The Better Brother

“My daughter is Alyssa Bradley,” Gabriel told one of the security guards at the door. “If she comes looking for me, let her in. We’re taking a break from the music.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, nodding at the two of us. “Only Alyssa Bradley is allowed through.”

The wine had hit me a bit harder than I intended. I stumbled slightly in my heels with Gabriel leading me to a private booth with bright red curtains. He helped me sit down in the booth before ordering two waters.

“You need water,” he said, sliding in the booth next to me. “It’ll combat the alcohol a bit.”

I rubbed at my fuzzy head with a grimace. “It’s been a long time since I’ve gone out for a drink. I was just having a few glasses to calm my nerves.”

“That rarely works,” he said sagely. “Trust me from personal experience. Deal with your shit when you’re sober. You won’t have unhealthy coping mechanisms in the long run.”

I nodded and took a sip of water.

“I don’t usually drink,” I admitted. “I don’t like the way it makes me feel like I’m not in control.”

“And you usually feel the need to be in control?” he asked me, his green eyes pinning me to my seat.

“Well someone needs to be,” I quipped. “Got knows my mother never was.”

He sat back and studied me for a moment. “What makes you say that?”

“Years of living with her?” I suggested, shrugging my shoulders. “She’s been pretty wrapped up in her shitty boyfriends for the past ten years of my life. It’s like my dad never really existed to her.”

“Everyone has to move on with their lives eventually.” Gabriel leveled a hard glance in my direction as I sipped at my water. “Is that why you’re with her? Because she moved on?”

My stomach churned sickeningly when I looked away from him. I didn’t want to talk about anything that involved my mother and her boyfriends. Especially the current one.

“I didn’t come out here to talk about my mother’s love life,” I pointed out, wishing that I had another glass of wine to steady my nerves. “She can do whatever she wants to do. I’m not going to let it ruin my break away from school.”

Sensing a touchy subject, Gabriel nodded as he let the topic go. “That’s fair. I won’t ask again if it’s going to upset you. We can talk about something else. What are you planning to do after graduation this spring?”

I traced the rim of my water glass while I debated how to answer. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do yet. My mother insisted that I keep going to school to obtain my MBA, but I was exhausted from spending the past four years studying. I did well in my business classes, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I enjoyed my art classes and my English ones as well. Those were the subjects I sorely wished I would’ve pursued, if my mother hadn’t pulled the, “I’m paying for your college education, so study what I want you to study.”

“Not sure yet,” I said. “I’ve thought about how nice it would be to just travel around for a little bit, to take a break from school.”

Gabriel nodded. “I did that after college. I needed a break from it, so I built up my office after that. Never been back since.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised. “I figured you would’ve continued your education, after how successful you’ve been over the years.”

“I never liked school,” Gabriel said, laughing. “As soon as I was done with my bachelors, I held my middle finger up and walked.”

“That’s nice to hear. My mother thinks I need to keep going on with school, but I don’t want to do it. I just want to be done.”

“I’m sure she just wants you to be successful. But I have a feeling you are going to do that whether you get your Masters or not.”

I blushed at the honest answer, feeling good that this man had such confidence in me when my own mother couldn’t. “I know she wants you to kick me out so that I have to go back to New York for Christmas—” I started.

“I’m not going to kick you out. It’s nice having you around the place.”

His eyes darkened a tad bit in the dim lighting. My cheeks flushed hotly as I tried to decipher those words.

“It’s nice being here,” I replied cautiously. I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but I didn’t want it to stop. A part of me felt titillated, knowing that Gabriel didn’t want to push me out of the way. “Thank you for letting me stay. I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course.” He eyed my empty water glass. “Are you feeling a bit better?”

My head didn’t feel as fuzzy, but every other part of my body did. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Gabriel made my body respond in ways it never had before. My thighs felt quivery, and the spot between them pulsed with need.

“A bit,” I said. “I like the way I’m feeling right now.”