Page 64 of My Vows Are Sealed

“Can you come by tonight?” she asked. “I finished your Christmas present this morning, so I can give it to you and we can talk.”

Going to her house, parking a block away, and climbing into her window late at night had become a semi-regular thing for me ever since that night after the Jars of Clay concert. I knew it was stupid and risky as hell, but neither one of us could find the will to stop. She said she felt safer with me there, and I loved our late-night talks and just getting to hold her until she fell asleep. Plus, if her dad everdidwalk in on us and start getting violent, at least I’d be there to protect her and call the cops.

“Yeah, I think so. I have a present for you too.” I let out a breath, then let go of her and ruffled Nathan’s hair. “But right now, I promised this guy some ice cream.”

“Oh, my God. I got so involved in the debate about tragic romance that I completely forgot there were little ears. I’m so sorry, Brendan,” Kate gasped.

“It’s fine. He was talking to Dar about our friends’ new puppy,” I assured her.

Ashton grinned as they crouched down so they were at eye level with my brother. “You must be Nathan. Your brother’s told us alotabout you.”

Nathan nodded shyly, but cowered into my side, which made Ashton chuckle.

“It’s okay, bud,” I said, squeezing his shoulder. “This is Ashton and Kate. They’re really good friends of mine from school.”

“But you can call me Ash,” Ashton added. “All my friends do.”

“Brendan, would you and Nathan like some bubble tea slushes?” Mrs. Rhee asked. “That’s still cold and sweet, and you don’t have to pay for it.”

That actually sounded even more appealing to me than ice cream, but I wasn’t sure what he’d think about it. Then again, there were some fruity flavors that he might like.

“What do you think, bud? Want to try a new kind of slushie instead of ice cream?” I asked Nathan.

“Okay,” he mumbled.

“The boss has spoken,” I chuckled, taking my brother’s hand. “Thanks, Miss Hana.”

“Come on in,” she told us. “I’ll make Nathan a strawberry one. What flavor would you like?”

“Thai tea, please.”

She smiled. “I can do that.”

We followed her into the store and over to the small café area they had set up, near their fresh food station. Ashton headed over to the cooler full of sodas, grabbed a couple of bottles, and walked up to the counter, pulling out their wallet, but I saw Mrs. Rhee wave them away, refusing to let them pay.

That didn’t surprise me one bit. The Rhees were the kind of people who insisted on feeding their guests until they were so stuffed that they couldn’t move. And it wasn’t just Korean food, either. They made amazing Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Taiwanese, and any other kind of Asian food you could imagine.

When Ashton got back to the table, I was a little surprised when I saw that the soda they’d grabbed had some sort of Asian writing on it. Then again, it was an Asian market, so I guessed it shouldn’t have shocked me.

“What’s that, Ash?” I asked.

Naomi gasped. “You’ve never had Ramune?”

“Nope. I’ve never even heard of it.”

“How is that possible? I’ve known you for years and I’ve never introduced you to the wonders of Ramune? I’ve failed as a friend.”

“Well, looks like you’re making up for it now. Or at least Ash is.”

“It’s a Japanese soda, and it’s awesome.” Kate took one of the bottles from Ashton. “Nathan, you’re going to love this. This soda stays fizzy because there’s a marble in the top of the bottle that keeps the carbonation trapped in.”

“A marble?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, then looked at me. “Can I give him this one? I’ll go buy another one.”

“Sure,” I chuckled.

I really didn’t give a crap if my parents yelled at me for loading him up on sugar. He’d just heard them yelling about him being a mistake and a problem. Thankfully, he was too little to understand the part about how he was the product of an affair. So, yeah. My parents could both go suck rocks.

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