Page 53 of Discord
I let go of Noah, unable to disregard a certain man’s fiery gaze burning through my skin and focused on catching up with them instead.
Apparently, Brandon had prepped Asher for my arrival— explaining why he recognized me so quickly. Not to mention, he didn’t seem shocked Brandon brought a teenager along. It seemed Brandon wanted Asher to meet me without risking animosity. Quite possibly, my identity and age had also been disclosed to Carmen.
As usual, everything had been planned. For a man who claimed to live life on the edge, he sure schemed and plotted a whole hell of a lot.
Asher left to prep the burger meat when Brandon started the burner, looking all-American as men tended to do around a grill. Meanwhile, Noah stayed back under the pretenses of keeping me company. In reality, he was sneaking alcohol out of Brandon’s collection for some good old-fashioned underage drinking.
I sat at the kitchen counter with my back to him, deliberately playing dumb. I didn’t want to rat Noah out because I appreciated him keeping me company. However, I also didn’t want to lie to Brandon in case his expensive bottles went missing. If I didn’t see anything, there’d be nothing to report.
Noah slid next to me on the counter and bumped my shoulder with his. I realized he liked to engage in harmless flirting. It was kind of funny and heartwarming.
He nodded toward the sliding doors where Asher and Brandon stood outside with a batch of burgers in hand. “They look so intense. Look at me. I. Am. Man.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the macho impression. “Do you think they are comparing meat sizes?”
Noah blinked at me with amusement. “Shit. You’re hilarious.”
“True.”
He playfully grabbed a few strands of my hair. “Where has Brandon been hiding you? He didn’t even tell us he had a girlfriend.”
That part was simple. “I’m not his girlfriend.”
Noah frowned, puzzled. “But he brought you here.”
“That’s because he’s blackmailing me,” I responded stoically. “It’s easier to keep an eye on me from nearby.”
Noah’s eyes widened at my uncouth accusation, seeming only half sure that I was kidding.
I laughed at his dumbfounded expression. “He brought me here to engage in his less than honorable intentions. Trust me, Brandon and I aren’t a thing.”
Obviously, Brandon chose that moment to come up to us. The words hung heavy in the air, and the temperature in the room turned mildly cool to icy cold.
Noah quickly let go of my hair he was playing with and glanced at Brandon over my shoulders. “Are the burgers almost done?”
Brandon didn’t respond.
An awkward tension loitered between the three of us. Uncomfortable, Noah cleared his throat. “I’ll check with Asher.” He made a run for it as I smiled awkwardly after his retreating body.
Brandon’s frosty glare seared into the side of my face. “He is barely in college.” There was a sharp edge in his voice, though perfectly collected. “Wouldn’t deceive him into sex just quite yet. He isn’t old enough for it to ruin his life, nor does he have anything to lose.”
Pain radiated through me, the words almost knocking me out cold. Brandon had thrown around such accusations before, but that was before he knowingly fucked me with all my underage deficiencies and then blackmailed me to continue doing so.
I didn’t turn his way. “And here I was writing a book for Noah. Silly me.”
There was a clench in his jaw. The air was so thick between us that it became suffocating.
“Hey, man,” Asher called out to Brandon, sliding open the door to the living room. “I can’t tell if these are done.”
Brandon turned away and marched outside without another word.
With my ongoing cold war with Brandon, I felt unsure where I belonged seeing everyone here were his friends. Nonetheless, once the food was served and the eight people barbecue officially commenced, Carmen insisted that I joined them outside.
The mingling started off okay. I learned that Asher invited the sunbathing girls—Natasha and Mary. To my relief, they were both friendly.
At some point, the girls mentioned visiting an ashram and spending their days feeding bananas to monkeys. But they were sad some of the monkeys fell ill shortly after. Despite popular belief, consuming bananas were equivalent to candy intake for monkeys. When I pointed out that their efforts in fact made the monkeys sick, the conversation fell entirely.
I hated,no,I loathedbeing this foot-in-the-mouth syndrome girl. I could have simply nodded and praised their efforts for feeding monkeys. It would have made me popular all around and a joy to be around. Instead, I said the worst things at the worst moments, making everything awkward. My difficulties in regulating my emotions, maintaining friendships, or having normal conversations had Milo worried if I fell on the spectrum. I didn’t. However, I knew my oddities were indicative enough for others to consider the same.
