Falling For Mr. Sundae | ✔

20. New Perspective

Julian said he'd be over at two. That was in ten minutes and Jaiden decided to destroy the kitchen trying to fry Oreo's in pancake batter after seeing someone do it online.

"You could help clean up your mess."

My brother sat at the kitchen table, a plate of fried sugar in front of him, leisurely scrolling through his social media feed as I wiped pancake mix off the counters. "I was gonna do it when I finished eating."

"There are people coming over and the kitchen can't look like this."

He turned in the chair to look at me. "Why do I have to hang out with these random dudes just so you can get some."

He looked pleased with himself until the wet towel I held hit him in the face. He grimaced, throwing the towel on the floor like it was a bug or something.

"We're working," I told him. A blush still crept up my cheeks at the thought. I was sure this crush had subsided. Shaking it off, I added. "And don't say that in front of him or I'll take a bat to your gaming system."

He didn't seem the least bit threatened by that, simply shrugging as he turned back to his Oreo's. "If these dudes boring I'm leaving."

Nova began barking from the backyard. They were here and I didn't have time to argue with Jaiden. One last glance at the kitchen--cookies smashed into the tile, dishes over flowing from sinks, grimy counters--made it clear we had to avoid this area at all cost.

"Don't do anything stupid," I warned.

The doorbell rang a few seconds later. I smoothed my hands over my navy blue romper and checked my reflection in the mirror by the door before opening it.

"Hey," I greeted, a smile spreading across my face. "Come in."

Now that I was seeing the twins up close I noticed that the looked like miniature versions of Julian. They had the same medium brown skin, same eyes and same nose. One of them even had the same hair cut while the other had an intricate design of cornrows. Donnie looked different from them with his dark skin and round face.

After we were all formally introduced to each other my own brother finally decided to emerge from the kitchen. His eye widened slightly when he saw them.

"Yo, you two got that gaming channel," he said, pointing to Chris and AJ.

"You watch those?" AJ, the one with the braids said, looking genuinely shocked.

The rest of their conversation became gibberish as they started talking about some basketball game, moving the discussion up to the game room. I was able to relax a little knowing that they were getting along.

Donnie stayed behind, hiding behind his brother like the last time. He had a Minions themed backpack in his hands as he stared down at rug beneath his feet. He might not have looked like Julian, but he reminded me of how shy Julian seemed when we first met.

"You can make yourselves comfortable in the living room," I told them, directing them to the large living space. "I just need to grab somethings and then we'll get to work."

Once I came back down from my room with my laptop, notebook and pencils I joined them in the living room. Julian was sitting on the edge of the couch while his brother sat on the floor in front of him with one of those beginner reader books in front of him on the coffee table.

Both times I've seen him with his siblings he's seemed more like a father than a brother. Maybe that's just my conscience reminding me how shitty my relationship with Jaiden was.

Julian looked up when I sat next to him on the couch. "Your house isn't what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" I asked as I turned on the laptop. "Maids and butlers?"