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I wish I could just stop this game and introduce myself to her. But, of course, that would be totally inappropriate. I’m twenty-one, after all. And while Julia and Sebastian don’t have any problem having me around as their son’s best friend, I’m fairly sure they’d be less enthusiastic if I displayed any kind of interest, even platonically, toward their precious daughter.
Three years…
If I’m counting correctly, I could befriend her in three years when she reaches adulthood. Until then, I’m going to try to get to know her as much as possible through her brother. It’d either show me how uninteresting she really is or give me a prime advantage if I really did want to pursue her years down the line.
I try to put all my focus back on the match, but I’m more distracted than I want to admit. My mind is busy and floating away from me, and Andries is getting annoyed with how slow the match is going. I’m ready to just call it a day and be finished, but when Elise stands and moves to go inside, stretching her armsover her head and displaying just an inch or so of midriff, I falter completely.
In an instant, Andries is on me harder than before, and I feel the blunted tip of his foil poking me in the chest. Stunned, I look down at it in disbelief. He had never bested me before. Ever.
Julia and Sebastian clap, but Elise is long gone back into the house by the time Andries pulls the foil away from my pectoral. I start to congratulate him, but his expression is stiff and angry.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?” he hisses between his teeth, jerking his head toward the railing where we could get a little privacy away from his parents.
Shrugging, I carefully sit my foil on the ground and follow him farther from our small audience. There is a muscle working in Andries’s jaw and a vein pulsing on his forehead.
“Are you alright?” I ask hesitantly.
His lips are pressed in a straight line and his eyes are staring right through me like he’s trying to read my deepest thoughts. He doesn’t answer, though. Instead, he just bluntly asks, “Were you checking out my sister?”
Oh shit. I’ve been busted. “No! Of course not!”
He scoffs. “Yeah, right. I’ve seen that look before. She’s fifteen, you pervert!”
“I swear I wasn’t!” I protest, wishing I could tell him that yes, I was appreciating Elise’s beauty, but I know better than to be interested in a fifteen-year-old in that way. I’d table whatever feelings I might have until she was of age, but I think that statement would make him even angrier.
“I’d better not catch you looking at her like that ever again,” he says, raising the foil still in his hand to point at my heart. I know it’s a practice blade, but it still sends a shiver up my spine, especially since his expression is deadly serious. “Or I will make sure to cut you into pieces.”
I chuckle at what can only be a joke. “Andries, what the fuck?” I step forward, putting my gloved hand on the top of the blade and pushing it away from me. “You’re acting crazy. I’d never do anything with your sister.”
“Am I?” He doesn’t raise the blade again but gives one step forward until we’re standing too close for comfort. A threatening gesture, and even if Andries has height, he has to know that he could never take me in a real fight, him and his still young bones. “I’ve never won against you,” he continues. “And the only reason I did it now is because you were checking her out.”
“Andries, my friend.” I lay my hands on his shoulders, my tone more comforting. “Man to man, this behavior is out of line. Even if I was ogling her, which I wasn’t, all it’d take is one respectful word from you, and I would back off. I would hope you’d trust me enough for that, but all of this makes me think otherwise.”
His expression falters, but he doesn’t relent, shrugging my hands off him. “Very well, then promise me right here you’ll never do anything with her.”
“I swear,” I tell him solemnly, even if I feel unhappy about it. We could cross that bridge years from now if it came down to it.
Andries doesn't seem satisfied though, and his eyebrows raise suspiciously. “You swear on your honor?” he presses, a frown wiped across his face.
“On my what?” I repeat, my eyes widening in shock at his question. “Are you serious?”
“Yes! I’ll never talk to you again if you try to compromise her.”
“Compromiseher?” I guffaw. This guy is crazy! “How can you be so old school!? She’s a person, not an object that can be ruined orcompromised.”
“Dan! She’s my sister,” Andries reminds me, his tone coming across more authoritative than I ever expected. He then exhalesheavily and runs a hand through his too-long hair. He’s trying a longer look, and it doesn't suit him the way he thinks it does. “We are best friends, but she is my sister. She’s family. Get it?”
Well, if in a few years I end up marrying her, I’ll be family too,I find myself thinking.
I want to shake my head and give him a piece of my mind, but I’m just a guest at his estate and decide against it.
“Now, are you going to swear on your honor or not?”
“Fine.” I sigh, resigned, as I hold up my right hand. It’s all for show, but whatever will calm him down in the moment. “I, Dan O’Brian, swear on my honor that I’ll never try tocompromiseyour beloved sister,” I mutter, hoping my sarcasm isn’t too noticeable. “Good enough?”
My friend’s face changes immediately, going from tense to jovial. “Great!” He claps me on the shoulder. “As long as you keep your word, we can remain friends.”
I’m beyond shocked at how protective he is of his sister. Even when thinking of the future, after she reaches adulthood. Doesn’t he think I’m good enough for her? Since I remain quiet, he starts leading me toward the table. “Now let’s go and have some tea with my parents. They’re serving blooming tea, your favorite.”
