Chapter 2

“Finally!” Chris called out, raising his arms. “Took your damn time, you two!”

“What, are you leaving without us?” Miles said, his voice sarcastic as he approached the car. He let out a low whistle, watching the incredible car’s smooth surface with an impressed look in his eyes. “Your dad let you take the car tonight?”

“Yeah. He didn’t need this one anymore and told me I could use it.”

Erin’s finger slowly traced along with the car’s frame, taking note of the premium feeling of it and glancing inside at the black leather seats, her eyes widening. “Wow…”

“You never know. I could just take Amy with me and consider her my date now.” Chris said, getting into the car as everyone else followed suit. Erin quickly got into the front seat as she flashed Chris a quick smile.

“Hey, don’t think about stealing my date just because you didn’t bring one with you!”

Erin and Chris’ gazes locked for a moment before they quickly looked away, advertising their gazes and attempting to hide their flustered cheeks. Thankfully, Amy and Miles were too busy with one another to care.

“What took you so long?” Amy asked, her voice concerned.

“I was just…” Miles said before his gaze found Erin’s, and she flashed him a knowing smile. “Finalizing something. Starting a company takes a lot of effort, you know.”

“I still can’t believe all of this shit, man,” Chris said, chuckling loudly as wrapped his hands around the steering wheel. “This is just wild.”

“What do you mean?” Miles asked, his brows furrowing as he let out a quick chuckle as well.

“All of this, you know?” Chris replied, glancing back at his friend. “You’re starting your own tech company? It’s crazy!”

“Yeah. Never imagined King-Tech would be a reality, but here we are, I suppose.”

“You’re making me feel like I should stop working for my father’s company and start my own as well!” Chris replied, waving his hand as if he was dismissing the topic. “How hard can it be?”

“You know, this would have never happened if it wasn’t for everyone in this car right now,” Miles said, glancing around him. His gaze was sincere with a large, warm smile on his face. They took a minute of silence, nodding along and realizing just how far they’d come.

“Shit, this is getting too emotional,” Chris said, quickly swiping the car keys with a quick click, and the car’s engine quickly roared to life. He quickly called out. “Let’s get drunk and have a good time!”

Minutes later they were on their way to the party, chatting and laughing along the way. The car’s engine hummed silently in the background as they quickly cut their way through the bustling city, letting the night’s cold air crash against their skins.

“So, are you nervous, Miles?” Chris asked, glancing back at his friend. “I heard some of your new employees are at the party.”

“I’m not going to lie to you guys, I’m freaking out,” Miles said, glancing around him with a nervous smile on his face. “I don’t know what the employees would think of me. This is the first time I met some of them face-to-face.”

“So? What’s the big deal?” Chris asked, snickering. “My father meets new employees all the time.”

“But your father has been in the tech industry for well over ten years, Chris!” Miles replied, shaking his head as thoughts and doubts began to creep into the back of his mind. “I, however, will be meeting these guys with no experience in running a project this big.”

“You’ll be fine, love.” Amy quickly said, planting a small kiss on Miles’ cheek. “I’m with you. We’re all with you.”

Miles flashed her a grateful smile, his eyes sincere as he planted a quick kiss on her lips. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You probably wouldn’t be doing shit,” Chris called out, snickering as he kept his focus on the road ahead of him. Without another word, Miles extended his hand, slapping the back of Chris’ head with a quick s****.

“You deserved that,” Erin said, laughing loudly as her eyes quickly travelled to the large mansion slowly approaching them. Her eyes widened at the large lights illuminating the building on the horizon, her breath catching in her throat.

“I’ll be damned…” Miles said, leaning forward on his seat as his gaze was stuck on the building they were quickly approaching. “You’ve really outdone yourself, Chris.”

“It’s fine.” Chris snickered. “My father was more than happy to host this party for you and the new employees. He really likes you, you know. Always said that you reminded him of a younger version of himself.”

Erin quickly glanced toward Chris, furrowing her brows at him as she noticed the hidden sadness in his voice. They’ve been spending too much time together for her to not notice these kinds of things. She opened her mouth to speak, choosing her words carefully. “What about you?”

“What?” Chris said, quickly masking his disappointed look with his usual charismatic smile. “What are you talking about?”

“What about you?” Erin asked, glancing back at Miles and Amy, who were too busy talking to each other to bother with what Erin was asking. She lowered her voice, leaning towards Chris. “Why doesn’t your father see you as a younger version of himself?”

“Oh, that…” Chris said, taking in a deep breath as he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them, but Erin knew this was something he didn’t want to talk about.

Erin glanced to the side, taking note of how his knuckles were whitening as he gripped the steering wheel. “Listen, if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“It’s fine. It’s just…” Chris took another deep breath, glancing at Erin for a brief moment, their eyes locking. “My father was never really proud of me.”

“What do you mean?”

“He always thought that I was lazy because I was happy with a position in his company. He doesn’t want me working with him.”

“Chris…” Erin said, placing a tentative hand on Chris’ shoulder, her voice low. “I’m sorry about that.”

