Julian barely slept, and when he did, he dreamed of Aida, but that was nothing new; she haunted his dreams every night, and every morning he woke hard as a rock and aching for her. When he heard her phone ring at six thirty the next morning, he strained to hear the conversation.
“Yes.” There was a pause. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Silence followed before her door opened and soft footsteps sounded in the hall. Julian sat up on the couch as the bathroom door closed, and a minute later, the shower turned on. Unable to tolerate the idea of her naked, in the shower, with water running over her bare flesh, Julian threw back his blanket and jumped out of bed before it became impossible for him to walk.
He really should have thought all this through better last night, but he’d wanted to see her again, not spend the night. However, after being this close to her all night, he was reluctant to leave, but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t say he lost his key twice in a row, and none of his things were here.
Besides, Kyle would come home. When he did, he’d probably want his bed. Julian busied himself with removing the sheets and blanket from the bed. He folded them and stacked them on top of the small armchair in the corner of the room. With bits of yellow stuffing poking through some of the threadbare spots, it was obvious the chair had seen better days, but it looked inviting.
He closed the bed up, returned the cushions, and sank onto the couch as the shower turned off. He rose again when he heard her shuffling around the bathroom and paced into the kitchen. Opening the fridge door, he smiled when he spotted the bags of blood tucked inside next to the cartons of leftover food.
He removed a bag, tore off the top, and drank it too fast to notice the chill of the thick blood. When he finished, he tossed it in the trash and drummed his fingers on the counter. The bathroom door opened; he caught a whiff of her shampoo and lavender soap before she disappeared into her room.
His fingers clicked faster against the worn Formica as he waited for her to reemerge. A key turning in the locks brought his attention to the door as Kyle entered the apartment. His brother’s bloodshot, deep blue eyes landed on him, and he hesitated before closing the door.
“What are you doing here?” Kyle asked.
“I lost my key at the bar last night,” Julian told him.
From down the hall, a door opened, but it sounded too far away to be Aida’s room.
“Uh-huh,” Kyle said, obviously not buying what Julian said.
When Kyle ran a hand through his already disheveled, wheat-blond hair, it stood more on end. They’d seen each other last night and hung out at the bar, but Julian still walked over to hug his little brother. Soon, Kyle would stop aging and become more out of control with the women. Julian wished he could help him, but each of them had to go through this; he could only hope Kyle didn’t get lost.
“That’s too bad; the pullout sucks to sleep on,” Kyle said as he slapped Julian on the back, and they separated.
“How would you know?” Cassidy asked as she punched him in the arm while she strolled past. “You’re barely here.”
“Ow,” Kyle said as he rubbed his arm. “Do you blame me? Look at the way you treat me when I am here.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes as she plopped onto the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Sure, that’s why you’re never here.”
Kyle grinned at her as he continued rubbing his arm. “What can I say? The chicks dig me.”
“You’re gross,” Cassidy told him.
Kyle’s smile didn’t falter when he turned toward Julian. “I’m sure you understand what it’s like to be irresistible.”
“I understand what it’s like to be irresistible,” Cassidy said. “I can also say no.”
Kyle shrugged. “Why?”
Cassidy rolled her eyes again. “You’re such an ass.”
“But I’m an irresistible ass.”
Julian smiled while he listened to their banter. At one time, he had the same easygoing relationship with them, but nothing felt easy anymore.
“So, Julian, what are the women of the world like?” Kyle asked as he sat on the couch beside Cassidy.
“You haven’t seen each other in almost five years, and that’s the question you ask him?” Cassidy inquired.
“We saw each other last night,” Kyle reminded her.
“And how much talking did you get done while you were working and hitting on women?”
“I’m a very talented multitasker.”
“More like a talented slack off.”
“That too,” Kyle agreed. “But I don’t plan on traveling any time soon, so if I’m going to learn what the women of the world are like, I have to ask the man who’s been around the world. So, Julian, what are they like?”
“They’re like the women here,” Julian said.
Except none of them were like one woman. Over the years, countless women had thrown themselves at him, but none of them compared to the one he left behind.
“I bet you had a girl in every country, maybe two or three of them,” Kyle said. “What fun it must have been.”
Cassidy punched him in the arm again as Aida emerged from the hallway. Julian knew she’d heard Kyle when her jaw tightened. Her golden eyes landed on him before flitting away. Over the years, he’d wanted to choke his brother more times than he could recall, but right now, he could kill him.
“Stop hitting me,” Kyle said as he rubbed his arm; Cassidy shot him a look.
Aida hesitated as she stood at the end of the hall. She should go, but she needed coffee and food. It was going to be an endless day, and as much as she’d love to say screw it and grab something from Dunkin’, the long line at this time of the morning would take too much time, and Nicolette would get crankier if she had to wait.
Aida held her chin high as she walked into the kitchen. She went out of her way to avoid touching Julian, which was difficult in the cramped space. He also seemed a lot bigger in the tiny kitchen.
She scooped some coffee into the maker, added some water, and turned it on. Usually, she had the coffee pot all set and ready to hit start in the morning, but in her agitation over seeing Julian last night, she forgot to do it.
That only added to her irritation, and she nearly slammed the cabinet doors after she found a granola bar. She unwrapped it and bit angrily into her bar as she glowered at the coffee and willed it to brew faster. She was pretty sure the drops started going backward.