Stepbrother Inked(29)

"No, no, no," Addi said, shaking her shock of bright blonde curls. The  look reminded me a little of Beyonce, circa 2011. "When you think about  Florian, you get this faraway sort of a look on your face. You know,  kind of like the one you have on right now."

"Huh?" I asked, waking as if from a dream.

Theo and Addi exchanged a glance.

I knew then that I was in trouble. I looked between the two of them, all  dressed up from whatever escapades they'd gotten up to last night, and I  tried to smile. The expression felt stiff, like my lips were dry and  cracking as they spread. I reached up and brushed my fingertips across  my lower lip, but it was moist. Guess it really was all in my head then.

"Theo, it's time for an intervention," Addi said, leaning down on the  counter and crossing her arms. "The only two things Abi thinks about are  school and Flor, but she's also incredibly shallow." My friend winked  at me, her silver eyeshadow flashing in the morning sunshine.

"OhmyGod," Theo gushed, leaning in close to me, pushing his shoulder  into mine. "That's perfect. If you're going to be shallow, you might as  well take advantage of that. Forget about your brother and that cheating  whore of a best friend of his, and let's go find some hot piece of ass  for you to work on. Trust me, I know exactly where to find a whole  gaggle of guys."

"Straight ones, please," Addi said and Theo made a pouty face at her. "I  actually like Yuu, so don't screw this up. You promised I could be your  maid of honor when you got married."

"Married?" Theo said in a high pitched voice, putting a hand on his  chest. "I thought I asked you never to utter that word in my presence.  If anyone's headed to the altar, sweetheart, it's you."

I smiled at their banter, feeling a short lived moment of reprieve. If I  sat still, if I barely moved, if I listened to my friends talk about  their relationships, I could almost forget that I was bleeding from the  worst wound there is: heartbreak.

All I want is to be with you. But I can't. When our parents got married,  I swore that I would take on the role of big brother and I have, damn  it. I am your brother, whether you like it or not.

Like an echo of a memory, I heard Flor's voice clear and sharp behind me.

"Knock, knock."

Addi and Theo stopped talking as I spun, finding my stepbrother in the  doorway with his keys in one hand and a slight frown on his face. He was  staring right at me, looking too perfect in a clean shirt and jeans, a  pair of black boots I'd never seen before gleaming on his feet. And  those fucking eyes.

I felt my own widen in response, knowing exactly what I looked like:  smeared makeup, puffy eyes, dark circles, yesterday's rumpled clothes.  Flor's gaze shifted to the abandoned cello lying on the living room  floor and then back to me. Once upon a time, he'd sit and listen to my  "concerts", always attentive, never playing with his phone or horsing  around. Then, of course, he hit puberty and he didn't have time anymore.  I missed those days more than I could express in words.

I looked away.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Addi snapped, coming to my rescue.  She moved out of the kitchen to stand in front of me, acting like a  shield between me and my heartbreak. My pulse sped up as anxiety curled  in my stomach, making my body ache with tension. Crap. Addi and Flor had  never really gotten along, but they'd made it work. Now? I wasn't sure  she was going to pull any punches this time. "That you even have the  audacity to show your face here  –  "

"Oh come off it, Addi," he snapped back at her, "Abigail borrowed my  car, remember? I brought hers back, but I need my keys." I heard  footsteps and suddenly Flor was right there behind me. I sensed him  before I even saw him, glancing over my shoulder and finding Addi with  her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. Flor was  ignoring her, looking straight at me. His fingers came out and brushed  some hair behind my ear, making me want to whimper. Luckily, I held the  sound in. "You look terrible, nee-chan. What's wrong?"                       
       
