In a flurry of funny video clips, pictures, texts, and general babbling, my brother filled me in on his life since the last time I had seen him. It was amazing how much could happen in the span of a few months. Hell, it was amazing what could happen in just a few days.

“…and that’s when Vivi told me to ‘forget about that twit’ and that we were officially best friends, though she had already considered me her best friend!” Michael concluded. “She’s really something. I’m glad to have found her.”

“Can’t wait to meet her,” I responded. “If she put Jara in her place after what she did to you, she’s good in my book.”

A wide smile formed on Michael’s face as he folded his legs in front of him and rocked back and forth on the bed. The pajamas he wore were a set that he already had left from last time. I always kept any clothes he left behind clean for the next sleepover.

“Sooooo,” Michael drawled as a devious glint formed in his hazel eyes. “You caved into Liam the Irritant, ey?”

An involuntary blush burned my cheeks. I must have mentioned Liam to Michael more than a few times through texts for him to have remembered my calling him ‘Liam the Irritant.’ The auburn-haired man really got under my skin even back then.

“Yeah, something like that,” I confessed. “I was in denial and refused to believe him until he became really persistent around the time of his birthday…”

“Ooooh, his birthday!” Mike snickered. “Who’d turn someone down on their birthday? That’s downright cruel.”

“Exactly! I felt like I had no choice,” I explained before biting my lower lip and sheepishly glancing down at my fidgeting hands. “At least, that’s what I kept telling myself, anyway. All the while, I guess I kept feeling like I wasn’t good enough for him.”

“Heh, from the way he oh-so-willingly shoved his tongue down your throat before he left, I’d say you’re plenty good enough,” Michael teased. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m your brother.”

I could feel the rest of my face gathering blood. “He’s actually a pretty good kisser,” I whispered before covering my face with a pillow and flopping back on the bed.

“God, I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d actually be glad to hear that.”

I lifted the corner of the pillow enough to peer over at him. As much as it sucked to admit it, he was right. For too many years, my body seemed to be addicted to Kris’s touch and kisses. Between my chaotic feelings for him and the way that my very skin craved him, it seemed as if I would never break free from him.

The worst part was that everyone that was close to me, especially Michael, wanted to help me break ties with Kris for good. But, I kept going back. I kept disappointing them. It was as if I no longer cared about myself if the actor wasn’t a part of my life. I had bent completely to his desires and his will. But, none of it was enough for him to be faithful to me, to truly love me.

There was a time that such thoughts caused my heart to constrict with pain. There was a time that those memories downright haunted me, bled into my dreams, and tormented me.

But, the new memories I made with Liam were so vibrant and prevalent that they were really starting to outweigh the past.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long,” I apologized to my brother.

As usual, my brother didn’t seem to skip a beat. “No one’s perfect, man. You’re out of that slump and are smiling again. Liam deserves not to be punched just for that fact alone.”

“What?” I gasped, tensing up and pulling myself back into a sitting position. “Don’t you dare punch him! No one better punch him!”

“Chill, chill!” Mike countered. “And listen more closely to the words coming outta my mouth. I said that because he helped you out of your slump that we wouldn’t punch him.”

I finally relaxed and clambered over to give Michael an annoyed swat. “I really like this one. Can’t afford to have him maimed.”

My brother’s face lit up. “You just admitted you like him without any sarcasm in your voice!” He practically squealed. “Cara and mom are gonna flip!”

I shook my head. “Your word against mine? They’re probably not going to believe you.”

A downright devilish smirk formed on his face as he revealed that he had a recorder beneath the pillow. “Not if I have evidence!” He declared as he held the recorder out of my reach.

“Give me that!”

I struggled to get the recorder from Michael’s hand, but the younger man was too damn fast. After a couple of minutes, I let out a huff of air and gave in. “Blasted brothers and their gadgets,” I grumbled.

Michael was chuckling darkly as he hid the recorder away. “Seeing and hearing is believing,” he sang.

In spite of the embarrassment I was sure to undergo during our next family gathering, hearing the jovial tone in his voice made me feel warm inside.

“Tomorrow Liam and I are going out to dinner together after work. I’ll order something and bring it in a box for you,” I commented.

“Sweet,” Michael responded. “I’ll be here.”

“Thanks again for doing all this,” I said.

“It’s all good, I know my Christmas and birthday gifts from you will likely be awesome this year,” he joked. “I mean I am your favorite…”

I let out a snort. “Ego, ego.”

“Learned it from you!”

The two of us then settled down and went to sleep.

:::

The following day, there was no sign of Kris anywhere. When I got to work, Liam was already there. I wondered if he made the effort to arrive early just to sweep the grounds. I motioned towards my office with my head and locked the door after he entered so we could greet each other with a simple kiss.

At least, that had been the intention. By the time Liam left my office, his hair stuck out on random ends and his dress shirt was more than a bit rumpled.

Kathryn couldn’t have hidden all her excitement if she tried.

