Another Vice
"So what time are we supposed to pick your sister up from the airport?" Lillian asks, pulling a hoodie down over her t-shirt.
"Around one," I reply easily, checking the time to make sure we won't be late.
Yes, that's right, Lizzie is flying in from London to spend part of her holiday break here with me in New York.
When our mom asked Lizzie what she wanted to do for her holiday break, her first response was that she wanted to come to New York to see me... and Derek. Which should be interesting considering Lillian doesn't even know I have a step-brother that lives close by, for obvious reasons.
Lillian stretches out on the sofa in the living room of our apartment and flicks on the tv, presumably to kill some time before it's time to go.
It's worth mentioning that Lillian is a Sports Journalist, which is how she and I met to begin with and became roommates- we're both freelance journalists. So more often than not, Lillian's choice of entertainment is some form of sports event or game... and of course, it's hockey season.
So the first game she flicks on is hockey, and I can't help but groan aloud.
"I still don't understand how you can hate hockey," Lillian laughs. "You're Canadian, isn't that like illegal?"
I'm also the step-sister/fuck buddy to the center of an NHL hockey team, so excuse me for disliking the sport.
"Plus, it's a Devils game! It's close to home!" she shouts.
Oh, that's right. That's the team he plays for. The New Jersey Devils... how fitting.
"Can we just go, Lillian?" I plead, hoping against hope that she'll just turn the damn game off before the inevitable camera zoom in on Derek.
He's the center, so the cameras tend to focus in on him for a lot of the time he's on the ice during games, which if I'm being honest, is a majority of the reason why I can't watch them. Seeing his smug 'I'm a pro hockey player' grin outside of our 'arrangement' is just annoying.
"Oh, fine. But you know how much of a defining moment in my career it would be if I ever got interview with a Devil. I need to know as much about them as possible."
Okay, so I'm kind of a terrible best friend. I could probably get Derek to do an interview with Lillian without an issue, but I just can't do that. Our 'relationship' has gotten so rocky that I wouldn't even dare ask him. It's pretty much entirely physical now.
At around 1:15 in the afternoon, Lillian and I are waiting at the gate to pick Lizzie up from her flight and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to deal with the whole Derek thing while Lizzie is here.
Obviously, I have to tell him she's here and get them together so Lizzie can report back to my mom and let her know he's still alive, but that means I'd have to see him too and then there's the whole mess of the sex and how we're not going to be able to do that while she's here. This should be a complicated three days.
"Casey!" I hear from in front of me, making me snap out of my thoughts.
Lizzie looks different than the last time I saw her, but yet, still the same.
Her hair is whisked up into a ponytail and she's wearing her standard jeans and a sweatshirt.
Lizzie is almost eighteen now, which makes me feel old, but she's becoming such a lovely young lady and most importantly, she seems happy.
She's smiling brightly as she picks up her pace and runs toward me, dropping her bag at my feet and throwing her arms around me.
It occurs to me that I need to introduce Lizzie to Lillian, so when I pull myself back from hugging my sister, I turn to Lillian.
"Lizzie, this is my roommate, Lillian," I smile, happy that Lizzie is actually here and is able to meet my best friend in the States. It's like two worlds are coming together.
It's not until almost dinner time that Lizzie finally brings up Derek.
Lizzie, Lillian and I are standing in the tiny kitchen in Lillian and I's apartment, eating greasy take-away pizza and I almost choke on my drink when Lizzie asks.
"So when are we supposed to see Derek?" Lizzie asks, and I almost don't know how to respond.
Thankfully, Lillian responds before I do.
"Who's Derek?"
Lizzie seems confused by the fact that my best friend and roommate doesn't know who Derek is, and I'm about to open my mouth and explain when Lizzie beats me to it.
"He's our step-brother. He lives in the city too. You've never met Derek?"
Lillian scoffs and turns her attention to me, clearly irritated that I'd kept this from her.
"You have a brother? How did I not know this?" Lillian shouts, giving me a very classic 'annoyed Lillian' look.
"He's not my brother, so don't call him that. And we're not exactly close."
Well, I guess that depends on your perspective and your definition of 'close'. We're step-siblings who have at regular sex, so I guess that makes us 'close', but we can't have a civil conversation to save our lives, so there's that too.
"So? You could have at least told me you had a brother! I didn't even know you had a sister until you told me she was coming to stay with us, and you had a brother living in the same city as us this whole time!"
I groan and roll my eyes at the two women across from me. This week is already shaping up to be a bad one.
And it's then that the universe laughs at me and sends another lovely reminder of how tragic this weekend is going to be.
Come over.
It's only two words but it's a reminder that there's no way possible this weekend will go by without a hitch.
I sigh and think of what to text back, wondering if I should tell him Lizzie is here yet, or wait.
I can't.
I sit my phone face down on the counter as I clean up the pizza box and our plates, hoping Derek won't push further.
But how often, really, is it that Derek Venturi does something I want him to do? Almost never.
I grab my phone off the counter and head into the living room, sitting down on the couch, Lillian and Lizzie following shortly after.
What do you mean you can't?
"No sports, Lillian," I say almost without realizing it when I see her surfing for something to watch on television.
I mean, I can't. I'm busy.
I kind of almost wish I could go see him to blow off some steam, but I also recognize that that would be unwise.
And I'm horny. So come over.
"What's got you so glued to your phone, Case?" Lizzie questions, laughing. "I've never seen you so attached to it before."
