Caught Between Brothers

Chapter 1 - Going back home

Rose POV

I didn’t want to go back and stay for two months. I had never stayed that long in my parents’ house for many years. It had been fourteen years and my memories were still haunting me like crazy. I wished I could let go of the past more easily. The humiliation was already at the back of my mind, but it would come back up front whenever I went home and had to lock myself inside my parents’ house for the whole visit. I would make it a point not to have neighbors see me. When I went out, I would usually wear sunglasses and a big hat to cover my face from scrutiny. It was a horrible feeling to hide from people, but I couldn’t help but think about them judging and pitying me.

There I was, helping myself to coffee. I was house-sitting for my parents and had survived my first night. My dad and mom were celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary with a two-month trip around Europe. It was something they both wanted for a long time and had saved for. I wouldn’t be in the house if not for my mom’s tank full of fish and Baron, my dad’s German Shepherd, who was sitting by the kitchen door, wagging his tail.

I had just poured the coffee in my mug when the doorbell rang. Baron sprang up from his sitting position.

“Who could that be so early in the morning,” I muttered to myself.

Wearing only my short silk pajamas, I quickly took my red silk robe from my room and ran back downstairs where Baron was already waiting like a true guard dog. I looked through the peephole first to check on who was outside the door. Someone was definitely there, but I could not see his face as he was facing downwards. He was also wearing a dark cap.

“Who is it?” I shouted from the inside. Sorry, not sorry, but I had trust issues.

“Uh. Delivery for Mr. Anderson? He ordered food for delivery today,” he looked up at the door confused.

I could already see a face but still could not recognize him.

Food delivery? I can’t remember Dad saying anything about food delivery. I can cook my own food. Hmm… was this a ploy for something?

“Hold on for a minute!” I shouted. I ran to the kitchen and went straight to the fridge where Dad and Mom placed their notes for me, so I wouldn’t forget anything. And there it was- JC food delivery from Monday to Friday.

“What was Dad thinking?” I said to no one.

I ran back to the front hall where Baron just sat and was observing me, but his tail was wagging behind him.

Well, it looks like the man is not a danger to me. Baron probably knows who’s outside. He is at his best behavior.

I opened the front door and then the screen door to see the loveliest eyes I had ever seen. They somehow looked familiar to me, but I was suddenly put out of my reverie as the man in front of me cleared his throat.

Oh, my gawd! Was I staring?

“Rosie?”

I was taken aback. That was my name. I was never called Rosie, except by a little boy in the neighborhood long ago…

No way!!!

“Jan Christopher? JC?”

I couldn’t believe it! The little boy, or at least the adolescent boy, I had been hanging out with in our house had grown up! Not only grown, but he was one heck of a man. He looked gorgeous like his brother. The brother who humiliated me many years ago. That sucked. He reminded me of his brother.

“Yes, that’s me! But I go by Jace now.” He grinned widely, showing his deep dimples on both cheeks that made him an adorable child before, but sexy as hell as a grown-up man. He still looked adorable, anyway. No, not adorable. He was gorgeous. Absolutely.

Breathing deeply, I gave him a sweet smile. I couldn’t think of him that way. He was like my little brother.

“Why don’t you come in?” I offered. “I’m having coffee and will be preparing breakfast. Come eat with me.”

I forgot I was still wearing a robe and it was on display for the whole neighborhood to see.

“Sure.” He smiled again, looking excitedly at me.

I opened the door wider, so he could come in. I felt goosies run through my body as his arm barely brushed mine.

Gosh! What am I thinking? I can’t be getting hot over a younger lad.

As he passed by me, I could not help but ogle over his body. I was five feet and seven inches, somewhat tall for a Filipina, so he must be around six feet and two or three inches. He had tattoos all over his neck and arms and I wanted to see the rest of his body.

Rose, stop it!

“You did not age one bit. You look exactly the same as I remember you, Rosie.” He turned to look back at me as I shut the door.

“Oh, no! Silly you! Maybe I got up on the right side of the bed today. But you, my little boy, have grown big, bigger than me.” I pointed to him and he laughed in reply.

“Yes, I am bigger now, Rosie.” He held my gaze and he grinned mischievously.

A blush crept up my cheeks as my mind went through the gutter. I had to turn around and pretend to be busy looking for another coffee mug.

“Did you say food delivery? What did Dad make you do?” I looked sideways at him.

“Oh, yes, food. I forgot all about this.” He raised the paper bag he had in his hand to show it to me and then he placed the contents on the table. “I am a chef by profession and I package cooked food that people can eat for the whole day.”

