aTRACKion

Chapter Thirteen

It's nearly 6:30 and I have that silly fizzing feeling inside of me. Being as we're definitely not in Ibiza, I've gone for the nice but casual style—my long hair is blow dried glossily straight, skinny jeans are teamed with a funky heeled pair of shoe boots and a white ruffle top is cutely worn to complete my casual assemblage—but the fizzing won't stop.

I texted Doug earlier with instructions to knock on the studio flats door and not the main house door, because Tezzer is home and I just know he'll embarrass me if Doug comes in via the main house.

As much as I love my brother, he can be mortifyingly embarrassing at times. While I'm still faffing about with my hair, and as though he has some weird brotherly sixth sense or something, Tezzer annoyingly enters my room. "Check you out, Fanny Franny!" His boyish face is all cutely contorted as he teases me.

With my mouth slightly agape at his cheekiness, my sisterly stare on him is a tad scornful. "What have I told you about just walking into here?"

Tezzer just smirks. "Ordinarily, I do listen to ya, sis, but both mum and dad have told me that you have a date tonight, and I'm guessing that date is with Doug DiCarto?" He's now sat in my swivel chair, immaturely swinging around on it with that smirk just getting bigger and bigger.

"He'll be here in a minute...now go!"

"Just let me say hi? I promise not to make ya cringe." His big blue eyes are angelically dilated as they stare back at me.

Checking that I have everything I need in my fringed bag, I am firmly shaking my head. "Tez, it's in your DNA to make me cringe." Just when he's going to come at me with some really witty remark, there's a definitive knock to my front door. Panicking that my brother is still very much here, I start whispering to him. "He's here, now go!"

But Tezzer remains exactly where he is, obscenely smirking as he swings from side to side in my chair. "Nope! I just wanna say hi."

Increasingly getting more annoyed now, my face screws up. "No!"

Smugly crossing his arms, Tezzer sits taller in his seat. "If ya let me say hi, I won't tell him about how you used to get me to pick up dogs poo?"

Sighing, I look heavenward. When we were kids, if there were dried out, whitish looking dogs poo, I used to tell Tezzer they were fossils and that he should collect them. Mean but extremely funny at the time. "You're just saying hi, then you're going...right?"

Tezzer grins from ear to ear. "Right."

Knowing that I've already left Doug at the door for far too long, I hurry over to answer it. As I open the door, there stands Doug looking all gorgeous and just as casual in his jeans and an Alexander McQueen fitted T-shirt. For just a couple of appreciative seconds, I process the sexy sight of him. As of now, I want to dip him in chocolate and lick him dry. "Hey." I heavily breathe, probably sounding all gooey and swooney.

Flashing me a breathtaking smile, Doug returns my greeting. "Hey yourself."

"Come In, I've just got to grab my bag and then we can go."

As Doug steps inside, his eyes begin to wander around the conversion, which is when he spots Tezzer in the corner beside my workstation and my singing gear. "Hey." He waves at my brother, giving him a DiCarto smile as well.

The sooner I introduce my brother, the quicker we can go. "Doug, this is my brother, Tezzer."

"Nice to meet you, bud." Reaching out to shake his hand, Doug looks pretty at ease meeting my annoying younger brother.