Chapter Two – THEN

 

“You having a good time, beautiful?” 

I smile up at my boyfriend, Brant, as he stands over me, blocking the blinding sun.  “I am.  Your family is great,” I reply honestly.  We’ve only been dating a few months, and he invited me here to his aunt’s place today for a barbeque and to meet Celia and Kyle.  Brant told me he and his brother, Kyle, were raised by their mother’s sister, Celia, after their parents died in a car wreck when the boys were just fourteen and fifteen.

Celia has been so sweet and welcoming to me since we arrived.  Given Brant’s six-foot height, I thought their aunt might be tall as well.  But she’s only an inch or two shorter than me.  Her dark hair sits below her ears in a sleek bob, and she’s got laugh lines stemming from her kind eyes.

“How’s your drink going? You need a refill?”

“I can grab it.”  That’s the thing I love most about Brant; he’s so attentive. 

“You stay there and enjoy the sun.  I’ll be back.”

“He’s sure got it bad for you,” Brant’s aunt Celia mutters..

I laugh and say, “He’s amazing.”

“We sure did get blessed with he and Kyle.  Neither can do no wrong in my eyes.”  The love she feels for them shines from her eyes, and I can’t help but smile.

I was loved growing up.  I had a mom, a dad, a sister, plus two older brothers, along with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Even though I knew I was loved, affection wasn’t shown freely in our house.  It just wasn’t our way.  I couldn’t help but wish I had a relative who adored me as much as Celia openly dotes on her nephews.

“Brant mentioned Kyle is in the military,” I say.  “You must miss him terribly when he’s deployed.”

“Every minute of every day,” she states emphatically.  “But it makes the times he is home so much more memorable.  As proud as I am of him off fighting for our country, I often wish he’d just get an everyday nine-to-five job.”

“Aunt Silly, you know that’s not my way.”  At the sound of the deep, gravelly voice behind me, I twist in the Adirondack chair and take in the guy standing there, a twinkle in his deep blue eyes, as he looks down at Celia.

She gives me an amused pointed look.  “See what I have to put up with.  Now give me a kiss.”

He leans down to peck her cheek and I’m captivated by his woodsy, spicy cologne.  He smells incredible, and I find myself inhaling deeply.

He rights himself and his penetrating gaze finds mine.  I’m instantly drawn to the inch-long scar over his eyebrow and I wonder how he got it.

“Hi, you must Kyle.  I’m Liv… Olivia… Brant’s girlfriend,” I stammer.

His eyes flick over my body, pausing momentarily on my legs, before resting on my face once again.

“Nice to meet ya.”

“Hey, bro!” Brant cheers as he comes over to clap his brother on the back before handing me a glass of white wine.

“Thanks,” I murmur, as he begins to catch up with Kyle.  Celia and I chat while the boys stand behind us, animatedly making up for lost time.

“Why don’t we go inside and get the food ready,” Celia suggests.

“Sure thing.”  I stand up and give Brant a smile as I follow his sixty-year-old aunt into her house.

“Let me show you this first,” she says, giving me a cheeky smile.  We walk down the short hall and she opens a door.

“Oh, my goodness,” I gasp, looking around the bedroom.  It’s split in two, a bed on either side of the room with two small tables in between.  A chest of drawers and a closet are there as well, along with a small bookshelf.  I grin, my eyes finding the posters pinned above one bed.  “Cindy Crawford?  Is that Elle McPherson?”

“Yep,” Celia replies with a nod and a grin.  “My Brant was a big fan of supermodels.”

“Looks like it.”  I giggle.   I walk over to the bookshelf and pick up one of the small green army figurines.  “My brothers used to play with these.”

“Even though the boys were teenagers when they came to live here, Kyle still brought those figurines.  He didn’t play with them, of course, but he kept them on that shelf and never took them down,” she tells me.

“No Sports Illustrated posters for Kyle?” I ask, grinning.

Celia shakes her head lightly.  “He preferred to spend his pocket money on taking girls on dates, and the occasional military magazine.”

 

Not long later, we all find a seat at the outdoor table to enjoy the food.  Brant ensures my plate is full and my drink is refreshed before he dishes up his own lunch.

“Eat up, beautiful,” he quietly says from his chair to my left.

“It looks delicious.”  Just as I pick up my fork, the vacant seat on my right is pulled out and Kyle sits down.  He immediately begins loading his plate while answering questions from Celia and Brant about his time on deployment.  I force myself not to concentrate on how close his body is to mine, and the way his cologne makes me feel intoxicated.  I cut into my steak and moan softly at the mouthwatering taste.

“Good?” Brant asks, grinning, as Kyle clears his throat uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” I mutter, embarrassed, feeling my cheeks turn pink.  “It’s really yum.”

“Are you sleeping good?”  Celia asks Kyle, ever the concerned aunt.

He nods, shoveling a forkful of food into his mouth.

“You just let me know if you’ve got any washing you want me to do.  Or, I can stop by your apartment whenever to tidy up.”

“Thanks, Aunt. It’ll be fine,” Kyle mutters, his tone sounding a little embarrassed by Celia’s coddling.

 

The chatter decreases as everyone devours their food.  When my stomach is about to explode, I have no choice but to stop eating.  Unfortunate, really, because the food is just so good.  I reach for my wine at the same time as Kyle shifts in his seat and reaches for the pepper.  His hand grazes mine and our thighs touch.  I suck in a sharp breath as a jolt of liquid fire travels through my veins, and I can’t help but wonder if he felt it too. I chance a sideways glance at him and see that he’s clearly unaffected by the encounter.

Unlike me.

For the remainder of the afternoon, I can think of nothing other than the way my skin feels seared in the two places he touched.  The worst part about it, I don’t know why my body has such a visceral reaction to a man I just met.