Haru

During the short journey to the supermarket, my body was stiff and tense as I sat there, staring into space, very aware of Aiden sitting not too far from me. When he parked the car and then said, "We're here," I jolted in my seat. I thought about asking if I should stay behind when the door on my side was open.

Reo said, "Time to go grocery shopping, shrine maiden."

I frowned at him. "Stop calling me that. I'm not a bloody shrine maiden, for God's sake."

Reo merely brushed aside my complaint with a laugh, like he usually did. He tousled my hair as I got out.

As we walked toward the entrance of the supermarket, I rushed up ahead so I didn't have to be close to Aiden, who was walking beside Reo.

"Get the cart, Haru," Reo called out to me.

I'm stuck with the grocery cart, eh?

I went over to the line of carts and pulled one out. Then I pushed it into the vegetable section of the supermarket. Since I wasn't the cook of the house, I wasn't sure what we were getting, and found I had to wait for both Aiden and Reo to catch up.

Reo, like always, refused to read the tense atmosphere between Aiden and me and decided to leave us two together by disappearing off somewhere. Aiden caught up with me, and standing right beside me, he rested his hand over mine.

I tensed. His hand felt hot against mine, and why the hell did he have to place it there, of all places? His broad chest was touching the side of my arm, too, and his breath was warm on the top of my head.

He said, "We'll need some ingredients for burgers."

I licked my lips. Shit, I was licking my lips nervously like a girl.

My throat dry, I asked, "Are we having burgers for the party?"

I couldn't help myself and glanced up at him. He was watching me, and even gave me a smile. My face felt hot under his ardent gaze.

He said, "Hm. Burgers. Meat skewers. Savory pies. Chips. Soft drinks. All the good stuff."

"You're going all out, aren't you?"

"Since we don't do a lot of parties. And this one is important for Noah. We missed out on doing one for your birthday, too."

"I don't want one, anyway," I said. "I'm too old for that."

He tousled my hair. "You're never too old for a birthday party." Then he headed over to pick up some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. He took some broccoli, cauliflower, and more of the green stuff, too. With the vegetables done, we headed over to the meat section. There, Aiden took his time inspecting the various types of meat and I watched him, lost in my own thoughts.

Dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a simple T-shirt, he looked relaxed and hot. The fact that his face was so gorgeous didn't go unnoticed by most of the females here doing their own shopping, either. And the fact that they did a double take every time he passed them or that they ogled at him for a bit too long didn't go unnoticed by me, either.

I'm acting like a jealous boyfriend, aren't I?

Feeling sick to my stomach at the thought, I pulled the cart away, intending to go somewhere else, anywhere, as long as it wasn't close to Aiden. But Aiden turned and must have noticed my intention because he asked, "Where are you going?"

I stammered, "Nowhere."

He placed some five to six packets of meat into the cart and then came over and put his arm around me, trapping me between him and the cart. His breath warm on my head, he said, "Let's get some chips."

I tried to just chill, but it was impossible. Before, I enjoyed being intimate with Aiden like this, but after last night, this style of kinship only made my heart race and my emotions run in turmoil even more.

Reo finally made his grand reappearance, along with loads of food items in his arms. He put them into the cart and was about to head away again when I said, "I'll wait outside."

Before any of them could ask me what exactly the hell was wrong with me, I moved out of Aiden's arm and paced away, heading toward the exit.

Outside, I sat on the hood of the car as I waited for Aiden and Reo to finish shopping. By the time they appeared, with the cart filled to the rim with groceries, I had managed to calm myself down. Without a word, I helped put the shopping into the trunk, avoiding making eye contact with Aiden as much as I could. Of course, the fact that I could feel his gaze on me, hot and intense, only made me even more hyperaware of his presence.

When we got back to the apartment, I endured another five to ten minutes to help put everything away before rushing into my room to hide before Aiden could ask to talk to me. Because I knew in my gut he intended to do that.

I was reading my Japanese textbook when a few knocks came at my door. "Haru, it's me," I heard Reo's voice on the other side.

I said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Reo came to sit on the bed, facing me. He reached over and ruffled my hair. "You and Aiden seem off today. Did you two fight? It's rare to see you two fight."

I didn't know what to tell Reo. I mean, how the hell do you tell your brother that you had a thing with your stepbrother? Seriously.

"It's nothing."

Reo sighed. "It's not nothing, Haru. I can tell when Aiden is troubled and he's troubled today."

I raised my gaze to him and asked, "What are you trying to say, Reo?"

"That I don't want you to trouble Aiden. He has enough to deal with… Work. Us… You get the gist."

I nodded. Of course, I knew that.

I said, "Believe me, Reo, I don't want to trouble Aiden. I know he has a shitload to deal with and… Shit, I'm sorry. It's just that I don't know how to deal with things like that…"

Reo chuckled. "I guess you are at that age when you have your own problems cropping up. But just don't trouble Aiden too much."

I nodded. "I know."

"Good. Then talk and get everything resolved before the party starts." With that, he tousled my hair again and then headed out the door.

I sighed. I guess it couldn't be helped.