy, he’s my best friend!”
“Screw best friends!” I screech, before quickly realizing that Nathan and Rory probably heard that all the way in the bedroom. Even Murphy lifted his head to groan at me. I lower my voice to a harsh whisper. “I’m family! It wasn’t your secret to tell.”
Evan angry-whispers right back, “To be fair, you should’ve told him seven years ago!”
My jaw drops. How dare he? My brother knows why I didn't tell Nathan to begin with. “Is that really how you feel? I thought you understood why I didn’t tell him.”
Evan pinches his nose, likely warding off a headache. I am too. I’m sure we’re all about to fold under the pressure of this huge mess I’ve created... and yes, I acknowledge that this is mostly my fault, I simply maintain that I had reasons and those were valid.
