12. Ezekiel

The ride home from dinner was tense.

When we found out she was going to be there, we knew this was our shot. We were going to pull her to the side and let her know she only heard part of our conversation. But then she opens the door and has someone with her, a man, her boyfriend.

I almost choked, swallowing my water wrong when he said that. We'd been prying Julia for information on Selena, but she doesn't know anything about her. How do you not know details about your daughter's life? Not to mention she steered every conversation to talk about herself.

"Julia's a real bitch. How does Dad see anything in her?" Eli cuts the silence as we pull into the driveway of our house.

"I don't know. Fuck, she's got a boyfriend," Jay whispers, his voice pained. He had high hopes of being with her even though she's our stepsister, he didn't care what Dad thought about it.

Jay opens the door as soon as Eli puts the truck in park and rushes up the sidewalk to the front door.

He fought with us for days once we got back from the wedding, to just show up at her house, but we felt it would be too creepy. We needed to bide our time and wait for the perfect moment.

We waited too long. Not only does she have a boyfriend, but with us not seeking her out, it just made that bit of the conversation seem more real.

"He still had hope of having a chance with her. Tonight changed that for him," Eli tells me as he opens his door, sliding a leg out of it.

Taking hold of his arm, I stop him. "Eli, can you admit you would've been okay with that? You were just as hung up on your mystery girl as I was. There's no way it wouldn't cause a rift if one of us was with her."

He just sits there with his head down, his eyes locked on the ground. I knew it. He's still hung up on Selena too.

"It doesn't matter. She's our step-sister, and she has a boyfriend. It"s a moot point now." He sighs and slides on out, making his way inside the house.

I bang my fist on the dash before getting out of the truck myself.

Raking my hand through my hair, I follow them inside. Both of my brothers are sitting on the couch with a beer in hand, their feet resting on the coffee table.

"I don't give a shit what either of you has to say. I can't stop thinking about Selena. I've never been this attracted to a woman before and I don't want to let it go without giving it a chance." Jay pulls his feet down, leaning forward, his brows furrowed.

"Dad—" I begin, but don't get to finish.

"No, this is my life, not Dad's. We're not related by blood and I met her before I even knew who she was, so there's not a damn reason I couldn't or shouldn't pursue her. It's not incest." Jay slams the beer bottle on the table, causing some to splatter out of it.

"I get that. Believe me, I do. But Dad would be furious, not to mention what his new wife would think," Eli interjects.

"She's a fucking cunt. Did you hear the way she talked to Selena? And Dad just sat back and let her. He would've never done that before. I don't know what she's done to him, but he's been different since meeting her. And can each of you tell me honestly that you're not still interested in her?"

Eli and I lock eyes. Yes! We do want her.

"That doesn't even matter. There's three of us and one of her. How was that ever going to work?" I question him, sitting on the chair across from them as I reach over to the coffee table and take Jay's beer.

"That's a bullshit answer. Haven't you heard of polyamory?" he asks with a smirk.

"What the hell is that?" Eli questions, pulling his feet down from the table and leaning forward, fully enraptured by what Jay's saying.

"It's multiple people in a loving, committed relationship. One woman with multiple men, ‘cause there's no way I'll be with either of you two."

My eyes go wide. Is this like a legit thing? I've seen a couple of episodes of that show with the one guy and all the wives and kids, but never thought much of it.

"We all want her, so what's the problem? I don't mind sharing her with my brothers. It makes it easier. At least I know and like the two of you." He laughs before standing and heading to the kitchen.

Eli looks at me, his teeth clenched, and I know he's thinking about what Jay said.

"What do you think?" he finally asks.

"I don't know. Even if I was okay with the idea, it doesn't matter since she's seeing someone," I remind him again of the obstacle in our path.

"Who says they'll last?" Jay's loud voice echoes from the kitchen, just before he reappears with three beer bottles.

"Do you have super hearing or some shit?" Eli jokes as he reaches out and takes a beer from him.

"No. But you weren't exactly quiet, and the walls aren't that thick. Like I said, she may have a boyfriend now, but something's off." Yeah, they were good with each other and I could tell they were close. But there wasn't any spark between them.

"Okay, before we can even think about pursuing a relationship with her, we need to get her to listen to us. That everything at the wedding wasn't as it seemed. We were in shock. Any thoughts on how we do that?" I ask.

We all just look at each other, no one saying a word, and drink our beers, lost in thought.

It's not until five minutes later that Jay speaks up. "I think we should approach her one at a time. That way, it doesn't look like we're ganging up on her." "That's a good idea," I agree with him. It will feel less confrontational.

"Then what?" Eli asks.

"We woo her. Make her see we'd make better boyfriends than the one she has."

"And if she doesn't want to let him go?" It's my turn to question Jay's plan now.

"Then I guess she's going to have four boyfriends, because I'm not losing her. I also think we need to talk to Dad without Julia around. I don't like this man he's become since being with her."

