Chapter 46

**SCARLET**

The four of us sat across from each other awkwardly. Nate narrowed his eyes at me, and Katherine’s eyes were staring intently at the emotionless man next to me. Luke’s arms folded over his chest. It was such a bad idea to ask him to stay with us. And what’s more surprising, he agreed.
“I asked him to stay here.” I cleared my throat. “He’ll sleep on the couch.”
When I shifted my head to his side, Luke looked at me. “I’d rather sleep with you.”
Nate scowled.
“Luke.” I shook my head.
“What? You said they know about us,” he stated.
“No problem here, Mister,” Katherine assured me with a grin. “You can stay here anyway or anywhere you want.”
I could see now that Luke had an effect like this on women, and Katherine wasn’t an exception. It’s a sure thing.
“Don’t you think letting a man sleep in the house with two girls is inappropriate?” Nate commented. I knew he would not approve.
“You are a man too!” Katherine pressed. “Alright, I’ll decide. Since I share this room with Scar and you guys don’t even pay for this room, we’ll let the two boys stay. Happy?”
“What?” the two men replied in a chorus with the same shocked tone.
“Okay, this isn’t going to work. We’ll just go home then,” I concluded.
“Better,” Luke agreed.
“No, please. Scar, I have a lot to tell you tonight,” Katherine said.
I gazed up at Luke. “Will you be okay?”
“No. Someone obviously doesn’t like my presence here.” Luke stood then he buttoned up his suit.
I grabbed his arm. “Luke, please.”
“I’ll call you.” He kissed my temple; his expression had softened. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry.” On the other hand, I wanted to be with him too. I didn’t want him to go.
“Don’t be.” He smiled. “It’s late. You need to rest.”
Katherine stood up. “I’m really sorry, Mister—”
“Just Luke.”
She smiled at him. “Scar will walk with you outside.”
“No need. It’s late.”
“Bye,” Katherine replied.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him against me. “See you tomorrow.”
He nodded with a small smile and then exited the apartment.
It took several seconds. Katherine and I just stared at each other before she spoke.
“He’s such a hottie,” Katherine uttered as she slumped back on the couch. I chuckled at her remark.
“He’s what?” Nate raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms over his chest while looking at his girlfriend. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Seriously?”
“How can you say that in front of your boyfriend?” Nate fired back.
“Fine. Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “You are ten times better. Happy now?”
I laughed at the sight of them. Katherine was not the type of girlfriend who would cheat, but she was still someone who could admire anything when it came to beauty.
“You were drooling over Cara Delavigne too!” Katherine crossed her arms.
“She’s an actress. It’s normal. It’s not like we’ll ever meet.”
“Scarlet thinks you’re handsome too, but I didn’t take it the wrong way. I’m actually proud of it because only two of us in the world think so.”
I giggled at her comment.
Nate scowled. “What did you say?”
“Why don’t you just go out so we can rest?”
“You’re kicking me out?”
“Why not? You kicked the man out. I want to stay alone with my best friend.”
“I can’t believe this.” Nate shook his head. “I even bought you a pair of hamsters.”
“Thanks for that, but I need my best friend.”
“All right!” He raised his palms. “But don’t think of other men when I’m not around,” he warned.
“We are going to talk about other boys the entire night!” she mocked.
“Hey!” Nate bellowed and clicked his tongue.
I smiled genuinely at them. They were usually like this, and it was their other way of showing affection to each other. Whenever I saw them together, all I could see was how they loved each other. No questions asked.
As expected, their conversation ended with laughter. Nate was tickling Katherine while my best friend was catching her own breath by laughing too hard. Later that night, Nate left.

***

It was already past one in the morning, Katherine and I lay next to each other in my bed while we stared at the ceiling. I just listened to her while she talked and talked about Nate. I didn’t think she could ever live without him. Nate was a huge part of her life. They promised to marry each other after we graduated. We were all going on a different paths in our lives after college.
“How about you?” she asked suddenly.
“What?” I didn’t notice that I was only half listening.
She rolled over and stared at me. “How about you? It’s going to be a rough road being in a relationship with your stepbrother. Is the feeling mutual?”
“I don’t know. But he asked me if I wanted to break the rules and stay with him even after we graduate.”
“What rules?”
“What should I do, Katherine?”
“Be specific. I can’t understand you.”
I rolled to my side. “We agreed to a no-strings-attached relationship for two months, but he seemed to change his mind. He asked if I wanted to continue our relationship even after graduating.”
“Oh my, did he? And what did you say?”
“I couldn’t answer. It’s going to be even more complicated.”
“Yes, because you’re digging your own grave if you agree. You’re going to live under the same roof with both your parents. They would not approve of it, and people will judge you.”
I blew out a sharp breath. “Yes, I know the right answer, but I can’t just say no to him.”
She shook her head but smiled. “Because he treats you differently. I’ve never seen you like this before. You’re happy. But the most important fact is that he is your first love. You got who you wanted.”
“I don’t know what to do, Kath.”
“You can’t decide because you’re only thinking about your point of view. Did you even ask him about what he really felt for you?”
“I wouldn’t dare. I love him, but he doesn’t do love. He told me himself.”
“He’s still human, Scar. Who knows? You can always ask him.”
“I don’t want to freak him out.”
“You would not freak him out. I saw how he looked at you, or maybe you can just tell him what you really feel for him. Tell him you have loved him since your mother’s wedding, and see how he reacts.”
“Easy to say. I was just a teenager back then.”
She rolled her eyes and groaned. “Whatever. Why do you think he asked you to continue your relationship? He’s putting himself in a dangerous spot. If your stepfather finds out, he’ll definitely kick you out. When it happens, you have nothing to worry about. Luke is a tycoon. He’ll take care of you. He’s a billionaire, for goodness’ sake!”
“I’m not even worried about that. I’m worried about Mom.”
“But it’s not like you’ll treat him as your big brother after all of this. You can’t. You will only remember what he looks like when he’s on top of you.”
I bit my lip hard. She was right, though. “Oh, damn. Shut up, Katherine.”
She smiled. “He likes you too, Scar. Open your eyes.”
He couldn’t possibly like me, or maybe he did like me. But I loved him. There was a huge difference. I didn’t have regrets about loving him. It made me feel complete. I liked what I felt. I opened myself up to him. He knew almost everything about me, but he couldn’t do the same. He had a lot of secrets. He would not open himself to me. So, I didn’t think our relationship would work if I said yes.