Brother After Dark

Prologue“Mommy, have you been drinking again?” the little girl asked her mother as she stood over the counter to pour herself another glass of whiskey. The mother didn’t hear her daughter, or at least, she pretended not to. “Mommy!” she called again. “Mommy!”The mother drank almost half the glass of the whiskey and then poured herself another one, oblivious of her daughter, whose persistent cries filled the kitchen.Thunder bellowed outside, causing the little girl to scream in fear. She had always been scared of the thunder. She ran to her mother’s side in haste, seeking protection and comfort like any little child would in the middle of a storm. Her mother wasn’t expecting her daughter to throw herself at her side, which caused her to lose her own balance, although the liquor could have easily done that. As a result, she dropped the glass in her hand, sending it shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor. The sound of breaking glass, combined with the crashing sound of the thu

Normally, hanging out with a group of guys we just met would be excruciatingly uncomfortable for me. I didn’t openly support my friends hooking up with strangers. And I never imagined doing it myself. But then again, there really was something about Zach that I found interesting— apart from the fact that he was really hot!They were all older than us. Kenzo and Michael were both twenty-three. Zach just turned twenty-four over the weekend. He and his friends were here at the concert to celebrate.I had met a lot of hot guys. Dated some of them too. I wasn’t easily impressed, and I certainly did not get tongue-tied over a guy’s sex appeal. Usually, guys like Zach were oozing with confidence, or arrogance would be the more precise term. But Zach seemed different. He looked confident and sure of himself. But he didn’t strike me as self-centered or hungry for approval. He looked more like the take-it-or-leave-it type of guy.He would look at me for a brief second, and then he would turn to

Zach planted a soft kiss at the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.“I’m starting to believe in fate more and more,” he said.“Maybe it’s high time you should.” I turned to the stage and continued watching the band that was playing.Suddenly, I felt queasy. Sweat started to form on my forehead. I could feel a shiver running down my spine. I knew this feeling, and I’d lost count of how many times I felt like this before.Zach pulled away from me and looked at my feverish expression. Quickly, he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a piece of candy. “Take this,” he said. I took it from him without another word. Then he said, “Let’s grab something to eat.”I could only smile at him. Somehow, he realized what was happening. I was going hypoglycemic because I hadn’t had anything decent to eat for hours.He took my hand and intertwined our fingers.“You’re diabetic?” he asked.I nodded.“Okay, we better eat. They have burgers, sushi, pasta, and salad. Japanese, Chinese, It

“What? Where?” I managed to ask.He pointed at the tall five-star hotel across the street.“Are you kidding me?”He shook his head. “I was celebrating my birthday, remember? My… father thought I should do it in fashion.”After two minutes, we entered the hotel lobby. We were soaking wet from the rain, and my clothes were totally ruined.Zach pulled me to the elevators and pressed his floor. The long ascent to his hotel room felt like a short descent to my first indiscretion. Zach and I were like fireworks in a public place, I wonder how we would be in a private, enclosed place with a comfortable bed between us.Zach’s room has a small sitting area with a small couch and a shower room. The bedroom was huge, with a California king bed, a dining table, a balcony, and en suite bathroom. I took off his jacket and hung it in the bathroom. Then I took off my wet shoes and dabbed a towel all over my wet skin.Outside, the rain only poured harder than before. Lightning occasionally illuminated

“This is temporary, baby girl,” he said. “When we get back to our homes, I’ll call you. We need to talk about logistics. Send me your addresses, the university you go to. We’ll work this out. I’ll fly to London as often as I could. Who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll move there after I’m done with my masters.”“I… I won’t be going to London.”“What?” He blinked.“I’ll be here in the States,” I said. “My father asked me to come back home.”His eyes gleamed, and he kissed me on the lips again.“Hey, lovebirds! We’re on last call!” Marie shouted.“All right, go!” Zach said. “We’ll talk later.”He gave me one final kiss, and then I turned around and ran off toward Marie. Before I entered the station, I took one last look at him. He gave me a small salute. I smiled and blew him a kiss.I boarded the train with a heavy heart. I was scared that I might never see him again. I was regretting that I didn’t fully make love to him because I knew, I’d fallen in love with him.I couldn’t believe this wa