“Yeah, well, that’s pretty much the point.” Aster lowered the shoe to her side but refused to let go. Her heart was pounding, her pajamas were soaked with fear-induced sweat, and other than an initial bout of shock, her brother looked as cool, calm, and handsome as ever. “Why aren’t you at school? And who the heck are you?” She stared daggers at her brother’s friend, who was cowering on the couch, unsure what to do.
“I’m Dylan,” he mumbled. Then, shifting his focus to Javen, he added, “Whoa, dude. I thought you said she was cool?”
“I didn’t say she was cool, I said she was in jail.” Javen rolled his eyes at his sister and sank back onto the couch beside his friend.
But Aster could barely focus on that. She was too busy gaping at the open bottle of Veuve Clicquot and the two half-full glasses sitting on the table before them.
“Are you seriously drinking my champagne?” She glanced between them, wondering what upset her more—that her little brother was ditching school and drinking—or that he was taking full advantage of her incarceration. Or maybe it was far worse than that. Maybe she feared her parents were right, that she really was a bad influence, and it was her fault he was here.
“We were thirsty.” Javen shrugged, though he was clearly losing some of his bravado and finally starting to look as worried as Aster felt he should be.
Still, she forced herself into silence, forced herself to take a moment to calm down and catch her breath. Truth was, she hadn’t seen Javen in over a week, and she’d missed him far more than she was willing to admit. Besides, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t have done the same thing at his age. Difference was, she would’ve been more careful. She never would’ve gotten caught. But what was worse was the realization that she was reacting just like her parents, and nothing good ever came of that.
She dropped the shoe to the floor and claimed the chair just opposite them.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Javen glared. “Well, you should be.”
Aster held his gaze until he looked away. Her brother was scared. It was right there in his eyes. His tough-guy act was clearly an attempt to impress his friend. And while Aster wouldn’t embarrass him any more than she already had, there was nothing wrong with drawing a boundary around that kind of behavior.
“Don’t push it,” she said. “Sneaking in here to drink and make out, what were you thinking?” She shook her head, torn between loving him and wanting to protect him, and all-out throttling him. It was a toss-up, but in the end, loving him won.
“Would you rather me do this at home?”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face. That was the last thing she wanted. Her parents loved Javen, but they weren’t the most modern of thinkers, and she shuddered at what they might do if they ever learned he was gay. Of course there always existed the slim possibility that they’d do little more than love him and support him and wish him the best. Though the odds of that happening were so slim, she wasn’t willing to take the chance.
“How long have you been coming here?” she asked. “And don’t lie and say today was the first time, because we both know it wasn’t.”
“Would you believe it was only the second time?”
Her eyes met his. “No, I wouldn’t. And what about school?”
“We sneak off campus for lunch.” He shrugged.
“You haven’t been caught?”
He made a face, while Dylan remained frozen beside him. “Attendance is all computerized now, so . . .”
The shrug that followed conveyed the words he’d failed to say. Her brother was a computer whiz, which meant he’d probably hacked into the system. Looked like there were now two criminals in the family. She figured the less she knew about his illicit activities the better.
“Do Mom and Dad know you’re out?” he asked, his entire tone changing as he looked at her with concern.
“Nobody knows,” she finally admitted, figuring she might as well lead with the truth. “And I’m hoping you’ll keep it that way.” She shot her brother and Dylan each a stern look.
“I’m willing to keep the secret if you are.”
She grinned. She wanted so badly to hug him, but not wanting to embarrass him, she said, “I’m guessing you two haven’t eaten?”
Dylan shook his head, seeming to finally relax.
“Because the thing you should know about drinking is that it’s never a good idea on an empty stomach.” Aster reached for the room service menu and quickly looked it over. “And while I didn’t give you a key card so you could sneak in here for a school-break sexcapade, that doesn’t mean I can’t buy you both lunch.” She shoved the menu at them. “What’ll it be?”
Javen glanced bet
ween the menu and Aster, his face flushing when he said, “Um, Aster?”
She quirked a brow and waited.