Chapter 4 Haru

• Aiden’s deep timbre came firmly, which drew my attention to him.
• “Isaac, stop leading Haru astray. Haru is fine the way he is,” he said, which instantly made me blush.
• Yeah, I blushed a lot in front of him and knew it wasn’t normal. Girls blush when a hot guy talks to them. An eighteen-year-old boy shouldn’t blush when his older stepbrother was talking to him.
• He continued saying, “I’d worry if he goes and does things like that too soon. His body is too fragile.”
• Fuck me! I could only sit there and stare at him in astonishment. What the hell? Did he think I had a chronic sickness or something?
• Reo looked as though he couldn’t contain himself and laughed loudly. There were even tears in his eyes. When he managed to stop, he said, “Daddy Aiden is worried his daughter Haru will grow up too soon.”
• I went bright red and snapped, “Oy! Can we stop talking about me now?” I turned to Aiden and said clearly, “For your information, I am not fragile and am perfectly healthy.”
• Yep. I wanted to clarify to him that my dick functioned just as fine as any boy my age. I was also certain that I could go all out and through the night without stopping, too, if I wanted to, especially with him as my bed partner.
• Mason, always the peacemaker, changed the topic immediately. He said to me, “That reminds me, Haru, my boss saw you with me the other day, and he’s wondering if you’re still interested in working at his bar?”
• My annoyance over the subject matter of me being a fragile little thing subsided immediately. I asked, “Seriously?”
• Honestly, I didn’t think Mason’s boss, Robert Jones, would be interested in taking on a scrawny kid like me to work in his massively popular bar where all the rich and famous went. The only reason why I wanted to work there was because the pay was ridiculously good, which would undoubtedly fatten up my savings account.
• Aiden’s chilled voice drew my attention and fizzled out my enthusiasm when he said, “I didn’t know you were interested in working at that bar, Haru.”
• I knew he was a little more than upset that I didn’t consult him on the matter, like I had usually done with every other issue under the sun.
• Mason, who must have understood that Aiden was not happy about the proposed arrangement, said, “Don’t worry, Aiden. He’s under twenty-one so there will be supervision. My boss did promise me that he’d only roster Haru on to work with me, and it will only be until midnight.”
• He smiled pleasantly and added, “Haru is our brother, and I know he’s precious to you, so I promise I won’t let anything shady happen to him.”
• This seemed to ease Aiden’s worry a little. A very little. But not much. He still had that stern expression that clearly stated he wouldn’t let me work there if it was entirely up to him, which it wasn’t, because I damned well wanted to work there and make some good extra cash.
• Noah said, “It seems we have a lot of brothers working in bars, don’t we?”
• Reo nodded. “Aiden used to work in bars while studying for his business degree, so I don’t see why Haru can’t.”
• Noah said, “Didn’t the manager put you onto serving drinks for the girls? They must make a lot of money off of you, considering your looks.”
• Isaac chuckled. “They’d probably do the same to Haru. He does have the Shrine Maiden look, after all.”
• Reo nodded. “That will definitely attract a lot of female customers who like pretty boys.” He turned to look at me with an amused grin. “Like our Haru.”
• Isaac nodded. “Haru, working in a bar is your perfect opportunity to meet girls.” He turned to Mason. “Isn’t that right, Mason?”
• Mason nodded his head. “Hmm... That bar does attract a lot of female customers. I don’t know why though.” He looked rather perplexed about that, which I found amusing. “But it is a good opportunity for Haru to start asking girls out.”
• Reo said to me in encouragement, “Then go for the job, Haru,” which made me suspicious.
• Aiden suddenly stood up, which drew my attention to him. God, I could feel the unhappy vibe emanating from him and wondered what was bothering him.
• His eyes on me, he said, “Enough about this bar job. Are you done, Haru? Let’s go. And I’m picking you up tonight after work. No argument.”
• I could only stare at him, flabbergasted.
• Reo chuckled. “Give it up already, Haru. Just let him drive you, otherwise Daddy Aiden will be worried sick.”
