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“It will dry. Come here, babe.”
She got into the bed. She was still naked. I squeezed her against me, skin to skin, heart to heart, and kissed her softly, slowly, putting everything into it…everything that filled my chest in that instant.
102
_________
Axel
Life is that: unpredictable.
One day you think you know yourself well, and the next you find yourself looking in the mirror surprised. One day you think nothing can happen to you…and then it does. One day you’re convinced you’ll never fall in love with that girl you watched grow up in the backyard of your house, and then you lose your head over her as if you’ve been waiting your whole life to find out the full meaning of the word love. One day you realize you’ve left aside that brother who was always there in the shadows, afraid of coming close to you and being rejected. One day you’re sure you know how your best friend will react to any situation and…you’re wrong.
103
_________
Leah
I hadn’t slept for several nights since Oliver came back on Sunday and I went home knowing that at the end of the week, Axel would talk to him and tell him everything. A part of me wanted to get it over with, the way you tear a bandage off in one go. Another was scared, and the uncertainty was suffocating me.
I looked at the dress I had left on my desk chair and was planning to wear that night to the dinner at Emily and Justin’s place. It was black, discreet, but it made me look sexy, I thought, but maybe that had more to do with how I felt when Axel’s hands touched me than with the garment itself.
I got out of bed just as Oliver entered my room.
“I’m going to Cavvanbah to have a drink with some friends.” He tucked his printed shirt into his pants. “Should I come pick you up, or do you want to meet at the Nguyens’?”
“I’ll see you there.”
“Cool. Give me a kiss, pixie.”
I wouldn’t have let him go if I had known what would happen just a few hours later…
104
_________
Axel
It was a warm spring night as I arrived at the house Justin and Emily had bought in the suburbs a few years back. I walked down the driveway, and my nephews ran out from behind some bushes where they had been crouching. I laughed when they attacked me with a couple of water guns. I managed to get one away from Max and shoot him in the face until he ran off.
I greeted Emily and then went to the backyard where the table was set in the middle of the grass. Justin was standing further off at the barbecue grill. I came up behind him and clapped him on the back while he watched the meat roasting.
“Were you a good brother? Did you keep me in mind?”
“You’ve got a vegetable lasagna inside.”
“I fucking love you,” I laughed.
Justin shook his head before flipping the hamburgers while his children ran back and forth. “How’s everything?” he asked.
“It is what it is.”
I looked back when I heard the door open and I saw Leah emerge. My heart stopped. She was precious with that smile…with that dress that I wanted to tear off immediately. I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Justin was tense when he greeted her and asked her if she liked her meat well done.
We spent a while fooling around with Max and Connor, who didn’t stop even for a second, and then we took the dishes to the table. My parents appeared just as I was setting down a dish, and I went to say hi to them.
Oliver was a few feet behind them.
