Caught Between Brothers

Chapter 4 - Oh my panties!

Rose POV

Jace kissed me on the cheek again. Again! It was more deliberate as he took a couple of seconds longer than necessary. He looked into my eyes as if asking for permission first. Was it bad to think he would kiss me on the lips? Would it make me desperate that I wanted it to be there instead? Embarrassing to admit, I hadn't even experienced my first kiss yet.

What was Jace doing to me? He was infiltrating my senses!

I lied on my bed after I changed into my pajamas, trying to get myself to sleep. But after a period of changing positions and counting books (instead of sheep), I surrendered. The amount of food must have been the reason why I was still awake. Knowing I would regret it in the morning, I sat up to try writing. It was already past one, but my brain was very much awake. I could function on five hours of sleep, but at this rate, I doubt if I would be getting that much. My usual wake up time was seven. I could wake up earlier but not later than that hour.

Feeling too lazy to turn on my laptop, I took my phone instead and then pressed my back against the headboard. Looking at my phone, I almost suffered a mild heart attack. There was a message waiting for me to read! It was from JC!

I always had my phone on silent mode because the ringing and incoming message tones would cause my anxiety to shoot up. That was why I had not known he sent a message.

Looking at the time he messaged me, it was only five minutes ago!

JC: I really had a good time with you tonight, Rosie. See you again tomorrow, or rather later as it is already past 1AM. Can't wait!

I was contemplating if I should reply. My thumbs would type only to delete words later on. He might already be on his way to sleep and I wouldn't want to disturb him.

But what the heck. If I couldn't sleep, I would bring someone down with me.

Rose: You made me eat so much of your good food that I can't sleep now. Lol! But, seriously, thank you for the treat. I really appreciate the effort and also for the offer to accompany me to walk Baron. See you too and good night!

With my heart thumping, I pressed SEND. Not knowing if he would be able to read it, and to keep my sanity, I opened a new document to start writing a new chapter.

Still thinking how I would start, I received a new message from JC! Oh my dear heart!

JC: Can't sleep either. And you are welcome, btw. I am extremely delighted to see you again after a long time. Um, Rosie. I don't have work tomorrow morning, can I drop by? I'll bring breakfast.

Oh my panties! I dropped the phone on the bed, covered my face, and screamed quietly.

(What is happening to me? I'm acting like a teenager! For f**k's sake, Rose, act accordingly!)

I released a shaky breath, took hold of my phone, then prepared a reply to JC.

Rose: Are you sure you will be able to wake up early? I am usually up by 7. But you don't have to worry about breakfast. I'm good with coffee and cereal. Or toast. But for you I will prepare something in the morning.

I had just pressed SEND when I received JC's reply.

JC: Perfect!

JC: What do you want for breakfast?

JC: I don't know what's in the kitchen but surely I can whip up something better. Cereal or toast alone won't do you good. Did you also like the one prepared for you yesterday?

JC: What are you doing now?

Overwhelmed by JC's messages, I took time in reading them. The next thing I knew, we were exchanging messages.

Rose: Fine, chef! You can bring breakfast. Anything is fine with me. Pancakes or waffles. Or eggs. Bacon is fine too, but I don't know what the dietician will say about that.

JC: Don't you eat rice for breakfast now? Candice would sometimes feed me rice for breakfast when I dogsat for your dad. I'll bring bacon…for Baron! lol!

Rose: So that's why Baron is so nice to you! Anyway, I still eat rice for breakfast when I am able to cook, but bring whatever you can handle. It is already 2AM. You better sleep.

JC: If you are not going to sleep yet, then I won't sleep at all.

Rose: What? I was supposed to write since I couldn't sleep.

JC: Sleep now, my angel.

I repeatedly read what he called me. Hours ago he called me his Rosie.

Rose: Angel?

JC: Yeah, because you look like an angel. You do not look like a baby to me. Go sleep please. I won't be disturbing you now. I don't want you grumpy when I get there. See you at seven. Sweet dreams.