           



       

"Don't freaking touch her, Florian. What do you think is wrong? For  years we've been dancing around this subject like it didn't matter.  Well, it matters now. You hurt her, you insensitive asshole. If you  really wanted to be a brother to her, you wouldn't have acted the way  you've acted. She's been in love with you for years and you had the  fucking gall to act like you didn't notice. You want to know why I've  never liked you?" Addi pointed right at me as my stomach turned to ice,  plummeting to my belly and shattering in a sea of shards that cut me to  pieces. "This. This is why. She hasn't slept; she's been crying all  night, Flor. This is not how you let someone down easy."

Shit.

I appreciated Addi jumping in to save me, but  …  why did she have to say  all of those things? Like I wasn't already embarrassed enough? Like I  wasn't already humiliated beyond redemption?

"I  …  " For once in his life, Florian seemed to be at a loss for words. I  found my hand straying unconsciously back to my tattoo, resting my  fingertips on my hip as my vision swam and dizziness threatened to  overtake me. Too much emotion, not enough sleep. I groaned and turned  around, finding three sets of eyes fully focused on me.

"Your keys are on the hook by the door," I said, proud of myself for  keeping my voice steady. I pointed and tried to smile again, but my  mouth felt more than just dry this time. It was practically frozen in  place. "You can leave mine in their spot."

I stayed that way for a long moment, holding my breath and hoping this confrontation would end sooner rather than later.

Flor stayed very still, and then, like lightning, his hand was coming  out to grip my arm, his tattooed fingers curling around my wrist.

"Come with me," he said as I resisted, dug my heels in quite literally.  My stockinged feet slid across the floor as he tugged me from my spot on  the stool.

"I'm not really in the mood," I said as Addi's defenses went up and she  stepped forward to intervene. I gave her a look that said I can handle  this and she paused.

"Flor," I said firmly, but he wasn't listening. He pulled me as far as  the doorway before letting go and leaning down to pick up a pair of my  ankle boots. He tried to hand them to me, but I wrapped my arms around  myself and refused to take them.

"I want to take you to lunch. That's it. Just lunch. Please, Abi. I don't want this  …  this thing to fucking ruin what we have."

Anger surged inside of me, hot and bright, like sunlight through a  magnifying glass, its lens focused right between Flor's perfect green  eyes.

"This thing?" I choked before he had a chance to retract his statement. I  could see him getting angry right back at me. Why, I'm not sure, but  that only served to piss me off further. "This thing means everything to  me!" I screamed at him, embarrassed that Theo and Addi were here to  witness yet another epic confrontation between the two of us. If I'm  going to move on, put myself together, I have to make sure I have no  regrets. Right now, I still had dozens  –  at least. "Don't diminish my  feelings, Flor. Don't you dare."

I hated the way his eyes slid to the side while the muscles in his jaw clenched angrily.

After several seconds of standing there, wrapped in tension and hurting,  Flor moved forward suddenly and grabbed me. One hand went around my  waist, the other behind my knees, and he picked me up in his arms, my  boots dangling from his fingers.

"Lunch," he said as he started down the stairs. "That's all I'm asking."

"I'm going to freaking end you," Addi said, following after us.

When we hit the bottom of the stairs, I finally woke up enough from my  momentary daze to remember to be angry. Flor's hard chest pressing  against me, his hands on my skin  …  Goddamn it.

Passersby gave us some funny looks as people streamed in and out of the  shoe store beneath my apartment, but nobody said anything, giving our  little group a wide berth as they streamed by. I think  –  but I'm not  sure  –  that Theo was filming the whole scene with his iPhone.

"You want me to call the police?" Addi asked me as Flor set me down and I  stood there in my socks on the pavement, my skirt rumpled, my head  swimming.

Flor looked straight back at me as I steeled myself and took a deep breath.

I held out my hand for my boots.

"Lunch," I told him firmly, glancing sideways at Addi as if to say I've  got this. "Just lunch. This is your last chance for redemption, Florian  Harper Riley."



Flor and I decided to walk the mile to Toshi's Ramen. The air was cool,  but the sun was out and its golden fingers felt warm against my spine. I  kept my arms crossed over my chest and second-guessed my decision for  nearly the entire walk.