The Mindless Man's Paradise

Chapter thirty-two

  I woke up immediately the following morning knowing what day it was.

  Saturday.

  Everything had to be perfect.

  My brother was coming. It was likely we’d never meet again, which is why this visit had to be seamless.

  Of course we’d tell each other the tale of how we’d met our Soul Mate, and of course Cyrus and I’s version would be revised. Extremely.

  When would my brother be arriving? Morning? Afternoon? Night?

  He’d never mentioned it.

  Which is why I woke up at dawn to clean up the messes that we had generated in the past days. I fluffed pillows, did dishes, folded clothes, and threw trash away.

  It was hours later that Cyrus awoke and wiped his eyes sleepily before asking, “What are you doing?”

  “Cleaning.” I said as I shoved a platter into a cabinet.

  “Oh right, your brother is coming today.”

  I nodded, busy with the task at hand.

  I reached for a vacuum that was hidden away in a closet, but difficult to use. Eventually, I figured out how to turn it on.

  A droning hum filled the apartment as Cyrus went to prepare breakfast.

  Pancakes.

  Over the constant noise, Cyrus shouted, “When’s he coming?”

  I shrugged.

  “We’ll need to edit the tale of our Journey, you know.” I informed him.

  “I know.” he said as if it was obvious.

  Once I had turned off the vacuum and all was quiet, Cyrus and I sat down and drowned our pancakes in syrup before consulting one another about the edited Journey.

  But eventually, we came around to it and we agreed upon a story.

  Basically, we kept everything that happened up until the moment I stepped onto his doorstep. Instead of including that part, we agreed that I found him in the woods gravely injured and he couldn’t move until his wounds were healed. So we bonded and yada yada yada.

  The usual bullcrap.

  Once we finished breakfast, we hastily but strategically cleaned up our mess. Soon after, we went to our room to change into our red prison uniforms as we liked to call them.

  Both of our dressers were located in the same room and stood on either side. Did HQ intend for us to change in front of one another?

  If so, it seemed highly illogical of them, especially due to the fact that they have a strict “no sex” rule.

  Before that day, I had never seen Cyrus shirtless.

  We decided that I could change in the adjoining bathroom while he changed in our room.

  Apparently I had finished a little early, and when I opened the door, there stood Cyrus without a shirt.

  His red silky pants were on, but nothing on top. I felt like a drooling dog the way I gawked at his lean, sinewy build. The way his biceps flexed when he reached to grab his shirt…

  “Oh… sorry.” My reaction was delayed.

  He raised a brow as if he didn’t believe my apology. “It’s alright. I don’t really care.”

  With that, he put his shirt on and I found myself saying, “Don’t worry about wearing a shirt all the time, then.”

  Once I realized the words that had escaped my mouth, I blushed furiously and walked away before he could say anything in return.

  Lucky for me, I walked away at the most convenient time, because right when my butt touched the living room couch, there was a knock at the door.

  All too eagerly, I stood up and rushed to see who it was.

  Cyrus rushed out as well, reaching for the door and getting there before me.

  On the other side, stood my brother.

  Not only my brother, but his Soul Mate and two children.

  Oh, boy.