I didn't remember much from my early childhood.
Sure, I had lots of sweet memories but I only remembered a few of them, and of course everything that happened when Gabriel died.
"So you've been friends for a good fifteen plus years. Can I ask when you started dating?" he inquired.
"Last week."
"You guys waited that long, huh?” he commented, drinking more of his beer.
"I guess. Maybe I just didn't see us as a thing back then. Everyone else did and we were pretty inseparable during school. I guess, we just didn't acknowledge our interest in each other until...well, until he kissed me," I confessed quietly.
The music was loud and booming, but I knew there could be a few people who had sensitive hearing like myself and might try to listen to our conversation.
"Understandable," Braxton replied.
I turned to look at him.
"Why didn't you attend Brighten earlier? You don't have to answer but I've been wondering."
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning around our little spot before he returned to meet my gaze.
"I wanted to keep an eye on my brothers,” he admitted.
"Why? I know they act a little younger than their age but I think in most situations, they would be just fine," I acknowledged.
"I didn't want them to get caught up in this club thing,” he spoke quietly .
"You’re scared they would get involved?"
"It's something you don't realize is happening until it’s too late," Braxton commented.
"You make it sound like a gang."
"Something along those lines."
"How would you know?" I asked.
His green eyes met mine and I noticed the gold in them looked more apparent tonight than usual.
Maybe it was due to the flashing lights twirling around the room, but they were mesmerizing to gaze into.
"I was a part of it once,” he revealed.
I blinked, completely confused by his words.
"But...isn't this your first time at Brighten?"
"No. It's Maximus and my second time. We both took breaks and it got approved by the administration because of our high marks. We could have started where we left off, but we decided to restart with the others,” he confessed.
We were both silent as a few girls walked past us, blinking their eyes and scanning us in a flirtatious manner.
I gave them a small smile but continued drinking my beer.
We waited for them to move away to the next group of guys before we returned to our conversation.
"Can I ask why you dropped out?" I questioned.
"I wasn't a buff or overly attractive guy back then," he confessed.