“Oh, wow!” I exclaimed as I looked at the food containers.

“I thought Candice would be away and Danny would be left alone to feed himself. That was why he placed the orders for two months. He sent me a message the other night; he did not leave any further details.”

“They went on a honeymoon trip, or rather an anniversary trip to Europe.” I rolled my eyes as I opened a container. “And I have to house sit and pet-sit for them.”

“Really?” Jace’s eyes brightened. “You will be here for two whole months? Will I get to see you every day for two whole months?”

“Looks like it. Dad must be worried, too worried, to think that I can’t feed myself. Or perhaps this was his p*****t for the work I am doing for them.”

“When did you arrive?”

“Yesterday. I drove them to the airport, then I came straight back here.”

“And what do you do now?”

I looked at what seemed to be the breakfast – a small sunnyside-up egg, hashed corned meat, and a half cup of brown rice.

“I write.” I moved along to the other containers. “You got interesting stuff here. Are these like diet meals?” I tried to deviate from the topic as not everyone knew what I was doing. Not that I was ashamed of what I did. It was just where I hid. I did not want people invading my private space.

“Thanks. Uh, they are sort of diet meals. I prepare them depending on the customer’s preferred calorie count. Hmm… your dad ordered you the 1200 calorie count.” Jace paused for a bit. “What are you writing?” He asked curiously as he leaned back on the counter.

And I thought I could make him talk more about his work.

“Hmm… books,” I said, not looking at him straight. How could I say to him that I write romance novels with lots of smut?

“Oh, really? I love reading. What genre do you write? Maybe I can read yours?” Jace sounded sincere.

I laughed nervously and almost gagged. “I write romance novels. You can’t be reading romance novels.” He didn’t have to know I write erotica novels.

“I sometimes do.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Give me the book titles so I can look for them in the bookstore. I should buy Mom a copy. You know how she adores you. She will be happy to hear you are here! We haven’t seen you in years!”

I breathed deeply as a wave of panic brought my heart pounding hard. I just smiled at him in reply. Jace probably didn’t know what happened between me and his brother.

“Soo… you want coffee? Good thing I made enough for three cups.” I hoped Jace didn’t notice I deliberately changed the topic.

“Three cups? What are you going to do with three cups of coffee?”

“Drink them? What else?” I scoffed. “It will last me throughout the morning.” I poured him a cup and handed it to him.

“That’s a lot of coffee!”

“Maybe.” I gestured towards the cream and sugar.

“Thank you,” he said as he spooned the sugar. One teaspoon of sugar and a dash of cream. “Rosie?”

“Uh, yeah?” I raised my gaze to find his face serious, or more like curious. “I didn’t see you much when you were in college, then you just disappeared after. I only heard about you from your mom and dad. Where have you been?"

“I have been around. Were you looking for me?” My answer was vague, and the question back was naughty at the same time.

Bah! Flirty so early in the morning! What the f**k, Rose! Hitting on a younger guy? How desperate can you get?

“Yes. Mom especially. I would hear her ask Dex about you.” He looked at me as he took a sip of his coffee.

Dexter. His brother and my former best friend. It had been long since I heard his name spoken.

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Dexter was a year older than me, but it did not hinder us from being the best of friends. His family lived two blocks away from our house. I stumbled upon him when I was biking around the neighborhood during the summer we transferred to our new house. Dexter was also biking by himself. It just took a glare between the two of us and an unspoken race challenge for us to be friends by the end of the day. He won the race, of course, but befriended me because he liked my red bike with cool stickers. That was the start of our friendship.

Wherever one of us went, the other was sure to follow. We went through our teenage years together, with JC always on our tail. People kept saying Dexter and I look good together as a couple. I would just laugh them off. There could not be a chance because Dexter would remain as my best friend. How could I even fall for him? He was gross in many ways!

But as time went by, I noticed how gorgeous he was, how caring he was, and how every girl in our school wanted to date him! I became protective and he was the same for me. We did not date other people. We would just hang out together and that was when I fell for him. Call it teenage love. It was during my junior year when I first felt it. He took me to the prom and all the other school dances. Everyone thought we were already a couple. When someone asked me, I would just smile and walk away.

He was on his way to college when I planned a surprise for him. It was also his birthday, so I wanted it to be a day for him to remember. Both of our families loved the idea. It was set to be a blast! I invited our friends and some of our close neighbors. There was a lot of food and drinks, a dance floor, and lots of games to entertain us.