• I sighed in resignation and then got up from my seat. I said, “Itte kimasu,” as Aiden and I headed out the door, indicating that we were leaving the house—our Japanese habit stuck with me from childhood, and I found it hard to change.
• “Itte rashai,” Noah, Reo, Mason, and Isaac replied in unison.
• After closing the front door, I followed Aiden toward the driveway, and a moment later, hopped into the car in the front passenger seat. After putting on my seat belt and making myself comfortable, I watched Aiden as he turned on the ignition. He must have felt me watching him because he suddenly turned his attention to me, his gaze intense on my face.
• Feeling flustered at the intimate eye contact, I asked in a defensive attitude, “What?”
• He rested his hand on the side of my cheek and then petted me, his fingers digging deep into my hair while his thumb was stroking my face.
• Shit! He was doing that again, and every time when it happened, I simply wanted to close my eyes, lean against him, and let everything around us slide by. When he did that, I wanted to savor the moment between us because it was precious, like I was the only one in the world for him.
• His thumb rubbed near my eyes, and I groaned inwardly as my heart melted with this fluffy sensation.
• Goddamnit! If I didn’t stop this soon, I’d do what my primal urge wanted most, and that was to kiss Aiden.
• I resisted the temptation and instead brushed his hand away. My voice a little shaky and uncertain, I said, “Aren’t we going? You don’t want me to be late for work, do you?”
• I heard him say, “Yeah.”
• A moment later, the car maneuvered out of the driveway and onto the road.
• It didn’t take long until we arrived at my part-time job, which was a convenience store. I’d be working here until three this afternoon before rushing off to my other part-time job at Tokyo Club Restaurant & Bar as a waiter.
• I undid the seat belt as I said, “Thanks for the ride.”
• I was about to open the door when Aiden caught my arm. Shit! I knew he wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to hear it, whatever it was.
• I refused to look at him and instead opened the door. I was about to get out when Aiden said, “Haru!” I stopped in my tracks.
• I reluctantly turned and asked, “What?”
• Fuck! I could feel that vibe—hot and intense—emitting from him. Jesus! What was it? I just wanted to get away because the longer I stayed close to him, the harder it was for me to control myself.
• “Look at me,” he said.
• I raised my eyes to him, my cheeks feeling hot and probably red.
• The moment I saw him, I knew he was conflicted. He said, “Do you need money that much?”
• That was what he was worried about? Me needing money? Me wanting to work at the bar with Mason?
• I licked my lips—my habit around Aiden—and said, “Yeah.”
• “You can always ask me. I’ll give you pocket money.”
• I shook my head. “That’s not the point, Aiden.” I sighed. “I hate that I have to rely on you for money. You worked so hard to raise us after Mom and Stepdad passed away. I’m eighteen now, Aiden. I want to be independent. I want to make my own money and then move...” I trailed off.
• “Move?” Aiden asked sharply.
• Fuck! I could hear the surprise in his voice. Why did I unthinkingly blurt that out? Shit!
• I shook my head. “It’s nothing, okay?” I motioned to leave.
• Aiden tightened his grip on my arm, which hurt. Damn! I didn’t know Aiden would inflict pain on me. This was the first time. Did he even know he was doing it?
• “Aiden, you’re hurting me,” I said.
• He swiftly removed his hand from my arm like it was on fire. “Sorry,” he said. “But you said move. Are you thinking of moving out?”
• I licked my lips again, my eyes straying away from his in avoidance. “Like I said, it’s nothing. And I have work now, Aiden, so I have to go.”
• With that, I rushed out of the car like the devil was chasing after me.
• With my heart still racing from the intense exchange between me and Aiden, I headed into the convenience store where my boss, Dan Smith, greeted me.
• “Morning, Haru,” he said. “Did you run here? Your face is completely red.”
• I touched my cheek as I avoided answering his question and greeted him instead. “Morning, Dan. I’ll go and get ready for work now.”
• The elderly man nodded.
• In the staff room, I put my backpack into my locker and then proceeded to put on my green apron. Afterward, I headed back to the front and began my work—stocking shelves and serving customers.