He leads me inside, and I’m not surprised to see a medieval theme, complete with a suit of armor and his family crest. I remember the discussion we had about how medieval life was really like when I was studying it in school. He knew more than my teacher and could have written the textbook himself if given the opportunity.
Is he trying to be my knight in shining armor right now? He has to know it’s impossible considering what I’m up against.
“Would you like a drink?” Bram motions to the bar area on the other side of his living room.
“Sure.” I shrug.
“Anything in particular?” He walks over and pours himself a whiskey.
“I’ll have what you’re having,” I reply, a second before I spot a bottle of wine behind the counter. “Actually, can I have some of that?” I point to it.
“Absolutely.” He pulls out the cork and pours me a glass.
I wonder if we’re going to have to kill another elephant in the room, or rather, how long it will be before he brings it up. The lap dance. The way my body reacted to him—the most embarrassing orgasm of my life. Maybe he won’t even mention it. That’s what I’m hoping, at least.
“So tell me more about this guy your brother owes money to.” Bram takes a seat on the couch and invites me to the do same. “You said his name is Mr. Diaz?”
“Yes,” I say as I sit next to him. “I don’t know much about him at all. He’s a rather new loan shark, based on what Hudson has told me. He has no problem extending credit, that’s for sure.”
“Not the smartest business move.” Bram takes a sip of his whiskey. “Unless you know your client is good for it…”
“Hudson never was, but my father took care of the payments every time he got in over his head.” I shake my head with a mixture of anger and frustration. “Until he couldn’t.”
“I wish I had stayed in contact with him.” Bram looks down at his drink. “Fuck, I wish he would have told me what was going on when he sold his half of the company.”
“You know how my father is.” I sigh. “He has too much pride to admit something is wrong or ask for help.”
“Foolish pride,” Bram scoffs and levels his gaze at me. “I’m guessing that’s where you got it from.”
“I didn’t get anything from him.” My head snaps back, partially because his insinuation offends me.
“What happened between the two of you?” He tilts his head slightly. “I sense a lot of animosity—I thought you were always close with him.”
“No,” I reply immediately. “You just saw what he wanted you to see. Things were never that good between us… I think that’s why I liked it when you stopped by. You were so different. You actually seemed to care…”
“I did.” Bram takes a sip of his whiskey. “Still do.”
If Bram had ever seen what went on behind closed doors, I don’t think he would have ever thought things were close in my household. It was one thing after another—one disappointment after another. Me. I took the brunt of it, no matter who was actually responsible, and rarely did I deserve what came my way.
“So what else has been going on in your life?” Bram shifts on the couch and narrows his eyes at me. “I thought for sure that you would be in college by now; didn’t you want to be a fashion designer?”
“Yeah, when I was thirteen.” Despite the somber mood, that gets a laugh out of me. “I had no idea what that entailed. I just watched too many soap operas with Mom that made it look easy.”
“Then what kind of plans did you have? Before this situation derailed everything?” Bram tilts his head inquisitively.
“I’m not even sure.” I take a sip of my wine and run my finger around the rim of the glass. “All of my friends were making plans for college, and I didn’t even want to bring it up with my parents. They were busy with other things and couldn’t have afforded it anyway. I thought about student loans, but I wasn’t really eager to incur a lot of debt…”
“I don’t think the government is going to hurt you if you can’t repay your student loans, not physically at least.” A hint of a smile forms on the edge of Bram’s lips.
“Yeah, I know.” I nod in agreement. “I just didn’t want to owe anything. I know that may sound foolish.”
“Like foolish pride?” Bram leans forward and nudges me.
“Yeah.” I smile. “Maybe I did inherit a little bit of that.”
I had forgotten how easy it was to talk to Bram. He could make me smile and laugh when the world around me was falling apart. There were a lot of times over the years when I needed that, but never more than right now.
The conversation shifts to other things, and I find myself getting lost in it. Nobody ever asks about me how I feel, what I want to do. My parents should have, but they had so much else on their plate. Bram makes me feel like the most important person in the world, like I’m the only one who matters. I might even believe that, if he was a constant in my life like he used to be.
We talk until the middle of the night. I feel myself opening up in ways I haven’t done in years. What happened at the club is never mentioned—like it didn’t even happen. I know it did. So does he. The elephant in the room doesn’t have to be killed; it can simply wander off. I wish I could do the same.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tired…” Bram looks down at his empty glass.
“Yeah, me too.” I nod in agreement.
“I’ll show you where the guest room is.” He puts his glass down and stands up.
Bram leads me up a flight
