Breaking Mr. Black

11| Bad Picture

ROSE

"So, you miss me yet," Dean quizzed with a gleaming smile splitting his perfect cupid bow lips. We were face timing while Lacy, Macy, and I were getting manicures, "or has my brother taken up all of your time," he said this with a scowl capturing his once smiling face.

I groaned, wincing at his insinuation. The lady doing my nails all but glared at me since it would be about the tenth time she told me not to move. Giving her an apologetic look, I replied to Dean, "What story did she spin on you this time?"

"Rosie," he said in warning. For some reason, he didn't want to believe what a bitch Amira was turning into, "Did my brother and you spend an entire night in a room together?" At those words, all the ladies in the room turned their attention to me with interest sparking in their inquisitive eyes — albeit Macy, she just never gave a shit.

"Yes, but it's not what you think," I admitted, cutting Lacy a glare, "it's not what any of you think. There was this party and Amira did this really shitty thing that made me uncomfortable so I left to get a drink and may have drunk too much. Sean was on babysitting duty, to be honest."

"I don't like you spending so much time around my brother. He's not a very good influence. He was only meant to check up on you for me, not drag you to parties and get you involved in his personal issues," Dean made a disgruntled noise under his breath.

"There's nothing wrong with your brother, it's Amira that's the problem," I counted, feeling the strange urge to defend Sean's actions although I didn't actually approve of them.

"She loves him and don't pretend as if you wouldn't do the same if it were me," he chuckled at the flabbergasted look that contorted my face; a throaty laugh that I missed, "Don't look so shocked. I'm not saying anything unknown. I'm sure everybody in the room already knows how we feel for one another."

"Called it from day one," Macy shouted, showing me her tongue and then batting her eyelashes at me in an innocent gesture.

"I'm with Mace. I just wish my brother would have been more romantic instead of expressing his feelings via face time," Lacy jutted her head into the shot, frowning at her brother, "I expected something like this from Sean," she shook her head in disapproval.

"Sorry sis, but I had to let her know now before she does something with my brother thinking that her love was unrequited. Rather late than never, right?" Dean glanced at me for a second, giving me his boyish grin and a wink.

"Dean..." I drawled, still impaired with shock. His confession should have made me happy. I should have been floating on a cloud of euphoria but I wasn't. There was something amiss and I couldn't place my finger on it. Maybe it had something to do with the way he delivered his confession, at least I hoped that was the reason. Nonetheless, I forced a smile onto my face as I said, "You never had anything to worry about. You know your brother and I can't actually stand one another."

"Seems like you guys have been doing a lot of standing lately and sitting too," he grabbed his phone and a few seconds later showed me a picture that had me seeing red.

There, on his screen, was a picture of me sitting on Sean's lap. His hand was squeezing my inner thigh, dangerously close to my nether regions. We were both staring each other down, faces so close that it gave the impression that we were about to kiss. It was a bad picture. A VERY BAD PICTURE. There was only one person I knew would take a picture like that.

"Now that's seriously not what it looks like," I gritted, clenching my molars, "I swear, there is absolutely nothing going on with me and your brother. He just didn't want me socializing at the party and you know how he is. He chose the most inappropriate way to keep me there just to piss me off."