That night, I was also set to tell him how much he meant to me. I would bare my feelings for him. I was ready for whatever his reaction would be.

It couldn’t be that bad, right? He must have loved me, too, at some point. Why would he not date other girls? Unless he was gay, which I was sure he was not.

The surprise was brought out well. I had outdone myself. The party was surprisingly getting so good when I readied myself. I sought him out from the crowd, but could not see him. I was also to give him my present, a watch that he extremely liked. My footsteps took me to his bedroom; my heart was excited and nervous. I found it unlocked, so I opened it. I did not expect what I saw. I felt like someone had stuck a knife in my heart and pushed it deeper.

Dexter was butt-naked and f*****g the head cheerleader senselessly. The same head cheerleader who passed me the crown to be the next one to head the team.

I can no longer remember what exactly happened next, what Dexter did after I closed the door. I ran down the stairs and out into the yard where the people were partying. I tripped and fell into the drinking station, where the fruit punch was. I toppled the table and everybody was trying to know what was happening. A few people approached but I held my hand up and tried to stand up by myself. I was shouting at them that I was okay when I was not. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. Tears that were caused by heartbreak and embarrassment. Dexter went after me, looking down at me worriedly. He offered his hand, but I did not take it. Broken and wet, I ignored everyone and limped my way back home. That year, I dropped out of the cheerleading squad, feigning a broken ankle. I shut myself off from everyone.

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“Rosie?”

Fuck. I faded away again to my memories.

“I’m sorry. I—” I stammered as I looked up at him.

“Did I say something wrong? You were… sad all of a sudden.” Jace raised his hand to my face and brushed a tear off my cheek. I didn’t know I was already crying.

“No, nothing to worry about. I’m good,” I chuckled, trying to sound okay. I pulled back slightly from his touch which sent sparks throughout my body.

He opened his mouth and was about to say something when I cut him off.

“I forgot. What do you like to eat? I could prepare something for you. And, oh, did Dad already pay for the food? If not, let me know how much I owe you.” I stood up and went to the fridge, looking for something I could whip up for JC.

“I already ate, Rosie. I’m fine with coffee. Thank you.”

When I did not move from the fridge, he pulled me by my waist back to my chair.

Oh! The tingling on my skin!

“It’s Friday. What are you going to do later? Do you want to go out? Dinner, then a movie? Look at it as my way of welcoming you back to the neighborhood.” He looked at me carefully.

“Uh, I don’t know. I have to write,” I said hesitantly. It didn’t seem right for JC to be seen going out with an older woman like me. In addition to that, I didn’t want to see anyone I knew from the neighborhood or for them to see me either.

“Aww… come on! Write on a Friday night?” He looked at me pleadingly.

“Uh-huh. I have done that for years. I don’t see a problem with that.”

“Then I’ll just stay here with you for the whole day.”

“No way! You go back to work or what you are supposed to do now.” I stood up from the chair again and tried to pull JC from his seat to go out the door.

“What are you doing, Rosie?” He laughed uncontrollably. “How about we compromise?” I stopped what I was doing and glared at him. “I will leave now but you will go out with me later or I will not leave and will stay here the whole day until you sleep. What do you prefer between the two?”

“Ugh! You are impossible.” I tilted my head back.

“I do make the impossible possible, Rosie.” JC actually wriggled his eyebrows at me. “What now, Rosie?”

I rolled my eyes at him before I replied, “Fine! Fine!” I raised my two hands in surrender. “How about we have the movie here in the house tonight instead of going out?”

“That’s not a bad idea! I will bring dinner for us. You can put the boxed meal in the fridge. You can heat it up tomorrow anyway.” He stood up and finished his coffee in a few gulps. “I have to go now. Have to go come up with a yummy dinner for tonight.” He started to move to the kitchen door and I followed him out.

“But I’m okay with anything,” I mumbled more to myself.

“This is one special day for me. Let me spoil you with a sumptuous meal tonight.”

We were already at the front door when suddenly I remembered to tell him something.

“JC?”

“Yes?” He turned to look back at me before stepping out of the screen door.

“Can you not tell anyone that I am here? Please?” I didn’t want to explain further why. My eyes did the begging for me.

He must have understood my plea. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He stepped forward and kissed my forehead. Before he stepped back, he raised his hand again. It was a sudden move like earlier. He brushed a strand of my hair to the back of my earlobe and gave my cheek a peck.

“I’ll see you tonight, Rosie.”