“He always tells me that he thinks Miles is twice the man I am for being independent and starting his own projects.” Chris quickly glanced back at his friend, finding him still busy talking with Amy. A long, shaky sigh escaped Chris’ lips as he quickly glanced away. “Sometimes, I think he’s right.”

“Chris, you can’t seriously believe that, right?” Erin asked, flashing him a comforting smile. 

“How can I not believe him?” Chris asked, the usual smile on his face was replaced with an unusually serious look. “My own father doesn’t respect me. Maybe I don’t really mean anything to him.”

Erin remained silent for a moment. Her mind was racing as she glanced downwards. Slowly, she raised her gaze towards Chris, playfully nudging his arm with her shoulder and flashing him a comforting smile. “You mean the world to me.”

“Erin…” Chris said, lowering his voice even more as he glanced backwards, making sure Miles and Amy didn’t hear them. “You know we can’t keep doing this…”

“I know…” Erin said, her voice low as well as she kept her watchful gaze on Amy and Miles. “But you know how I feel about you, and I know exactly how you feel about me.”

“Erin…” Chris said, biting his lower lip as he flashed her a knowing smile. “You know I want this to be a thing, but…”

“But?” Erin asked, making sure their voices were nothing more than quiet whispers.

“But you know how your brother would react to all of this. You know how everyone would react to this.” Chris said, letting out a long, deep sigh as his shoulders raised and slumped down once more. “I don’t think this can ever be a thing, Erin.”

“Maybe…” Erin said, flashing Chris a quick smile. “But I’m willing to fight for it.”

Chris’ gaze turned towards her green eyes with an expression of a mixture of relief and worry. He opened his mouth to reply, and for a quick, fleeting moment, Erin thought Chris would agree with her.

“We’re here!” Chris quickly said, his eyes turning towards the large mansion that was suddenly in front of them.

“What?” Erin said, her brows furrowed for a moment before she realized that they had reached their destination. “Oh, right…”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Chris quickly whispered to her before getting out of the car. And, without another word, everyone else followed suit. Erin’s mind raced for a moment before she quickly shook herself awake, determined to not let anything get in the way of making this night special.

Erin quickly caught up to her brother, and she quickly nudged him to the side with a warm smile on her face as they stepped in front of the large mansion, lifting their gazes upwards.

Slowly, their eyes met once more, and Miles nodded, chuckling to himself.

“What is it?”

“I just…” Miles said, the look on his face suddenly became serious as if he had just realized where he was. “I never thought we would be here, you know? I never thought we would be at a fancy party celebrating the start of our company.”

“It’s your company, Miles,” Erin said, flashing him a smile as she swung an arm over his shoulder. “And you better start believing it. You’ve finally made it.”

“We, Erien,” Miles said, wrapping his sister in a quick, one-armed hug. “We made it.”

Without another word, they both walked up to the mansion entrance, taking note of the large swimming pool filled with lights in front of them. Erin took a step towards it with her eyes widening at the crystal-clear water shimmering beneath her. She took a moment to stare at her reflection in the water, unable to escape the doubts creeping into the back of her mind.

What if Chris was right? What if this whole thing was nothing more than a fantasy? What if the relationship they’ve been trying so hard to hide is nothing more than a one-off thing? But the one question that has been ringing in her head all the time came back to her…

“What if it isn't true love? What if I just feel this way because this is my first serious relationship?”

Erin let out a long, shaky sigh, her gaze still stuck on her reflection in the water. Slowly, her reflection was soon followed by the familiar figure of Miles appearing in the water next to her. She quickly averted her gaze, flashing him a quick smile. “Hey…” She quickly said, crossing her arms.

“Are you alright?” Miles said, putting his hands in his pockets, his brows furrowed.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” He quickly replied, his eyes squinting at Erin as if he was searching for something. “Something’s bothering you.”

“What are you talking about?” Erin quickly replied, letting out an empty chuckle as she glanced toward the mansion’s gates. Her eyes suddenly met with Chris’ piercing blue eyes, and he flashed her a quick smile before walking into the mansion. She quickly turned her attention toward her brother in front of her. “I’m fine, Miles.”

“You can tell me. You know that, right?” Miles said, placing a caring hand on his sister’s shoulder. “You don’t have to hide whatever is going on with you from me.”

“I know, I know,” Erin replied, taking Miles’ hands in hers and giving them a quick, reassuring squeeze. “I’m just thinking about a few things. It’s something I have to figure out on my own, Miles.”

“Listen, if it’s about the whole party thing, you don’t have to be here. Hell, I would leave with you.” Miles said, flashing his sister a warm, comforting smile. “We’ll stay at home and we’ll order pizza. What does that sound like?”

Erin let out a quick chuckle, her eyes stuck on her brother, realizing that he was willing to leave one of the biggest nights of his life just so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. She shook her head left and right, smiling to herself. “You’re too good to me, Miles. If I ever need your help, I’ll let you know.”

“Well, if that’s the case...” Miles said, nodding towards the mansion’s gates. “We’ve got a party to catch.”