Miss Pen

Chapter Eighteen

A/N: Do you guys know how long it took me to find a picture of this guy with a shirt on? I mean, I'm not complaining about his lack of clothing, but c'mon now. Anyway, please vote or comment, and thank you all for getting this story over 5,000 reads!! Enjoy the chapter :D

Damn, damn, damn! Just walk around the car, Aubrey. If you act like you don't see him, he probably won't notice you, either.

Internally groaning, my body came to a halt when I heard the beep of a car horn. I didn't know what I was expecting, though. He was parked only a few feet away from me, so how could he not see the people that entered and exited the building?

It wasn't that I didn't want to speak to him; it was just that his idiot of a brother would surely be making his way out of the building at any second. After all, I'd just had the wonderful privilege of talking to him.

Snapping my head in the direction of the parked car while flinging a hand to my chest, I acted as if I was startled by the loud noise. Furthering my performance, my eyes squinted, zooming in on the person behind the steering wheel. After a couple of seconds, they grew wide again, making it seem like recognition finally set in.

Adrian waved, clicking open his car door and resting an elbow on the roof when he stepped out. With his lean body, tousled bronze hair, and dazzling white smile, I was momentarily stunned.

Geez, what the hell do their parents look like?

"Hey! I'm glad I ran into you." Jogging to pull me in for a hug, the older of the brothers was full of excitement. "How have you been?"

Uncomfortably wringing my hands, my eyes kept glancing from the man before me, to the door I had previously exited from. The sun was setting, creating a bright, painful glare against the glass of the building, and making it difficult to see anyone coming out of the structure. I bit my lip, thinking of ways to nicely end the conversation. Adrian was one of the sweetest people I'd ever met, and it hurt to know that I might have to hurt him if I wanted to get away.

"Good, I guess. How have you been?"

"Alright, I'm just waiting to pick up Rhode. He's pretty upset about something, so I'm taking him out to talk about it."

"That's nice of you." Immediately, my thoughts ran to my own sibling. Now that she was back home - looking like it might be for a while - I wondered where our relationship would go. I still couldn't tell if her apology from the night before was genuine, and doubted that we would ever become as close as the Harper brothers, but we could still try. "Well, I hope you two enjoy the night."

Leaving was worth a shot, but when Adrian saw my body shift away from him, an arm was thrown over my shoulder.

"Thanks, and I'm so glad we're friends now, Aubrey." We were? Why didn't I get that memo? "And since we are, I wanted to ask you something. How would you like to come to Rafi's birthday party next weekend? The whole family will be there, and mom is excited to meet you since I might've mentioned a certain someone that has Rhode on a chase. So, what do you say?"

What did I say? My first thought was hell to the no, but that would've been rude to repeat out loud. Plus, I would be going for the baby, not for him or his brother-okay, maybe he was fine, but it definitely would not have been for his ass of a sibling. Instead of declining, I grinned up at my friend, not having the courage to turn him down.

"I wouldn't miss it!"

"You're the best, hon. And I know how exhausting work can be, so I'll let you get outta here." Adrian placed a kiss to my temple, squeezing me into a hug before letting go. "On second thought, would you like to spend the evening with me and Rhode?"