But how could I sleep with my heart screaming in delight?

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.

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I jumped from my bed when I saw it was five minutes to seven. With no time to fix myself, I went for the basics - washed my face, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. I was about to change my clothes when I heard Baron barking downstairs. As I hadn't worn my bra yet, all I did was put on JC's hoodie, which was hanging from my chair, and ran down the stairs to the front door.

“Good morning!” I exclaimed when I opened the door. I didn’t bother to check if it was indeed JC. Baron had calmed down anyway.

“Hey!” How Jace could look so good with less sleep was beyond me. “How was your sleep?” He then brought his arm around my shoulder as he directed me inside.

I raised a hand to my hair and tried to flatten it while we walked to the dining table.

“Sleep? What sleep?” I laughed. We passed by a mirror, and I saw how droopy my eyes were. The vision made me cringe.

“You just woke up, didn’t you?” He grinned as he placed the paper bag he was holding on the table. As he started to pull out the contents, he would say what was in it. “Choco-chip banana waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. A couple of pieces for you and the rest is for Baron.” He liked teasing me, unless the bacon was really for Baron. "Just kidding, you can have three," he said while laughing.

“Those look good. You will definitely fatten me up.” I groaned, not only for the thought of me getting fat, but also for the four-hour-sleep I had. It was almost three when I got to sleep, as I had been replaying scenes from the night before.

“Well, if you sit all day, then you will definitely get fat. But you get to have your daily dose of exercise when you walk Baron.” JC took a pack of what looked like ground coffee from the bag. “Sit down. I’ll just prepare the coffee. Good thing I brought this. I don’t know if you would have anything ready. Though we would have to wait.”

“I don’t mind waiting as long as you make me two cups to last the morning,” I replied as I sat down looking at the mouth-watering waffles in front of me. Looking for anything that was missing, I happened to find nothing. JC brought everything, including the utensils! Mind you, they’re not the plastic ones but real silverware!

“Oh my goodness, JC! You thought of everything!” I said it more to myself, but at the exact time, JC got out of the kitchen.

“Of course. I don’t want us washing after. And I have a cleaning lady who goes to my house on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This will give her something to do later.”

“A cleaning lady? Wow!” I was beginning to think that JC’s business must be booming and he was earning a lot so that he could hire a cleaning lady. “Wait. That means you’re no longer staying at your parents’ house?”

“Nope. I got myself a place of my own after my internship, then built a big kitchen at the back, separate from the main house. That’s where me and my staff work,” he answered. I had not thought of his place of work when he told me about his business.

JC told me more about his staff and his business dealings while we ate. All the while I thought he only catered to individual orders, but he also handled corporate accounts and even had business ventures with small establishments like grocery and convenience stores. That brought me to the conclusion of how JC would be in my fictional world: the dominant billionaire.

How would he be with a girl? Did he even have a girlfriend? With me, he was very sweet. I would even call all that he did for me as spoiling. I couldn’t carry on with this kind of treatment because I would surely miss it all when I got back to my apartment.

“Where is this house anyway?” I forgot to ask earlier. He didn’t say where it was either.

“Not far from here. If you like, you can come with me after breakfast!” he said with much enthusiasm. “Funny right? I get my own house but still near my parents. But it was their requirement. They loaned me the money I needed for the business, but their condition was to stay nearby. But, really, I wouldn’t be anywhere else right now.” JC winked before he took a sip of his coffee.

“Maybe next time? I would have to get some items at the store. Mom did some shopping before they left but I have some things I need to buy.” I would love to spend more time with JC but I thought I would have to take it slow. There were feelings and thoughts that I needed to sort out. Besides, I really needed to shop.

“Great! I have nothing to do today. I could accompany you. If that is okay.” He looked at me like a child shyly asking for candy. I couldn’t say no!

“Okay. You can come with me.”

“We could drop by the house first and leave the things then we can go to the grocery store. I’m at your command for the whole day.”