Though it was a Tuesday, staff meetings were usually held once a month, which meant that our next staff meeting wouldn’t be for another two Tuesdays. The day went by calmly and productively. Once again, I ate lunch with Liam and his team. They even had a spot saved for me.

I asked Liam if it had been something he asked them to do, but he shook his head and told me that they planned it on their own. I would have thought he had lied but Liam was not only a very honest person, but the spot that they saved for me wasn’t even near Liam. Could they have actually enjoyed my presence?

After lunch, time seemed to go by fast. Liam and I chose one of the restaurants close to our building for dinner. We were seated and given a pair of menus to peruse.

“For starters, what would you gentlemen like to drink?” The waitress addressed us. “And would you like any appetizers this evening?”

“Just some water with lemon for me,” I responded.

“Sprite for me.” Liam added. “No appetizers this time.”

“Then I’ll be right back with those drinks for ya,” the waitress stated as she walked away.

As I looked through the menu, I was surprised to feel a slight tap on the side of my foot. At first, I thought it was just a clumsy movement, but the look on Liam’s face said otherwise as he tapped my foot again. The smile on his face was the same ‘resting’ smile he wore during polite conversation. But, his honey-hued eyes were looking right at me.

“Hmm?” He prompted, as if daring me to retaliate.

The waitress returned just then with our chosen drinks. She took our full orders and, as soon as she walked off, I bit my lower lip and slid my foot out of my shoe to rub the side of it along one of Liam’s ankles. The socks I wore to work were always soft and of high quality. Mine usually reached up to a third of my calf, but Liam’s cut off at the ankles, so I knew that he could feel the material along his skin.

The next thing I knew, my foot was caught between both of Liam’s. The other man had slid his shoes off, as well, so I could feel the warmth through the socks. As much as he tried, he couldn’t quite wiggle his foot beneath my pants leg. But, I was able to slide one of mine a little under his.

We paused in our game of footsie when the waitress finally came back with our food. I had remembered to also order Michael’s food to go. I knew what my brother liked, so it was easy to decide for him. Such thoughts reminded me that I didn’t know much of what Liam liked to eat. So, I paid close attention to his meal.

Liam liked his steak medium well. He had chosen the filet with a lobster tail and broccoli, so he didn’t seem averse to sea food. I had chosen the parmesan chicken with grilled shrimp and broccoli. Our games and conversation came to a standstill as we ate our fill. We were both quite hungry by that time.

We split the bill and were handed Michael’s order in a take-home bag. We then walked out to our respective cars.

“Mind if I come over for a little bit and greet your brother while I’m at it?” Liam suggested.

“If you feel like it,” I replied and then inwardly cursed when I realized how curt that sounded. “I mean, I’d like it if you came over.”

The smile that formed on his face after I said it made it worth the effort.

We arrived one after the other. Michael was in the living room watching Marvel movies.

“Liam?” Michael greeted as he paused the movie and turned around, shifting onto his knees to regard us.

“Nice to see you again,” Liam responded.

“Brought you some filet mignon,” I called out, which prompted Michael to leap over the couch towards the kitchen.

“No way!” Mike gasped as he rushed to sit down at the table. “I think I’m drooling, I can’t remember the last time I ate filet mignon.”

I set the bag in front of him and smirked. “Enjoy. Liam and I will be in my room for a bit.”

“W-wait! Liam, dude,” Michael urged as he pointed at Liam with a fork. “No hardcore hanky-panky when I’m under the same roof, alright?”

Liam burst out laughing. “Understood.”

“I’m serious, just thinking about it could ruin my decadent meal!” Michael insisted.

“For pity’s sake, Mike!” I huffed. “We’re not going to go that far on a work night…not yet, at least.”

I felt the blush on my face well before I dragged Liam over to my room and locked the door behind him.

There were still traces of mirth on Liam’s face.

“Sorry about that,” I said with a sigh. “I think he’s just worried that I’ll get hurt again.”

“And he doesn’t seem to know about our ‘no rushing into this’ agreement,” Liam pointed out.

I tried not to pout, but failed miserably. “Well, that’s really between you and me. And I haven’t fully agreed to that agreement!”

Liam grinned. “Then that means that you partially have agreed to it.”

I opened my mouth to refute it, but realized that he was right. I decided to get rid of the grin on his face, instead. With a tug on his collar, I urged him to lean down and kiss me. He complied rather nicely, might I add. I let him control the pace of the kiss and, though it was a touch slower than I would have preferred, it was also quite thorough and pleasant.

I gasped when I felt the tip of his tongue brush along the roof of my mouth and curled my fingers into the hair on the back of his head. The hands that he had on my hips hesitantly slid over to my clothed backside to give it a squeeze. If I weren’t too busy kissing him back, I’d have laughed at his trepidation.

“Mmm!” Came a loud sound just outside my door. “This ice cream sandwich sure is cold…just like tall, blue popsicles and blue rubber balls!”

“Damn it, Michael!”