Page 35 of Beautiful Sin
When I finally emerged into the kitchen, most of my brothers had cleared out, thank God. Only Wei remained, doing dishes with his usual efficiency. He moved around the kitchen like he owned it, which, technically, he partially did. We all did. Family trust and all that. Though sometimes I wondered if Wei secretly considered himself the only adult in a house full of children—not an entirely inaccurate assessment, to be fair.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked casually, trying to sound like I was just making conversation and not conducting reconnaissance.Translation: Where’s Jaxson? Is the coast clear? Can I breathe without hyperventilating?
“Out,” Wei replied, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. He always did enjoy watching us all squirm. Sadist.
I attacked the leftover breakfast with more focus than scrambled eggs probably deserved, stabbing them like they’d personally offended me. The food was barely warm, but I’d rather eat cold eggs than face Jaxson’s… everything. His smile. His eyes. His hands that knew exactly how to—Nope. Food. Focus on food.
“Done?” Wei asked as I put away the last plate, trying to be helpful enough that maybe he’d forget about dragging me shopping. Maybe if I cleaned the entire kitchen, reorganized the pantry, and possibly remodeled the bathroom, he’d let me off the hook.
No such luck.
“Let’s go,” he announced, and I followed him down to the entrance like a man walking to his execution. I briefly considered making a break for it—just sprinting down the street in a dramatic bid for freedom. But knowing Wei, he’d catch me before I made it half a block, throw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and carry me to the car while explaining in excruciating detail why running away from your problems is immature.
And there it was. The universe’s cosmic joke in the form of Jaxson’s car, pulling up smooth as silk, with its stupidly handsome driver looking like he’d just stepped out of a commercial forHow to Drive Your Stepbrother Crazy: The Cologne.
“Get in,” Wei said, giving me a nudge that felt more like a shove toward destiny.
What happened to ‘everyone’s busy’? This is betrayal. This is mutiny. This is a conspiracy that would make the CIA proud.
“Get in, Lan.” Jaxson’s voice sent shivers down my spine. He said it so normally, like he hadn’t had his hand down my pants less than twelve hours ago. Like he hadn’t whispered in my ear while I came apart in his arms. Like everything was perfectly normal and not at all the most awkward situation in the history of awkward situations.
My body moved on autopilot, sliding into the back seat like a coward.Strategic positioning, I told myself.Can’t make accidental eye contact if you’re behind him. Can’t accidentally touch him if there’s a physical barrier between us. Can’t accidentally confess your undying love if you’re busy hyperventilating in the back seat.
The car ride was torture. Every bump in the road made me bounce in my seat, hyperaware of Jaxson behind the wheel. I tried to focus on anything else—the trees, other cars, the meaning of life, whether penguins have knees—but Wei seemed determined to make this as awkward as possible. He was like a sadistic game show host, except instead of prizes, he was handing out emotional trauma.
“Beautiful day,” Wei commented, glancing at the cloudy sky from the passenger seat like we were in a convertible in Malibu instead of a sedan in New York under what looked like impending rain. “Everyone sleep well last night? I heard some… interesting noises. Almost like someone was having trouble sleeping. Or maybe they were just… handling some tension?”
I choked on air, possibly my own soul trying to escape my body. In the rearview mirror, I saw Jaxson’s ears turn pink. Even the tips of his ears were unfairly attractive. It should be illegal to have attractive ear tips. I’d write to my congressman about it.
“The traffic’s bad today,” Jaxson cut in quickly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“Oh yes, lots of…comingand going.” Wei smirked, emphasizing the words in a way that made me want to open the door and roll out onto the highway. “Perfect weather for…releasing tension.”
We hit a pothole, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, a small squeak escaping me. “Sorry,” Jaxson murmured, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror for a split second. Those eyes—I could have sworn they flashed with that strange amber-gold intensity I’d noticed last night. I suddenly became fascinated with the seat belt fabric. Such interesting weave patterns. I could write a dissertation on this seat belt. “Seat Belts: The Unsung Heroes of Awkward Car Rides.”
“The roads are terrible lately,” Wei mused, stroking his chin like some cartoon villain. “So many…hardsituations to navigate. Kind of like family dynamics, wouldn’t you say?” He paused thoughtfully. “Speaking of family, remember when Lan used to crawl into Jaxson’s bed during thunderstorms?”
“I was eleven!” I protested, my voice embarrassingly squeaky, like I’d inhaled helium. “And there was that one time lightning hit the tree outside my window! It was a completely rational fear!”
“Of course, some fears require a more…hands-onapproach now,” Wei added with faux innocence, examining his nails like he hadn’t just dropped a nuclear bomb of innuendo. “Right, Jaxson?”
The car swerved slightly, nearly clipping a mailbox. Great. Now we were going to die in a car crash because Wei couldn’t keep his mouth shut. What a fitting end to my humiliation saga.
“Careful with those hands on the wheel, big brother,” Wei smirked, because apparently he hadn’t pushed enough buttons yet. “Though they seem pretty steady when it counts. Some things are better handled in private, wouldn’t you agree, Little Fox?”
I slid down in my seat, wishing the leather would swallow me whole. Maybe I could just melt into a puddle of embarrassment and evaporate. Become one with the car upholstery. Start a new life as a seat cushion. It had to be better than this.
“Wei,” Jaxson warned, his voice dangerously low, a tone I’d only heard him use when Colt had accidentally broken Mom’s favorite vase playing indoor baseball. There was something almost inhuman in that growl, a vibration that seemed to resonate in my chest despite its softness.
“What? Just making conversation,” Wei said, the picture of innocence if innocence had a PhD in psychological torture. “It’s a long drive. Might as well entertain ourselves.”
I watched Jaxson’s jaw clench in the mirror, the muscle ticking along his cheekbone. The temperature in the car seemed to rise about ten degrees. Either the heater was broken or my face was generating enough heat to warm a small village.
“Oh look,” Wei said brightly as we hit another bump, sending me bouncing in my seat, “more vibrations.”
“For God’s sake, Wei,” Jaxson growled, but there was a hint of panic in his voice that made me wonder if he was as affected by all this as I was.
I sat there stiff as a board, trying not to breathe too loudly or exist too noticeably, silently plotting Wei’s demise. Maybe I could convince Nico to put anchovies in his protein shake. Or better yet, replace all his hair products with pink hair dye. Or swap his precious coffee beans for decaf. That would teach him.