“But after the store, I need to work. I write every day. Unless I have advanced chapters written, then I could take it slow.”

“I’m fine hanging out with Baron. I’ll work on my laptop, too. Then we can have that walk whenever you want. After that I’ll go home. I promise.”

He sounded like the kid I used to know.

“Oh, Jan Christopher!”

“It’s Jace, Rosie.” He softly laughed at his silliness. I could only shake my head and stand up to clear the table.

Jace, as he wanted to be called, gave me time to be human, while he took care of the fishes and Baron’s needs before we went out. So, I hurried upstairs. Instead of taking a quick shower, I changed my clothes to a sweater, a pair of leggings, and my reliable sneakers. I thought I would save the shower for when we came back from the grocery store to feel fresh before taking the jump at writing.

After around fifteen minutes, we were already at JC’s house. It looked big for a bachelor, so no wonder he would want someone to help him clean the house. We parked at the curb and walked our way to the front door.

The house had two floors with the outer walls painted bluish gray accented with white. It was as manly as it could be. When we got inside, the hues changed to soft gray, black, and white. The place was immaculate, not what I expected of a single man. There were no cups or trash lying around. Everything seemed to be in their proper places. Perhaps he had a hidden man cave somewhere. The sudden thought of JC being single dawned on me. I wanted to know if he had a girlfriend.

“Why the big house? Are you thinking of building a family soon?” I couldn’t ask him directly so I had to go around it.

At my question, JC stood frozen and seemed to be thinking of what to answer.

“No. I don’t see a family in the near future. I want a big space. Small spaces suffocate me. I have a number of rooms here, not all bedrooms, but I can convert them when the time comes.” JC shrugged his shoulders as we got to the kitchen.

The first floor of the house was an open area. The living room flowed to the dining room then to the kitchen, where I noticed a trap door. It must be the man cave!

“What’s in there?” I asked.

I noticed how JC looked uncomfortable before replying, like he was being careful on what he had to say.

“Basement. More like a storage area.”

Storage area my ass. I bet it was his man cave and wouldn’t want to show his messy side to me.

We toured the second floor where I got to peek at his huge bedroom. It was pleasant to the eyes. I got it when he said he liked big space, but did not expect what I was seeing. The hues changed to dark gray and white. He had a king size bed to begin with. His bathroom was also huge with a hot tub to boot. We didn’t linger much in his room and went to see the other rooms - his small office, a guest room, a bare room, which he said he would like to convert to a small gym.

“I don’t need the heavy equipment. I don’t really do weights. A treadmill or a stationary bike will do. You can hang out here when you want to.”

He also let me see his ‘work kitchen’ at the back of his house. It was like seeing a restaurant kitchen with all the hightech appliances there.

I was really impressed with what I saw. JC knew what he was doing and what he was aiming for.

“So, what do you think?” he asked on our way to the grocery store.

“Impressive! I love the house and am glad everything is working well for you. And I liked how you came to be right now. I am so proud of you, JC.”

“Thank you.” He glanced at me quickly before focusing on the road again. His smile never wavered. It was still there when we arrived at the store.

It didn’t take long before we got back to the house. We got some take out, my treat. It was only proper to give back after what JC did for me.

We ate our lunch quickly then I left JC on his laptop while I went to shower. When I was done, I took my laptop downstairs and sat with JC at the dining table. I couldn’t concentrate at first, but when I got to typing the first paragraph, I was on a roll. After three hours, I was able to finish a chapter.

JC was still on his laptop after I refilled our coffee mugs.

“Thanks.” He smiled as he reached for his mug.

I smiled back then asked, “What are you working on?”

“Targets. Where we are right now and what we should attain in the next six months.”

“Woah.” I raised up my hands in surrender. I was glad I had stopped working in a corporate setting.

JC was about to say something when his phone rang. It was not my phone, but somehow the ringing made my heart jump. The handsome young man took a peep at his phone before looking back at me.

“It’s Dexter.”