The billionaire's sweet editor
Chapter 29: Iris: Another passionate night

Chapter 29: Iris: Another passionate night

"YOUR UNCLE has gifted us two-week tickets to Burj Al Arab!"

Grandma won’t stop talking, running around the room, and packing an entire wardrobe worth of their clothes. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought they were moving out. I can’t believe I was panicking for nothing—these guys are about to go on a two-week honeymoon to one of the loveliest hotel in the world.

"Are you sure they’re not three? I wanna go too."

"Even if they were three we’d take Iris not you."

"Shut up you old man, I was talking to grandma," Mary retorts, clinging onto Grandma’s arms and pouting. "I wanna go too."

"We need to leave Iris in your care," placing the last of her sun hats in the bag, Grandma turns around and clasps Mary’s shoulders. "Iris will need someone who’ll watch over her while we’re away. Can you do that for us?" She’s dressed in a white comfy tracksuit, her go-to airplane clothes. Grandpa is wearing a matching black tracksuit.

Mary glances at me, turning back to Grandma with her pout still intact. "Will I at least get a babysitting fee?"

"If you want, I can—"

"Ugh, I have nyctophobia, not adulthood phobia! I know how to take care of myself," I groan. My senses are a bit dull now, especially my focus. I underestimated the power of red wine, and now I’m feeling queasy—or tipsy if that’s what you call feeling semi-dizzy and on the highway to sickness.

"Yeah right, tell that to last night," Mary blurts out, eyes growing wide when she realizes what she just did. I told her about last night and this morning’s incident on the phone, which was a bad idea because she can’t seem to shut her trap whenever we’re arguing.

"What happened last night?" Grandpa stops packing and faces me.

Raising my elbow I point at the bandaid, "I fell."

"How did it happen?" Grandma rushes to grab my elbow so she can thoroughly check my wound. "Why didn’t you call us?"

I glare at Mary and she grins at me that snitch. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell my grandparents about it. They panic over the smallest of details if it has anything to do with me.

The two of them have been like this ever since mom left me in their care when I was seven. I wasn’t used to affection then, but after the frequent therapy sessions in high school, I soon learned to accept some of it. I’m still not used to it but I’m trying to learn, though it still makes me cringe a little.

"It’s nothing, the wound has probably healed by now," I assure them but Grandma won’t stop looking at the wound.

"More importantly, aren’t you guys supposed to be taking the 11PM flight? You have three hours left to arrive at the airport," Mary says checking her watch.

Grandma hesitantly leaves my elbow, glancing at me all wide-eyed and sentimental. "Will you be okay alone?" I nod. "Don’t hesitate to call us when you need something okay? And keep the solar inventor on at all times in case there’s a blackout."

"I will," I lie. The damn thing makes a beeping sound that doesn’t stop whenever electricity comes back. It’s very annoying, and for someone who needs concentration when editing my work, I need all the silence I can have.

"Sleepover at Mary’s for a while until the wound heals?" Grandpa asserts. "I already sent Jerald a text so don’t worry about the explanations." I smile at them, clasping grandma’s cheeks and running my thumb there.

"I’ll be fine, I promise. You guys need to pack fast or you won’t make it in time."

"You’re right," Grandma smiles back at me, freeing herself from my grasp. "I left money in the cutlery drawer." Another nod from me makes her beam genuinely at me.

"And feel free to bring boys!" Grandpa adds with a laugh earning him a good smack on the shoulder from Grandma. The sound of an engine draws Grandma’s attention to the window before her beam grows wider. "The uber is here!" She shouts excitedly, rushing to grab my face and kiss my forehead one last time. "I’ll miss you sisi."

"Me too Grandma," I hug her, "Now go before the driver gets bored of waiting."

Mary and I help them with their suitcases to the car where the driver arranges them in his boot. Kisses are shared among us, and we’re in the last moments of our goodbyes when Jerald comes running to my front gate. He too gets his kisses, which unsurprisingly he cries over. He’s been the boy grandchild my grandparents always wanted but couldn’t get.

