Page 4 of Brother
“What?” Simonasked incredulously. “No way, come on, Nate. Those girlsare—”
“I don’t wantto.”
That shutSimonright up. Not thewords, but the tone, urgent and out of place after the amazing daythey’d had. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m—” Nathanshook his head. Where to fucking start? “I’m just tired. Seriously,Si. I just…I need a break.”
Simon watchedhim carefully for amoment, searching, before coming up with a smile. Everybody thoughtthat Simon bulldozed over Nathan in most things. That his loudpersonality dwarfed Nathan’s, made him unable to speakup.
The truth was,nobody listened to Nathan the way Simon did.When he wanted space, or quiet, or peace,Simon was there barricading the door so that nobody camein.
“All right,”Simon agreed in that easy way of his. “You want me to go withyou?”
“No,” Nathansaid, forcing himself not to say it too eagerly. For once, sometime away from his brother was precisely what he needed.
“All right,”Simon repeated. “I’ll try not to wake you up when I get back to theroom.”
Nathansnorted.“Sure.”
They’d chosen ashitty little hotel near campus for their stay, and the room wasweirdly quiet in that way near-empty hotels were. The thickmauve-and-yellow bedspread, the beige curtains, the flattenedcarpet on the floor—everything seemed far more depressing whenSimon wasn’t there to make light of it.
Nathan sank ontohis bed and put his head in his hands, trying to steady hisbreathing. Trying to stop his lungs from pressing into small, tightballs thatchoked onair. Trying to fuckingfix himself, to just be fucking normal.
**********
For amoment,Nathan didn’tknow what strange instinct kept his body still as he woke up. Hetried to loosen his clenched jaw, the fists tucked under hispillow, but his muscles remained tensed as voices accompanied thesound of the door to the hotel room opening.
“Shit, there’ssomeone on the bed,” a girl’s voice said in a loudwhisper.
“That’s just mybrother. Don’t worry, he sleeps like the fucking dead. We’d have tomakealotof noise to wake himup…and we can be quiet, can’t we, baby?”
The girllaughed.“Urgh, you’resuch a charmer. Please don’t tell me he’s your littlebrother.”
“Technicallyhe’s a few minutes younger. We’re twins.”
“You didn’t tellme you had a twin.”
“Didn’t think itwas relevant.”
Nathan’s fistsclenched even further at those words, brain desperate to keep upwith what the fuck was happening, but the girl just laughed.“Sure…or you didn’t want me to know there was someone in your hotelroom.”
Simon must havemadethe sheepish,glinting expression he always had when he got caught doingsomething wrong, as if saying, ‘I just couldn’t helpmyself.’
“You sure hewon’t wake up? Not that I would mindtoomuch if he wants to join, if he looks like you…” It wasclearly a joke, but the words made Nathan go hot and cold with fearandwant.
Nathan wouldrealise the next daythat he hadn’t eventhoughtabouttelling them he was already awake. He lay in the dark, still as hecould, trying to even his trembling breath.
The sound ofkissing was objectively gross.It was wet, without rhythm, but at that moment it filledevery miserable square inch of Nathan’s head with a pull he didn’teven know how to name. Every shaky exhale, every little moan, was ahook piercing the soft and vulnerable meat of his brain.
The air in theroom becamelouder andbreathless as the rustling increased, pieces of clothing hittingthe floor softly, like bombs in the night.
“Oh, oh shit,”the girl whispered like she couldn’t help herself, and the noisesbecame wetter.
Nathancouldn’t even try tostop the picture that appeared, pixel by pixel, in his mind. Thegirl—Indian, probably, judging by her slight accent—spread acrossthe bed. Hair thick and black, fanned across the bedspread, meltinginto the dark. Body arched and squirming along with the smallnoises she was making, cracked moans caught in her throat as Simonate her out.
And there—therewas wherehis mindstuttered. Where it slowed, wanting and greedy, looking fordetails. Had Simon left his clothes on? Or was he naked too, a palecreature in the night?
Were his handsgripping her ass with the same strength and surety that heusedon Nathan to pullhim into a hug and hold him there?
