The ringing of the doorbell echoed in the apartment without a hint of stopping. I shifted in my bed, annoyed at being woken up. Reaching under my pillow, I fished out my phone, squinting at the bright light emitting from the screen. 07:00AM. Who’s insane enough to visit at seven in the morning?!
“Who the hell is here so early in the morning?” A voice rumbled sleepily from behind me. “It’s Saturday…”
I froze, vaguely aware of the arm that was sneakily snaking itself around my waist. The familiar scent of mint shampoo wafted into my nostrils. “Why are you in my bed, Justin?”
Justin pressed closer to me and buried his head in my neck. “Was cold,” he mumbled.
“And a blanket didn’t suffice?”
“Needed your body warmth.”
“Turn off your goddamn aircon then,” I snapped. This was the daily routine. We would go to our respective rooms to sleep, only for me to wake up with him in my bed. I had locked my room once, but he somehow managed to pick the lock instead. Crafty bastard.
“Or we could just stay in one room and turn on the aircon. Share our body warmth instead,” he replied suggestively.
Slowly turning around, I gave him the sweetest smile ever, before kicking him off the bed. He landed on the ground with a yelp, rubbing his butt in pain. I glared at him. “Go get the door.”
He glowered at me, clearly not appreciating the morning greeting, but headed out anyway. I flopped back down onto my cushy pillow, snuggling into the warm blankets. I could vaguely hear Justin speaking to someone. And the door slamming shut. And…yelling? Concerned, I got out of bed and headed towards the living room. “Justin? What’s going on?”
“Rihannon!” A tall, muscular man ran towards me and pulled me into a crushing hug. “Are you okay? Who is this man?!”
I pushed the man away and stared at him in horror. “Brother?!”
The man had light brown hair and equally brown eyes that were now filled with worry. He was a head taller than me and taller than Justin by a few centimetres. His lips were in a tight line, corners turned down in a slight frown.
Justin stared at the two of us in horror, “Brother?!”
I placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of my brother, before sitting down beside Justin. My brother was too busy glaring intensely at Justin, who fidgeted nervously under his gaze. Justin was clearly intimidated by him. Who wouldn’t? While he was a tall and lean man, my brother was much more muscular, with large hands that looked like they could crush a person’s head. I sighed internally, knowing that this was going to be difficult.
“Justin, this is my older brother, Nathaniel,” I said as I gestured towards the furious man. “Brother, this is my…housemate, Justin.”
Justin looked at me questioningly but said nothing. Nathaniel too, said nothing, choosing instead to examine Justin from head to toe. I sipped my coffee, relishing the bitter taste, as I waited for Nathaniel to speak. After what seemed like hours, he finally spoke.
“Housemate,” Nathaniel repeated. “Are you sure he’s just a housemate?”
“Yes. He sleeps in the other room.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You sure? Because he clearly came out of your room this morning.”
I cursed under my breath, glowering at Justin who simply gave me an apologetic look. Placing my cup back on its saucer, I stared evenly at Nathaniel. “He came to wake me up.”
“At seven in the morning?”
“Yes. He’s a morning person, so I asked him to help me practice waking up early.”
“Huh,” he replied, clearly not buying it. “Are you sure nothing is going on between you two? Other than being housemates?”
“What goes on between the two of us is none of your business, brother,” I replied smoothly.
He clenched his jaw in anger. “I have a right to know what’s going on. I’m your brother.”
“You never used to care who I decided to date.”
“So you two are dating!”
“What if we are?” I shot back.
Nathaniel’s nostrils flared. He breathed harshly through his nose and that moment, he looked like a volcano that was on the verge of erupting. Then, all tension disappeared from him and he sighed deeply.
“You could have at least told me you had a boyfriend,” he whined, eyes looking woefully at me.
“You’re the last person I want to tell,” I rolled my eyes at him.
“Why?”
“Because you scare away every single guy that gets close to me!”
