Vol. 1: Haru to Aiden - Chapter 12

Haru

“Aiden jerked me off last night.” I couldn’t help myself and whispered the words under my breath. His large, warm hand had touched me, intimately, rubbing me and…

My heart skipped, and my face heated up.

“Shit!”

What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to face him?

I sat up straight, my mind in a daze as I shifted my gaze to the place where my crotch was beneath the duvet. Again, the image of Aiden—so close to me, hugging me, and with his hand wrapped firmly around my penis—came into my mind’s eye, and I felt breathless.

Fuck! If I let my mind wander off any longer, I knew I’d be in deep shit.

I snapped myself out of the stupor and flipped the duvet off me. Then I got out of bed and headed for the door.

I needed a cold drink to clear my head, I decided. Then I’d shower and get myself ready for the day. I’d pretend whatever had happened last night between Aiden and me had never happened.

With that plan in mind, I opened the door. I was just about to head over to the kitchen when I noticed someone standing in the middle of the hallway, watching me.

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, since I was kind of still half asleep. The moment I saw Aiden and our eyes met, my heart skipped a few beats, and I freaked out.

I felt my cheeks burning hot, and without thinking, I turned on my heel and rushed back into my bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Alone, and with Aiden out of sight, I took a deep breath. God, I was so not ready to see him this early in the morning, especially after last night.

With weak knees, I crawled back into bed and hid myself again under the duvet, thinking how stupid I had acted a moment ago when I saw Aiden.

It was around nine when a few knocks came at the door. “Haru?”

I sighed in relief when I heard Reo’s voice, and not Aiden’s.

I said, “Come in.”

The door opened, and Reo came into the room. He leaned his tall, muscular body against the frame as he stated, “Time to get up, Shrine Maiden.” He even sported a cheeky smile to annoy me.

I said, “I am up.” I gave a good stretch as I let out a big yawn.

Reo said, “Hurry up and get ready. You’re going shopping with me today. We have a lot to do.”

“For the party?”

Reo nodded.

I thought for a moment and then asked, “Is anyone else coming?”

Reo shrugged his broad shoulders. “Everyone is busy, and you’re the only one free. You are free, right?”

I’d preferred to have today to recover from yesterday’s work, but I guess keeping myself busy by helping Reo shop would probably help to take my mind off Aiden.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m free.”

Reo gave me one of his rare smiles. “Good boy.” With that, he was gone.

After yawning again, I got off the bed and went in search of a set of clean clothes. Once I’d found them, I headed out the door and rushed straight into the bathroom, thankful no one was around, especially Aiden.

I quickly showered and dressed, and once done, I went into the open-plan kitchen-living area to have my breakfast. Apparently, everyone had had theirs, and I was the last one. Reo had just started cleaning the dishes as I sat down to gobble what was left on the table, which wasn’t much, just a bit of scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast.

“Where’s everyone?” I asked since I didn’t hear any voices along the hallway as I came into the kitchen. They were usually loud, those stepbrothers of mine, especially Isaac.

Reo said, “Out.”

“I see.” I returned my attention to my food.

Once I was done eating about ten minutes later, I passed the dishes to Reo and then helped him put the clean ones away.

“Done?” Reo asked as I placed the last of the plates back into the cupboard.

I nodded.

“Let’s go,” he said.

So far so good, I thought as Reo locked the front door of our apartment, and then we headed down the stairs. We were at the main entrance of the complex when a very recognizable car smoothly appeared and stopped right in front of us.

My heart skipped a few beats, and my throat became dry when I saw Aiden in the driver’s seat.

“Get in,” Reo said, giving me a nudge on my back between my shoulder blades.

What? But I thought Aiden wasn’t going to be around!

“Get in, Haru,” Aiden said, which made me jump in my spot.

Shit! Aiden just spoke to me, like it was completely normal, as if last night hadn’t happened.

My heart now racing, I moved over and got into the back seat, while Reo took the front.

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 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 I 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, “Mm-hmm. 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 grabbed 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 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 five or 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 groceries 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.