When Trouble Walked In (Boyxboy)

Chapter 8- Playmates or Business partners?

[Listen to the song above! ❤ ]

Edmund's POV

When dinner had ended, I decided to help Shane wash the dishes as Rafe and Brandon made themselves comfortable at their living room doing God-knows-what.

The dinner was nice. Shane made some good lasagna that we all enjoyed. I tried my best to ignore Brandon's weird looks and looked away whenever our eyes met. I knew what the man wanted from me. Perhaps he found enjoyment in teasing me or he wanted to worm his way into my bed.

I should've known. The moment we talked to each other back at the Bri, I should've known his intentions with me weren't good. The man was clearly flirting with me.

But no matter how I detested the man's coy flirting, I didn't want to lose the contract. It wasn't just for the money. I loved the feeling of getting myself busy and knowing that the furniture on that Bed-and-breakfast was there because of me made my heart soar in ways that I couldn't imagine.

I will get the job done. But Brandon should keep his flirting to himself.

Wait--why the heck am I even so bothered by him?

"Ed!" I suddenly flinched when I felt a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my reverie.

I turned around and saw Shane.

"You seemed occupied. Is everything alright?" He asked as he placed the plates on it's container.

I couldn't just tell him that his brother bugged my mind. He was his brother, after all. And God knows Shane will tell him.

"Nothing. Just thinking about Christmas, I guess." I said smoothly before wiping my hands dry on a clean kitchen towel.

"Oh are you planning to spend Christmas here? We, well Rafe and I, usually have a small gathering here and have dinner. I guess since Brandon is here it'll be much more fun. Oh I haven't even bought presents! Hm. I guess I should start planning soon. Anyway! You could join us, if you like." He ramble off quickly making me chuckle at how adorable he was doing so.

"Well, I have an invitation back home for a Christmas gathering."

More like I invited myself.

"But everyone's probably busy because they're opening a new branch this January so it's probably just my oldest brother and I." I said, trying to hide the disappointment.

"Oooh you did say you had 3 brothers! What are they like, if you don't mind me asking." He said as we both took a seat on top of the counter.

"Well first there's Clark, who I think is the closest to me. He's busy being a CEO on a company but he's cool. He's always there whenever I ask for help. Then there's Greg and Richard. Uhm they grew with their mother so you could say we weren't even that close. But when their mother died of cancer, the both of them lived on our house but we still didn't even get that close." I explained and grabbed the mug of hot chocolate beside me.

My mother was my father's third wife. Clark's mother cheated on dad so they divorced. Greg and Richard's mother died from cancer but she felt like dad was too busy to give attention for her so they were separated beforehand. Then my mother died giving birth to me. My father then stopped looking for a wife after that. Perhaps he gave up finding someone to love. Who knows.

"It must've been hard growing up like that." Shane said softly.

"You're right. It was hard. But I got used to it eventually." I smiled at him reassuringly.

"So is Clark the one you said you'll spend Christmas with?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah. Why?" I raised an eyebrow at him.