“Hey! It’s to protect you,” he protested. “I don’t want anything to happen to you! What if you were dating this guy, and the next thing I hear is that you’re dead? What kind of brother would I be if I let that happen?”
I groaned in frustration. Justin decided to clear his throat at that moment, reminding the two of us that he was still there.
“Uh, sorry but am I missing something here?” he asked, clearly confused as he looked at the two of us in turn.
“I’m sorry Justin,” I sighed. “Let me introduce you two again. This is Nathaniel, my brother and also a senior detective in the police force.”
Justin gaped at Nathaniel. “A detective?”
“Yes, a detective,” I replied. “Oh, and he apparently thinks that all men who talk to me are out to murder me, kidnap me, or take advantage of me.”
“Hey, it’s a valid concern! You’re my cute little sister. No guy would be able to resist you, right Justin?” Justin stammered a reply at that. “If any guy hurts you, Rihannon, that guy is dead.”
“Don’t you think you’re being too overprotective though?”
“I’m your brother. It’s my job to be overprotective,” Nathaniel said stubbornly.
I sighed. “Not all guys are bad, brother. It’s only because you deal with criminals that you’re seeing only the bad ones.”
“True,” he admitted. “My job might have warped my view of people. Just a little bit though. But when it comes to my siblings, I won’t go easy on anyone who dates you guys. They have to get through me first.”
“Which explains why I had no boyfriend since high school,” I glared at him with that statement.
He put his hands up in surrender. “Hey don’t put the blame on me. You yourself said that you will only date someone if you see a future with that person. I’m pretty much the last barrier in your case.”
Realising what the words meant, Justin stared at me, happiness filling his eyes. I ignored him, feeling a blush creeping down my neck.
“You have a loose mouth, you know that,” I hissed at Nathaniel.
Nathaniel simply shrugged and turned his attention to Justin. “So, how did you two meet?”
“We met at a New Year’s party last year,” Justin explained, eyes still trained on me. “She was standing in a corner all alone, so I decided to talk to her.”
“A party?” Nathaniel looked at me questioningly. “Thought you weren’t the type to go partying?”
“Lilia,” I simply said.
“Ah,” he nodded in understanding. “So what exactly do you like about my sister?”
“Rihannon’s just amazing,” Justin reluctantly pulled his gaze away from me. “I can’t really explain it, but she’s just such an amazing woman. Strong and independent. Yet kind and gentle. She was there for me when I was in deep trouble, and stuck with me all the way through.”
“Deep trouble?” he cut in, wariness evident in his voice.
“Family problems,” Justin told him quickly. “I had a…fall-out with my family. Rihannon was kind enough to offer me a place to stay, so I’ve been staying here for the past year or so.”
I reached out for his hand and squeezed it. Nathaniel had a soft look on his face when he noticed the gesture, thinking that I was comforting Justin, but that wasn’t the reason why I did that. Justin had pretty much lied about how he ended up staying at my house. After all, my brother would get a fit if he knew about Justin breaking into the house everyday before being given a copy of the house key.
Justin squeezed my hand and gave me a smile, clearly understanding my intention, before continuing to talk. “I’ve only fallen deeper in love with your sister, and I apologize for relying on her so much. But without her, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.” Nathaniel gave a curt nod, wordlessly telling him to continue. “I’m not staying here for free of course. I pay the rent and help out with the household chores as well.”
“The rent? You mean the full rent?” Nathaniel repeated.
“Yes. I have a decent job. This is the least I could do for her, after everything she’s done for me.”
Nathaniel turned to look at me in disbelief, “You let him pay your rent?”
“He was rather adamant about it,” I admitted as I gave Justin a weird look. Since when did he get a job? He had never mentioned anything about getting one. “I insisted on paying half but he refused.”
“Wow,” he shook his head in awe. “Somebody actually won in an argument against you.”
“I still lose the majority of it though,” Justin chuckled.
