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“Negative,” he gruffly claims, side eyeing me like I’ve lost my damn mind. Which when it comes to him, that’s not outside of the realm of possibilities. “That’d be a big, fat, hell-to-the-no.” That saying temporarily takes me back to another time in our lives when he’d use that exact phrase when he didn’t want to do something that I did. Which usually included me egging my arch nemesis car with a dozen of shelled eggs. The bitch, Crissy, always tried to outdo me no matter what my accomplishments were.
I start ticking off the ways she tried to beat me in my mind.
One.
I was ranked number two in our graduating class, falling one point behind Rosemary Gonzales the first day of our senior year—something I was damn proud of at the time. What did the bitch do in retaliation? She slept her way to number one, which is the only way she’d have gotten that slot because she was one crayon shy of filling the box. Anyway, that pushed me to number three, which ticked me off. At least Rosemary and I did it with hard work, ethics, and morals unlike the she-bitch that rose from hell. Finally, when it was proven after the four of us enacted our own version of spy games that she didn’t earn her points the legit way, she amped up our competition.
Two.
I was offered the position of receptionist at Callam Automotive after applying for a weekend job, and what did the twat do? She ran and cried to her daddy who, unbeknownst to me, was thechief executive officer of the car lot and I was shoved out on my ass. She started on what was supposed to be my shift and all but stuck her tongue out at me and sang nananana booboo. Then she got really pissed when I was offered another job at the gym making twice the amount of money she was. All in all, that was a good day because I spread that news like wildfire through the halls of Crawford High.
Three.
And this is the one that began the egging in the first place. I finally climbed my way to the top of the class due to Rosemary flunking her Spanish test and was awarded a check in the amount of five hundred dollars for my hard work. Somehow, the skank managed to figure out my locker combination and stole my motherfucking money. We only discovered that because we found the shredded remnants of it in the bottom of her book bag after Aris ripped it out of her arms and emptied the contents.
That’s when I saw red. Not because I needed the money, but because it was a harsh slap in the face. It degraded the principle of my reward by turning it into confetti.
“Berlynn! Snap out of it, where the hell did you go just now? And what the hell put that evil ass smirk on your face anyhow?” Aris asks, clicking his fingers together in front of my face.
“Nothing,” I answer quickly before adding, “just lost in the past.”
“Well, let's stay out of memory lane until we're done getting this shit together,” he advises, scrutinizing me. “Bad things need to stay where they are, in the past.”
“There’s a reason we relive things, Aris. They’re all valuable lessons that follow us through life,” I rebuke. “Especially when it comes to who has your back and who doesn’t.”
“I’ve always had your back,” he reminds me. “You may not have seen me lurking in the shadows cheering you on, but I’ve always been there.”
“Are y’all gonna kiss now or can we leave? I want to be gone before the ghosts come back,” Berkley says, scooting more into the room and hovering behind Aris.
“Why were you going to ask if we were gonna kiss, buddy?” Aris questions my brother. Although his voice sounds appalled, there’s a tinge of hunger dancing behind his eyes. That has me thinking about things I most certainly shouldn’t.
Aris’ lips on mine.
Aris naked.
Me and Aris naked—together.
Yeah, so not going there. I just got him back in my life and fantasies I’ve had about him both in the past and recently need to stay buried in the depths of fantasyland because they make me feel vulnerable.
“This’ll be your room, Berkley,” Aris announces as he opens the last door on the left for my brother. I harrumph underneath my breath because I can tell this room has been specifically designed with Berkley in mind. It’s an aspiring architect’s dream come true. The walls are like blueprints of a skyscraper’s new build. Which means, this has been planned way before now.
What has Aris been up to?
Posturing myself and getting ready for a verbal beat down, I place my hands on my hips, and thump my foot against the floor, scowling at Aris. However, the beaming smile Berkley sends my way ruins my impending tirade, dousing the fire that was quickly building inside.
“You and I are gonna talk about this,” I hiss at Aris.
“Looking forward to it,” he replies, not looking scared in the least. Looks like I need to amp up my game. My frown deepens, causing him to roar in laughter.
Aris unbridled is a glorious thing to witness. His eyes shine, his smile is infectious, and his teasing smile could cause a woman to swoon.
Damn him!
“Where am I staying?” I ask, disengaging my eyes from him so that I don’t catch those drastic emotions that have me feeling things I most assuredly shouldn’t.
“You’re in the room next to mine,” he tells me, waving his hand further up the hallway.
“If my room was first, why did we keep going?” I inquire.
