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14.11% Haru's Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) / Chapter 12: Haru

Chapter 12: Haru

"He's eighteen and still looks like a sixteen-year-old kid." Aiden chuckled. "But that's Haru. You should have seen him when he was eight. He was so adorable with the blackest hair and darkest eyes. With his pale skin, you would have thought he was a doll."

I saw Camille chuckling uncomfortably. "Really? Doll? Those Japanese types? Wow! You must love your stepbrother, Aiden? But he's eighteen now..."

I could tell she wanted to voice her opinion and ask why Aiden was still treating me like this.

While I was deliriously happy that he was so intimate with me, however, we were at a public place where many were watching. I sighed and turned to glare at him again. "Aiden, let me go, will you!" I pinched the skin of his arm.

"Ouch!" he cried. "You rascal. That's not the way to treat your older brother. You need to be disciplined." His eyes were glinting intensely with a sort of passion that made my heart race in excitement.

Fuck! Where the hell did that come from? That smoldering heat exuding from those beautiful eyes of his?

I swallowed hard, so affected I was.

A merry voice said, "Yes, please do discipline him, Aiden."

Breaking eye contact with Aiden, I turned to see Jess before us with a bottle of water in her hands.

"The harsher the better," she said. "Such as spankings on the backside." She winked at me with a cherry smile.

I finally managed to move out of Aiden's arms and settled a little farther away from him along the seat.

"Hey, Jess," Aiden said, a bright grin on his face. "Has Haru been misbehaving at work?"

Jess shook her head. "Rather, he doesn't follow my advice, you see, and that's annoying. So, Aiden, as his older brother, please do your duties and discipline him properly."

Because of her amused tone, I knew Jess was implying the sexy, erotic type of discipline that happened in the bedroom behind closed doors rather than the normal type that one gets from their elders when one misbehaved.

She turned to Camille and said prettily, "Can I sit here?"

Camille was hesitant for a moment, but then obliged by moving over. Jess took the seat and said, "Thanks. I'm Jess, Haru's best friend, by the way."

Camille said, "I see. But you look older than eighteen."

Jess grinned. "I know, I get that a lot." She turned her attention back to me and Aiden. "So, anyway, it's nice to see you two being lovey-dovey tonight." She frowned suddenly. "Haru, why are you so far away from Aiden? Move closer."

I rolled my eyes. I knew she was using me and Aiden to satisfy her Yaoi craving, since there hadn't been a single lovey-dovey gay couple coming into the restaurant to entertain and please her tonight.

Aiden chuckled as he tousled my hair again. I groaned in despair and embarrassment as he then hooked his arm around my neck and pulled me close to him so that our faces were only inches apart. Fuck! My heart was racing again. If this happened too often, I swear I'll have a heart attack one day.

He asked, "Close enough for you, Jess?"

Jess grinned widely as she nodded in approval.

Camille cleared her throat and then asked, as her eyes stared at me in what I could only assume was displeasure, "It's hard work, isn't it?"

I raised a brow at her, wondering what she was on about. "Hard work?"

"Working as a waiter here."

I nodded. "But it's fun and the pay isn't bad."

"It doesn't look fun to me," she said. "And the pay is one of the lowest, isn't it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, it's enough for me to get by," I said, annoyed that this woman was poking her nose where it didn't concern her.

I turned to Aiden and asked, "Why did you guys choose this place?" After which I quickly took another drink.

"Because you're working here, and I don't want questionable men giving you unwanted attention and harassing you," Aiden said bluntly. "I'm here to watch over you."

His answer made me choke on my drink, and I coughed out loudly.

Aiden patted my back. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," I said, moving his hand away, my face hot.

Shit! I could feel Camille's sharp gaze on me. The woman asked with raised brows, "Questionable men? Harassing him?"

Jess nodded, still smiling as she watched Aiden and me. "Yep. Haru gets a lot of unwanted attention." She turned to look at Camille then. "It can't be helped since he has such a pretty face. It's only right his beloved stepbrother has to watch out for him, right?"

Camille furrowed her brows. "Unwanted attention? But he's eighteen. Can't he look after himself? And I doubt any man would find him that attractive to want to give him that sort of attention. If he's a girl, I would agree, but he's a boy. Then again, it's probably Haru who does things to entice other men to give him that sort of unwanted attention?"

Her words got me so pissed that I saw red. Fuck me! Did she just put the blame on me for enticing men to harass me? God, this woman was opinionated.

I noted Jess could only stare at the woman speechlessly while Aiden frowned darkly.

Aiden said, "Camille, that wasn't very nice." He pulled me close to him, which surprised me. His hand was warm and tight on my arm. "Haru is not that type of boy. I've lived with him for ten years and I know him very well. Please apologize to him. Surely, you don't mean what you've just said?"

Camille went bright red in the face, probably flabbergasted at how protective Aiden was toward me.

She said, "Why do I need to apologize? I'm just stating my opinion."

She sounded like a spoiled rich girl who always got what she wanted and had never needed to apologize for anything she did, whether it was right or wrong.

Fuck! This was getting out of hand, and I felt sick to my stomach over the situation. I didn't want Aiden to lose his client, which Camille was. But with the way he was acting right now, picking my side over hers, it was getting rather dangerous. Although I must admit that Camille was a bitch; picking on me and saying hurtful stuff like that.

I said, "I'm going back to work," as I moved out of Aiden's arms.

"Haru?" Aiden said, looking at me.

