“In the fridge.” I tilt my head toward the fridge behind me.
Alex goes to open the fridge, and at the same time, Leo looks at me with a question written on his face.
“All I see is lunch meat, sliced cheese, and half a loaf of bread.”
“Exactly. Make your own damn sandwich.” My response makes Leo erupt with laughter, while Alex launches toward me to get me into a headlock.
“Alright, I think I’m in the mood for a knuckle sandwich.” Alex tousles my hair as I struggle to get out of the headlock he has me in. Damn him and his fighter strength. At least I have better abs.
“Knock it off, you two, before you break something,” Roman’s voice booms as he enters the kitchen from the back porch, where he had been lounging for the day.
Alex and I separate but not before I give him a little shove. Turning toward the mirror that hangs just between the living room and the kitchen, I straighten out my rumpled clothes and hair. I catch Roman approaching me through the mirror.
“Surprised to see you actually planned something,” Roman says with a smirk on his face, indicating that he’s joking. Regardless, the comment still irks me.
“Ha ha,” I say as I continue fixing my hair.
“You going to be safe tonight?” Roman crosses his arms, asking me a question he doesn’t usually ask my brothers. I clench my molars at his question.
“Yes,Dad, I have condoms if that’s what you’re asking.” I finish running my fingers through my hair and turn toward him.
“Don’t call me that, Theo. You know that’s not what I meant.” His eyes squint slightly, the muscles in his jaw mirroring mine as they tick.
“We’ll be fine. You do realize I’m a fucking adult, right? I know how to take care of myself. You don’t have to baby me all the time.”And if you hate being called dadso much,then stop acting like one and just be my fuckingbrotherfor once.Once again, I’m too much of a coward to say the words I’ve thought for years.
Roman has always treated Alex and Leo as his brothers. A luxury I have never been awarded. For some reason, Roman can’t seem to get it through his head that I’m an adult and should be treated as his equal. While I appreciate everything he’s done for me, I don’t need the parent angle from him anymore. I just need a brother.
“Theo.” He drops his arms, and his mouth opens like he’s going to continue, but he shuts it, a wave of anger crossing his face before he continues. “Just fucking be careful.” Then he storms upstairs to his bedroom, ending the conversation.
I look toward my brothers, both of them doing aterrible job of pretending they weren’t listening in on the conversation.
“He needs to get laid,” I say.
My brothers don’t get a response in before we are all interrupted by a voice at the bottom of the stairs.
“Gentlemen, the moment you’ve been waiting for…” Beth announces, motioning her hands upward toward where Sienna descends.
The moment my eyes land on Sienna, something in my chest tightens, as though it can only be relieved by being closer to her. Listening to the feeling in my chest without hesitation, I walk toward Sienna, meeting her at the bottom of the stairs.
Sienna’s warm brown skin is radiant and glowing, as the sunset light shines on her from the windows. Her pinned-back curls showcase her slender neck and collarbones that I’m compelled to kiss and nip at every time they are exposed. Two small braids frame her face, decorated in small gold accents.
The real killer? The fucking sundress. The shade of yellow perfectly accents the gold she’s adorned her body with and complements her skin tone. The dress drapes over her, hugging her breasts, caressing her waist, hanging off her hips, and stopping just short of her mid-calf. I’m afraid her overwhelming beauty will send me to an early death if I don’t touch her soon.
Someone clears their throat next to me, and I see the bouquet I picked up for Sienna out of the corner of my eye. I know it’s one of my brothers, but I don’t care to see which one before taking the bouquet and shoving them away.
Handing the flowers to Sienna, I say, “You look stunning. As always.”
She hesitantly takes the bouquet from me. “Thank you,” she says softly. “These are gorgeous. Are these?—”
I interrupt her with my response, too excited for tonight. “Angelica, yes. And the other ones are roses, but I’m sure you already knew that.” My tone comes out shakier than I intend, but the sight of her smile instantly calms my racing heart.
She raises a brow at me. “I didn’t know you knew so much about flowers.”
“I don’t. But I saw the name at the flower shop and thought they were perfect.” Breaking a small piece of white angelica flower off its stem, I tuck it behind her ear.
I can’t hold back at the sight of Sienna’s smile. Pulling her in by the waist, I’m barely able to suppress my moan at the softness of the sundress fabric at my fingertips as I press my mouth into hers. She kisses me back with a passion that I feel deep within my bones.
A whooping and hollering starts in the kitchen. Sienna tries to pull away from the kiss, but I keep her close, only removing a hand from her waist to flip off our audience.