And without missing a beat, Lillian responds, "It's probably X."
Lizzie obviously doesn't know about X and the screwed up relationship I have with our step-brother and I'd like to keep it that way.
"Who's X?" Lizzie laughs, looking at me like I have three heads and like she thinks either I'm crazy or Lillian is.
Before Lillian can reply with a crude answer that I'd much rather my little sister not hear, I answer, "Nobody, Lizzie. Don't worry about it."
You're always horny.
"X is her... male friend. She won't tell me anything about him, but apparently they've been seeing each other for years. She claims to actually hate him and only keeps seeing him for sex, but I happen to think she's actually just in love with him and can't admit it," Lillian explains to Lizzie, making me kick her wherever I can reach to shut her up.
Yeah, it's also probably worth mentioning that Lillian thinks Derek and I are actually secretly in love with each other and just won't admit it to ourselves or one another. Because that's logical.
She thinks we both would've moved on from each other unless there's something else going on... Except there's definitely not, y'know, other than the whole 'technically related' thing.
I wouldn't even want to imagine how different things would be if Derek and I actually got along, let alone anything else.
Which is why I'm telling you to come over.
"Well, well, well, Casey, this is news to me." Lizzie says, shock and amusement in her voice.
I roll my eyes again, standing from the couch.
"I'll be back later. I'm done listening to you two critique me," I hiss, sliding my feet into my boots and grabbing my keys.
"Awwe, Case, we mean no harm. But tell X hi from me," Lizzie smiles, settling in to watch whatever movie Lillian has found to watch.
I'm coming over.
"Couldn't resist, could you, Princess?" Derek taunts as he opens the door to his apartment to let me in.
Normally I would throw back a comeback without even thinking about it, but for once, I'm more annoyed with Lizzie and Lillian than I am with Derek.
So that being said, before I'm even inside, I throw my arms around his neck, crushing my lips to his and shoving him backward into the apartment.
I kick the door shut behind me, leaning my back up against it, tangling my fingers through my step-brother's hair.
One of my hands drops from Derek's hair to his belt buckle, my fingers fighting to get it off of him.
"What's gotten into you?" Derek laughs against my lips, his hands grazing my sides and down to grip onto my thighs and lift me up, wrapping my legs around his waist and shoving my back against the door again.
In order to let me answer him, Derek trails hot, open mouthed kisses down my neck, biting gently into my pulse point.
"Lizzie is here," I breathe, my teeth digging into my lip.
Now it's not just frustration with my roommate and sister that fueling this fire because I'm starting to really feel the effects Derek is having on me.
Derek slides his hands up under my shirt, tearing it up and over my head in one swift motion, continuing to kiss and bite his way down onto my chest.
"And why is that a problem?"
Derek lifts his attention from my chest, leaning his forehead against mine to catch his breath before pressing his lips back to mine, swiping his tongue across my bottom lip, forcing a soft groan out of somewhere low in my throat.
"Because, genius, while she's here, that means you have to go three days without getting laid."
I swear, I don't think I've ever seen someone go from 100 to 0 in such a short amount of time, but telling Derek Venturi he has to go without sex is like telling any normal human they have to go without water.
Still with my back pressed to the door, my legs around his waist and his hands on my ass, I say, "Oh, and mom told Lizzie explicitly that she wasn't allowed to come back to Canada until she sees you."
Derek groans and tosses his head back in annoyance.
"Fine. To get that over with, I'll meet you guys for dinner tomorrow night. But you owe me," Derek hisses before hauling me off of against the door and carrying me into his bedroom.
And that's where the talking ends, giving way to heat and passion.
It's around two and a half hours later that I'm back home, dropping my keys on the kitchen counter and kicking my shoes off.
"Oh, you're home," Lizzie says, a hinting of contempt in her voice as she's lounging on the sofa in the living room that's going to act as her bed for the next couple nights.
I sigh.
"I am," I reply, taking a seat next to her, noticing that Lillian must've already gone to sleep.
"Why did you keep your family a secret from Lillian?"
I frown. Honestly? When you're in an entirely different country from almost all of your family, it's easy to get used to them not being around.
"Lizzie, when I moved here for school, I was alone in a new country. Lillian and I became friends three years after that. I'd just gotten so used to being alone. It's nothing against you guys, I promise."
Lizzie seems to think for a minute, contemplating what she'll say next.
"But you weren't alone. You moved here in September and Derek followed in January. Have you really not seen him in the entire four years you've been here? He's still family. You can't just pretend he doesn't exist."
I don't want to lie to my sister. But on the other hand, it's not like I can exactly tell her I see Derek, especially not in the way that I see him.
"I see him. He's not far from here, maybe ten minutes. He lives with one of his teammates," I finally decide to say.
It's not a lie. It's just not the whole truth.
Lizzie nods, understanding.
"And we're going to see him while I'm here? I told mom I'd see him."
I nod in response.
"Yes, I talked to him earlier today. We're meeting him for dinner tomorrow evening."
I can tell Lizzie is still upset about something, but I don't know that I'm ready to ask her what.
I can't help but see that this was not the trip Lizzie had planned. I'm sure she expected to see the sister she remembered from when I was living at home. But I've changed, and I'm not so sure it's been for the better.
Hey, guys! I hope you're enjoying this so far! I'm still working on the next chapter of Jersey, which I hope to have up early next week!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and will review.