“How are you holding up, girl? Your parents giving you grief?” Marie asked on the other line. She’d been settling down in college too. We’ve been getting in touch in social media, but it was the first time I got to speak to her over the phone.
“Not really. How can they give me grief when they don’t mind me at all, right?” I asked sarcastically.
“Awww! So, nothing changed?”
I sighed. “Many things have changed, but not so much in that area. Can we not talk about my parents?”
I walked lazily toward the building on the east where my next class was going to be. This was the class I dreaded most. It was my last period, and we were doing tons of boring readings.
“Okay. Have you heard from Z? You guys were pretty hot and heavy when you parted. I’m sure you’re not a virgin anymore! We didn’t have to ask. You practically had stars in your eyes.” She sounded so excited, so happy, I lost the courage to tell her the truth about Zachary and me.
I took a deep breath. “I didn’t sleep with him,” I said.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I stayed in his hotel room. But we didn’t do it,” I said.
“Why?”
“It just wasn’t the right time. And it was only right because I… didn’t hear from him again.”
“What? He looked so besotted! I was so sure he’d visit you in Florida soon. We were so excited that finally you were gonna have a boyfriend.” She sounded so distraught I felt bad about lying to her. But what could I do? How could I tell her that Zach turned out to be the big brother whose memories I’d held on to for the past eight years?
“Well… it wasn’t meant to be, I guess. I’m not heartbroken about it.” That was another lie. Because I knew, when Zachary told me that he’ll only be a brother to me, I knew it broke my heart a little knowing Zach, the guy I met at the concert, was never coming back.
“Kenzo said he’d never seen Z act like that over a girl. They knew you were special. It wasn’t just a one-night thing.”
“What about you and Michael? Was it a one-night thing?”
“I don’t know. It’s long distance and all. I don’t expect him not to hook up other girls. You can’t expect me to hang around waiting for him either.”
“What do you know? It’s not our time for true love yet. What about Jessie and Kenzo?”
“They’re still communicating. Making plans. Having tons of phone sex. I don’t know. I don’t believe in long-distance thingies.”
Suddenly, somebody grabbed the three huge books I was carrying in my arms. I looked up and lost my breath as Zachary stared down at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his.
“I’ll walk you to your next class,” he said. “You’re going to be late.”
He reached down and took my hand in his as he dragged me toward the stairs.
“Excuse me, who was that?” Marie asked. Excitement started reeling in her voice. “Is that the reason why you’re not so heartbroken about Z?”
No! He’s the reason why I am!
“No,” I replied. “It’s my brother. I gotta go, Marie.”
“Wait, what do you…” I didn’t hear the rest of what she was going to say when I hung up the phone on her.
I let Zachary drag me as we climbed up the stairs. On the way, people, especially girls, were looking at us. It was highly unusual for them, and I had a faint idea about the rumors that would soon circulate around the campus. After all, they had no idea we were brother and sister, and we definitely do not look anything alike for them to assume that.
Since he promised I’d have my big brother back, he has tried to act like one. He was still out of the house more than half the time, but when he was around, he didn’t ignore me anymore. We were civil now, and at best, we were trying to be friends again.
He stopped in front of my room, which made me wonder how he knew that in the first place.
“Aren’t you going to be late for your class?” I asked him as I took my books back.
“I have a free period,” he replied. “I’ll wait for you after your class.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s Friday. Just thought it would be a good idea if we hang out.”
I stared back at him, completely dumbfounded by what he said. “Excuse me?”
He raised a brow at me. “Brothers and sisters hang out too, you know.”
I nodded. He was right. If we ever had a chance of having a normal sibling relationship, we had to get past the awkwardness. We had to learn to be comfortable in each other’s company.
“All right, I’ll call Dad’s driver not to pick me up,” I said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of that,” he said. “Go. Your professor’s already in.”
That was probably the longest class, the longest hour I had ever had. I could almost hear every movement of the seconds hand of my watch. It was like I was counting the minutes until the class is over.
“Ms. Stewart, what was the biggest mistake Edwin Drake ever made?"
Wait, what?
Shit!
I wasn’t paying attention. And I was practically floating in the air. I stared back at my professor with a blank expression on my face.
“That is a first,” he said.
He was right. Since the beginning of the class, I’ve aired strong opinions in this class, and once or twice, I’ve had some interesting arguments with the professor himself.
“Mr. Thomas, would you care to help Ms. Stewart out?”
He turned to the guy named Alrick Thomas, who was also one of the outspoken students in class, and the guy I always got into arguments with.
He smirked at me, much to my dismay and further embarrassment, and in a loud, confident voice, he said, “He should have applied patent to his pipe and oil drill invention.”
“Very good. Thank you for doing your readings before coming to class,” our professor said.
Shit! We were discussing one of the biggest business mistakes in history. I read those stories for leisure! How could I forget who Edwin Drake was?
I couldn’t wait for the class to be over. I didn’t know what Zachary was up to. I didn’t even know where I would be meeting him.
I hadn’t gone out on a date in months. And even before, I always expected the date not to end well. But this was not a date. And I certainly wouldn’t want it to end in a disaster. For months, I had to endure my brother ignoring me and the man of my dreams breaking my heart. Now that he could at least be one of those things, I was willing to live with it. And I wouldn’t want this to end badly.
As soon as the bell rang, I gathered my books and headed out the door.
“Stewart!” I heard a guy call me.
I turned around and found Alrick Thomas behind me.
“What happened to you out there?”
“I spaced out,” I replied curtly.
“It wasn’t like you. You’re usually five chapters ahead of us. He asked you the question twice.”
“Well, I have a lot of things on my mind today,” I said.
“That’s sad. I was looking forward to having another heated argument with you today,” he said, grinning at me.
“You’re right. That is sad when the highlight of your day is arguing with me.”
He stared at me for a moment, and then he laughed. “Your mind really is as beautiful as you are.”
Okay, is he flirting with me now?
He took a deep breath and then said, “It’s Friday. Do you have plans tonight? Friday night is date night.”
I stared back at him. Shit! He’s asking me out. How do I get out of this? Politely?
I cleared my throat. I was about to say something when I heard somebody behind me say, “Yes, she does.” The sound of that voice alone made my heart flutter and my knees buckle. I could feel his presence behind me. “Like you said, Friday night is date night.”
Alrick stared back at me and then at Zachary and then back at me again.