"Protect Iris while we’re away, okay?" Grandpa tells him after one movie scene shitty hug that sends electric sparks of inspiration down my spine.

"Don’t worry, I do that every day," he replies breaking the hug. The three of us are left standing hand in hand in the cold, waving at the car as it takes off until the red light vanishes into a corner up the street.

We are standing in silence, dazed at the sudden event we just witnessed when a large beam of light floods the entire street from behind us, coming closer as heavy footsteps tread on the tar.

"I thought you might need some light," comes Lucas’ deep voice. Angelic. That’s how it always sounds to me. We all turn to face him standing a few meters from us, the darkness masking his face.

"There’s a flood light over there," Jerald points at the light emanating from our house. "But thanks anyway, I won’t be worried about Iris being with you in the dark."

"See, I told you he’s sweet," I mumble, laughing for no reason and holding Mary’s shoulders.

"Iris, are you drunk?" She asks pulling my face closer to hers. I can’t deny that the alcohol is beginning to take effect, but I’m not drunk.

"No, I’m not!" I retort pushing her away. She squints her eyes at me, letting go of my face when Jerald claps his hands.

"Good, let’s go and binge Demon Slayer," he says, standing between Mary and me and taking our hands in both of his on each side before pulling us back to their house. "Oh, and Iris."

"Yes?"

"You’ll be sleeping at ours tonight, just for safety reasons."

And so it begins. I can already feel his brotherly affection rubbing on me before he has even taken any drastic action. Overprotective, prying, and clingy. I know I’ll be getting the entire package for the coming two weeks. I just hope nothing serious happens during his alpha-bro mini-phase.

★★★★★

Two hours later, everyone is a mess. Mary is crying because Tanjiro is hurt in her drunkenness, Jerald—being the cute protective brother he is, is soothing her whilst mumbling his sorries slowly because he turns into a sloth when drunk, and Phineas is lying on the fluffy white carpet placed on the center of the room in a fetal position.

I’m still feeling a bit tipsy, but I’m in my right mind and feeling more sensitive to everything and everywhere around my body as if I just drank fucking nerve boost juice.

Everyone is drunk. Everyone except Lucas. His eyes have been on me the entire time we’ve been watching anime and they still are now. It’s probably why I can’t control the itch between my legs. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t, because even though I want to look like an innocent girlie, I am not. I too was staring at the bulge on his grey sweatpants the entire time, illusions of what I could be doing to him playing in my head louder than the TV.

Shuffling in his seat, Lucas grabs Jerald’s shoulder. "She’s asleep Jerald, let me carry her to her room."

"Hmmm," Jerald nods slowly, placing his head on the glass table. I watch as Lucas carries Mary to her room, appearing down the stairs a few minutes later and doing the same to Phineas.

Jerald’s turn takes the longest time because he keeps insisting that he’s not drunk and that he can walk himself, so Lucas has to watch him struggle up the stairs whilst making sure he’s not gonna fall. It takes an eternity but finally, Lucas pops back down the stairs, making his way to the double-seater couch I’m on and sitting next to me.

I don’t know if he’s feeling it, but I’m getting hot and bothered by his presence. The air turns hotter and I squirm in my seat. Unable to restrain myself any further, I turn my head to face him, crossing my legs so I don’t jump on him.

"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?" I put on the most seductive voice I’ve ever heard myself use, making me cringe inwardly.

I know you’re horny honey but we’ve got to chill!

"I think I do," Lucas says in a low husky, and breathy tone that sends shivers down my body. In a flash, I’m sitting on top of his lap running my hands around his chin where the beard has now grown a lot more than the last time I ran my fingers on his face.

"You look good with a beard," I mouth, inching my face closer to his.

Lucas chuckles, a low rumble that makes me shudder in all the right ways. Goodbye feminism.

"And you look perfect in everything, babe." Before I can reply, our lips crash, and I catch my breath, matching his freak as my body gets ready for yet another passionate night with this sexy beast.

★★★★★