She's No You

Chapter four - Smile For The Camera

(Mildly edited)

"He did what?"

I was currently at my parent's house in Hoboken, New Jersey. Lounging out in the family room with my eldest brother Roberto. My parents were playing in the backyard with the grandchildren except for my eldest Nephew Tomas who was in the kitchen with his mother Maria, Roberto's wife of 20 years.

Roberto was the only one of my three brothers that still resided in New York, as a Family Lawyer. A job that he took very seriously. He helped me with my divorce and the custody hearing I had to endure during Finn and I's separation. He was (and still is) overly protective of me. I swear he took my breakup just as bad as I did. He and Finn had become great friends over the years and when I revealed to him what had happened between Finn and me, he became even more overbearing.

Julian's the second eldest was currently living in San Francisco with his four-year-old son, Parker. He went through a nasty breakup with his ex-wife Becca six months ago after finding out she was embezzling money into an offshore account for her estranged lover. His small doctor's practice nearly went bankrupt due to the money loss but my parents stepped in and helped him financially to stay afloat. Becca was currently serving an Eight-Year sentence in prison and her mysterious lover disappeared with nearly Five-Hundred thousand dollars. He decided to stay in San Francisco and continue on with the life he built with his son but frequently visited New York. Making sure that we never forgot him, and that Parker could be with his cousins. 

Mark, the youngest out of the brothers was living in luxury in the Los Angeles Hills. He packed up and left straight after high school with the family's support to become an actor. He had always been overly dramatic, comical to a point my parents dreaded parent-teacher interviews.  Over the years he had done well for himself. First, staring in small commercials, then moved onto TV dramas before getting his big break. A supporting role in one of Hollywood's greatest movies, Snowden. It was a box-office hit, skyrocketing his fame and securing his stance in Hollywood. I was so proud of him, and of course, he remained a Bachelor after dating my best friend Mel in high school. Secretly I don't think he will ever get over his first love. But he did like to try. 

I had just explained to Roberto what had happened this morning over breakfast and what Patricia had said to me. To say he was mad was an understatement, he had practically choked on his beer the moment I told him about my uninvited guests.

"Yeah well I can't stop him from seeing Josh on his birthday, can I? But did he really need to bring her?" I complained. Roberto understood my emotions and out of my entire family knew the most about why Finn and I's separation happened in the first place.

"Yes, you damn well can Millie!" I smiled at my pet name for me. Something most of my family picked up and continued to use. "That's your house, your property and if you don't want someone there you can tell them to leave. Invite Finn in, sure, but kindly remind him to leave his baggage at the door." Roberto fumed and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips. It was like we were teenagers again gossiping over high school. 

"I'm seriously Millie, don't let him walk all over you! That asshole needs to be taken down a peg or two." I sighed knowing that the more I talked about the situation, the angrier my brother would get. So in true Amelia fashion, I changed the subject.

"So anyways! Are you excited about Tomas starting college next year?" My eighteen-year-old nephew was a prodigy of his old man. I knew one day Tomas would be a brilliant lawyer and husband, it was just a matter of time.

Roberto beamed at the mention of his eldest boy, "Of course! The kid got into Harvard for fuck sakes." He laughed, "not even I did that well. I tell you what, I can't wait to see what he makes for himself one day." That was just typical Roberto. He was the kindest man you would ever meet but if you messed with his family he would backhand you quicker than a woman at a black Friday sale.

I took a sip of my gin and tonic, "You know Elissa and Emery are going to be artists just like their Momma."

His daughters Elissa and Emery were splitting images of their beautiful Mother, Maria. Both had dark chocolate hair and golden-brown eyes and they could never do anything wrong in Roberto's eyes. They looked too much like their Mother. Who was a pretty well-known Artist in New York City.  They both had Maria's talent just in different areas. Elissa enjoyed painting portraits and was brilliant at it, she had won numerous awards at School. Emery on the other hand loved mixing colour, some would call it abstract but to her, it was just pure fun.

"I've got my work cut out with them don't I?" Roberto mused taking a long swig from his beer bottle before setting it down on the coffee table.

"No. More like you've got your work cut out with Roberto Jr over there." I pointed towards the glass doors that looked out into the backyard just as the Feisty little 7-year-old crash tackled his grandpa with the help of Ruby who was laughing alongside him. Roberto Jr was the correct name for my brother's youngest son. He was a fireball of mischief just like his father.

"Military school." He mumbled. I laughed around the rim of my glass before downing the rest of the contents and placing it next to Roberto's empty beer. 

"Come on." I slapped Roberto's leg then stood up to stretch. "We better go join the others instead of having our bitch and moan session. I'm sure mom is running around out there with her new camera trying to take photos." I laughed remembering the first few weeks after dad had brought her the camera. Let's just say she went through two-sixteen gig memory cards trying to take selfies of her and Dad.

--

I kissed the top of Ruby's head, her eyes were already fluttering shut which didn't surprise me. I kissed her head once more and flicked the light off as I walked out of the room. I walked down the hallway to Josh's room and poked my head in. He had already passed out and his soft snores echoed in the room. I quickly tucked him in and kissed his soft brown hair too before making a quick exit. 

Today was a big day. After the little spat I had with Finn the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Ice skating was a blast. It was the first time in years I had stepped foot on the ice, and having two little humans depend on you to keep them upright was quite amusing. After that, we had a nice long walk through central park before dinner and cake at my parents' house. The kids had enjoyed the company of their cousins, and I couldn't help but smile at how close they were. It made me wonder if they were as close with Finn's family as they were mine, especially Finn's seven-year-old niece Sophia.

I poured myself a decent glass of wine and positioned my rear end nicely on my plush couch. I chose to leave whatever TV show that was already playing on and continued watching without really paying attention. As the credits rolled by I heard a loud knock on the door. Sighing, I drank the last few sips of my wine and shuffled towards the door. Gregory was standing there with a dopey smile on his face and a large blue box in his hand. He bent over and gave me a peck on the lips. A smile curved on my face the moment he wrapped his left arm around me. We walked back toward the couch, not leaving an inch of space between us.

Gregory bent forward placing the blue box on the table quickly and he wound his arms back around me. "How was your day beautiful?" He whispered nibbling on my ear lobe.

"It was good! Joshua had a great day and passed out as soon as he got back home. How was your day?" I replied choosing to keep my encounter with Finn out of it. We never spoke about Finn, it was an unspoken territory. He knew off Finn. Everyone in New York City knew Finn and that was probably why he chose not to ask about him. 

"Oh, it was fine, sold a penthouse in Manhattan today. It came with a nice fat commission which I plan on spending on you. Maybe a weekend to Hawaii?" He continued to kiss my neck, and it gave me chills. Not the same chills I got with every intimate encounter I had with Finn, that was bone-shattering but this, this was pleasant. It was nice to feel wanted by the opposite sex. 

"Oooh... well maybe one day we can enjoy that lovely vacation. And thank you again for today. I know you wanted to enjoy Joshua's birthday with us but thank you for letting me have this time with the-."

He kissed me softly on the lips to shut me up, no doubt I was rambling on once again. "It's fine, sweetheart. I got a sale and you got time with your kids, plus we have tomorrow. And tonight..." He wiggled his eyebrows. My body was dragged onto his lap and our lips mingled together. It had been weeks since we had last had sex and I was more than ready for him. I needed him right now. I needed to forget for a moment, I needed to feel that earth-shattering orgasm.

I needed to feel human again.