Passionate Love Every Day

5

I blinked in confusion, watching the two of them blushing like crazy, feeling like I'd missed some critical piece of information.

The conversation drifted off course.

Out of nowhere, the spotlight fell on me.

Brandon told me we had met before.

My brother and his girlfriend both turned to look at me in unison.

Honestly, when I first saw him, I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen him before.

I was perplexed.

Brandon seemed a bit disappointed but quickly returned to his usual demeanor. He sighed lightly, "I saw you with your friend the other day at a restaurant, and you were crying. Did something happen?"

My brother's expression shifted from amusement to concern. "Sis, what's wrong? Can't you at least share when you're upset instead of hiding it?"

Seeing their worried faces made me feel a little embarrassed.

That day, I had been venting to my best friend about my cheating ex. In a moment of excitement, I accidentally wiped chili oil from my hands on my eyes. My silly friend thought I was crying over the jerk and kept comforting me. No matter how much I tried to explain, she wouldn't believe me. She even said I was the toughest one in the group.

I was trying to figure out how to explain the situation.

Should I just tell them I accidentally rubbed chili oil in my eyes?

No one would believe that story.

6

"It's just that I found out being cheated on really sucks."

"What? You were cheated on?"

My brother yelled so loudly next to me that I almost went deaf.

I thought he'd keep making fun of me since he never liked Peter Martin, always saying I was blind to his faults.

Without saying a word, he snatched my phone and started swiping through it, looking for something. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

I was completely confused.

"Peter Martin, that loser."

"He's in the trash bin where he belongs. Why would you expect me to keep him?"

"Are you sure you won't get back together?"

My brother sized me up.

Suddenly, I felt the attention on me heat up.

Looking around, I didn't notice anything unusual—except for Maria, who was looking at me with pity.

"Stop grossing me out."

I rolled my eyes at my brother.

Maria looked indignant. "Exactly! Don't gross out your sister. There are plenty of trees in the forest; why would you hang onto an old, rotten one?

"Don't be sad, sis! I can introduce you to a cute younger guy, a freshman."

Maria pouted, determined to protect my love life.

"A cute younger guy? A freshman? It never ends well."

The voice floated over, and it was Brandon.

The room fell silent.

"Dude, do you even know how to comfort someone?

"Straight guy syndrome—no wonder you haven't had a girlfriend in years," Maria mumbled.

Brandon smirked, looking quite pleased with himself. "This year, I'm going to work hard to find you a sister-in-law."

"A brother-in-law can also do the trick… Ouch… Ouch…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Brandon cut her off.

I felt a surge of excitement at the banter, my eyes fixed on Brandon until he suddenly glanced back at me, making me quickly look down and focus on my food.

"I'm not into men," Brandon quickly clarified.

"Explaining is just covering up; covering up means there's a truth," Maria chimed in at just the right moment.

I struggled to suppress a smile.

Even though there was a big age gap between the siblings, their dynamic was quite entertaining.

I fiddled with my chopsticks, absentmindedly picking at the green onions on my plate.

My thoughts drifted off somewhere else; I still felt like I recognized Brandon from somewhere other than that meal.