I smiled, to reassure him. "It's fine, Aiden." I turned to look at Camille and said, "Don't go around judging people before you know them. FYI, I have a person I'm in love with and I don't waste my time going around enticing other men, which you seem to be implying." With that, I turned on my heel and started heading back toward the staff room.

Behind me, I heard Jess say, "Thanks for ruining the fun, Camille." A moment later, she was beside me.

Once we were back at the staff room, she asked, "You okay?"

I nodded and said, "I'm fine," even though I wasn't.


Chapter 13: Haru

After dropping Jess off in front of her apartment, which she rented with some other university students, Aiden and I headed toward home. The journey was silent, and God, it felt strangely uncomfortable with just the two of us in the car. While Jess was around, it had been lively, with Jess chatting nonstop about her awesome life as a university student, along with me. But once she was gone, the atmosphere became tense, and damn, I so badly wanted to break the ice. I also wanted to know what Aiden had said to Camille after I left them back at the restaurant, because when I returned to clear away the dishes, she was gone. Then again, I didn't want to ask, because the thought of Camille pissed me off.

"So," Aiden began suddenly, breaking the silence and drawing my attention to him. "You said you're in love? That's the first time I've heard of it."

My heart skipped a beat, and I turned away, avoiding his sidelong glance. I felt my face heat up in the dimness of the car.

I said, "It's none of your business."

Yes, I was in love all right. Sickly so, with him.

"Look, I know it's none of my business, but..." He sighed. "You're acting strange lately, Haru. You don't confide in me anymore. I worry about you."

God, he was making it worse. How the hell was I supposed to confide in him? When the person I'm in love with was him? When it was forbidden? First, I didn't even know if he would accept me for who I was if I were to tell him that I was gay. The doubt and uncertainty was already making me sick with anxiety. What if I were to confess to him that the person I loved was him, too? How would he react? Wouldn't he just kick me out and never want to do anything with me again? If that was the result, then it was undoubtedly worse than death itself.

Then again, I knew Aiden well. He wouldn't do something like that. He was too kindhearted for his own good and loved and cared about us brothers a great deal. If I were to profess to him that I was gay, he'd just accept it simply because it was his obligation as the head of the family to support me as his younger stepsibling, even though deep down, he might find it disgusting.

I said, "I know you worry about me, Aiden. But I'm an adult now. I don't want you worrying about me. I can look after myself." I turned to him then, my eyes intense on his profile. I changed the subject and asked, "Are you planning on going out with that woman?"

He raised a brow as he glanced at me. "Who?"

"Camille," I said. "Are you planning on going out with her?"

He chuckled. "What made you think I'd go out with her?"

I licked my lips, nervous suddenly. "Because she acts like she owns you."

"I'm not interested in her, Haru," he said bluntly.

I felt relief swept through me. "Good," I said, nodding my head.

Suddenly, I felt his hand tousling my hair, his thumb stroking my cheek. Fuck! Here we go again. I silently groaned deep inside, savoring the moment as he caressed me. My body became warm and weak against his gentle touches. Damn, but I wanted him to continue until we got home, at least. But alas, he removed his hand and rested it on the steering wheel. I tried my best to hide my disappointment by turning my attention to the scenery of the dark streets.

"So, are you going to tell me who it is?"

Still staring off unseeingly outside as the car sped by, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"The girl you're in love with," he said.

I felt my heart aching as I asked, "You want to know?"

He said firmly, "I want to know, Haru."

I guessed he saw this as another of his obligations, to keep tabs on me where dating was concerned.

I sighed and then said, "What do you want to know about that person?"

I noted his hands gripping the steering wheel. He said, "Is she pretty? How old she is? Stuff like that. If she's underage, I won't allow you to date her. Not until she's old enough at least."

I chuckled with amusement. Underage? Yeah, right.

I said, "Pretty? More like gorgeous."

"Gorgeous, eh? Wow!"

I smiled. "Yep. So gorgeous that there's a lot of competition." I sighed. "Every day is a battle and every day I'm scared I'll lose that person to someone else."

"You haven't confessed to her yet?"

I shook my head. "I can't. It's impossible."

"So she is underage," he said.

I frowned. "No, that person is older than me."

We both were silent for a moment. Then he said, "I see. Why is it impossible to confess to her?"

I said, my voice trembling, just a little, "It's complicated."

Aiden suddenly pulled the car over and parked it on the side of the road. I stared at him, wondering what he was up to.

He turned to me then and pulled me into his arms, which surprised me into speechlessness for a moment. Then I relaxed and, God, but he smelled wonderful. I took the opportunity and buried my face against his chest, basking in his tight hug and warmth.

God, I love him. I love this man. I love Aiden. Why was it so difficult for me to tell him that?

"I'm sorry, Haru," he said, "that you have to go through something like that." He moved a little so that his lips were near my ear. Then he said softly, the warmth of his breath fanning on my skin, making my insides squirm deliciously, "Are you really in love with her?"

I shuddered and my chest trembled with emotion in response to his question. I nodded as I said lowly, "I really love... Aiden. I don't know what to do. It's painful, this love. I wish it'd just go away, but every day it seems to be getting stronger and..." Suddenly, I whimpered. I had no idea why or how it started, but I whimpered like a freakin' child.

Aiden tightened his arms around me as he said, "I'm here to help you, Haru. I'm your brother, after all." He chuckled lightly. "I'm sure it'll work out."


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