“Better than me. I lose all of it.” Both men laughed at the statement, clearly understanding each other’s predicament. Suddenly remembering something, Nathaniel reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a slim white envelope, and offered it to me. “Right, I almost forgot what I came here for.”
Curious, I took the envelope from his hands and opened it, revealing a beautifully decorated purple card inside. My breath hitched, “This is…!”
Pure happiness shone in Nathaniel’s eyes. “You are cordially invited to my wedding in June.”
“You finally proposed to Elina?!” I shouted, a wide smile on my lips. “About time!”
“Elina’s my fiancé,” Nathaniel explained to a delighted but confused Justin. “She’s been my girlfriend for ten years now. Figured it was about time to propose to her.”
“Obviously!” I smacked his arm playfully. “She’s been complaining to me about how slow you were! Gosh, I’m so happy for you two.”
“Was aware of her complains,” he laughed. “She’s sorry that she couldn’t be here right now. Her older sister just went into labour, so she had to be there.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Nathaniel glanced at his wristwatch and stood up. “Well, I think I overstayed a little. Plenty more invitations to hand out.”
I followed him and gave hugged him tightly. “Glad to see you again, brother. Thanks for coming all the way here.”
He kissed the top of my head affectionately, “You’re my sister. Of course I’ll come visit you.” Finally released from the hug, he held out his hand towards Justin. “I’ll be leaving my sister in your care. Take good care of her, alright? If anything happens to her, I’m coming after you.”
Justin laughed and shook his hand. “I won’t let anything happen to her,” he promised.
Nathaniel clapped his back in approval before opening the door. “Oh and Justin,” he grinned, “I’ll be expecting you at my wedding. No excuses.”
Justin chuckled and nodded. Satisfied, Nathaniel finally left, leaving the two of us in silence. I stared at the door, unsure of what to say now that it was only the two of us. Nathaniel had come and gone like the wind. Unable to bear the silence, I started to speak.
“Justin, I-”
Strong arms encircled themselves around my waist, drawing me closer. Justin buried his head in my neck, something he does frequently when he’s happy or contented, or both. His breath tickled my neck as he spoke, “I didn’t know you felt that way about me.”
My heart hammered against my ribcage. “Huh?”
“Don’t play dumb, Rihannon.” He pulled back slightly, black eyes staring intently at me. A shiver ran down my spine at the sheer intensity. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly for me. Even if you refuse to admit it. But I want to hear it from you.” Seeing the reluctance in my eyes, he reached out to caress my cheek, “Please?”
I swallowed nervously. I could never talk about my feelings as openly as he was. It was a weakness of mine. It felt as if I was baring my whole soul out there in the open. Admitting the truth would make it more certain, more solid. I was afraid of that. I always ran away from it all. But seeing Justin that way, with so much love in his eyes. Only for me. A rush of emotions filled me.
“I love you.” The words rushed out of my mouth. I blinked in wonder as if discovering it for the first time. Then, a tiny smile formed on my lips and I gazed at him lovingly. “I love you, Justin,” I repeated. “I love you so much.”
Hearing the words finally being said, his face lit up. And then his lips were brushing mine lightly as if he was uncertain. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him firmly. He responded immediately, moving one hand to cup my cheek. He pulled my body even closer, nipping at my lower lip.
My mind was in a blissful haze, lips and hands running through his silky hair without thinking. Then his hand moved lower and my rational side broke through. I broke the kiss (albeit reluctantly) and glared with half-lidded eyes. He looked at me, eyes clouded in desire, and leaned forward to kiss me again, but I pressed a finger against his lips.
“Hand,” I told him, slightly breathless. He looked at me in confusion. “Hand off my butt. Now.”
His eyes widened. Giving me a sheepish grin, he slowly removed his hands and held them up in surrender. “Too fast?”
“Too fast.” I gave him a look of disapproval, but couldn’t stop a smile from breaking through. I leaned into his chest, closing my eyes as I listened to the beat of his heart. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, chin on the top of my head. We stayed like that for a good while, enjoying the moment.
Random Explosions 