Pain And Pleasure 18+✓

Sixty-four

Before Adrian can respond, the front door bursts open, and boisterous noise floods the air. It's Jake and his squad of four slithering their way in while laughing vibrantly. I step aside, serving a decent stance between Adrian and me but nothing can cut off the impregnable thread hanging between us.

"He likes her!" More laughter follows.

"Alright, tone it down, dude. I was just saying she's—" Jake pauses when he sees us. His displeased gaze shoots straight toward Adrian's face like a Russian missile, ready to wreck him.

"Man, I think we're too loud... or interrupting," says Nate, a curly-haired Latino pal of his that I've met only today.

"I'll catch up." Jake lets them advance to his room.

He lumbers toward us, a skeptical look on his face. He's never mentioned it before, but I know he's angry or disappointed at Adrian for several reasons ever since he received the letter left for him.

There was a time he nearly quit progressing with his game, feeling like it was pointless if Adrian wasn't there even if he'd left him the contact with someone to contact once he was done. The challenge became one-sided and spiceless for Jake's taste. He hated him ever since.

"Does it even matter?" I barked at him angrily when he asked if Adrian would come back or not. "You don't need him to be the person you want to be now, do you?" I was hurt and grudging and talking about him gave me nothing but heartache.

I needed a reason to hate Adrian.

Even though my brother is the worst at expressing his true feelings, he managed to say, "Because he's the first person to challenge my guts, so I want him to witness what I'm capable of."

I completely understood him. It's probably Adrian's special effect. He effortlessly makes someone desire to be the best version of themselves whether consciously or not.

I'm still a victim of his charm.

"I get it, but you should do it for yourself, Jake," I told him. "He may be far away, but I know he's capable of witnessing every tiny accomplishment you make. He's that meticulous when it comes to anything he invests in, so do what you need to do and stop needing him to approve your worth!"

It was me who needed to hear these words, come to think of it.

In the end, I knew that Jake needed Adrian to be proud of him. Like a father figure he doesn't have, he needed this man to be there. He's the only person who's left an impact on him no one has managed to inflict.

Not even our father.

I know everyone needs a hero or role model, but sometimes we gotta draw one from our strengths, right? We can't all have a hero.

A smile tugs across Adrian's lips when he sees him, but Jake's face remains imperturbable. They stare at each other wordlessly, turning my world cold and unbearable. Can they quit this already?

"You're back," Jake says curtly.

I detect no aggression in his arctic voice, but he can't hide his wrath.

"I am," Adrian replies. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah. You?" Jake returns.

"I'm great."

"Cool," he answers but I feel like he's not gonna stop here. And that's when he suddenly adds, "Look, I don't know what the hell is going on between you two once again, but if you're here to leave as you did before, then you shouldn't have come back at all. We don't—"

"Jake!" I stop him.

"What?" he flaps, throwing me a grave look. "We all thought you were dating but in the end, he was gone! Do you think we didn't know that you were sad and miserable all this time? That he probably dumped you like that piece of shit—Richard? And now he's here? For what? To mess with you again? Because that's what these rich people know how to do best! They show up, they stir things up, and off they go! Fuck you!"