I sat beside Zachary during dinner. My eyes were reddish and wet with tears. My parents thought they were only tears of happiness because I was reunited with my brother. Or maybe they simply didn’t care. They were being nice to me—for Zachary’s sake.
Now, it all made sense, why my parents suddenly asked me to come home. I had a strong feeling that Zachary asked for it. He wanted me to be here.
Zach!
I called him Zach over and over when I was reduced into a pool of liquid passion in his hands.
“You said you met an amazing girl at the concert, son. Tell us more about her. Am I going to have a daughter-in-law soon?” my father asked, and I choked on my food.
“Are you okay, dear?” my mother asked.
I took a gulp of water and nodded slightly.
We all fell quiet, and when I looked at my parents, they were staring expectantly at him, waiting for him to answer.
He cleared his throat. “No, Dad,” he replied. “I doubt that.”
“Why? What was the problem? You looked so over the moon when you arrived this afternoon. You said you found the perfect girl. What happened?” my mother asked.
It took a moment for Zach to answer. I realized I was holding my breath for his response too.
Zach took a deep breath. “Because I just found out that… she has a big brother who would punch the lights out of any guy who puts his hands on her.”
Why do I have the feeling that that statement was for me?
“Come on, that’s unfair! Who wouldn’t want his sister to date you? You’re the perfect catch! Isn’t he, Blaire?”
No, shit! My mother is really asking me that question?
I took a deep breath and said, “Of course… of course, he is.”
I meant that. Zach was the perfect guy. They said that a little girl’s first love was usually her father. For me, it was my brother—the guy who protected me, loved me, and took care of me. Over the years, I based my ideal guy on his image. That’s why the guy I met at the concert, the guy who introduced himself as Zach Reed, passed my standards with flying colors.
Because only he could outdo himself.
“What’s the problem? Her brother is protective?”
“Overprotective,” Zach replied in a quiet tone.
“Well, you of all people should be able to figure out a way out of that. After all, you have the same overprotectiveness with Blaire.”
“That’s what makes it even more difficult,” he whispered, but I think only I heard that.
“By the way, Blaire, you will go to the same school as Zachary,” my father said, changing the subject, much to my relief. “My secretary had already arranged for everything. You will be a freshman again, but I could tell from your report cards that you’re smart. You’ll cope up pretty quickly.”
For a moment, we looked like a picture of a perfect family. And if I hadn’t hooked up with Zach last night, I would have bought into the excitement too. But I couldn’t! We were a few feet apart, but I could feel his presence beside me. My skin tingled at the mere thought of sitting beside him. I was too aware of his presence to ignore him or forget what happened between us last night.
After dinner, I kissed my parents and excused myself from the table. I nodded at Zach without looking him in the eye. I went up quietly to my room, tears rolling down my cheeks.
This is seriously fucked up!
On any other day, nothing would make me happier than seeing Zachary again after all these years. But sitting beside him at dinner, all I could think about was how his hands felt all over my body and how he made me cum hopelessly. How he melted my mind, made me abandon all reason when he touched me.
Just as I was about to close the door, I saw a hand block it from outside and gently pushes it open. I took a step back, and within a blink of an eye, I saw Zach standing in front of me, closing the door behind him.
I stared back at him nervously, tears rolling down my cheeks.
He took a step toward me. My heart pounded nervously in my ribcage.
“What are you doing here, Zachary?” I asked quietly.
“Zach,” he said in a low tone. “Call me, Zach, baby girl. Just like last night.”
I stared up at him. “I can’t…” I said desperately.
“Why not?” He raised a brow at me.
“You know why not!” I replied desperately. He stood there, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath, realizing the intensity of what we had done last night. What more we could have done if he didn’t have the sense to stop. “Oh my god, what have we done? It’s… it’s incest!”
His face hardened as he stared back at me. “Hell no! First of all, there was no penetration. And second of all, it’s not incest if we’re not blood related.”
“Related or not, you’re still my brother!” I argued.
He shook his head. “Legally, I’m no longer your brother. Are you forgetting? The court ordered my adoption null and void. Zachary Stewart doesn’t exist anymore. My name is Zachary Reed.”
“Oh, that’s good to know. I thought you fake-named me!” I said, rolling my eyes.
He frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“Because that’s what guys do.”
“That’s what dickheads do,” he countered. He narrowed his eyes at me. “What kind of douchebags did you date in the past?”
“The worst kinds,” I murmured.
We stood there in silence for a while. I sat on my bed, buried my face in my hands. After a while, I felt Zach sit beside me.
“I told you I wanted to know everything about you, remember? I think I told you I meant every word I said. I meant every promise I made you.”
“Promises are meant to be broken, Zachary,” I said acidly. “I waited fourteen years for you to keep your promise of ever coming back.” It was true. A big part of me was hurt that it took him long enough to come back into my life. That part stopped believing he ever would.
“I am one guy who would die first before I break a promise, baby girl,” he said. He took a deep, labored breath. “You don’t know how difficult my life had been, so don’t judge me.”
He was right. I didn’t know what happened to him in the past years we were apart. I just assumed he had forgotten about me.
“Why are you back?”
“Because Dad found me. And he was in a bad shape. He begged me to come home. I couldn’t refuse him,” he replied.
“You asked them to send me home?”
He was silent for a while, and then he said, “When he told me they sent you to boarding school, I was relieved. At least, I know they couldn’t hurt you there. But now that I’m back, I don’t see a reason why you can’t come home. I’m here. And I swore a long time ago that no one can hurt you while I’m around.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and repeated what he said in my head.
There! Right there! I had no doubt who I was talking to. Zachary—my big brother. Yet when I looked at him, I could only see Zach—the amazingly hot guy I met last night.
This. Was. Fucked. Up.
He sighed and then he asked, “Do you feel sorry about last night?”