Brandon forces a laugh and rubs his nape, averting his gaze before checking behind me. “Well, I don’t want anyone who’s home to hear me say what I’m thinking. I don’t feel like having my ass kicked for being inappropriate with you.”
“It’s just me here, and I promise no one will kick your ass for being honest.” I fold my arms together in front of me and bat my eyelashes. “So what do you really think?”
He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “You look fucking hot in this cosplay." Brandon’s gaze lowers to my breasts, then to my fishnet stockings and garter belt disappearing beneath my dress. “I mean, Jesus Christ, Nova. The pictures you post on Instagram don’t do justice. I know we saw each other not long ago, but I had these same thoughts when I first saw you.”
A blush warms my cheeks, and I tug a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thank you.”
He dips his chin in a nod and smiles. “Your boyfriend is very lucky to have you. I hope you know that.”
A blush warms my face, and I stride past him toward his car. “I think I’m the lucky one. Anyway, are you ready?”
He follows me to his Honda Accord and reaches past me to open the passenger door before I can. I shoot him a playful, disgruntled look, earning a lopsided smile from him.
“Isn’t this the neighborhood that was abandoned a few years ago?" he asks as he leans against the doorjamb.
“What?”
"I swear I heard rumors about a bunch of rich people leaving their homes after they kept getting targeted every five years by a cult.” His dark eyebrows pinch together, and his eyes return to my face. “They said it was a ghost town in that neighborhood. The houses were left furnished, important documents gathering dust, and even family photos still hanging on the walls.”
“Oh,” I say. “I’ve never heard the rumors before. That’s weird.”
Brandon cracks a smile and chuckles. “You must live a very sheltered life if you haven’t heard those stories.”
I smile, even though his comment is like an arrow to the chest. He probably didn’t mean for it to land as an underhanded insult, but it still stings.
“Eh,” he says, not noticing my silence. He straightens and waves for me to sit. “Maybe it was just a baseless rumor, since you and your brother live here and all.”
I lower myself into the passenger seat and reach for the door, once again too slow, because Brandon shuts it for me. He strolls around the front of the car before taking the driver’s seat.
Brandon’s question replays in my head during the drive to the event center. I lied to him. I’ve heard the rumors and speculations. Because of my close relationship with Aiden, I know more than most since he gives me insider info as a way for him to vent.
This neighborhood is abandoned. The people who once lived here left with only the clothes on their backs in fear of being killed during a brutal Hellfire Night years ago. Aiden and his friends found this neighborhood and marked it as their territory—a place for the rejects to find peace and safety. I’ve been here with Aiden since before we graduated high school because living with our neglectful foster parents became too much.
Brandon reaches for the volume knob in the center of the dash and turns the music up, loud enough to drown out my thoughts and set my teeth on edge. I hunch closer to the window and scratch my scalp.
I should have grabbed my headphones before leaving. If I make it to Otaku Con without ripping my hair out, I’ll call it a win.
Two hours dragby while I walk around the convention, browsing the vendor tables and taking pictures with strangers who love my cosplay. I’m supposed to enjoy my alone time with Brandon, yet it’s not as fun as it would be if I were with Aiden, who’d find ways to make me laugh.
Anytime I flirt with Brandon, it doesn’t land the way I want. And maybe it’s because my heart isn’t in it—unlike how it is with Aiden. They’re two different personality types, yet I expect things to flow the way it does with my playboy brother. Brandon comes off as more of an awkward introvert.
“You’re pretty popular, aren’t you?” Brandon says as soon as the guy I took a picture with walks away.
“Yeah, it’s kind of wild to me that people recognize me from Twitch.” I smile and stare at the man’s back, his head bowed over his phone while he examines the photo.
“Others recognized you?”
I shift my focus to Brandon and study his curious expression. He didn’t seem malicious when he asked, or even jealous. “It happens more than you realize. The last time was interesting, though.”
He tilts his head. “Interesting how?”
I laugh and wave off his question. “I don’t think you want to know.”
“Oh god.” He chuckles. “It’s that bad?”
“It was handled,” a familiar deep voice says behind me. Arms wind around me, and tattooed hands settle on my stomach, drawing me against a firm body.
I tip my head back and beam a smile at Aiden.