We all nod.

Dad has definitely changed.

After a lot of back and forth, a round of rock-paper-scissors, and finally pulling straws, I won.

I'm the first to attempt to explain to Selena our grand fuck up.

I'm not sure if she likes coffee, but I make a pit stop at the coffee shop around the corner from her and get two cups, along with an assortment of muffins, some doughnuts, and a bear claw. I mean, who doesn't love a bear claw?

I just hope he's not there. Sam. Ugh, I hate his name as much as I do his face. It should be me with her, not him.

I pull to a stop in front of her apartment building. It's older looking and could use some repairs from what I can see on the outside. It's four floors high and has limited parking on the street.

I'm beginning to wonder how safe this area is and plan to do a check when I get home.

Taking hold of the to-go tray and the bag of sweets, I get out of the truck and click the fob, locking the doors.

As I walk up to the building, the door opens and an elderly woman steps out with a metal grocery cart.

"Let me hold the door open for you," I tell her and she smiles and nods her head in thanks.

I know she's on the top floor, so I head to the elevator, only to see it's out of order.

When was the last time the fire inspector was here? She shouldn't have to trudge up and down four flights of stairs, not to mention the poor elderly woman who just left.

I contain my anger and head up the stairs, going over what I'm going to say to her all the way up. There may have also been a prayer or two in there that she doesn't slam the door in my face.

I take the last step and turn right, heading down the hallway to her apartment. My nerves cause the hair on my skin to stand on end and my stomach to turn into knots. I've never had a woman make me feel like this before. Not even when I was a horny teenager.

Taking a deep breath in and slowly blowing it out, I lift my hand and knock on the door. I wait but nothing, so I knock again.

This time, I can hear movement. Her footsteps get louder the closer to the door she gets.

"Sam, why didn't you—"

"Hey Selena, I hope it's okay if I stop by." "Ezekiel, what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" Her hair is a mess, and she"s in an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts. Her skin is pale and blotchy and her eyes are red. Has she been crying?

"I wanted to talk to you and asked Julia for your address." Not the entire truth, but she doesn't need to know I used my resources to find out where she lived. "But how did you know it was me? No one but Eli has been able to tell us apart."

"Stalker much?" she asks. "What do you want? Sam is on his way over." She doesn't gesture for me to come inside, just stands in the doorframe so I can't move past her. Not that I would try.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Your scar. If that's all you want, can I shut the door?" God, this makes her even more perfect. Oh no, Spitfire, you're not getting away from us that easily.

"Can I come in, please? I just want a few minutes to talk to you. I brought coffee and sweets." I hold up the cups and bag, giving her the biggest smile.

I give the bag of pastries a shake, and I can see the moment she relents, her face softening from the scowl she was displaying.

"Fine, you have five minutes. Is it decaf?"

"Umm, no." Who drinks decaf coffee?

"I'll take the bag then. Come on, time is ticking." She steps back, allowing me room to step past her as she takes the bag from my hand and opens it.

"Fucking bear claw, my favorite." She lets out a moan, and I can't help but beam with pride.

My mom always said that they were wrong about food. It's not only the way to a man's heart, but a woman's as well. Flowers are overrated, but food never goes out of style. I always thought she was crazy, but maybe she was right.

"They're mine too."

"Okay, well, what did you want to talk to me about? You're down to four and a half minutes now." She wobbles a little as she walks across the room, and I notice how she grabs hold of the back of the couch to steady herself.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just got dizzy. I've got a headache." She mumbles the last part, and my eyebrow raises. "Go on, talk." She manages to sit on the end of the couch and I take the spot in the chair across from her.

"I wanted to talk to you about what we said at the wedding. What you overheard us say."

"Are you here to stick the knife further in my hea—my back?" She clears her throat, but it's too late. I caught her slip of the tongue.

"No, I came to tell you that you only heard part of the conversation. Yes, what you heard was said, but it was our sad attempt to rationalize why we couldn't be with you. Not only were you with all of us, but you were our step-sister now."

She just glares at me, saying nothing, and my heart races.

"Maybe I was a slut. I mean, in hindsight, I only thought I had slept with two people in the twenty-four period. But it was still pretty shitty, wouldn't you say? In this day and age, I thought we were past slut shaming women for having sex. It's a double standard, don"t you think? Men get high fives while women are scorned for their loose morals."

"You're right, and we don't think of you as a slut. You have to believe me."

"No, I don't. We don't even know each other. It was one night. Now our parents are married, so it doesn't matter. We couldn't have been anything more than that."

"But we could. We're not blood-related," I remind her.

"It still doesn't negate the fact that there"s three of you and one of me."

"What if it doesn't matter to us?"

"Honey, I'm home. How's chick—" a male voice booms, as the front door opens.

"Sam, we have company," Selena says loudly, and I can't help but notice the sweat peppering her forehead or the way she's suddenly gripping the bag tightly.