He fixes my skirt and kisses my shoulder as I control my breathing. I straighten my hair in the mirror on the wall and smooth out my dress when the chime rings. I motion for him to be quiet and stay put. As I walk back into the store, my heart falls out of my chest, smack bam on the floor, as I see my brother standing behind the register.
“Lex,” I almost shout. “Why are you here?”
“Why are you shouting my name? I’m not deaf,” he replies.
“Sorry, noisy aircon out back. So, what are you doing here?”
Act calm. Do not show any signs of paranoia.
“I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Do you always leave the store unattended?”
“No, dickwad. Cassie had to be somewhere, and I really needed to count something in the back, and besides, I have a door chime.”
“Right. So about tonight. It’s not a fucking drag queen party again, is it?”
“Shemales, not drag queens. Eric promised it wasn’t.” I distract myself by folding some garments in front of me, but it seems pointless as Julian’s cum is oozing down my thigh. What have I gotten myself into? Why can’t a vagina be like a Venus flytrap, once caught, it shuts. This is just plain uncomfortable, and my brother is in front of me. My eyes move toward my arms as they begin to redden.
“So, I’ll bail. Charlotte can weather the storm.”
“Whatever. You’ll last an hour before the curiosity gets the better of you, and you do your whole I-miss-my-wife bullshit.”
I need to wrap this conversation up, but Lex is getting comfortable resting his hand on the bench and pulling out his cell to type something. The anxiety was getting to me, and suddenly, the temperature in the room is stifling hot.
“Well, I haven’t seen her much this week between me flying to New York and her helping Nikki with that pending case. Is it too much to want to spend quality time with my wife?”
“Uh, no…” I’m aware Julian hears all of this, and I am not too sure what he’ll be thinking right now. Will he be annoyed? Angry? The last thing I want is to get into another argument when things are becoming great between us.
I see Lex’s face light up, and his lips widen into a smile.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
He continues typing. “Oh, nothing.”
“Whatever. Show me!” It’s just like when we were kids. He knows how to push my buttons, and I used to hate it when he hid things from me. Classic example, when he was fourteen, and I thought he was smuggling Wonka bars into the house in a brown paper bag when my dad had banned all sweets for a month after Lex and I accidentally washed his wallet as part of our chores. I swore he was sneaking in candy and begged him to share it with me. He always refused, and so one day, I rushed home after school and raided his room only to find the latest Penthouse magazines.
Yet somehow, I still didn’t learn my lesson back then or now, asking him to show me his cell.
“You want to see your best friend naked in the shower?”
“Oh my God, Lex! TMI! Get the fuck out of here, you freak.”
“Gladly. I’ve got a wife who needs attention. See ya tonight, sis.” He winks.
He walks out the door, and I let out a long-winded sigh. I give it a few minutes before I head to the back. Julian is standing there against the wall. I know he has heard it all, given that his face is blank. No smile or I-missed-you grin.
“I’m sorry, that was so awkward, and I know that must have been hard for you.”
“Adriana,” he grits.
“Yeah?” I mutter.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I want only you? The only uncomfortable thing about this is that I loathe your brother for holding us back. I want to go home to you and do dirty things whenever I please.”
“But Charlie and naked…” I’m fucking rambling. Why am I fucking talking about Charlie being naked!
“Don’t. Please.”
“But you’re not—”