16 - Lunch

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Clara’s secretary called her brothers to come to her office for lunch as she laid the food on the table, but there was nobody in the office, and she did not know if Clara came back from her bike ride, so she left.

Max and Jeremy came in laughing. They were teasing each other and betting on Clara again. They were trying to guess where they would find the two CEOs, and what they would be doing. Yeah, it was a bit mean to bet on their sister, but they had nothing else to do at the moment, and her love life was the hottest news right now.

Their plan was to catch them, ‘making out,’ they both said in unison as they barged into her bedroom.

When they saw Sebastian with his arms wrapped around Clara, they high-fived. But when the couple never pulled apart, it seemed like they were not making out after all. Sebastian had his finger on his lips, telling them to quiet down. 

The brothers got confused why Clara had her arms and legs wrapped around Sebastian. Then they realized she was taking a nap. Naps and Clara were always a poor combination. Her nightmares never gave her an option to choose when they would appear, and when left alone, she always woke up screaming.

Ever since she remembered her sister’s name, she’d been dreaming about her more and more. The dreams seemed more graphic and more brutal. It was like she was reliving her abduction all over again. She would always call out to Celine, but today something was different. Clara was asleep, like a very peaceful baby.

Max stood on her side of the bed and frowned. ‘What is happening here?’ he looked at her dumbfounded. She never slept this soundly before. Even when they had hugged her or shushed her to sleep.

They let her sleep a few more minutes, but the brothers started whispering on the couch.

‘Do you think she’ll get mad that we let Sebastian hug her?’ Jeremy asks with concern.

‘She might, but I think he’ll know what to do. I’m getting hungry. Maybe we should eat and forget about them.’ Max replies, his tummy grumbling.

The brothers stared at Clara when they heard her speak. ‘Thanks, Max,’ Clara said, ‘I had this dream, but..,’ she stopped and then, ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she asked.

‘Uh oh! She’s awake.’ they both whispered.

Clara was sitting upright in bed and glowering at her brothers and Sebastian. ‘What the f*ck is happening? Why are you two there? And why is he beside me?’ she was frowning as she laid her eyes on them. 

Sebastian said, ‘Don’t get mad. I heard you whimpering after my shower, and tried to console you, then you wrapped yourself around me like a leech. I didn’t want to wake you, so I just laid there and waited.’

Clara glared at Sebastian for smiling. ‘These two came in here because lunch is ready,’ he explained as he stood up, straightening his shirt, pretending like what he did was nothing out of the ordinary. He took his jacket from the closet and put on his shoes, acting all cool and smooth so he could deflect Clara’s anger somewhere else.

She stood up and started straightening the bed. Clearing her throat, ‘Ehem! Well, I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to grab you like that.’ 

Sebastian looked into her eyes. ‘I wasn’t complaining.’

‘Oohhhh…’ Max teased. 

Clara ran to the bathroom. ‘You guys go ahead and eat. I’ll be out in a moment.’

‘C’mon man, let’s go eat. I’m hungry.’ Max thumps Jeremy in the chest. ‘She’ll probably take a while. She’s hiding from you,’ he said pointedly to Sebastian.

‘So, try not to ask her about her nightmares, okay.’ Jeremy said protectively.

‘Why not?’ asks Sebastian.

‘Because it’s a sore topic, and she doesn’t trust you, not yet.’ Max winks at him. ‘I’ll tell you--’

‘Just act normal and pretend everything is normal,’ Jeremy interrupted, shaking his head at Max.

‘I’ll tell you this, she fell asleep with you, that’s a plus. And she’s not grumpy.’

‘She was mad when she saw me beside her.’ Sebastian looked towards the bathroom.

‘Nah, that’s fine. That’s typical Clara. Ignore it.’ Max disregards Sebastian’s concern. He knew his sister was attracted to him, otherwise, she wouldn’t have fallen asleep in his arms. She had a thing about sleeping beside someone else. If it wasn’t him or Jeremy, she wouldn’t fall asleep. 

‘Here she comes. Say something funny.’ Jeremy signals.

‘Ha ha ha ha…. Too late,’ Max pretended to laugh like something funny amused him. ‘Clara’s here…’

They were having sushi on this low table in Clara’s office, and even though it looked like they ordered enough food for an army, the siblings were still stealing food from each other’s plates. 

‘Stop it!’ she yells like an annoyed kid. ‘These are mine, stop stealing them,’ she had her arms encircling her plate, and she was kicking Max. She had a smile on her face, and she was laughing. It was refreshing to see her like this after her nightmare. It was like whatever plagued her never existed.

Sebastian sat beside her and gave her the dishes she seemed to like, and she noticed his gesture and announced, ‘Sebastian’s on my team. Let’s see you mess with him,’ she laughed, sticking out her tongue at her brothers.

It was a lot of food, and Sebastian, together with both brothers, eventually polished it all off. They do not believe in wasting food, so with all their tummies full, they collapsed on the couch, giving off the feeling that they were in a college dorm with their best friends, just hanging out.

When Sebastian left, Max had to get ready to fly to San Francisco for his first real date with Celine. He could have asked to ride back with Sebastian on his private plane, but he did not want anyone to know what he was doing.

Who knew what might happen? This might even be a disaster. He doesn’t remember working this hard to date a girl before, and he’s going to lengths just to see her. Well, she better be worth it, being Clara’s sister or not has nothing to do with it. Maybe the challenge has gotten to him. The selection of women throwing themselves at him on every occasion did not entertain him. They were all shallow and vapid, talking about nothing but fashion and the latest trend. He could not hold a conversation with them even if they tried.

In his gut, he knows he wants something better. Someone better. Someone who challenges him. One who is smart, and has a sense of humor, someone like Celine.