We all laughed, happiness taking hold of me for the first time in a long while.
But was she right? I couldn’t say. However, I wanted to see Duncan again, and I wanted to see him more than anything.
Things between us weren’t over.
Not by a long shot.
Duncan
It was Christmas Eve, and I wasn’t proud of where I was.
My car was parked in front of Annie’s place. I knew she didn’t want to see me, and that even if I did happen to chance upon her, she’d just as likely greet me with a punch to the gut than anything else. But she was all I could think about. I’d known it was a long shot, but I had to at least try.
I hadn’t come to hang out, only to give her a call and see if I could talk her into…I didn’t even know. She’d already said her piece, and that hadn’t exactly been ambiguous.
Not only that, but the lights were off in her apartment – there was a good chance she was with her family.
I considered calling her, my thumb hovering over the send button in my phone. But before I could decide one way or another, my phone shook in my hand with an incoming call. Andrew. I debated answering, part of me wanting to give he and I some space while this insane situation worked itself out.
But it occurred to me that wasn’t any kind of solution – this situation wasn’t simply going to work itself out. We had to be grownup and sort through our feelings. That didn’t make it any less of a disaster.
I steeled myself, then answered. “Andrew. What’s going on?”
“Hey, brother. How’s your holiday going?”
“Nice and shitty. How about you?”
“The same.” A moment of silence. “Listen, I don’t like this. We should talk.”
“Agreed.”
“Want to come to my place?”
“Sure. Be there in an hour.”
“See you then.”
Short and simple and to-the-point. But it was only the beginning of what was certain to be a difficult conversation. No sense in putting it off. I put Andrew’s address into my maps and started driving. The entire way there was spent thinking about what had happened and how much I missed Annie.
It was so fucking strange. I’d been with plenty of women before, had my fair share of girlfriends. But never did I feel the way for a woman the way I felt for her. She was burned into my mind like a brand, and I knew that whatever happened between the two of us, Annie would be in my thoughts for the rest of my life.
Denver appeared in the distance. Andrew’s apartment was downtown, one of those new high-rise condos of glass and steel that had gone up in the last few years. I parked and went through the lobby and took the elevator up to one of the top floors.
Andrew opened the door after a quick knock, his expression dour. “Hey. Come in.”
I stepped into the apartment. “Nice pad,” I said, looking around.
Unlike my older home, Andrew’s apartment was a sleek, modern loft, the floor a glossy parquet, the kitchen all stainless steel, and the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the rest of the city.
And just like at my place, there wasn’t a single bit of Christmas décor.
“Thanks,” he said. “Paying out the ass for it, but it’s worth it.”
“Perks of being on the top, right?”
He stepped to the fridge and pulled it open, taking out a couple of beers. “Not even close to being on top. Still got a ways to go for that.”
Andrew tossed one of the beers to me and I neatly caught it, twisting the top and taking a swig.
“We’ve got things to talk about,” he announced after taking a swig.
“You’re right about that.”
He sat down on one of the kitchen barstools, and I sat down across from him an open chair.
“Alone for Christmas?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Yes and no. Got work to do tonight. Then tomorrow I’m getting together with Mom.”
Mom. The way he said the word…it was so casual.
“You’re more than welcome to come,” he said. “She’d be thrilled.”
“Not ready for that. Besides, I’ve got my own parents to see tomorrow.”
“That right?” he asked. “Good for you.”
We both sipped our beers, the vibe in the air pretty damn awkward. I looked around. “I like what you’ve done with the place. Lots of Christmas cheer.”
He gave me a wry smirk. “Smartass. I don’t have time to decorate with work. And besides, who would I even be doing it for?”
“Nah, I’m the same way. My place looks like any other day of the year.”
More sips, more silence. Someone had to say it. Someone had to bring it up.
“Annie,” I murmured. The name hung in the air.
“What about her?” he asked.
“That’s what this is all about, right?”
“In a manner of speaking,” he said. “But she doesn’t have to be.”
I was confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you have the chance to back off, Duncan. She and I dated for years, and we’re right on the verge of getting back together.”
“What? She agreed to that?”
“She’s…in the process of being convinced.”
“So she said no.”
“For now. But it’s only a matter of time before she comes around. After all, I’m the one who broke up with her.”
“What difference does that make?”
“It means that if I hadn’t done that, we’d still be dating.”
“I’m…not sure if it works like that, bud. From what she’s told me, she’s over you.”
“Oh, so you two were talking about me? Was that before or after she knew we were related?”
I side-stepped that comment. “She said there were issues between you and her, and you breaking up with her wasn’t anything more than hurrying something that would’ve happened anyway.”
His expression tensed. I could tell this wasn’t news he was happy to hear, but it needed to be said.
“You’re full of shit,” he said. “After all, we’ve learned you’re pretty damn comfortable with lying to people’s faces.”
Another comment to side-step. “It’s the truth. And it’s why you two aren’t back together, and why you won’t ever be.”
“Screw you,” he said. “I let you into my life after all these years and this is what you do – putting your fucking foot right in the middle of my personal life.” He shook his head. “I swear, of all the women in the world, you had to pick mine.”
“She’s not yours, Andrew. Sounds like you’re not getting that through your head. When you date someone you don’t claim them.”
He snorted. “Look at you, little prince charming ignoring the fact that you lied to her about being her ex’s brother. You really think you’ve got any kind of a moral high ground to stand on?”
I didn’t say anything in response. The air was tense.
Andrew shook his head. “Listen. Let’s take a step back. We’re brothers, Duncan. We shouldn’t be arguing like this with each other over a woman.”