My dream life

4 • Zelah

I waited for Kelcie and Jordan at the bar, scrolling through Instagram. Since Xavier was at Nick's helping him unpack, I went to his page.

I clicked on his story, and I paused. It was a stupidly cute picture of him flexing in a full-body mirror. I noticed Nick wearing a graphic T-shirt and holding a box in the background.

As I suspected, he had gotten a tattoo. It was an intricate sleeve design of a snake and rose.

Wait.

I remember talking with him back in high school about getting matching tattoos: a snake design and a rose.

I guess I wasn't the only one to remember, as I had gotten an elegant snake on my back that curled around a rose.

While I had other tattoos, that one was always my favorite. I can't believe I had almost forgotten why I got it in the first place.

No, I don't want to think about Nick right now; I'm just here to have a good time with my friends.

I spotted Kelcie and Jordan heading towards me, so I slipped my phone into my handbag. "Heyy! What took you so long?" I said, clearing my mind of Nick.

Jordan rolled her eyes. "You know how it is, the traffic." She complained, earning an eye roll from Kelcie. I smiled lightly at them.

"Well, I need updates on y'all. How's your adoption going?" I asked Jordan as she slipped into the seat across from me.

She shook her head, "We got denied by the woman we wanted to adopt from; I guess not everyone is fond of the idea of two queer parents." Jordan sighed.

I frowned, "You and Jesse just need to find the right person; I'm sure you'll find someone." I murmured. Kelcie nodded enthusiastically.

"Sometimes I wish I could just have the kid myself, but I have difficulty," Jordan said jokingly, though I could tell it was a tough subject. "Maybe you can hire a surrogate? If Jesse were up for that."

"Meh, I'm sure it'll work out eventually..." She said. "Anyway, Kelcie mentioned Xavier's brothers in New York! Since when does Xavier have a brother?" Jordan added.

So much for not thinking about Nick.

"Yeah, he's always had a brother; he's my age, so we were close in high school," I explained, smiling awkwardly.

Jordan raised a brow, "How close?" She said teasingly. I laughed, "Close? I don't really remember much of high school since the accident, just bits and pieces..." I said evasively.

Kelcie smirked, "I heard he graduated from Harvard; he must be pretty wealthy." She was trying to pry answers out of me, I could tell.

"Yeah, he's... rich." "Millionaire or billionaire rich?" Jordan asked, and I shook my head. "I dunno... He wears a pretty expensive watch, though." I mused.

"Do you have his Instagram?" Kelcie questioned. "Uh, I can see if I can find it," I said in return. I grabbed my phone from my purse and went back to Instagram.

I went through Xavier's following and found an account that was most likely Nick's. 'N.King.'
I tapped on the profile and immediately slammed the phone down on the table, startled by what I saw.

Jordan jumped, "What?!" She got up, scooting into the booth with me, and so did Kelcie.
She tried to pry my phone from my hands. "lemme see!"

I lifted the phone and let them see the photos.
It was mostly shirtless gym pics and food posts. But there were a few that really made my heart race.

Jordan giggled, tapping on one of the shirtless pictures. "Jordan!" I exclaimed, embarrassed I was even doing this. It's so wrong, this is my boyfriend's brother!

"Lord have mercy," Kelcie whispered, and I covered my face. "Guys, please, this is so wrong..."
"Ooh, but right in all the right places," Jordan added, zooming into his abs. I gasped, "Jordan! You're married!"

"Hey, Jesse would agree, and besides, I'm just looking." She grumbled, pursing her lips.
They swiped through his posts and paused on one of what looked to be a masquerade event. He was wearing an intricate mask and an extravagant white suit.

Kelcie leaned over, trying to swipe to the next photo, but a big pink heart popped on the screen instead.
We all froze.

"Shit," We said in unison. I felt heat shoot up my neck. "OH, SHIT, NO!" I shouted, earning a curious look from some of the customers at the bar.

"He's going to see that I liked it! What if he thinks I'm like into him?! I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!!" I panicked.
"It's fine! It's not like that, obviously! He'll probably assume you misclicked anyway!"

'N.King. started following you.'

...Extra...

Nick set down a box, swiping sweat from his brow. His brother idiotically posing every two minutes to take selfies.

Honestly, I'm better off doing all the work myself.
Suddenly, his phone dinged with a notification, and he grabbed it from his pocket.

'Zee_Mel started following you.'
'Zee_Mel liked your post.'

He blinked, staring blankly.
A warmth spread across his face, and he tapped on the notification.

It wasn't any of his gym posts, but rather that post from the ball he attended back in December.
He clicked on Zelah's profile, and her posts were just about her hanging out with friends or 'fit checks.'

He tapped the follow button and then closed his phone, feeling a fluttering sensation in his stomach.