My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 106: A Perfect, Ridiculous Day (BC)

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Adrien set the bottle down gently on the counter and crossed his arms, his gaze finally locking onto me. The way he looked made me sit up straighter, like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t, even though I hadn’t done anything too wrong... well, not that wrong, anyway.

"So," he said, his voice slow and laced with something I couldn’t quite figure out, "are you going to tell me where you’ve been all day?"

Why would he care?

The question shouldn’t have sent a flutter through my stomach. It’s not like I owed him a rundown of my day. But the tone he used...controlled, expectant, as if he already knew he wouldn’t like whatever answer I’d give, made my fingers start to fidget. I instinctively tugged at the neckline of my shirt, feeling heat creep up my neck.

When his eyes narrowed, it was like a slap to the face.

Oh God. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The mark.

I’d completely forgotten about it amidst the chaos of coming home and arguing with him, and now it was out there in the open, like a flashing neon sign.

My stomach dropped; it felt like the floor had shifted beneath me. I pressed my fingers against my neck, even though I knew it was way too late for that. Adrien had noticed...really noticed and the look on his face spoke volumes.

He looked furious.

Not just annoyed...not irritated nor shocked at the fact that little ol’ me of all people had a hickey...

Furious.

What am I not allowed to some action too?

But a chill ran through me. It had been a while since he’d looked at me like that jaw tight, eyes dark, with a stillness in his expression that made my skin crawl. It was the kind of look that made me feel like I’d crossed some invisible line I wasn’t even aware existed.

"Noah." His voice was too steady, an unsettling calm that wasn’t calm at all. He stepped closer, not in a threatening way, but enough to quicken my pulse. "What is that on your neck?"

"I—uh—" I stammered, panic tying my tongue.

’A mosquito bite,’ is what I would have said if my brain cells hadn’t depleted completely.

He tilted his head slightly, waiting, and I realized that was worse than him raising his voice. "Noah," he said again, softer but sharper, cutting through any excuses before I could even think of them. "Who did that to you? Ethan?"

The walls felt like they were closing in, and my mind scrambled for something ...anything. In a split second, I blurted out the first idea that popped into my head.

I stretched my arms and faked a big yawn. "Wow," I said loudly, forcing a tired sigh like exhaustion had just hit me. "You’re right, it’s kind of late."

His expression didn’t change at all.

"Noah," he said again, more slowly this time.

"Yep!" I interjected, backing away as casually as I could manage, which...let’s be real, wasn’t very casual at all. "Super late. Like... wow. This night is really doing something to me. Goodnight!"

I faked a yawn, a stretch and spun around so quickly I nearly stumbled over myself and bolted toward the stairs. I could feel his confused stare burning into my back, along with something heavier that I didn’t really want to think about.

"Noah, we’re not done—"

"GOODNIGHT!" I shouted over my shoulder, hurrying down the last step because my legs couldn’t decide if they wanted to run or just collapse.

I didn’t slow down until I reached the hallway, my heart racing, my face flushed, and my hands still pressed to my neck like that would somehow fix everything.

I closed my bedroom door softly behind me and leaned against it, breathless and mortified, acutely aware that the conversation I’d just dodged wouldn’t just disappear.

Adrien was mad.

Really mad.

Why the hell was he so mad?

Once my bedroom door clicked shut, I let out a long, shaky breath I’d been holding since I practically ran from Adrien. I slid down the door a little, feeling the weight of the day hit me all at once.

My heart was still fluttering, not sure whether to relax or keep panicking. It was kind of ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop replaying everything, the mall, the laughter, the chaos of Gigi searching for the dress with the perfect aura, that changing stall...

Oh God.

The stall.

My cheeks warmed at the memory, heat flooding my face as if someone had lit a candle inside me. I covered my face with my hands and groaned quietly because the moment I thought about it, my body remembered exactly how it felt. How close we were. How desperately we’d moved against each other until—

I exhaled again, this time a shaky breath.

I had never... been with anyone like that. Not even close. And the fact that it happened in such a tiny space, with the world buzzing on the other side of the door like we were doing something forbidden, it sent a shiver through me all over again. It was overwhelming and scary but unbelievably good in a way I never thought something could feel.

It felt so good and this was coming from someone who felt very uncomfortable touching myself to the point I hardly was able to get aroused... because I felt so disgusting afterwards.

If something that wasn’t even "all the way" felt that intense...

I couldn’t imagine what the full experience would feel like.

The thoughts made my stomach do a flip, excitement and embarrassment swirling together. I flopped onto my bed, burying my face in my pillow before rolling onto my back to stare at the ceiling, caught in that dazed, starry-eyed confusion that comes after experiencing something life-changing and a bit wrong.

"Ethan Seymour," I murmured to no one, covering my flushed face with my hands again. "What are you doing to me?"

He was sweet, steady and patient. The way he looked at me, like I wasn’t just someone he liked, but someone he really wanted...that alone was enough to make me feel dizzy. But today... it all felt different.

But then my mind drifted back to Adrien.

His face when he saw the mark on my neck.

The sharpness in his eyes, the tightening of his jaw, like something had snapped inside him. It wasn’t just irritation. It wasn’t even the protective-big-brother vibe he put on like that fateful day at the Clearwater cabin. It was something deeper. Something hard to read.

I frowned up at the ceiling.

"Why did he react like that?" I whispered to myself, replaying that moment over and over like a scene from a movie I didn’t quite grasp.

Adrien always acted like a dick around Ethan, that wasn’t new. He greeted him with the same dry, passive-aggressive attitude every single time. Eye rolls, dramatic sighs, muttering comments under his breath meant to make Ethan feel unwelcome. But he’d never...

Never looked angry.

And definitely not because of... what had happened.

I sat up a bit, hugging a pillow to my stomach as I tried to reason it out.

"He hates Ethan," I said to the penguin plushie Ethan had given once, saying it out loud like it would make it more true. "That’s all. He always has. Maybe the mark just made it worse somehow. Because he’s dramatic and overreacts to everything."

Sure, that made sense.

It was the most logical thing I could think of.

It was the only explanation that didn’t tie my mind in knots.

Still... something about the way he said my name, something about his tone, lingered with me longer than it should have. I shook the thought away, burying it under layers of reassurance.

There was no other reason for him to act that way.

None.

Absolutely none.

Adrien wasn’t some jealous older brother character out of a cheesy story. And he definitely didn’t care who I kissed. Or... let touch me. Or anything.

For god’s sake, he used to bully me!

He was probably just annoyed that I came home late (if eight o’clock was late). Or maybe just that Ethan existed.

Yes. That had to be it.

I sighed deeply, letting myself sink back into the bed while staring at the soft glow of the lamp on my bedside table.

Today had been... a lot.

But for once, most of it was the good kind of overwhelming.

And even if Adrien’s odd reaction hung around in my mind, it wasn’t enough to overshadow the warmth still buzzing through me whenever I thought back to Ethan’s hands on me, his breath against my ear, his voice saying my name like it meant the world to him.

My first real taste of something I’d only ever daydreamed about.

I pressed the pillow over my face and let out an embarrassed squeak, kicking my feet lightly.

What a ridiculous day.

What a perfect, ridiculous day.